Grammy and Binx visit...

Leslie was so happy that her Grammy and Binx got to come down and visit for a weekend and come to her party! They were a super big help all weekend long, especially party day. And, they decided to fly, so we got to spend alot more time with them then usual. Here's Hulkster Leslie fighting Butterfly Fairy Binx...



Calla really enjoyed all the extra attention and play time. Here she is enjoying a snack while cuddling with her Binx...

It was a gorgeous weekend, so we spent alot of time outside. Here is Calla taking a rare break from the swing to cuddle up in Grammy's lap...

Grammy took this picture of Leslie. It's so relieving that someone actually caught a good picture of her. After two straight years of "bad pictures" I was starting to worry that my love for her was clouding my vision/judgement! As you can see, it wasn't. This is my beautiful Leslie, pretty as ever...

Midland doesn't have alot of fun things to go do like Houston does, but it was nice to just sit around and spend some time being a family together, too. We're planning on making a trip to Houston over the summer, so hopefully, then, we'll be able to go have greater adventures together! Love you Grammy and Binx!

Palm Sunday Weekend...

We had such a fun weekend before Easter. We started the day with a birthday party for one of Leslie's friends. Part of the party was outside. While the big kids went on a "treasure hunt," Calla made a bee-line for the trike. She LOVES LOVES LOVES big girl wheels...


After the party, we dashed over to the church's Easter Egg Hunt, or rather, Easter Egg Dash. Basically, they just threw several hundred eggs out on to a field, split the kids up in to age groups, and said, "Go!" Since Calla was the youngest out there, I picked her up and took her ahead of the other kids so she could have a fighting chance at a few. She did pretty well putting things in her "bucket."

Leslie, on the other hand, got caught up in the adrenaline of things and just started sprinting to the other side of the field. Barry had to stop her several times and remind her to pick up eggs. We never figured out her reasoning, but once she did stop to pick up some eggs, she was very selective about which ones made the cut to go in the basket...

Here's Calla with a big cute pink bow in her hair. You can see her clapping. She likes anything as long as you applaud her for it...

That's actually how I finally got Calla off the bottle... EVERY time she took a sip from her cup, I would cheer and clap for her excessively. After a couple days of constant positive reinforcement, she was ready to make the switch!

And here Calla is playing in our friend's Chapel's ball pit...

The girls strolled into Chap's playroom and started trying out every toy they could find, the ball pit being the favorite by far. They played in that ball pit the entire hour! Calla especially would just lay down and roll around in them. Poor Chap hid in the corner behind a big rocking horse most of the play date. I don't think he quite knew what to do with my crazy energetic girls! We finally convinced him that Calla wasn't going to body slam him if he came out of his corner, but this is still about as close he was willing to risk:)

More Dora Party...

Grammy and Binx got Leslie some talking Hulk hands! They were the hit of the party... literally! Here's Parker trying them out...


And we finished the Fiesta with a pinata of course!

It was such a great party filled with many awesome memories for my sweet Leslie. Good time. Good friends. Now time for a siesta...

Dora Cake Time...

I managed to find time to make Leslie a stacked birthday cake! It's always so much harder to do it for your own kids parties! The cake had a rough start, but I think I saved it pretty well!

This was her face while we were singing to her. Too cute! I'll let this next series of pictures speak for themselves...

Dora Party Free Time...

We had Mexican stack or burritos for everyone to eat after the adventure. It was so amazing have all my family there to help! We started the adventure without any food out, and by the time we got around to the backyard, the table was full and set and everything was ready to go. I could have never thrown such an elaborate fiesta for Leslie without all their help! Thank you Family!!


Calla, like always, just wanted to swing... the entire time...

Everyone enjoying the princess castle...

This is Baby Chapel (who I made the Cowboy cake for.) His mom and Barry work together and he's 5 weeks younger than Calla...

I don't know if this swing set could have fit another kid on it if we tried. They all had alot of fun just playing while everyone finished up eating...

Dora Party Adventure...

Here is a video of the main event... Our Dora Adventure to find Leslie's Fiesta...

We ran out of time to do a dry run through, so the music and logistics of it were a little awkward, but all in all, I think it was a lot of fun for the kids... and us!

Dora Party...

We had beautiful weather for Leslie's birthday party this year! It's so weird to think that it snowed on her first birthday party! The party was all outside. When guests arrived they were invited to make a hat or Dora bracelet at the craft table or color with sidewalk chalk while we waited for everyone to arrive...


This is the Knight family coloring on the sidewalk. And if you look down the way you'll see Calla. We were all too busy to hold Calla and entertain her, so she found a new family to take care of her and get her chalk...

These are some friends from church...

Leslie with her Adventure Hat...

After all the guests arrived, we began our quest to Leslie's Fiesta...

Actual Birthday Party...

Leslie had another birthday party on her actual birthday with all the family we could gather. Mitch's parents were in town, so it was fun to have them there to help celebrate. One of Leslie's presents was this kid friendly camera. So here she is taking a picture of her birthday cookie cake...




Here's a funny face she made while everyone was singing to her...

Blowing out the candles...

Celebrating...

Enjoying...

Her big present from Mommy and Daddy was a new big girl bike! It's alot different from the hot wheels type trike she was used to peddling around, but she's getting the hang of it. Here she is taking it for it's first test run...

Egg Hunt...

After lunch, we realized the Easter Bunny had left eggs in the backyard for the girls! Calla had a ton o' fun with the egg hunt. She's all about putting things in buckets (or baskets)...




And, here's Leslie, off to the races...

It was really funny having all the family outside watching/helping the girls. You could tell they were used to more competitive egg hunts. Everyone kept on giving hints and rushing them around. I finally stopped and pointed out they have no competition and can take as long as they want! It was very frustrating for some that Leslie wanted to sit down and inspect her treasure after each find...

Here's my baby enjoying her first egg hunt. She liked carrying her basket herself and putting the eggs in... and out... and back in....

And finally, she sat down, dumped out all her eggs into her lap, and started flailing her legs around with joy! "So much treasure! I love Easter!"

Easter Pictures...

We got ready Sunday morning and ran out the door to church. Between Easter baskets and having to take breakfast for Sunday School, we didn't have a second to do any pre-church photos. I learned my lesson... The nursery was so crowded with little babies, there wasn't a bed for Calla to take a nap in, so she fell asleep the second we put her in the car. We woke her up when we got to Mom's so we could take a couple quick pictures together before we all changed. Here's Leslie in her pretty Easter dress I got on clearance after last Easter...





I got Calla's dress last season, too. It "coordinates" with the big girl one. This is the best picture I got with them...

Beggars can't be choosers. Once again, this is the best picture we managed...

And my beautiful girls together...


The weather was beautiful, so I'm really upset we didn't get any outside with them. Two-a-day naps are so limiting! Hopefully I learned my lesson, and we will make time for pictures before church next year and just be a little late...

Easter Morning...

Easter morning was so much fun this year with two! I think the Easter Bunny did its best job ever of stocking baskets with fun and relevant items for the girls to enjoy...





Calla, being the second child, seems so much more advanced for her age then Leslie was. She totally got hunting for eggs and getting the treats inside. Here she is showing Daddy her mouthful of puffs that the Easter Bunny left in one of her eggs...

Leslie really enjoyed her basket, too. We couldn't really get her to stop and smile for us. This is the best we managed...

"Look Daddy! The Easter Bunny left me a new Little People toy in an egg!"

And like most holidays it seems, Leslie then had to scamper off to do a breathing treatment before starting to get ready for church. She felt fine, but had been coughing all weekend. She did however manage to convince her daddy to let her wear the bunny ears after he put her mask on...

Confetti Egg Hunt...

Last year, Mom went on a mission to create new family "traditions" because she felt like something was missing in all her holiday bustle. One of the new "traditions" was a confetti egg hunt followed by a confetti egg annihilation. And to our surprise, it was actually alot of fun. So we decided we would appease Mom and continue the "tradition." Here is Leslie with her basket ready for the big hunt...

The boys are strong enough to throw the eggs hard enough to break them, so Will and Ben spent most their energy trying to peg each other in the head and leaving big whelps, bruises, and scrapes as trophies. Ben's so focused on Will that he doesn't even see he's about to get one right in the keester from Leslie...

Here's Jordan running away in fear of me...

Actually, he's running because he just pelted me with one!

Calla, like always, just wants to swing...

Leslie didn't mind getting eggs broken on her. She thought all the confetti in her hair was funny....

We had a stray egg left over, so we decided to initiate Calla into the "tradition..."

She was less than amused. "Why am I not swinging!?!?!"

My pretty girls....

Good times with the fam. Good "tradition." I think we'll keep this one around for next year!