Easter Baskets 2013

Today I am linking up with my friend Sarah and her Easter basket showcase.  Believe it or not, I am basically done with the kids Easter baskets!  That is a lot coming from this procrastinator!  Of course, I am sure to be out the day before...still need to grab the kids some new coloring books and crayons since it has become a daily activity.

A did a few individual items and a few things to share...

Didn't get the Tinkerbell one, just Cars.  I actually picked up both of these the end of last summer specifically as Easter gifts.  Can't believe I didn't cave earlier and break them out!  These are to share but I will put the paint in Laney's basket and the tattoos in Cooper's basket...i think.

Adam bought this while waiting on us at swim lessons a few weeks back.  I am having him write a note inside and it will be for both kids.

 Some fun Spring/Summer items...

 I also got her cute aqua linen shorts to match (Old Navy).  

 Coop wears them at swim lessons so hopefully it will carry over to the pool this summer. (Nike, picked up at TJ Maxx)

For my SuperHero fanatic (Old Navy)

Swimsuit cover up!  (Old Navy)

I can't believe Easter is this weekend...with March Madness it snuck up on us!

Our Artists

Just recently both kids have blossomed (for lack of a better word at 12:09am) in their coloring/drawing skills.  Laney is finally happy to color for longer than 30 seconds and really enjoys it.  Cooper is really getting into drawing pictures more than coloring.

 Laney's favorite cabinet, all markers, stickers, craft stuff.  She destroys it every.single.day.  I don't even attempt to clean it up until after bedtime.

This morning I was in the laundry room and heard a sound...not the sound of a 1 year old sitting at a table coloring in her book.  Yep, there is a first time for everything and in today's case it was crayon colored walls.

 She was not happy to have the colors taken away.  This is the "I'm sorry" picture we sent to Dad.

 She was equally into cleaning it up.  Thanks to my friend Carolyn's advice, these Magic Erasers did the trick and our walls are crayon free again.

I sure hope the Easter Bunny brings this girl some new coloring books!  Other than this Mickey Mouse one, all we have are monster trucks and Spiderman.

Yay Coop!

Imaginary Friends

Oh yeah, we have hit that stage and I love it!  Cooper has been into Superheros for a few months now but they have just recently 'become alive.'  It's began with Robin (yes, of Batman and Robin) but yesterday/today, Aquaman, Flash, and Green Lantern have joined us.

I am often hear, "Mom, you forgot to let Robin in the car."  "Robin and Aquaman want some breakfast too."  Out of bed after 10 one night to tell me, "Robin is thirsty Mom and needs a drink."  Today he woke from nap and rushes downstairs to tell me, "Mom, we left Aquaman and Flash at the gym this morning."

This tower is at the entrance to our neighborhood.  The past week he has told me that his where his superhero friends live.  He waves and yells 'hi' to them if they aren't with us.

 Robin joined us at dinner one night...Coop even fed him french fries.

He's telling Robin to smile for the picture :).

Smile Fridays - week 37

March Madness edition...duh.  Wasn't sure there was going to be anything to smile about this Friday after that lackluster performance from my Hawks!  We pulled off a W but you know Roy's boys will be ready for us on Sunday.

Oh my gosh, please watch.  I adore this kid and want to adopt him...and not because he is going to be a millionaire in the next several months.  

My friend Jenny and her family are here visiting her family (and our good friends!).  All 7 of these kids did lots of playing together today/tonight.  They are all products of KU graduates...can you tell?  Will we be spending Mom's/Dad's weekends together in 15 years???  That makes me smile!

The first 2 days of the tourney we watch more TV than we do in a whole week!  It's educational for the kids, right?  

Here's what I got.  Had a pretty solid 1st round...minus Wisconsin and Georgetown.  Adam and I have our brackets against some friends...the losing couple buys the winners dinner.  Let me know when you want to pay up Trish ;).

March Visitors - part 3

Grandma, Aunt Alli, Aunt Tara and Gunner made the trip down to visit us this past week.  The weather was finally beautiful for visitors!  In fact the day they arrived the girls and I got some sun on the patio while the kids napped.  We shopped, ate good food, did some crafting and spent lots of time playing with the kids in the backyard.

 My dad wasn't actually here, but we had some plumbing issues so we Skyped him in :).  Let's not feel too bad for him not being here...he went to 2 days of the Big 12 Tournament.

 Trouble, cute trouble, the best kind.  Let's hope Laney doesn't do this (topless in car with boy) in 15 years. :)  These 2 were often fighting for the same toy...reason they are both squeezed in this car.

 

 It was even warm enough to go pantless and play in the water table!  Woo-Hoo!  Coop was highly annoyed by the babies splashing.

Cousin storytime...love all those tiny toes together.

While Coop was at school the babies helped us shop.

I didn't get one group pic :( fail.

March Visitors - Part 2

We are having such a good time with all of our March visitors that I can barely keep up with them on here!

The 2nd weekend of March we had our good friends, The Kluesners, visiting from St. Louis.  We sure missed you Alfermann family...next time!  With 5 kids under 5 we did a lot of letting the kids play, cooking in, and drinking wine.  It was such a great few days, come back soon Kluesners! 

 It was their first time to Fort Worth so we just had to take them to the Stockyards!  I love this picture for Parker's expression...the stockyards don't exactly smell like roses ;).

These 2 have been friends since Coop was just a baby!  They get along great and are just so darn cute together!

 Oh my gosh, I loved getting to hang with this sweet newborn baby boy!  I quickly remembered how baby boys just melt your heart.  Cooper was lovin' on sweet baby George all weekend.  I wish I had video of the way he talked to him.  He has since told me we should name our (unborn, unconceived :)) baby boy, George.

The big kids at their own table for meals.

There was lots of coloring and time in PJs!

 The whole gang before bed.

This 3 had lots of fun together and played so well.  And how pretty are these 2 girls?!  

Thanks for making the trip friends!!!

Dancing with the Stars

Am I missing the Bachelor on Monday nights?  Nope, because we love us some Dancing with the Stars!  And by we, I mean myself and Cooper.  Adam cringes at the intro song.  Coop's favorite thing is to watch for contestants wearing gloves :).  He was a busy bee during tonight's episode, asking a million questions, judging dances and then taking part.  He and I put on a few performances for our judges...Grandma, Alli, and Dad.  Clearly the kid watches the contestants closely when they get 10's...watch for his reaction.   It was even funnier in person, thought I was going to pee my pants.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day, Selection Sunday (with a #1 seed for the Hawks), Sunshine and 70's = a pretty perfect day!  Oh yeah and Grandma, Aunt Alli, Aunt Tara and Gunner were here too!

 Grandma brought the kids Easter gifts...Coop got a superhero cape and was pretty stoked.

 But the skittles may have been his favorite.  In his words, "these are so, so yummy!"

 Cousins!

 This really was a hug, not the chokehold it appears to be.

 It isn't a holiday without Grandma's sugar cookies!

 Cooper was insistent on sprinkling his own cookies.

Shop my fab green necklace here and my bracelets here.

Green beer was served on Saturday night in cheers to our Big 12 tournament championship!

Hope you all had a great day!

Smile Friday/Saturday/Sunday

Remember this post from my 28 Days of Love?  I had a 24 hour flash Stella & Dot online fundraiser show.  I am so, so happy to report that from it I was able to donate $110 to Food for the Soul!!  My goal was $95 to feed one child every weekend of the school year.  And a HUGE congrats to Amanda Dieckhaus that won the raffle for jewelry credits! You can see the official drawing here :).  Thank you to all that contributed, you helped make a BIG difference in a child's life!

Wow...where do I begin with my incredible Jayhawks???  Seriously.  No, really, I have been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to decide what to post without sound completely crazy or having 30 pictures.  

Ok, first let's start with this article about Uncle Bill.  One word, brilliant.  

Then there's this video, http://youtu.be/Ct2CnwF2Mtw.  Please watch around the 1:25 mark...Elijah Johnson presents Uncle Bill with a ball marking his 500th victory (brilliant, again.), he goes on to imitate McClemore's infamous dance.

Oh yeah, not only are we BIG 12 CHAMPS for the 9th season, we also won the Big 12 Tournament by beating our rival KSU for the 3rd time this year.  Man, these championships just never get old.

We are so lucky to be so loved that our door is revolving with visitors, just loving it.  They are also to blame for my lack of blog posts ;).  

Hello Spring!

Don't get me wrong, we have had plenty of nice days and very few miserable days, but this week really feels like we are headed in the right direction (hello 80s) and not looking back (bye-bye 40/50s).  I couldn't be happier, combine the weather and our new patio=one happy outdoor family.  The kids and I spent most of today in our backyard, it was awesome!

We love a picnic!

 March Madness is here!  Our Hawks won today...does that mean the kids and I will be wearing the same KU shirts the rest of the month??  Probably ;).  Love my bracelet stack you KU fans??  Shop them here and here.

This guy joined us for short bit until Dad stepped in and took care of business.  Lizards are one thing, but snakes???  Really?  Ugh.

 The ever popular colored rice.

 This little busy body sat here and played for over 20 minutes!

 Lola loves the sun as much as us.

Man, that cheesy smile kills me.  side note...he is dressing himself these days...shirts, pants, underwear are often on backwards and he doesn't care so neither do I.