Our Easter weekend was a fun-filled and exhausting family weekend of egg hunts, 5k races, bounce houses, egg hunts, dying Easter eggs, Easter grass crazyness, potluck lunches, moody kids, meeting the Easter bunny (twice!), Easter baskets and, of course, egg hunts (yes, 3 of those - crazy!).

We did try to keep in mind the real reason for the holiday.  Nathan and I were super pumped with Mr. Bill (our preacher) read Matthew 28:1-8 as our call to worship this morning, since the memory verse Nathan's learned this past week was Matt 28:5-6. 

Anyways, lots of pictures and movies and posts to come, but all I can manage tonight is the family in our Easter best!

Sarah's 15 month appointment was scheduled for the Wednesday after our trip to Knoxville, back in February.  Exactly one week after the appointment was supposed to be, I was checking the calendar and realized that I had completely forgotten about it!  The next available well-child visit was March 12th, so she had just turned 16 months old when we actually made it to the doctor.  There wasn't anything concerning us about her development and Dr. Becky had nothing but positive things to say.  Sarah has basically leveled off in weight over the past three appointments (she's only gained 2 lbs since her 9 month appointment - crazy!), but Dr. Becky said that was normal as Sarah is now MUCH more active then she was six months ago. And she still is growing in height!  Here are her stats:

Weight:    21 lb 14.8oz (54%)
Height:     31.5 inches (66%)
Head:      18.5 inches (78%)

A few weeks ago when the grandparents were in town, Brian and I took advantage of the free babysitting (as usual) and went out for dinner.  One of our topics of conversation for the night was about our baby plans for next year - to try or not to try for a baby in Boston.  I (maybe) am going to talk about that in a whole separate post, but the short story is that we came up with our plan that night to try for a baby and the very next day God waved a big red flag in front of our faces.

Since I had been psyching myself up for going through pregnancy again and having a newborn in Boston, all of a sudden I felt a little lost.  I knew that having a baby next year would be a challenge, with Brian's work schedule and being so far away from family, and I had already started mentally preparing for that challenge.  So I thought of a new challenge that could potentially take its place: running the Boston HALF Marathon in October.

I knew there were a couple hurdles to overcome before I can really commit to this goal - one being that the last time I voluntarily ran was in college!  So I decided to get out with the kids and the stroller and give it a go.  That was about two and a half weeks ago and I've been doing pretty well for the short period of time I've been "training."  Of course, running while pushing an extra ~70lbs of stroller and kids only adds to the feeling that I'm about to collapse during a "run", especially with some of the hills we have around the house, so I've been trying to get in solo runs whenever there's another adult around to watch the kids.  I have gotten out three times a week the past two weeks (with and without kids), so I'm proud of that accomplishment in and of itself!

Of course, once we visit Boston and find a place to live and get a feel for how life's actually going to be there, THAT'S when I'll really know if I'll be able to train for a half marathon.  Since we've recently been reminded that Brian will likely be working 14 hour days, 6 days a week, every week, Brian's not going to be super available to watch the kids and I certainly can't imagine doing my long run days pushing a stroller!  But I had already been thinking about a Y membership (for the "free" babysitting) or maybe our apartment complex will have a gym - I'll just have to see what my options are!

A final obstacle is that I've never actually run in any kind of a race before, so I decided to sign myself up for my first 5k race... this weekend!  Unfortunately it was the only local race scheduled at a convenient date before we leave this summer, so it was this or nothing!  If you had asked me a month ago if I could run 3.1 miles, I would have laughed in your face.  But today I did a 2.8 mile solo run and (surprisingly) didn't have to walk once.  So I was super pumped about maybe being able to run the whole 5k... until I hopped in the car and drove the race course before heading home.  And, man, there is one crazy steep hill followed by lots of ups and downs in the last half of the race.  So, we'll see...  But I'll be proud of myself no matter how long it takes me to cross the finish line!

Nathan has tremendously impressed me with how well he's been able to memorize verses and how cooperative he is with reciting them (most of the time). He just soaks it up like a sponge!  Here are the verses he currently can recite from memory:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  Genesis 1:1

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

This last one he's been working on for a little over a week, and Brian though it might be too confusing for him, but already he's almost got it down!  I know its kind of a random verse to pick, but I like how the verse emphasizes the "love one another" and I thought this would be helpful since I am fussing at him daily to be kind to Sarah.  So I thought that I could use this verse to help him know WHY its important to be kind and gentle - because the Bible says that we should "love one another"!



Next up, for Easter:
"The angel said to the woman, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.'" Matt 28:5-6

Our daily schedule has undergone some major changes recently.  First, Sarah is finally weaned - hooray!  It happened in February right after our Knoxville trip.  I was more then ready, and although I was worried it would be a hard transition for Sarah since she knew how to ask to nurse with her "milk" sign, I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was!  I was also worried that this would disrupt our nap schedule - I knew we were almost ready to transition from two to one nap and I wasn't quite ready for her to give the morning nap up.  Thankfully I over-thought this one and she gave not a peep of complaint as I dropped each feeding, first at bedtime and then the two before-nap feedings.  After she was weaned, I realized that it had actually been a while since she was asking to nurse - I guess I timed it right since she's become almost as attached to her milk sippy as Nathan is to his!

One of the changes I wanted to make this year to our schedule was have some dedicated Bible time for the kids.  After over-thinking this one too, trying to figure out where to best fit this into our schedule, one day I finally just decided to give it a go and read one quick bible story with Nathan and Sarah before Sarah's first nap.  Nathan's always wanting to join us in Sarah's room to read books before her nap anyway, so I thought it might work well.  Well, one story in and this became our new routine before naps and bedtimes - Bible story time in Sarah's room!  Nathan immediately began requesting bible stories before afternoon naps and then at bedtime.  For some reason, his first favorite bible story was "The Tall Tower" (Tower of Babel), although I'm not really sure what made him love this story so much.  Now he's moved on to a bigger variety of stories, with the one about God calling for Samuel when he's a boy in the tabernacle as his new favorite.

We also are working on some bible verse memorization after I got inspired by a blog post I read.  We're not doing anything high pressure, I even decided that if Nathan wasn't interested in cooperating, I would just say the verse a few times by myself.  We started with Genesis 1:1 which I knew he still remembered from his toddler Sunday school class.  We quickly moved onto John 3:16, which he learned in about a week, and now we're working on John 13:34-35 which emphasizes loving one another. Nathan was super gung-ho about this for the first few weeks, but now sometimes he tells me he's "too tired" (since its right before nap or bed) to say the memory verses.  But I've decided there's no reason to force the issue and get frustrated about it, so we just say them when he's willing.

About two weeks after I stopped nursing Sarah at night,  Brian mentioned that maybe it was time for him to start putting Sarah to bed.  And it was a huge success!  In fact, this is probably the best daddy/daughter time he has with her since she's so attached to me whenever I'm around.  Brian said the other night that he was a distant fifth place in her list of favorite people, behind Nana and Gran and some mysterious fourth person.  But I'm loving that they now have some special happy time together.  Bonus - Sarah's been sleeping lots better since Brian has put her to bed.  It may be Daddy's special touch, or it could also be related to...

Sarah's dropped down to one nap!  After about five days of terrible napping in early March (skipped afternoon naps, super afternoon short naps), I finally gave in and decided to start skipping morning naps.  I have been reluctant to because I REALLY love the extra "me" time I have on Tuesdays/Thursdays when Nathan's at preschool and Sarah's napping.  I am usually SO productive with computer stuff (blogging, photo editing, etc.) during these times (since I don't do computer things while the kids are awake).  But I knew it wouldn't last all year and I'm just thankful it lasted as long as it did.  The benefit, of course, is that now we're not so tied down in the mornings.  On our first no-nap day, the kids and I ran all kinds of errands, everyone was cheerful AND we got home in plenty of time to have a leisurely lunch and pre-nap routine.  Sarah really adjusted quickly to the new schedule, not getting too tired or fussy in the mornings (as long as I keep her fed), and about half the time she's already giving me a 3 hour afternoon nap - which means that I am getting back some "me" time while she sleeps and Nathan watches his post-nap TV!

With all these changes in the past month our days are now running more smoothly then ever and I couldn't be happier!

The kids with their "matching" hospital bracelets.  I'm praying that this will never happen again!

Another portrait by Nathan!

I had Nathan make homemade valentines for his six classmates and two teachers at preschool.  Partly because this kid is always asking about doing a new project, and partly because I'm not a fan of the boxed kind (though I'm sure I will change my tune in years to come!).  My big mistake, however, was waiting until Feb. 13th to shop for candy at Walmart.  I couldn't believe how picked-over the selection was - especially since I wanted to avoid most of it because it was processed with peanuts!

Here were the final results!


Sarah rocking her cool shades!


In our Sunday morning best!  This was the adorable shot that started it all...

then Nathan finally agreed to pose with Daddy and Sarah...

and finally it was Mommy's turn!

The kids ask to have frosted mini wheats for breakfast EVERY MORNING.  Sarah usually also eats half a piece of cinnamon toast and Nathan also wants one occasionally.  And prunes are a mandatory breakfast item in this house!  Saturday mornings I've started the tradition of making homemade buttermilk biscuits for breakfast.  Somehow Nathan would always know it was "big-etts" day, possibly because its the day Daddy would still be in bed when he came in for his morning cuddle (ie. iphone time while Mommy and Daddy snooze). 

I made hummus last week and it was a huge hit with both kids!  Nathan and I were chomping down on baby carrots dipped in hummus and Sarah was picking it up and eating it with her fingers! So I got her a bowl and spoon and Nathan quickly requested one as well!  The kids and I devoured my first batch in about three days (I don't think Brian even got a taste), so the I made a double batch and I think we're on track for it to last about a week.  I think Sarah would eat hummus with a spoon for every meal if I would let her!

After we came back from Knoxville, it was time to get the derma-bond out of Nathan's eyebrow.  It was not a fun night when Brian and I had to hold Nathan down so Brian could cut it out.  And now Nathan has half an eyebrow on that side. Hopefully it will grow back in soon!

This is how Sarah always greets Princess:


Nathan's decided his favorite color is blue, but he is still an equal opportunity color-lover.  He told me the other day "Dark blue and light blue are my favorite colors, but I like different colors too!"

Here are the few iphone photos that I also took during our stay in Knoxville.

The kids and I spent the day Saturday at Nana and Grand Dad's house since Gran, Grandmother and Granddaddy had errands to run.  We spent the morning hanging out at the house then headed to the playground after naps.  It was a beautiful day to be outside!



Granddaddy was working on a new project carving Moravian stars (how appropriate, right!) and the whole weekend Nathan was carrying around a small star that Granddaddy had carved as practice.  Much to our delight, Granddaddy gave it to Nathan after burning Nathan's initials into the wood. 

 Other Memories:

The coo-coo clock was a big hit with both kids for the first time.  We would all wait in eager anticipation of it going off, usually accompanied by the maniacal laughter of Nathan.

Someone got The Bumper Book out and I listened, as waves of nastalgia rolled over me, to Grandmother reading to Nathan "A was once an apple pie...".  Then randomly I was blog hopping and saw that this poem has been published in its own book!  There's now a copy on the way to our house!

The pool table was a big hit once again, and this time Sarah was old enough to join in with the fun.  She and Nathan took turns standing on the piano bench at the side of the table or on the foot stool at the ball return.  Her favorite part was dumping the balls back into the pockets!

Nathan discovered a box full of "treasurers" in the playroom closet and he and Sarah had a blast playing with them.  There were some little colored birds that Nathan really liked, which accidentally made their way home with us (in my pockets!).  Sarah's favorite part was shaking out all the little bits and pieces onto the table and then loading them back into the tin so they could be shaken out all over again!