Picnic at the Park

Easter weekend we had some nice weather, so we packed up lunch on Saturday and headed to the park for a picnic and some play time.

Liv had a heck of a time. Mainly she kept busy throwing pretzels everywhere and shoving fruit in her mouth.

Dee spent her time begging and stealing food from the kids whenever she could. Which was often.

Ben insisted on keeping his PJs on all day, including our trip to the park. But he accented them with his favorite "Superman" jacket. Quite a look! I took off my shoes, so Ben had to do the same, of course. Which is a pain because he took off his socks too, and then had to get it all back on to go to the bathroom, and then off again to finish eating, and then on again to go play...

Note the pretzels and oranges smashed in Liv's fists. Oh, this kid!

Then it was time to play. Liv LOVES sitting in the cars.

She has enjoyed the swing in the past but wanted out after a few minutes this day. This is her when she wants out. She basically just gives up and lets her body hang. As I said before, oh, this kid.

The slide was a big hit though.

Liv was getting tired and Ben didn't want to go yet, so Liv and I packed it up and went home while Dad stayed with Ben to play a little longer. On our way home, Liv discovered the wheels of the stroller and was quite fascinated.

Basketball

Ben is really into basketball these days. I tried to capture a video of him playing, but, unfortunately, Dee is also really into basketball these days. She thinks she is on the team, and tried to get the rebounds. Would be cuter if she didn't bark incessantly the entire time and sometimes deflate the ball when she bites into it. Ben calls her "basketball doggy" when she plays.

As you'll see here, Ben loves to pretend the kids' chairs are the timeout bench. He will take a few shots, then take a "breather" and ask us to call him back in to the game.

You might also notice that I still have not painted the fireplace wall. I was leaning toward the lighter color, and then decided I want to go even lighter to lighten up this overly brown space. So back to square one. It is on my list of things to complete in 2014. We'll see...



I tried to get another video after we put Dee outside, but it wasn't too great.

Ice Cream!

We took the kids to Oberweis after dinner last Friday. Have I mentioned before how much Olivia likes ice cream? And how sweet Ben is to her?

He shared his ice cream with her, giving her bite after bite. And the fact that it was Ben dishing it out made it all the tastier in Liv's book.

Let's Take a Ride

Livvie really likes to ride in her stroller, and Ben really likes to push a stroller. Match made in heaven.

Sorry for the poor quality pictures. They were moving fast. ;-)

Checking the tires. Safety first!

This lasted for at least 20 minutes. I've said it before and I'll say it again--Ben is an awesome big brother.

Easter Sunday

We had a great Easter this year. Ben woke up early, ready to see what the Easter bunny brought.

Like the cruel mother that I am, I made him put on these bunny ears for a photo. He was already in the middle of finding the eggs the Easter bunny had left for him (filled with jelly beans--his current favorite), so his cooperation came begrudgingly but it was much appreciated!

Then we checked out the baskets!

Livvie was thrilled to be in the midst of things, but had no clue what was going on. She didn't care much about anything in her basket. She just wanted to play with the plastic eggs and faux grass.

Next, it was time for breakfast. Mike made Ben and me biscuits and gravy. It's a favorite, and we rarely have it anymore, so it was a treat. Mike and Liv had scrambled eggs. Ben brought his new friends from the Easter bunny to breakfast. Man, does this kid love stuffed animals. So cute!

We had a lazy morning and played a bit, and then headed to Nana and Papa's for Easter dinner. We were so lucky to get a beautiful day, so we spent the majority of our time outside.

Liv crawled around on the deck and got her cute little dress and shoes filthy, but she had a heck of a time doing it. She was such a trooper all day. She took shorter than usual naps, and was up playing and hanging out from 2-7:30. I was really impressed with how good she was for such a long stretch on little sleep. She never cried or fussed. She was just happy to play, be held, and be at the party. This ones a party girl!

After dinner, the kids opened up their baskets from Nana and Papa. Can you tell that Liv was really into it; that's her climbing over Mike. ;-)

Happy Easter!

Easter Eggs

Saturday afternoon, we colored our Easter eggs. At 4, this is the perfect age for this activity. Ben is young enough to be super interested but old enough to exercise a little care. Unlike last year, when he ate the dye tablets. :-) Olivia, not so much. We tried to have her at the table with us, but she was just acting crazy and didn't want to sit still, so Mike took her to another room to play while Ben and I colored eggs. Poor Liv. Better luck next year.

Before bed, Ben built a house of legos for his new cats, and then tucked them all in for a nap. The Easter bunny sent us these cats from Amazon and they arrived Saturday afternoon. The Easter bunny was going to put them in Ben's basket, but Ben saw the box being delivered and wanted to see what was inside, so Mom explained that the Easter bunny didn't want them to be late and had them sent ahead to make sure they arrived in time for Easter!

That tall part is the chimney, so Santa can deliver presents.

Here is the cast of characters: Mommy cat, baby Meow Meow, Daddy cat, and baby Bunny. I have no idea why that little bunny gets carried along with the cats, but Ben insists that he is part of their family. Okie dokie.

Then I made everyone put these on. Good times!

Racetrack or Chair?

I recently brought out this old toy of Ben's, and Liv was smitten. Although, she is much more interested in seeing if she can go for a spin. She also loves to put her dollies in there and watch them spin around. No cars for this princess!

But I know this is normal "kid" behavior (at least for our kids), because Ben did this very same thing at right around the same age.

On a side note, how thrilled does Mike look with me taking pictures?

Visiting the Gresholdts

I was going through photos and found these from our visit to the Gresholdt's a few weeks ago. Ben adores Adelaide (and Lesli, Mark, and Oliver too), and asked if he could go over to play.

Here are the three of them getting ready for their bike ride. Here comes trouble!

And speaking of trouble, I think we'll need to watch these two when they get a little older. Adelaide is feeding Ben already!

Also note the kiddie chairs that they stacked on top of the regular chair.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Sunday morning Mike had a craving for Egg Harbor, and we were finally having some nice weather (not that it lasted long), so we headed to downtown Naperville for breakfast.

After we ate, we took a walk along the Riverwalk and fed the ducks and geese. Livvie was intrigued, and Ben was excited, as always.

Side note: Ben has been wearing this plaid jacket every day, because he recently discovered the original Superman moving (with Christopher Reeve), and is loving it. This jacket looks just like the one Clark Kent wears in the movie, so Ben is smitten.

When we got home, Liv was ready for her nap, and it was time for Dad to fix the flat tire on the Pathfinder that we'd noticed as we were heading out to breakfast (in the car).

Luckily, it was just a screw in the tire that was the problem, so Mike pulled it out, plugged it, and took it to the gas station to fill with air.

Ben and I supervised and kept ourselves busy with bikes, chalk, and bubbles (and a little garage sweeping and cleaning when I could sneak away).

That aftternoon it rained and the next day it snowed, but at least we enjoyed the nice weather while we could. Spring, where are you?