Happy Easter!

Easter morning arrived with baskets of goodies lined up on the stairs.  Mal was beyond excited to receive Tangled on DVD.  She's been heartbroken ever since Netflix removed it from their instant video list.  Jake's movie was Rio, which they seem to like after watching it yesterday.  He also loves the kangaroo that came with his book & named it Rio.  Yes, we're very original.

Give Beau a ball & he's in heaven!

Boys in bow ties - cuteness overload!  And their sister is pretty cute too!

 

We really didn't stage this picture to look quite so official, but we both laughed that it looks like Justin is running for office or something & this is his perfect family.  At least we can occasionally achieve perfection in a picture.  Not so much for real life!

Papa & Nana with three giggly kids

After church, Easter lunch was filled with lots of yummy food: ham, deviled eggs, green bean bundles, salad, pineapple casserole, rolls & the finished product of Mal's cookie decorating.

After lunch, the hunt was on!  Beau was just thrilled to have somehow made off with Mal's barbie toy from her basket.

 

"Mommy, I can't find any more!"

 

The little man has a love for heading toward the street.  It keeps Mommy on her toes!

Easter's not just for kids - these crazy people had fun too!

 

 I hope your family had a happy Easter as well!

Pre-Easter Festivities

Jake & Mallory have had fun getting ready for Easter to arrive.  Beau thinks that throwing plastic eggs is fun, but he doesn't have a clue what Easter is.  Next year for him!

Filling eggs to take to school

Cute kids on Thursday morning before their egg hunt at school

 

Mallory helped me decorate sugar cookies shaped like tulips, butterflies, bunnies & eggs today.  I'll go ahead & confess that letting her help wasn't my original plan.  I was going to make "pretty cookies" by myself, but the icing sort of flopped so I decided to let her make some beautiful in her own way.  Shameful of me, I know.  Her concentration look bears a striking resemblance to mine.  I know of one other female in our family who shares it as well.  We come by it honestly!

Beau knows to stick close to Papa for a few icing taste tests.

 

Me & my sweet girl

 

Then it was on to egg dyeing!

A little color-mixing lesson from Nana

So proud of their creations!

 

And though there are no corresponding pictures, we have taken lots of time over the last several weeks to talk about the real meaning of Easter.  So much more than bunnies & pretty eggs, I want them to understand just how awesome & exciting it is that Jesus rose from the grave.  I love hearing them exclaim, "Jesus is alive!"

Beau Harrison at 1 Year

After much delay due to a spring break birthday & Jake's incident upstaging his original appointment, we finally had Beau's 12 month check-up today.

At one year, here are the big man's stats:

20 lb 11 oz (15%)

30" tall (45%)

 19" head (85%) - to fit all those brains!

Beau had taken some steps by his birthday, but really started walking about two weeks later.  He thinks he's pretty big stuff.

My youngest boy is quite the curious one & likes to see what kind of mischief he can get into.  Running away from Mommy is a popular game of his, as is climbing stairs, stealing his siblings' toys & making a mess when he's done with his food.  The Beau-man loves to dance to any music he hears & enjoys being sung to.  He is also a fan of Pat-a-Cake.  Bath time is probably his favorite time of the day.

Beau is a great eater & will try pretty much anything, unless you catch him on a bad teething day.  His favorites are ham, cheese, green beans, broccoli, grapes, strawberries & wheat thins.  Don't be fooled by  that healthy list, though.  He also has quite the sweet tooth & will beg shamelessly for any dessert he sees you consuming.  Be prepared - he's very persuasive!  And speaking of teeth, he only had one at his birthday & now has a second one.  Both are on top, with a pretty significant gap in between, which makes for some cute, funny grins.

Beau is a smiley, happy boy most of the time.  He does have a fiery temper though, one of many traits he shares with his sister.  Taking away something he shouldn't have, picking him up when he wants to be down, making him come inside & telling him "no" are just a few catalysts that can launch him into a sobfest, complete with the cutest pouty lip you've ever seen.  Most of these fits are short-lived, & then it's back to giggles. 

My sweet blue-eyed boy, I love you so much!  Daddy & I are thankful every day that God entrusted you to our care.  We know that your big, bright personality will one day make you a great servant in His kingdom, & we're thrilled to join you on that journey.

Nifty Fifty

Jake & Mallory had '50s Day at school last week to celebrate their fiftieth day of the school year.  We borrowed the same skirt that Mal wore last year for the occasion.  There are some pluses to having a child that never grows!  The kids had a fun day & got to make ice cream sundaes for a snack.

The picture on the left isn't really a great one, but their identical expressions cracked me up.  See what I have to deal with when trying to get real smiles for pictures?

 

And a quick kiss before we're off to school...

 

Out of the Costume Box

You just never know what crazy combinations Jake & Mal will come up with when playing dress-up.

Jake's selections on this particular day continued to get less & less manly as he added accessories.  I guess we need more boy shoes & "man bags" in there.  He'll love me for sharing these pictures in about ten years!