Zoo

Wow, were we getting cabin fever after these past few days of rain.  What a welcome sight the sun was this morning!  Even Hannah noted it and requested to go outside first thing this morning (after we watched the Princess wedding fanfare, of course!).

We are really fortunately to live so close to a wonderful zoo.  I had really hoped that we'd get there quite often last year, but with a newborn, it just didn't happen.  So, today was my first solo venture to the zoo with both kids.  Actually, this was also Jack's first trip to a zoo EVER!  

It's still early in the season, so some of the animals are still hibernating and/or vacationing in warmer climates for the winter (this is Michigan after all!)  However, the penguins are always good to go in their indoor habitat.  Hannah was thrilled to see them in real life since she's seen so much of them in Mary Poppins!

It struck me as we were wandering around what a difference there is in Hannah this year compared with last year.  She liked the zoo last year, but this time she was so much more interactive with the exhibits.  She just couldn't get enough of all of the animals. 

One of her favorite stops was the farm animals.  I didn't let on that it was actually the petting portion of the zoo since honestly, I just didn't feel like carting Jack out of the stroller and going in to get our hands all dirty and germy.  Thankfully, the other parents must have had the same idea b/c nobody else was inside petting the animals either.  Hannah was totally happy just looking in from the outside.  She did notice all of the hand sanitizer dispensers around the area, though, and kept insisting on washing her hands.  Good girl!

This cute wooden train kept Hannah busy for quite awhile, as she ran back and forth and back and forth.  A great way to wear off all of that pent up energy from the past few days!

With the sun beaming down, Jack got to try out his shades. 

Look at those little paws.  I thought it would be fun to compare year-to-year, as long as they keep the display and I remember to take the picture!

Another thing I've noticed lately is that Hannah is really getting into other kids.  She tagged right along with her cousins on Easter, and today she wanted to jump right in with any other kids who looked like they might be playing.

After a couple of hours, we'd made it through.  Of course, we had to pay a visit to Nessie before we left.  Both kids did great, so I'm really hoping to get back for many more visits this summer.

On Two Feet

These days, Jack is pulling himself up on most anything and gradually starting to moving his feet.

When he started pulling himself up along the bannister, it reminded me of this...

I think it's interested to compare their height differences in these two pictures.  Hannah was definitely shorter than Mister Mister and had lots more hair, too!

Peace.

Pearly Whites

Along with all of the goodies the Easter Bunny brought this year, he also was thinking of dental hygiene and brought Jack not 1 but 2 toothbrushes!

Trying it out.  Not so sure.

Mmmm... tooth paste!

Ok, starting to open up.

Getting the hang of it.

Happy Easter

We spent Easter this year with Jason's family in Owosso.

We all got up EARLY and actually made it on time to Jason's parents' church's 8:00 service.

After church, I think we all could have used a nap, but it was just not going to happen...

...since the Easter Bunny paid a visit to Grandma's house while we were at church!

Both kids got lots of goodies.

Enough treats and surprises to keep the kids revved up through the morning.

Early afternoon, the troops showed up.  I think Jason's mom hosted a total of 22 for Easter lunch.  Hannah was sooooo excited to sit at the big girls' table!

Jack, meanwhile, hung back with the rest of the fam.

By mid-afternoon, the sun had popped out in time for the Easter egg hunt.

The Easter Bunny did a great job of hiding the eggs all around the house.  I'm pretty sure by the time all was said and done, all of the eggs were accounted for, but I wouldn't be surprised if Grandpa finds a surprise or two this summer!

The Easter egg hunters.

Even though Jack didn't get any eggs, he had fun hanging with the big boys.

After a very full day, we had a very quiet ride home.

Easter Basket

The Easter Bunny paid an early visit to our house, leaving baskets for the kids on Saturday morning before we left for Owosso. 

The Bunny planted Jack's basket snugly in bed with Hannah's baby.

Please ignore the disastrous closet.  You can see why this was a good hiding spot.  Blends right in!

Turned out, though, that it wasn't such a great spot, as Hannah basically just stumbled upon her basket.  She must have been looking for something when she opened the closet door, looked down, and asked "What's this?" before we even knew what she was doing!

Hannah did help Jack out by searching for his basket.

You can see Jack's enthusiasm for the basket.  Overall, though, I think the Bunny was pretty well received.

11 Months Old

*He has finally gotten his top 2 teeth, which brings him to a total of 4.

*He got his first hair cut.

*He is now pulling himself up to his feet and starting to take a few steps along furniture.

*When we give him a hug, he pats us on the back.

*He gets sooooo excited when he sees food coming!  He flaps his arms, kicks his legs, and says "mmmm!"

*He's pretty much done with baby food.  He now eats pieces of pancakes, bananas, peas, steamed carrots, pears, peaches, pasta, oatmeal, and pretty much anything else that's somewhat soft and can be cut into small pieces, and boy does he love to shove it in.  We have to be careful not to give him too much at a time.

*My mom and I both swear we heard him say "bottle".  He definitely says book, mama, dada, and I think Papa as well.

*His favorite toy is the musical table.

*His favorite activity is unloading cupboard drawers, both kitchen and bathroom. 

*He continues to be very happy and laid back.

Easter Cookies

In my March/April edition of my MOPS magazine was a recipe and direction for making these Easter cookies.  What a great way to make the Easter story relatable for little ones!  As soon as I read the article, I ripped it out of the magazine and tucked it away just waiting to do it with Hannah.  I was so excited that we were finally able to do this last week. 

First Hannah poured the chocolate chips into a bag and beat them with a spoon.  Jesus was arrested by Roman soldiers and beaten. (John 19:1-3)

We added vinegar next.  Jesus was thirsty on the cross and offered vinegar to drink.  (John 19:28-30)

Eggs came next, representing life.  Jesus gave his life on the cross so that we could have life.  (John 10:10-11)

We then added salt.  Salt represents the tears of Jesus' followers and our own sin.  (Luke 23:27)

Now the redeeming part, we added a cup of sugar to represent the sweet part of the story.  Jesus died because he loves us and wants us to belong to Him.  (Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16)

We beat the eggs till they turned white and stiff peaks formed.  White represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed.  (Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3)  

We then added in the chocolate chips and dropped spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid to rest. (Matthew 27:57-60)

The cookies were then put in the oven, closed the door, and turned the oven off.

Hannah sealed the oven door with tape.  Jesus' tomb was sealed.  (Matthew 27:65-66) 

Hannah then went to bed (notice we were thinking ahead and did this after bath time so that she was all set to go.)  We explained that she may have felt sad to leave the cookies in the oven over night, just like Jesus' followers were sad that he was in the tomb.  (John 16:20-22)

The next morning, we opened the oven and took a cookie.  The cookies were cracked and when she bit into one, it was hollow inside - just like Jesus' tomb on Easter morning!  On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed that the tomb was empty.  (Matthew 28:1-9)

This was a really fun activity to do with Hannah and a great reminder, too.  I hope to continue the tradition with both kids every year.

Easter Eggs

For the second year in a row, Hannah and I dyed Easter eggs.  It's amazing how much difference a year makes in Hannah's ability to really help and get involved.

Even though I was a bit hesitant, I let Hannah help with dropping the eggs into the cups.  I'm happy to say that she was very gentle and didn't crack a single egg. 

I was cheap and just got a basic kit from the dollar store.  I think they may have been last year's kit, as the color seemed to take a LONG time to dye the eggs, but Hannah didn't know the difference mind.

My little assistant patiently waiting for her eggs to turn colors.

The finished product.

Daddy-Daughter Date

We've been finding that we really need to be intentional about getting one-on-one time with the kids, so last Friday when Jason was off of work, he took Hannah out to her very first movie.  They saw the animated film "Rio".  From the report I heard, after the first half-hour, Hannah climbed onto Daddy's lap and told him that she wanted to go home b/c it was "cary" (scary).  He convinced her to hang in there, and she ended up lasting the whole movie! 

Concentration

I was watching Jack work on pulling some toys out of a canister today and noticed something.

Look closely.

Do you see it??

Yup, that little tongue is starting to stick out when he's really concentrating.  Hmm... reminds me of somebody I know :-)