Batter

We made brownies yesterday. Pam, this one's for you! I can see you cringing right now at the thought of your nephew ingesting raw eggs. He was a big fan.

Thoughts

There for awhile I thought Matt's food container fetish had subsided. Most of his boxes and containers had been sent to the recycle bin since he hadn't been playing with them. I suppose old habits never really die because over the past few weeks he has a full blown collection of pantry items to play with. Yesterday Matt was sitting on the kitchen counter like always after we returned from the gym. He was selecting a snack and he then proceeded to empty out the cabinet of its contents. I finally coerced him off of the counter so I could go take a shower, and when I came back this is what I found. It's a combination of things from the cabinet, things from his own personal stash, and even a few items he grabbed from the refrigerator. The boy loves to stack and sort, and this display is quite impressive. I like the height he got on that one stack, but my favorite has to be the cereal boxes all in a row each topped with a box of jello. All facing the same direction of course. I'm telling you, the boy has a real future at HEB.

I went to the grocery store this morning without the child or infant. Round trip, it took me 45 minutes. When I have both kids it takes me at least an hour and a half,and I'm usually talking or explaining things the whole time. Today it was silent. And I didn't have to stare at the massive wall of yogurts forever waiting for Matt to make a decision.

The cat thinks it is okay to jump into the crib with Will at night and snuggle up next to him. I do not. To irritate me even further he then decides to sleep on top of my feet. I swear he just sits and plots different strategies to get on my nerves.

There's nothing more gross than hearing spit up hit this floor while I'm carrying Will. And then to find it on my feet and flip flops. Ew.

Make fun of me if you must--I won't blame you--but to pass the time while nursing I will occassionally watch A Baby Story on TLC. I tear up everytime the baby is born. Maybe it's because I'm ridiculously hormonal. But mainly I think it's because there is nothing more incredible than seeing your child for the first time.

This: "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the imcomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-7 I am in Him. He is in me. I am one with Him. So powerful, it blows my mind.

The stars have aligned: both of my children are asleep. Aaaahhh.

Camping

Wednesday afternoon Matt headed out with Zach, Joy & Ava to go camping with them. Steven was at work, and I stayed behind at home with Will. So, Matt experienced his first camping trip without us! I am told that he had a total blast. Steven was off on Thursday, so he was able to drive out there and join them that morning. From what I hear they caught lots of fish, jumped into the lake and went swimming, ate hot dogs and smores, watched Curious George in the camper, went on a hike, and he and Ava snuggled up in a bed together at night. And that pink Dora fishing pole he borrowed from Ava, fellas. Looks like we need to get him one of his own.This picture is after Matt fell in the water. Apparently he and Ava were laying on their tummies on the dock with their nets in the water, and I guess Matt got a little too wiggly. Splash. At least he had a vest on, right? And Steven said once his head popped up out of the water he immediately grabbed for the dock. I know he had a good time, and I look forward to us all heading out there together some time soon. While those guys were away Will and I had a lot of quality time together. What a sweet baby he is. He's really been talking a lot and "exercising" as I like to call it on his play mat. It's adorable to see him focusing so hard on willing his hands to reach the toys above him, and then he gets so excited when he gets one in his grasp. Cutie pie. He's 3 months old today. Wild!!!

A New Era

We've had both rain and sunshine here lately, and truly some beautiful spring days. Since we know those fair-weather days are numbered before the oppressing heat sets in, we've been trying to get out and enjoy the outdoors. We walked to the park the other day, and Matt insisted we take the bridge to get there. He had a blast running back and forth across the thing I don't know how many times. He liked the sound it made as his little feet pounded the metal surface. In fact, I think we spent most of our park time on the bridge.The other afternoon we went in the backyard and watched Steven pick up sticks and pull weeds. Matt helped some, but he also spent a lot of time on the blanket with Will and I eating goldfish.
Matt loves to bring Will his little baby toys. All of them. He encircled Will with them the other night. I took a picture of it because it was funny, and then he said, "Momma, can you take a picture of me with my blankees?" Sure, son. And finally...drumroll please...Steven made a decision on a new TV and went out and purchased it yesterday!!! You guys, you don't know how big this is. For anyone who knows Steven, they know that he thoroughly researches anything he is even considering purchasing and labors over the decision for months if not years, as is the case with the TV. He's been waiting, and waiting. We are now proud owners of a flat screen TV. Steven is all grins. And we feel so modern. Our previous TV was the one Steven bought when he graduated undergrad at UT. That was in 1999. Welcome to the new millenium, Joneses!

Easter

Our Easter celebration was wonderful. We started off the morning by watching Matt go through his Easter basket--he very carefully separated the toys from the candy, and then put his candy with all his other Easter treats he'd gathered at all the previous parties. He got some Curious George bubble bath that lasted all of 24 hours. It came with a wand in it so you could blow bubbles while in the tub...and well, Matt tumped it all out. Oh well!Then we went to church and actually made it to both Sunday School and the service. Will did beautifully in the nursery...it was the first time he'd been in there that long. He just snoozed and snoozed. The service was excellent...the music was amazing as it always is. So powerful, I always leave there feeling I've been in the holy presence of God.
We then all gathered up at Sarah & Bryan's house for a fabulous Easter lunch. Their house was packed with family and kids. The food was delicious! Here's a picture of the kids' table. Notice how Matt refused to look at the camera. Look how handsome he is though!And then he refused to eat hardly any of that yummy food. Neither did the girls. Too much candy to be had!After the adults' tummies were full, we moved to the backyard for the egg hunt. Matt was more competitive this year, but he was still slower at gathering eggs than Caroline and Mary Claire. Immediately after all the eggs were found he plunked down and ate all the snacks out of them. To prevent candy overload, most of the eggs were filled with fruit snacks and goldfish!Sarah & Zach's dad, Ron (or Papa as he is known to the kids), gave each of the kids a water gun and then subjected himself to quite a watery bath. After the fight, here's what Matt did with his:Will got passed around all day, the lucky little babe. Here he is with Pam:And here he is catching a nap with Bryan:It was a great day!!
"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead though the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection." Romans 6:4-5

A Sweaty Kid

Wow. Where to begin? Matthew was invited to Karsyn & Dyson's 4th birthday party this morning. It was at a place called Pump It Up, and the kids were told to come in their jammies. I put Matt in his footies, and as it turns out that probably wasn't the best choice since he was a sweaty mess by the end. I didn't even think about that. He didn't seem to mind though.Literally, there were dozens of kids there. I would say close to 40. Seriously. It was crazy. Tons of Matt's friends from church were there and his cousins, too. Bryan saw us arrive, so he came out to the car to give me a hand (with Steven at work I was flying solo once again), and once we got inside the doors Matt took off. That boy is not shy. He squealed and giggled and ran from one thing to the next. I think the big slide was his favorite. He enjoyed crashing into his friends. It's a whole indoor inflatable jumpy thing paradise. They played in one room for awhile and then were ushered into another room next door where there were even more inflatables. One was an obstacle course type thing that had parts you climb up and crawl through. Matt was off on his own and then the b'day kids' mom came up to me telling me that Matt needed me. I found him with tears streaming down his cheeks. He was inside the obstacle course and was so frustrated because he couldn't climb up one part of it. I couldn't help lift him out of there because I had Will strapped to me in the sling, so after much convincing he let a stranger pull him out. He then proceeded to pout for awhile. I know he was exhausted because he had been going non-stop. He finally calmed down after I handed off Will to Uncle Bryan and agreed to go through the obstacle course with him. He quickly cheered up, and we had a good time climbing and jumping together. There's Will with his Aunt Sarah. He just grinned and made eyes at everyone, the flirty boy.
We were then ushered into the party room where we sang happy birthday to both kids and enjoyed some snacks and cake. The room was packed with two huge tables full of small children and adults hugging the walls all around. We left with a treat bag and a balloon in hand, and headed home. Matt is approaching the third hour of his nap right now. Even Will has been napping all afternoon. Matt had a blast, and all the road signs we got to see on the drive home were an added bonus!
Tomorrow is Easter! YAY!

Good Friday Fun

This morning we gathered over at Joy's house to let the kids dye Easter eggs, decorate cookies, and make resurrection rolls. It's a tradition we began last year and is one I think the kids really enjoy. And the adults because we all get to enjoy the goodies! You can see that the egg dyeing began civilized, but quickly unraveled into a huge mess. I think by the end they were combining dye colors, and at one point I looked out to see Matthew stirring an egg in a bowl with his entire hand plunged into it contents. Let's just say he'll be dyed for a few days. And why I decided to put him in a white shirt today I'm not sure. It is currently soaking in the sink.Joy had the brilliant idea to make resurrection rolls--they symbolize Jesus' death on a cross and resurrection from the grave. First, you dip a large marshmallow in melted butter symbolizing how Jesus was anointed. Second, you roll the marshmallow in a cinnamon/sugar mixture which symbolizes the spices that Jesus was covered in before being sealed in the tomb. And third, you wrap up the marshmallow inside a cresent roll. After they bake in the oven, the marshmallow melts leaving an empty space inside the roll. Pretty cool! A great illustration for kids.The cookie decorating was a hoot. We watched as the kids piled on heaps of frosting, blanketed the tops with sugar sprinkles and precariously balanced jelly beans and peanut butter eggs on top. Matt just shoveled it in.In between activities the girls were deeply intrenched in whatever make-believe world they had created and kept emerging in different dress up outfits. After the sugar set in they got even more dramatic. Matt just ran all over the place. Now he's zonked out in the bed. Yay! And little Will just grinned and cat-napped all morning.

Katy

We had a nice, relaxing weekend at Dad & Ann's house in Katy. It was Will's first road trip! He did beautifully in the car, sweet baby. Matt was beside himself with all the road signs we passed, and that kept him entertained the entire time we were in the car. Once we got there Matt immediately asked for snacks even though we had already eaten and it was 8:15...but he knows that Ann always has special snacks for him, and sure enough she did.Saturday after a nice breakfast we headed out to the little lake that is in the neighborhood. Steven did a little fishing...or a lot of casting, you could say. No fish. Matt hit the playground for a few minutes but was mainly focused on the snacks we'd packed and the bread we'd brought to feed the ducks.Matthew was very taken with their garden in the backyard. He helped Ann plant some cucumber seeds. Hopefully we can make it back right when those tomatoes are ripe for the picking!Ann had also gotten a super-cool bubble machine that Matt loved. We had a lovely afternoon of playing outside, and finished the day with a delicious steak dinner. My dad is still the grill master. We headed out Sunday morning to make it back in time for our church's young adult picnic and egg hunt.There were hordes of people and children there...much more than they were expecting, so it was a little wild. But, Matt got right in the middle of it and fetched his eggs right alongside the big kids. I still had to convince him to collect all his eggs first before eating their contents. Last year he would find and egg and then sit and eat whatever was in it while his cousins snatched up the rest of the eggs. I think this year he'll be a little more competitive...but we'll see. The boy loves his candy treats. It was a great weekend, and this week we look forward to more Easter celebrations at Matt's preschool and with our family. I love Easter. It is probably my favorite holiday. I love what it means mostly--God loves ME, the filthy sinner that I am enough to sacrifice His one and only Son who is spotless in His eyes to save ME. I can't even fathom it, but I am eternally grateful for such grace.

Berry Pickin'

This morning we made the trek out to Marble Falls to pick some beautiful fresh strawberries at the farm there. It was a gorgeous, sunny day but probably the windiest as well. The wind nearly knocked down our little 3 year olds. I think the only thing holding them to the ground was the vast amount of mud caked onto their little shoes due to the recent rains we've had. Will wasn't even phased by the wind...he slept through the whole thing in the baby bjorn. Due to the weather conditions, we had the speediest strawberry picking ever. Thankfully, there were loads of beautiful ones right within our reach so we didn't have to traipse up and down every aisle. The berries were huge this year! I hadn't been in 2 years.Much has changed since then. The kids have grown so much they don't even look the same, and sweet little Audrey is no longer with us. Looking at that picture makes me sad, but that was really a fun day that I have fond memories of. Here's a picture of Knox, Ava, & Matt peeking out of the ladybug. By looking at Ava's hair you can tell the wind force that we were up against.Rather than risk watching our packed lunches blow away, we scrapped that idea and headed for shelter and lunch at the local McDonald's. Matt wolfed down his entire happy meal down to the last bite. It was impressive.Then, when we got home rather than nap Matt decided to unload the bathroom cabinet of its contents and sit in the middle of it. It was a fun day. Will slept through 98% of it. Good baby.Now the men are outside washing our very dirty car. I think Will and I will go join them!