Anyone Still Interested in Easter???

In keeping with my tradition of posting about a holiday several weeks after it has passed, here is the run-down of our Easter Festivities, only a couple weeks late!

We started the fun this year with an Easter Egg Hunt play date with some friends from church. Our ward boundaries recently got changed and we ended up in a different ward, so it was nice getting together with some people we don't get to see on a regular basis anymore. (And honestly, I felt bad for missing our egg hunt at church because I got the dates mixed up!) Anyway, the kids had a blast and were very proud of all the eggs they collected!

Here is the gang ready to hunt for eggs. It was a chilly, but sunny day!

Going for a green egg...surprise, surprise!

So impressed with the number of eggs she found!

Checking out the goods.

Next event: Visit and Photo with the Easter Bunny

Can you tell Allison isn't a big fan? Tyler loves him, however, and was more than eager to tell him what he'd like in his Easter basket!

Easter had finally arrived and now it was time for Tyler and Allison to search for their Easter baskets!

Yay! Here they are!!!

Look what he left me! Can you believe it Tyler?!

This was the best picture I could get of the two of them with their baskets, and I made SEVERAL attempts! It's difficult to look at the camera and smile when there is a basket full of goodies sitting right next to you just screaming to be opened!

Easter Day Event #2: Easter Egg Hunt with cousins.

After church, we went over to Grandma and Pawpaw Hamby's house for dinner and another egg hunt!
Side note: At church, Tyler got to go up and sing with the Primary kids for the very first time! He worked hard practicing the song, "He Sent His Son." Everytime we were in the car, he would ask me to play "love and tenderness" on the Primary Songs CD. He did an excellent job remembering all the words that day, and this proud Mommy thought it was the most precious thing ever!

Miss Allison LOVED looking for eggs and was quite posessive over her basket (which was quite the same for her basket from the Easter Bunny too - she wanted all contents left INSIDE the basket and all hands off)!

I had to do a bit of a posed shot with Tyler because he was zooming around so quickly collecting eggs that I wasn't able to get him actually grabbing one.

He finally stopped in one place to count his eggs once the hunt was over.

After the egg hunt, we had a yummy Easter Dinner complete with ham, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, green beans, broccoli salad, and green jello salad.
Then it was time for MORE Easter goodies, this time from all the grandparents.

First up were the Easter pails from Grandma and Grandpa Tholkes:

Then onto the goodie bags from Grandma and Pawpaw Hamby:

And last, but certainly not least, were the Easter gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Hadley:

(This gift was for the two of them together.)
What loved little kids they are!!! Thanks so much for all of the neat stuff!

Out of the Mouth of Babes

It's so true that kids say the funniest things, and ours keep us laughing on a regular basis! Here is a sampling of Tyler and Allison's recent humor (all of which have taken place over the past week).

After passing by a miniture golf course that we had visited back at the end of last summer/beginning of fall:
Tyler: Hey! That's where we went golfing!
Mommy: Yep, it sure is!
Daddy: How does he remember that?!
Tyler: Because my brain is ALWAYS turned on!


While visiting some friends at the school I used to teach at:
Mrs. Wiggins (to Tyler): You look just like your Daddy. You need some little round glasses so you can be super twins!
Tyler: No! I have good eyesight!


We met up with my parents, sister, and her two kids one night for dinner. We didn't tell Allison that we would be seeing them, so this is how she VERY excitedly greeted them once we reached the table in the restuarant:
"Hey, Lana, HEYYY! Hey, Kayden, HEYYY! Hey, Grandma, HEYYY! Hey, Pawpaw, HEYYY! Hey, Auntie, HEYYY! HEY GUYS!!!"


While eating a meatball sub at dinner, Allison was having some trouble getting a bite due to some very stringy cheese. Daddy came to her aid the first time it happened. Then, when it happened a second time, Allison responded with, "Awe maaaaan! CAP (crap)!"
***I plead the fifth if anyone wants to know where she learned that word!***


While admiring the moon one night, Allison stretched her little arms as far as they could go and grunted. She then exclaimed, "I can't get it Daddy!"

A Little Pregnancy Update

I'm 15 weeks today and thankful to be getting further away from the first trimester! No more fatigue. No more queasiness at dinner time. This part wasn't even major, it just made it difficult to cook dinner for my family, and then even if I did, eating it was out of the question. But that's all in the past now. I am really lucky that I don't have any issues with extreme sickness during pregnancy. I really feel for those of you that do.
I only have one complaint about this part of pregnancy. Since no one else can really tell that I'm showing yet, but I can tell my pants are getting tighter, I feel like everyone must think that I've just been eating one Twinkie too many for dessert each night. (I don't really even like Twinkies, but you get it, right?) Anyway, if you're looking for a "belly pic," I'm sorry. I don't do belly pics. I'll still allow my picture to be taken, I just can't get into taking side-profile pictures of myself every month.
On a more pleasant note, I have started feeling the baby move! I know it's a bit earlier than "the books" say it happens, but it's certainly not a time that is set in stone. When I was pregnant with Tyler, it took much longer for me to experience this sensation. But with Allison, and now this baby, I was able to feel it much sooner. Allison turned out to be a VERY active baby, and I was certain she was going to be a gymnast by the number of somersaults she did inside me! So maybe we have another "go-getter" on our hands! We shall see.

Our Favorite Little Girl

I don't think I've done a post that's been solely dedicated to Miss Allison. Since she turned 21-months-old today, and I haven't posted anything in almost a month, I thought now would be a good time! She is so much fun to be around and has been doing so many cute and entertaining things lately. Just so you know, this is going to be a LOOONG post. I'm very long-winded when it comes to bragging about my kids!

Over the past couple months, Allison has progressed to talking almost completely in sentences. She has also been working very hard to correct whatever words she hasn't been saying JUST right. This is NOT something that I am encouraging by any means. While I love seeing her progress, I realize that all of these corrections mean my little girl is growing up...TOO fast! I would much rather hear her say strawbear instead of strawberry, wadee instead of water, Me-Maw instead of Grandma, Reh-wah (Rella) instead of Cind-reh-wah (Cinderella), and I cup instead of my cup. But of course, it's all part of becoming a big girl, and nothing is going to stand in Allison's way! I'm just waiting for the day she decides to correct bee-na (banana) and oh-milk (open it) - two of my favorite things she says. Other cute things she says include: kiss it (when she has a boo boo), pwease and dank you (she is faithful at remembering to say thank you), I wah you (I love you), Dor-ah, Boots, and Wiper (Swiper), sop it (stop it), and Oh sweeeet (when she sees the picture of her and Tyler hugging on my cell phone).
Speaking of Cind-reh-wah, she has become OBSESSED with princesses over the past couple months! I don't know how this happened. I tried pushing Tinkerbell everything. But apparently Tinkerbell is so not as cool as the princesses. What was I thinking?! So I hadn't purchased anything princess related, but somehow they still managed to have sucked her in. Maybe it was our trip to Disneyland? or the fact that her cousin, Keilana, exposed her to the princess world? I'm not sure. What I do know, is that she's hooked. She knows EVERY princess by name, as well as many of their little friends like Bounder (Flounder), Bastian (Sebastian), Beast, and Prince (which can mean any one of them).
With that being said, her most favorite movie is not even a princess one. Go figure. Don't get me wrong, she enjoys the princess movies, and insists on emptying out the movie cabinet on a daily basis in order to collect all the ones bearing a princess on the cover, but her most favorite movie is Toy Story. She talks about Buzz and Woody almost as much as the princesses and can sit through the entire movie! I guess it's the result of having an older brother who loves the movie and likes watching it on a regular basis.

Allison also does other things as a result of having a big brother to idolize and immitate. (Luckily, it doesn't bother Tyler.....yet.) She loves "racing" with Tyler, as they run around the house making car sounds, and she knows who Lightning (who she used to call "Queen-Queen") and the gang are. She is very familiar with dinosaurs, loves roaring like one, and even knows who T-Rex is (surprise, surprise). But for every "boyish" thing she does, there is a girly one to counteract it. She hates for her hands to be dirty. If anything gets on them, she comes to me and says "wipe it!" She enjoys getting her finger and toe nails painted. She loves pink and purple. She loves taking care of her babies (and does an excellent job at it I might add!). She loves to "cook" and even takes it upon herself to help set and clear the table at dinner time. The only girly things I've discovered that she dislikes are getting her hair fixed and playing dress-up. She hates changing clothes, period. So getting her to put on a costume - or even a princess dress - is out of the question!

I found Allison laying in my bed like this one day all snuggled up under the covers with her baby. She was so proud of herself and very excited I was taking her picture being a good Mommy!

She also takes very good care of her monkey baby!

This is the extent Allison will go when playing "dress-up." She is a HUGE shoe fan!

Allison absolutely LOVES to sing. She sings all day long. She sings things that aren't even real songs. She sings our names or just whatever is on her mind at the time. The other day she randomly started singing, "I just can't believe it!" over and over again. It was pretty funny! Currently, her favorite songs to sing are Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam. While spending the night at my parent's house a couple nights ago, Grandma and Pawpaw heard her singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in her sleep even!
She also loves looking at books and being read to. She would sit in my lap and listen to stories ALL day without getting bored. She brings books to me all the time and exclaims, "Read it!" We keep books in every room of the house so that Allison always has a book at her fingertips. When she plays in her bedroom, the bookshelf is the first thing she heads to (and empties). She enjoys sitting on her princess couch (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Hadley) while reading her collection of princess books.

Allison is a very helpful little girl. The first time she helped "set" and clear the table, she did it completely on her own accord. It is a common occurance to find Allison cleaning up a mess without being asked. She likes for things to be put back where they belong, and she wants things kept in an orderly fashion. Despite the fact that she keeps her own agenda most of the time, she is also a great little listener and, for the most part, will follow through with what I've asked her to do.
As far as other developments go, Allison has decided that she doesn't like being fed by Mommy anymore (yet another sad thing that means she's growing up). She completely feeds herself these days - even cereal and milk! She does quite well, and leaves minimal spills to clean up. Her most favorite foods are any kind of soup, fruit - particularly watermelon, "key-yope" (cantaloup), grapes, bananas, and apples, "tay-toes" (patatoes), scrambled eggs, oatmeal, and grits (that's my girl!).
She likes (and asks) to go potty when Tyler does. But that's the extent of it. If I ask her to try, it's "noooo." Only problem with wanting to do it when Tyler does is, she wants to do it LIKE him too - standing up style. I'm not quite sure how to break it to her that this won't work. We'll cross that bridge when we get there! I'm hoping that we will be able to tackle this feat soon with the help of some princess panties. I'll keep everyone updated!