Pictures are on their way

Last night we had Nate's two year pictures taken by Stacey Clack. What a blast! First of all, Nate was really working the camera - apparently when he gets to be a big boy all on his own, he really enjoys the limelight.

Of course, toward the end he had enough of the smiling - so mommy was running and jumping around like a maniac to make him laugh. Thank goodness my antics are still hilarious to a 2 year old!

The best part was when he leaned up against a wall, crossed his arms across his chest and crossed his little legs. What a stud!

I can't wait until the previews are up... don't worry I'll attach a link when they are!

Apples the Giraffe

This morning Bri asked for a Giraffe.

"Mommy, I would like to have a giraffe for a pet. Do you know what I will name him? I will name him Apples. Know why? Because he has a long-long-LONG neck and if I find an apple tree he can reach up and get me an apple to eat".

Mother's Day

Yesterday was mother's day. I woke to hear Bri saying "Happy Mudder's day!" and giving me a big hug. Nate simply repeated "mama" over and over (but I knew what he meant).

The kids each gave me a willow tree figure that represented them. Nate's is a little boy sitting cross-legged and looking up into the sky. It is called "Imaginative Child". Bri's is a little girl, also sitting, that says "thoughtful child". They are a wonderful addition to my collection. Even more, I'll remember the looks on their faces as they each presented me with a gift from them.

Pics from Dad's Camera

My dad has this amazing digital camera, so when we're over at their house, I tend to use that rather than my little quick pic. So here are some of the photos it took me a while to load to a CD.

First off - we have Nate's first haircut. He's none to happy about the whole process.

Of course, there was Benny's birthday. Look at these two boys! Aren't they fabulous? I'm a lucky Mommy/Auntie!

And, of course, why bother with a fork when you can just pick the cake up and eat it?

Easter Eggs!

When I was a kid I can remember that one of the best traditions around Easter was the coloring of Easter eggs. Each year we would gather at my Grandma Elzinga's with all of the cousins and aunts. Everyone lived out of town (relative to Grandpa and Grandma and my family), so anytime we were all in the same place was excitement enough, but this got even better:

My grandma would cover the table in her kitchen with newspaper and each of us would select one of Grandpa's old shirts to wear. I can remember that they were so big that they almost swallowed us whole, but that just made it even more silly-and more memorable.

Accross the table there would be a spread of green and white correll tea cups full of egg dye. We each had at least a dozen eggs and we would go to town. Crayons, shrink wraps, eggs and more would cover the table. The mess was impressive. Even more impressive was the relative calm that was maintained by my Grandmother. I can't even imagine right now what it would be like to have eleven kids ranging in age from toddler to teenager using dye, of all things, at my kitchen table! Still she did it with grace - or maybe I was just so into the eggs that I missed any moment of panic!

I'll always remember those special times. So, as my kids grow, it is so important to me to make sure that Jeff and I are creating traditions that will last them a lifetime.

My mom is now the Grandma and, in fine Elzinga tradition, she opened up her kitchen to not only her Grandkids, but her great-neice as well. My cousin Robin and her daughter Macy were able to join us as a new tradition began. Here is just a little taste of my kids' first adventure with egg dye:

Here's Macy with her hands covered in dye. Doesn't she look just like Robin?

It took some real scrubbing to get all those patties clean!

Nate showing off his eggs

Bri making an egg in her favorite color- orange

In an effort to protect clothing - we stripped her down and let her wear an apron!

(Notice the coffee mugs on the table for Dye? Just like at Grandma's!)

Brianna-isms

Brianna was running through the living room with a knitted scarf, twirling it above her head. She was busy playing pretend.

"Bri, what is the scarf for?" asked Grandma

"It's a lasso" responded Bri.

"Why do you need a lasso?" Grandma persisted

"Baby Jesus got out of the grave and he's running away" was Bri's simple answer.

Oh Boy! I think she missed somethign in the Easter story.

An Egg-citing Morning!

Sorry folks, I just couldn't help myself with the pun. On Saturday Ivanrest, CRC had their community-wide Easter Egg hunt. This is the first year that we thought both kids would really enjoy it. Plus, it was actually nice out... who could ask for more?

Here is Bri with her bag all ready to go. Check out all those eggs behind her!

Here we have Maddie, Bri and Nate all (almost) looking in the general direction of the camera. Of the many shots I attempted, this is the closest I had to an actual group shot. Bri picking up her Easter eggs. She was a bit overwhelmed and would walk into the middle of a cluster, pick up just one egg, then move on to the next group. I kept saying "Bri there are more, there are more!" Still, she had her method and while she may not have gotten as many eggs, she sure had a great time!

Here is Nate "hunting" for eggs of his own. He was so tentative, it was really fun to watch as he became more comfortable around the kids and started to get the concept of grabbing for more.

Grandpa Jim is somewhere under there!

He's giving Bri a boost so she can watch Nate's egg hunt.

What good-looking guys I live with!