Ice Cream

After boating, we promised Hannah we'd stop for ice cream.  Two cones and two very messy kids. 

4 Year Check-up

Hannah had her 4 year check-up last week and is doing great!  She had her first eye exam and passed with 20/30 (completely normal they said for their machine and her first time taking the test).  She's still a peanut, weighing in at 31 lbs. (15%) and 37 1/4" tall (10%).  She also got her 4-year booster shots, 4 of them to be exact.  She took it like a champ, getting a little uncomfortable but never even crying. 

When we came home, though, she thought she needed a few more bandages.  Good thing I just bought a jumbo box!

Catepillars in the House

To say Hannah was excited to finally get the catepillars for her butterfly house in the mail is an understatement.  She got them from the mailbox and screamed all the way up the driveway.  We are now watching the catepillars grow and waiting for them to turn into beautiful butterflies.

Park

With the beautiful weather we've been having, I took the kids to the park for a picnic.

Of course, it wasn't long before they made their way over to the sand volleyball courts.

The sand man.

Party Time

The weekend following Hannah's birthday we went to Owosso to celebrate both Hannah's and Grandpa Ocedek's birthdays.  Needless to say, Hannah got a little spoiled.

Who knew that such a giant box of chocolates existed?!  In addition to Jason's parents, his Aunts Carolyn and Lillian also came out to celebrate.  It was so nice to see them.

It was such a nice day that the men spent quite a bit of time relaxing outside.

The kids wore off all their energy playing in the yard.

Hannah got a special princess cupcake, complete with a crown and wand.

Happy birthday, Hannah and Grandpa.  Only 85 years apart.

The next morning we went to church and then out to breakfast.  As soon as we got back the kids got the toys out again.  Jack fits perfectly on Jason's old horse.

The toy Jack really wanted to play with, though, was Daddy's old tricycle.  He could almost touch the pedals.  He'll be pedaling away before we know it.

Crack

I think we have a plumber in our future.

Love

Quack, Quack

Birthday Girl

Hannah has been so looking forward to her birthday and would wake up asking if it was her birthday.  We finally told her she would know it's her birthday when she had a balloon in her room when she woke up.  The morning of her birthday, she was sooooo excited to finally see the balloon!

Every year we've had a family birthday party, but with her birthday being in the middle of the week, we thought we'd just keep it low key and just celebrate with our own little family instead.  (We will be celebrating with grandparents in the upcoming weekends).

To make her day special, we spaced out the times when we let her open presents.  She her first presents right away in the morning - a new leotard and princess dress-up clothes.

Hannah went to gymnastics (in her new leotard) where Jason surprised her to watch her class.

After class, Jason and Hannah went to EGR where they got Olga's to go.

What a beautiful day!  They soaked up the beautiful, warm (84 degrees!!) sun while they picnicked in the park.

Coincidentally, the docks were going in as they ate their lunch.  Guess who was just a little excited?

Once they finished lunch, they joined us at home where we had a cake, balloons, party hats, and favors waiting.

She was super excited about her butterfly kit.

Jack was not so excited about his hat.

She was also pretty geeked with the Leapster Explorer.

Yummy rainbow and flower cake.

Jack enjoyed it, too.

She got very nice birthday cards from both sets of grandparents and Great-Grandpa Ocedek as well.

To wear off all that sugar, we had to get outside and play!

And of course pay a visit to the ducks.

Since Jason and Hannah saw the docks get put in, Jason couldn't resist getting the boat out for a ride.  The earliest boat ride ever!

Hannah loved every minute!

From the lake we headed to Kids Corner and small group at church.  Afterward, we had a little party to celebrate.

Our friend Jake thoughtfully picked out the perfect present for Hannah - princess slippers and lip gloss.  Finally, before bed Hannah got to open her final present which was a bath robe and nightgown.

What a fun-filled, busy birthday she had.  Before she went to bed she gave me a big hug and told me she had the best birthday ever.   

Cupcakes

Hannah has been very into rainbows lately.  With St. Patrick's day coming up, I've been seeing recipes for rainbow cupcakes all over the blogosphere, so we decided to give them a try for her birthday.

Out of the oven they looked so fun and smelled delicious!

Hannah couldn't even wait for the frosting to try one.  Honestly, I was pretty excited to see what they looked like without the paper, too.

Our little assistant.  What a ham!

Hannah was very proud of the cupcake she decorated.

No holding back.  Jack dove right in.  These were a huge hit!

Friends

This just makes me laugh.  Jack, Hannah, and Jake while waiting in line for a fish fry (which actually ended up being pizza for us).  I hope these 3 will always be friends.

Butterflies

The butterflies are out at Frederik Meijer Gardens!

We met up with our MOPS group early this week to check them out.  Hannah was so anxious to see them, but she did hang around long enough to spy some catepillars on the way in.

Hanging out with friends Caleb and Carter.  (Yes, Jack came along too but was extremely clingy and refused to be put down - hence no pictures!)

There were some beautiful butterflies.

The butterflies were flying all around.  One even landed on Jack's back.  Hannah waited to patiently for one to land on her finger, to no avail :-(

Instead of waiting for butterflies, then, she watched the chrysalisses instead.

Zoo School

We love the zoo!  For the first time this year we took advantage of a class they offered for little ones.

We were lucky enough to have cousin Kara and Aunt Courtney join us.

We learned all about mammals.  Ask Hannah and she'll be able to tell you that mammals have fur.  We started out the first hour of class walking through the zoo and learning about the mammals living outside this time of year.

We then went back to the educational center and had a snack (not sure what's up with the goofy smile!)

Then we got to listen to a story.

After story, we got to pet a hedgehog,a possum (I had no idea they are so soft!), and a chinchilla.  We wrapped things up with a craft.  It was so much fun!  We're hoping to take advantage of more of these classes as Jack gets a little older and can come along with us as well.