Rare Moments

I actually got the kids to sit down for a few minutes while I had the camera out on Friday and was able to capture a few cute, but not too rare moments of brotherly/sisterly love as demonstrated in the following picture.I had let them play with our old digital camera and it wasn't going so smoothly with taking turns!

Finally they were able to set aside their differences over the camera and give me a great smile:)

She looks so old with pigtails in, but our friends were coming over so she actually asked to have me put her hair in pigtails, "two mommy" she always says!

Grill Mechanics

A few weeks ago Ryan bought a new grill because the one that we have (which we won) has been shooting flames out of the front knobs and is a safety hazard, especially with the kids around outside now that it's warmer. Anyway, the grill sat in it's box for over a week (which surprised me), but this past week Ryan let the kids help him put it together for a get together with friends this past Friday night. The kids got on their Home Depot aprons and I got them their plastic tools (so they wouldn't scatch daddy's new toy). The kids were all excited about seeing the final product and the steaks tasted great on Friday night!

Stump Man!

Last week Ryan had access to a stump grinder through work. So he took it home and ground the two stumps that were in our backyard (which the kids were constantly standing on and I was concerned that they would get hurt). Thanks daddy for all your hard work and for keeping the backyard safe to play in:)

Vacuuming at Grandma's

This is the sight that I came up the stairs to at my mom's after my last posts. William had broken a bracelet and beads had gone everywhere, so the kids were helping my mom clean-up the mess. My kids love to help vacuum, even though it takes at least twice as long, but they were super helpful in helping and sharing the vacuum to clean-up all of the beads!

F.Y.I.

I am updating the blog from my parents' because our computer is broken and won't be repaired until sometime next week. So, if I don't get back here to post some more before we get our computer back, just know that I am stock-piling them and will get them up as soon as possible!
We also went to get ice cream at Captain Sundae for the first time this year and I forgot the camera. Kailyn at a whole strawberry kiddie cone by herself!! We were so proud of her:) That's all for now!

Outdoor Fun!

Yesterday we were able to go and enjoy the beautiful day at Helder park. The kids loved playing and having free reign to do what they wanted. We met one of my girlfriends and the kids played together really well. Kailyn's new skill was climbing on the rock wall. At first she wasn't able to do it, but after trying a few times with some help, she just kept climbing up all by herself! Will enjoyed anything he could climb on and typically was doing something on the other side on the playground from sister:) We packed a picnic and it's amazing how much better things taste when you're outside! The wind was a little annoying, but it didn't seem to bother the kids much.I couldn't keep Kailyn off the wall once she figured out how to do it!

Will was already this far up the ladder before I caught him, but with a little help he made it all the way to the top:)

My precious little children just loving the fact that we were at a park and outside!! So easy to please:)

St. Patrick's Day '09

On Monday we did a few St. Patrick's day crafts and we watched a little clip on a Veggie Tales movie about it! That night when we came in from outside we made some sweet green pretzels that looked like a shamrock! The kids had fun putting on the green sugar and they loved eating them. The green sugar even turned their mouths green:) On St. Paddy's day I made the kids green pancakes for something special (neither one of the kids were really big on it, but at least I tried).

Big Boy Bed:)

After much deliberation, Ryan and I decided to get Will his own big boy bed! The problem was that he could crawl out of his crib and we were concerned he would hurt himself (for those of you who know how accident prone he already is!). Anyway, my parents had an old twin bed frame that they were willing to give us and Ryan refinished it to match his dresser (which he also refinished). So all we needed to get was the mattress and a waterproof pad. I had already bought his comforter and a set of sheets, so we were ready to roll! He is only taking his afternoon naps in it at this point and doing really well - I'm not sure I'm ready to put him in there for the whole night yet:) Kailyn was so excited for him, it was totally adorable to witness. She even helped me make up his bed and we "surprised" him with his bed all made up and looking cute!

Bubbles and stone gardens!

Talk about spring fever! We have the bug bad:) The kids and I have played outside pretty much non-stop since Saturday! One of the new things that we have this year is a bubble bucket, and the kids love it! It is really easy to let them blow their own bubbles (or in Will's case eat the bubbles off his wand!) and I don't have to worry about a huge spill. They also enjoyed playing in the sandbox and Kailyn even made her own rock garden, with a little help from Will!

Passport to the butterflies!

On Monday Ryan surprised all of us by taking the day off! We had talked about wanting to take the kids to see the butterflies at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, so that's what we did:) Neither one of us had ever been there to see them and we knew that Kailyn would absolutely love it! We weren't sure what Will would do, but we wanted to at least try. The kids had a riot and Will got so excited anytime a butterfly came near him (even though he was usually the one trying to get the butterflies). Neither one of the kids really understood that you needed to stay on the sidewalk, so we were constantly reigning them in and they got pretty dirty, but that is what being a kid is all about: learning and curiosity (and yes, even getting dirty)! We even got to go out to the children's garden and do some butterfly activities as well as walk around the garden and let the kids run off some energy:) We decided we definitely need to go back to the gardens when it's a little bit warmer outside! Thanks daddy for the wonderful day!!!

We had to wait for a whole school group to take all their pictures ahead of us, so by the time the kids were able to take their turn they weren't as enamored with it!

Kailyn received a little "passport" to help us identify the butterflies when we walked in. This is where all the butterflies come out of their chrysalis' and Kailyn is trying to match them to her book!
The kids are both screaming with delight as the butterflies are moving around by them!
There was a ton of butterflies in this certain corner of the greenhouse so the kids and I just gravitated towards it. Will sees some up in the air and is pointing them out to his daddy!

Beautiful Butterflies!

These are just a few of the pictures we were able to capture of the beautiful insects that we call butterflies. Thank you Lord for such beauty and color!!!!

Let's go to the park!

This week we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather that the Lord blessed us with and we went to the park! Now Will doesn't remember the park and therefore he cried half the way there:) But once we got there the kids had a riot! They went from the dino, to the swings, to the slides and bars and back again. The best part was that we had the whole park to ourselves! Will can do things that he previously couldn't do himself and it made going to the park a great way to spend our morning. I love you Kailyn and Will!!!

This year Will can climb up to the curvy slide all by himself! He loves to go down on his tummy.

Both Kailyn and Will had fun going through the tube!
She looks too old in this picture! She was waiting for me to help her with the monkey bars!My precious little man just happy to be outside:)

Will's Words

The last few weeks and days Will has really started to talk! It has been so fun to hear his version of everyday words. Here are just a few of his newest: shoe, snow, please, yee-haw (especially while playing with Celery, our plastic horse), phone, remote or "mote," and dip! He is at such an incredibly fun age and learning everything from his sister. It's as I say "monkey see, monkey do." Ryan and I are really enjoying watching both of them grow and learn and love each other:)