Easter Sunday 2014

 Brian had to go out of town around lunch on Easter Sunday, so the kids and I spent the day relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Post-bath cuddles with Dad.

My three little kiddos!

Sydney wanted her own pictures taken.

Since Sydney got her own picture taken, Wes wanted one too.

Cuddling with Ruth outside.

I love my baby girl!

Easter Bunny Saturday 2014

We celebrate "Easter Bunny Saturday" in our house. However, there is no actual Easter Bunny that comes to our house. The kids know that Mom and Dad gave them their presents and hid the eggs. It made it much easier for us to give them hints on where to find their eggs!

Something I did differently this year was to label 12 jumbo eggs with the first letter of each child's name. Inside, I put some candy and a few puzzle pieces to a new puzzle (Ruth got a little candy and Apple Jacks). Then they had to find their own letter and knew exactly how many to find. I think it worked well!

The girls got new Easter Sunday dresses and Wes got a new tie. They also got a few new outside toys (kites, buckets/shovels, badminton birdies, a water table). When Sydney saw her new dress, she came up to me and gave me a big hug and said, "Thank you, Mom!"

Wes counting his eggs to see how many he still had left to find.

Sydney counting hers as well.

Peeps (and Legos) for breakfast!

Sydney reading her Easter book. It's a tradition that we get them Easter books every year.

Ruth slept in but knew exactly what to do when she found her eggs. It helps that she loves putting various things into containers.

It was definitely a fun game for her.

Ruth enjoying some of her jelly beans and Apple Jacks.

Later, Sydney was sitting on my lap and I was trying to do her hair. Ruth had to come and sit right in between us. It's going to be tough to fit three little girlies on my lap!

I love seeing my kids read books. I know I've mentioned that before...

Wes also had a baseball practice that day. There was something so serene and wonderful about heading out with my daughters on a beautiful Saturday morning to watch my son and his dad play some baseball.

Most of the rest of the day was spent outside testing out the water table, playing Legos, jumping on the trampoline, and just enjoying the weather.

In the afternoon, I noticed how much of her own candy Sydney had eaten (the bowl), compared to how much Wes had eaten from his stash. I thought it was pretty typical of the two of them.

Wesley's 7th Birthday

Wes turned 7 on April 16th. He had school and piano lessons, so it was a pretty typical day for the most part.

We let him open one present at breakfast. It was a new watch. He has loved it. He can set a timer or a stop watch, tell the time and date, and the face lights up. He thinks it's pretty cool.

Wes and another kid getting sung to for their birthdays during lunch.

Brian and I took a Happy Meal to Wes and had lunch with him. He felt pretty special. That's his Happy Meal toy. He named it Om Nom.

This may be the most random birthday cake ever. Wes wanted to have people walking dogs on a 7-shaped cake. It was his idea to use his action figures and my idea to use Legos to make buildings (that are too small for the hero dog-walkers). He loved it though!

I guess Yoda could fit through one of the doors.

The Jedi Masters out casually walking their dogs...

I drove to pick up Wes from the bus and he wanted to scooter home so I drove slowly by him.

Mike and Jennie and family came over and then we sang and opened presents.

Giving Ruth a "thank you" kiss for the Tic Tacs she gave him.

A hug for Sydney for the puppy poster she gave Wes. Ryan must not have been comfortable with the crazy hug. :)

A giant stuffed Mario from Grandma and Grandpa Swensen.

A random present that we gave Wes: a real Venus Fly Trap. We have yet to see it catch a fly though!

Baby #4!

On April 3rd, we found out that baby number four is going to be another girl! I was pretty shocked because I thought 100% it was a boy. It took a while to wrap my brain around it being a girl. Both Wes and Sydney wanted it to be a boy, but neither of them shed tears or anything when they found out it was a girl.

A special surprise box for the kids. They actually didn't even know I was pregnant.

It's a box of balloons! It took the kids a long time to figure out what was going on.

Last but not least! Baby #4 is a girl! 
Wes and Sydney are 18 months apart and Ruth and #4 will be 18 months apart (Ruth and Sydney are 4 year, 4 months apart). I love balance. :)

Here is the video of Wes and Sydney's reaction to the surprise balloons.