Kids + Ice Cream =

Taylor's Dalmatian

I just love when Taylor draws something, especially when it's not me asking her to do it. It's fun to see her what her little mind comes up with.

Super Dog and Mighty Cat

The girls LOVE to play Super Dog and Mighty Cat. Today they decided they needed capes, so they pulled out their blankets and asked Tom to put them on. I love watching them play make-believe.

I added a few more pictures, so you can see some more of the normal Taylor/Payden craziness when we try to take pictures. Of course, Shelby is left still posing while Taylor and Payden are goofing off.

Watching TV

I was making dinner while the girls watched TV. Shelby gets to watch only 2 shows on school days - Cyberchase and Fetch. They're on PBS and very educational, and the girls LOVE them. I peeked in on them, and this is what I saw.



Taylor watched the entire show that way. She's such a silly girl.

Dyeing Easter Eggs

After naps, we pulled out our 15 colors and our boiled eggs and started coloring eggs. Of course, Shelby and Taylor were very concerned about their clothes getting dirty, so they immediately stripped down to their undies; they love being naked and use any excuse to strip down.

I must say it's a bit crazy dyeing eggs with 3 little ones. Shelby does well on her own, but Taylor and especially Payden have a hard time being gentle enough. Payden went crazy, trying to stir the water while the eggs were in. I'm surprised I made it without any dye on my clothing because she was sloshing dye EVERYWHERE.

The girls had fun though and of course the best part is eating the eggs (I love boiled eggs). Tom took lots of pictures; I tried to pick the most modest, so hope you don't mind a little skin:

Easter

With church at 9 am (and considering the fact that we have a tough time making it to church on time), the girls got their baskets in the morning, but had to wait to egg hunt until after church. They were really good about having to wait.



We gave them their baskets while they were in the garage, so they could start egg hunting the moment they got into the house. They sure were excited . . . can't you tell? :)



It was fun watching their different hunting personalities. Shelby is calm, finds the eggs, and puts them in. Taylor is . . . well she's Taylor. She runs, grabs, dives, and is all over the place. She did get the most eggs, but you'd better watch out for her or she might knock you over. Payden hunted for a bit, but after a few eggs, decide it was time to empty out all of her eggs and then start hunting again. She hardly had any eggs in the end, but fortunately all she cares about is doing what her sisters are doing. As long as she's part of the crowd she's happy.



After they found all the eggs, the girls love to sit down and count their eggs. I decided to use this opportunity to try and get some pictures of them with their Easter egg baskets.



Miss Payden - I love this one.



Miss Shelby



Miss Taylor - between her crazy hair and her refusal to look up for more than a second this was the best I could do.



I love getting a picture of them together in their new Easter dresses each year. Unfortunately it was time for lunch and time for naps, so it was impossible to get Payden to let go of the basket and Taylor to let me fix her hair and straighten her dress. This was the best shot I got.



Most group photos end up like this - Shelby sitting patiently and smiling nicely at the camera while Payden and Taylor look at each other and start giggling and laughing and tickling each other. I love that they love each other and have so much fun with each other, but it sure does make it hard to take a good picture of all 3 girls together.

After lunch and naps, we told the story of Jesus's Crucifixion and Resurrection. I did a craft at a Super Saturday once with 12 eggs that help tell the story and then I pull out my good old Gospel Art Kit pictures to give some visuals to go with the egg story. We do this every year and I love that when the girls think of Easter it's not just about having the Easter bunny come, but also getting to hear the story of Christ with our 12 eggs.

Taylor's Birthday - The Cake . . . Finally

It was only 2 days later, but it sure did feel like a long time. We went out with our friends Joel, Cari, and kids and came home to eat some cake and ice cream, open a present, and let the kids play.





Happy Birthday Taylor!!! We love you!

Taylor's Birthday - The Presents

The next day Taylor finally got to open the rest of her presents. Tom wasn't home, but we took pictures, so he could see. She'd had to wait long enough, so we didn't want her to have to sit at home ALL day long with those presents visible yet not be able to open them because Tom wasn't home. She wanted to have some of our friends over for cake, but they were unable to until the end of the week, so we saved the candle blowing and cake eating until then. She really handled the whole 4-part birthday celebrations well. Here is some of the pictures I took of the present openings.



She LOVES to play our go fish game and what kid doesn't love fishing, so I figured this game would be perfect . . . and I was right. The girls enjoyed it for the rest of the week. We played with Tom one night and it was a lot of fun especially as Tom taught the girls to steal fish right out from under others' fishing poles and turned it into competitive fishing. By the end fish we being pulled out and thrown everywhere and the girls were laughing and having a blast.



Shelby's had a Littlest Pet Shop for a few years as a good friend of ours got it for her on her 4th (I think it was 4th) birthday. Taylor has loved it, so it was definitely time for her own.



I Spy books are the greatest. My girls LOVE them. Taylor has an amazing memory and will look over and over the pictures so that when you read the puzzle with her the first time she already knows where many of the objects are. I hate paying full price for books, but this was one book I KNEW she'd love.



This is what happens when you don't get to open presents because it's not your birthday.

Taylor's Birthday - Dinner

Another tradition we have is that the birthday girl gets to pick a place to go out to eat for dinner. Tom's friend recommended the Rainforest Cafe, so Tom told Taylor about it and the robot animals it had. Of course, that's what she picked. It was a cool restaurant. It was like eating in a rainforest. They had huge fish tanks throughout the restaurant, a pool of water in the waiting area with a robotic crocodile in it, plants everywhere, and robotic animals everywhere. Every few minutes the animals would move and make noises, and every 15-20 minutes there would be a thunderstorm. The kids really enjoyed it. Unforunately the wait was huge!!!! We were told our wait time was 1 hr 45 mins; we only had to wait about 1 hr 15 mins, but it was such a long wait. Taylor really wanted to do it though. It was also an expensive place to eat; the food was okay, but didn't quite match with the price we paid. As a whole experience, it was worth doing . . . once. We all really had a lot of fun. It ended up being a REALLY REALLY late night, and Taylor had to agree to open her presents another day (we ended up letting her open one that night), but it was a great birthday night.



These were the cool drinks we got the girls. Taylor decided to show it off. I love her goofy face in this picture.



Shelby lost her tooth the day before and refused to eat or drink anywhere except on the right side of her mouth. She's so dramatic. At least she only has to clean up one side of her mouth after eating.



Here's the gang.



We fortunately got the corner table. This was our view of the restaurant. It's not the greatest picture, but you can see one of the fish tanks and the rainforest atmosphere.



Payden was being silly and pretending to be just exhausted (she was a little tired, but this is her playing it up). Her face just cracks me up.



Payden again, snuggling with her dad.



This elephant was behind me and would move around and make noises every few minutes.



Here I am with Taylor. I figure I'd post at least one picture of me.







This picture isn't the sharpest, but it shows the robotic butterfly above our table.



The girls all got tired on the walk to the car and I was hurting, so Tom was kind enough to pick up all 3 girls for a bit. They really enjoyed that.

Taylor's Birthday - Making the Cake

We have a few traditions that we do for each birthday. The day before the big day, we go to HEB and pay for those special carts and go on a birthday shopping trip. It's the only time we do those special carts, and it's nice because they don't ask me at any other time because they know we only do it for the special birthday shopping trip. It's a nice win-win situation; they still get to ride in it, but I don't get the whining each time I go to the grocery store with them. On the birthday shopping trip we buy cake, icing, candles, sprinkles, streamers, balloons, and ice cream. The birthday girl gets to pick everything out.

Then that night after the kids are in bed, Tom and I wrap the presents, blow up balloons, and decorate the house with balloon and streamers. When the girls wake up, they come down to a decorated family room and kitchen with birthday presents sitting on the kitchen table under a Happy Birthday sign. It's kind of like a mini-Christmas, and they love it.

Sometime during the day we make the cake. The girls LOVE helping, so they actually help through the entire process. Their favorite part is decorating. I help with the icing, of course, but then they get to sprinkle their little hearts out. This time Payden got banished to her highchair because she thinks she's a big girl and doesn't listen to instructions or accept any help. Funny girl! Here are the girls decorating the cake as well as the final product.

Shelby's Exciting Spring Break News

Shelby comes up to me this morning bleeding and crying and holding a tooth in her hand. Apparently, Taylor had elbowed her in the mouth (I was in the middle of rushing the garbage out and wasn't able to get the entire story) and out popped her wiggly tooth. I guess that's one way of doing it and, since she's already lost a tooth by eating an apple and one by just pulling it out, this method was the next one on the list. She was a bit upset about it, but I'm glad it's out because it's been wiggling for awhile. Now we get to enjoy her beautiful toofless smile. (I told her she needs to hurry up and lose the other one so she can have an even more beautiful smile.)

A Nasty Lip

Tom came back from basketball and told me he'd hurt his lip. I could see the bruising, and it didn't look too bad . . .




. . . until he opened his mouth and showed me this.



I guess it's better than a sprained ankle or hurt elbow or hurt knee (some of his usual basketball injuries). Good ole church basketball.

Sleeping like an Orme

I looked in on Payden during her nap, and she was doing this:





Payden is definitely an Orme. First, all 3 of the girls love sleeping with their arms above their head like that. They don't fall asleep like that, but ALWAYS move to that position in their sleep. When they were younger, about Payden's age and younger, if they were sitting in their carseat and were tired, they would do that, too. We have always loved when our girls get into the Orme sleeping position. It is just too cute.

Second, her legs. It is such a funny position to sleep in, but she's not the only one who does it. I can't remember if Shelby and Taylor do it, but for sure, Tom does it. I remember the first time it happened when we were married. I woke up with NO covers on me because in moving into that position he lifted all the covers up off the bed. I thought it was hilarious (and a little weird). What's even more unbelieveable is that somehow it's genetic; at least, I don't have any other way to explain how Payden does it too. Too funny.