Build a "Puppy"

Claire received a gift card from my brother for Christmas to Build a Bear Workshop. Since we had a few things to do at the mall tonight, we decided to take her to do this fun activity. The only other time she has built a bear, it was to give to her baby sister when she was born. Claire was excited about making one for herself! I was not surprised that instead of a bear, she picked a puppy. She has several stuff animals she's collected over the past four years, but her favorites right now are her puppies.

Giving it a hug to see if it is perfectly cuddly after stuffing...

Here's its heart, now make a wish....

and give it a kiss before we put it in....

Giving it a bath....

Here she is naming her puppy. She decided she wanted this one to be a girl named Princess. She got a pink collar and pink bows for her ears and tail!

Enjoying a carousel ride before heading home....

Welcoming her home....

Claire with all of her puppies and in her puppy pajamas!

Flowers in bloom!

Claire has been so excited that flowers and trees everywhere are starting to bloom. Our azaleas look so lovely right now. We just love the colors that spring brings to us!

Who needs toys...

...when you have a straw to chew on! This is one of Ava's favorite pass-times! We only allow her to do this supervised of course; I am still a little scared she'll poke herself in the eye!

Excuse this house

I love to have a clean and tidy home, but that isn't always easy or possible with small children. I sometimes find myself stressing about whether or not the dishes are done or obsessing over picking up toys, so I really needed the message I took away from our MOPS meeting yesterday. We had a session on organizing your home, and the following poem shared during that session gave me sort of a new perspective.

Excuse This House

Some houses try to hide the fact
That children shelter there,
Ours boasts it quite openly,
The signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges are on the doors.
I should apologize, I guess
For toys strewn on the floor.

But I sat down with my children
And we played and laughed and read
And if the doorbell doesn’t shine,
Their eyes will shine instead.

For when at times I’m forced to choose
The one job or the other,
I’d like to be a good housewife,
But first I’ll be a mother.

- Author Unknown

I hope this inspires you (as it did me) to try and spend less time worrying about what housework/tasks you can accomplish and spend more time enjoying your kids!

Finding the Mountains

We recently made a very quick trip to the mountains in East Tennessee. Claire kept asking us, "When are we going to find the mountains?" We didn't have time to do much, but we did ride the sky lift to the top of the mountain early in the evening to enjoy the view.

Hmmm...take a look below at who gets a more "enthusiastic hug," and tell me who you think she prefers!

It was warm during the day.... (enjoying ice cream)

...chilly at night. (in front of the fire at the hotel)

We also saw the Easter Bunny while we were there, and visited the Aquarium of the Smokies....

Sometimes I think it would be nice to be pushed around in a comfy stroller...

Here were some of our favorite creatures!

Easter Sunday

Our family had a wonderful Easter Sunday! The girls spent some time in the morning looking through their Easter baskets before getting ready for church.

Claire's favorite item was this little bracelet with a whistle on it. Guess how long it was before we were ready to "lose it" (in more ways than one)?



Ava seemed to really like her new book....



Last year, we bought these Resurrection Eggs to help teach Claire the meaning of Easter in a fun way. As soon as we bring the Easter items out of storage, she can't wait to play with them and asks to get them out often. She was so sad to see them put away. Now that she is getting old enough to understand these things, I really want to think of/add more traditions surrounding this special holiday to celebrate our risen Saviour. I am so grateful for the sacrifice that was made on our behalf!

I thought I would include what's typical when I am trying to photograph my sweet girls. Claire is distracted and looking at something besides the camera (this time, it's something on her finger), and Ava crying because she just wants to GET UP!

It works out much better if they are just in their natural habitat!



After a fabulous church service, we went to lunch at my mom's house with some extended family. Here are the girls with their cousin, Katelyn.

After lunch, we had a little egg hunt in the backyard. Claire has become such a pro! She filled up her basket, then filled Ava's....

Ava got extremely upset when we tried to set her in the grass for some pictures. It wasn't until then that I remembered we experienced the exact same thing when Claire was a baby. I wonder what is so scary about grass?!

A precious smile from my sweet baby!

Sunday School Egg Hunt

Our Sunday School Class Easter Social was rained out a few weeks ago, but we were finally able to have it yesterday. It was still a bit chilly out (Ava was bundled, so we don't really have any good pics of her there), but it was the perfect location with lots of room to run and play! We enjoyed great food, a devotional for the kids, an egg hunt and games.

Hunting eggs...


I got a gold one!.....now what's the big deal about this again?



Look mommy, I won a prize! Actually, I think maybe daddy won it doing a sack race.....Anyway, doesn't this look like a Pantene ad with all that hair blowing in the wind?!



Here's Claire in the egg race, and yes, they said it was okay for the kids to cheat! :)



Since we really weren't able to get any good shots of Ava at the event, we tried to grab a few when we got home.

Look, one hand! And she's already been brave enough to let go a few times!

Our little helper

Claire loves to help us clean - well, for a few minutes anyway! As we were preparing the house for company this weekend, Claire begged to help with the floors. My sister got us a swivel sweeper for Christmas, and it has really been a quick way to clean up small messes (like under the kitchen table). It is also lightweight enough for Claire to use, is rechargable and has a little button at the bottom to release the dirt/crumbs into the trash. She loves it and so do we!