Dancing Diva

Lauren is so excited about her very first dance recital. Tonight was picture night...costume, tights, ballet shoes, hair all done up...and makeup! She looks so grown up! She is loving dance!

Easter Sunday

I tried and tried to get a picture of all 3 kids together and it just wasn't working...
once I stopped trying I actually got a few!
Our family on Easter...

We took the girls to see The Lion King...it was amazing!

Easter Saturday

Wow! We have been so busy the past few weeks, I have not even had a chance to post a few new pictures. With field trips, track meets, appointments, play dates, and the Spring Mom 2 Mom Sale, our days have been hectic and crazy! We had a wonderful Easter weekend with lots of family! We had Easter dinner on Saturday followed by Andrew's 2nd Birthday party. Take a look...

Abby, Andrew and Lauren. What cute kids!

We had a pinata for Andrew's party. Good times! They all enjoyed it!

Lauren must have been really concentrating on the pinata.
Her tongue was sticking out in EVERY picture!

Andrew turns 2!

Lauren and Abby colored Easter eggs. They did a great job!

Mr. GQ

We wanted to get some pictures taken for Andrew's 2 year photos, so today we went out and took some! Here are a few of our favorites so far...




I cannot believe that he is going to be 2!! What a handsome little man!

Machine Washable

I decided to start washing up all of the winter coats, hats, mittens, and snow pants today in the hopes that I can put them away one day soon. One of Lauren's hats had pom-poms on the sides (notice the past tense??) It said that it was completely machine washable...I think that they were wrong...

It must have looked like I was having a great time picking all of the pom-pom pieces off the clothes because the kids wanted to help with the rest of the load...it took us a good half hour to get all of the hats and mittens cleaned up!

What a day!

The Mystery Lady

As you know, Lauren loves to dress up! She thinks it is funny to come out in Todd's sweatshirts or t-shirts, pants, and tennis shoes. Today she surprised me looking like this...

I needed a good laugh today!

Spring Picnic

I just cannot tell you how much I love the warmer weather and sunshine! I know, I know, than why do we live in Michigan?? I still ask myself that sometimes! Lauren, Andrew and I enjoyed a nice morning outside, followed by a picnic lunch (of PB & J and Cheetos! - Mmmm...healthy :) The kids finished their meal with a homemade chocolate sucker. Very healthy! Very yummy!

Smile!

Yum...chocolate!

Swinging!

Lauren was playing Peek-A-Boo with Andrew around the tree.
What a great big sister!

Mr. Fix It

Andrew has been using his tools and workshop that Santa brought him quite a bit. Lauren and I were in the play room reading the other day and we heard hammering, sawing, etc. When we came out this is what we saw...



We just got Direct TV and Andrew has been loving Handy Manny! Hopefully he will be hammering more and "dressing up" (with Lauren's Princess dresses) less! Our very own Handy Manny!

Cookies

The kids were excited to use their new aprons that "Grandma" McMacken made for them, (Aren't they cute??) so we decided to make some sugar cookies...

Andrew did a great job mixing!

Lauren rolled out the dough!

They both helped pick out the cookie cutter shapes and cut the cookies.
We had a good time making, and eating, our cookies!

Build A Bear

Lauren had a chance to spend a few nights with Grandpa and Grandma B. all by herself! I think that she handled it better than I did! She had a nice time and had a lot of activities to keep her busy. Here is her favorite activity of the long weekend...

Lauren loves to shop...even if it is only for her new bear!

OK, I'm not sure what happened to my other picture with Lauren and Grandma, but here is a picture of Lauren with her bear dressed as Ariel (Yes, the bear really does have an Ariel wig!)

A New Addition

We have a new addition to our house...and it is a monster!! A friend of ours gave us a china cabinet . It was a little overwhelming at first, but we love it! Now we just need to fill it!

Todd and Heath definitely got their workout moving the cabinet into the house!

Uncle Heath and Andrew enjoying a muffin!

Our new addition!

Heatwave!

I think that we all enjoyed the beautiful weather that we had last week! 55 and sunny in February. (Hopefully that does not mean that we will have snow in May!!) The kids could not wait to get outside...

I cannot wait until the warm weather and sunshine are here to stay!

# 5

Wow! It has been a long time since I posted a blog! We have been very busy and I have a lot of pictures to share, so my posts today could get lengthy! A few weeks ago we had something BIG to celebrate...Lauren turned 5! I feel that 5 sounds so much older than saying that she was 4! She had a wonderful party with all of the family...here are a few pictures...

Lauren's doll cake turned out better than I anticipated!
She loved it!

Princess Lauren and Princess Abby!

The kids open their "party favors."

Lauren blows out the candles!

Andrew enjoyed his cupcake...I don't know that I have ever seen a person eat a cupcake so fast. It was quite a sight!

Bedtime : Part 2

After about a week of Andrew sleeping on the floor in his sleeping bag, I decided to take the bed rails off of his bed to wash all of the bedding. As soon as they were off he was up in his bed so fast playing and reading. Hmmm...maybe he was feeling a bit claustrophobic up there with all of his blankets and stuffed animals being squished together on his twin bed (made a bit smaller with the rails!) So we took the bed frame and box spring out of his room for now and rearranged things a bit...

I'll let you know if this works!

Bedtime

We have been working to finish Andrew's big boy bedroom and were feeling pretty good about the way that it was turning out. I think that we are enjoying it more than he is. Here is how we found him last night an hour after he had gone to bed...




And tonight...
We hope that this will soon pass...we wait until he falls asleep and then lay him in his bed for the night. Any ideas? Has anyone gone through this with their little one? Help!!

UPDATE: Andrew slept well last night and is sleeping very well right now for his nap (I just checked on him and heard snoring.). He is sleeping in his sleeping bag on the floor of his bedroom :)

Movin' On Up

On top of the craziness of the holidays, Andrew learned how to climb (or jump, we are not quite sure) out of his crib! We thought that this was a great time to transition him to a "big boy bed!" He has been loving it and has been sleeping better at night and longer for his naps on a regular basis. Hallelujah! We are still finishing the decorating - heading to Hobby Lobby over the weekend - but it is turning out quite nice I think. I will post more pictures when it is complete.




The crib is now sitting in our playroom awaiting the next Brasher baby...

not ours, our little niece or nephew will be sleeping in it this July!