The First Hike of the Year

We love the state parks here in Michigan! There are awesome trails and the best part about them are that they are far enough away from roads that we can let all our dogs run free. We love the fresh air, the kids have a blast, and our zoo sleeps the rest of the day away. Perfect.

Adalin was SO funny during this hike. She insisted on being the line leader. She was a champ and walked the entire way. I guess Kira was equally hilarious b/c she was picking up every rock and rotten acorn that she could find along the way.

Hunting at the Church

We had a little Easter egg hunt at our church... it was a little too soggy outside for the moms' sakes. I know I didn't want to deal with mud and sopping wet socks. The girls had fun.

Dying Easter Eggs

Uh, yeah, a little late on this post! Better late than never!

We had a lot of fun dying eggs as a family a few days before Easter. I think it is just so fun when a child is grown up enough to really participate in an activity like this for the first time. Like Kira. Last year: no clue... obviously, since she was only a baby. This time around she insisted on doing it all herself. She did pretty well, despite a few cracked eggs. Of course, Adalin had the entire Easter egg plan mapped out in her brain. She was in charge, like always.

Easter 2009

We spent Easter this year at our house with my family. It was wonderful. We had pork tenderloin, baked potatoes and a few other sides with turtle cheesecake for dessert. We had nice weather, so we had an Easter egg hunt in our backyard! Before dinner the girls found their Easter baskets that the Easter Bunny (aka. My Mom) hid for them. It was a great day! Happy (late) Easter to everyone!

Naughty Boy!

My Baby is Two!

Kira's birthday was March 28th! I can't believe she is 2 already! What is crazy is that when Adalin turned 2 I was 7 months pregnant with Kira! No news yet on that subject. :(

Kira is a very smart and sweet little girl. She speaks in very complete sentences, very clearly and loves to copy her big sister. She has a little spice to her and doesn't like to be pushed around. She makes me laugh daily with her cute little voice and the things she says. She is very animated when she talks too. When she asks a question, she puts this eyebrow-raised, squinty look on her face. It is cute.

She loves baby dolls, coloring, play dough, swinging outside and animals. She is obsessed with jewelry and almost always has a bracelet or necklace on. She is still growing her hair out... and can now easily manage a ponytail on top of her head (even after Adalin chopped most of her hair off and few months ago.) She loves our dogs and is very authoritative with them, just like her parents. She tells them to sit and "NO!" when they are chewing something they should be. She will even open their mouths with her fingers to get things out. It is funny. She has no fear when it comes to that! She is scared to go in elevators!

She can finally jump and get both feet off the ground. She loves to paint. She loves to hang up clothes for me too. We often call her our "milk-a-holic" b/c she can down a cup of milk in 2 minutes and will do that over and over again throughout the day if I let her. She loves it, obviously. She loves suckers, pizza, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, chicken and apples. Oh, and she loves chocolate milk too. When she wants some, she says to me (I am laughing right now thinking about it), "Mommy, can I have some chocolate hair boy?" Refer to this post for the history of that one! Kira heard the phrase and put it to good use. Whenever we go by a Big Boy restaurant, even now, the girls say, "Look! It's chocolate hair boy!" Silly girls.

Happy Birthday Baby Kira!

A

K

Thanks so much Toby for taking these!

Adalin, The Quattromom

Adalin has always been a baby doll lover. For some kids its horses, for others its trucks. For Adalin it is babies, with all their dresses, car seats, headbands, thermometers, bottles, bibs, booties, baby carriers, binkies, bath tubs, bows and burp rags. Kira has caught the baby fever too. Yes, changing and feeding their babies are their favorite past time.

I was cracking up when Adalin asked me to tie 2 more babies to the side of my infant carrier using its straps that hang down to the floor (because the thing must be sinched up so much to fit her little 4-year-old frame.) So here she is, the baby lady, with 3 baby dolls and a bunny strapped on for a ride.

The Bench

Such a pretty picture, isn't it?

This is our version of the bench:

This is Pottery Barn's version:

Pretty close, eh?

Ours was 1/5 of the price! We looked up the dimensions of PB's Samantha Entryway Bench and drew our own plans. It was a fun project! Now to find baskets that fit underneath for less than $30 a piece... I am also going to make a top cushion!

Don't mind the mint green carpet in my picture... we are getting it all replaced this summer! Red... the bench sits at the top of our stairs and I thought we needed a little color there. Hence, the red. Should I have gone with white or black? I think though, that once we have some neutral carpet it won't look quite so psychedelic.