Chocolate Festival

Hayden was being a stinker, as you can tell by her stinker face.

We had nothing planned on Saturday, so we checked online to find something fun to do. We went to a Chocolate Festival in a historic town nearby. Our friends wanted to come with us. Their baby ended up getting sick on the way, so we took their daughters with us. We didn't have much chocolate. We tried a sample at one of the shops, but the kids picked candy sticks at the candy store. All of the actual booths were way to expensive to actually buy anything. Which the kids weren't too happy about. The kids did get to go down the big blow up slide, but the hit of the day were the animal puppets the kids got to make dance. It's always fun to get out, and we enjoyed the time together!

Easter Weekend

We went to Indiana for Easter this year. Sunday was Easter, Camille's birthday, and Quinn's blessing. Grandma and Grandpa Woodland were also there, so lots of fun visiting took place.

 Saturday was filled with Easter fun. We started off with an egg hunt in the yard. We were lucky to have beautiful weather! Hayden was peeking while Ryan hid the eggs, so she was extra ready to get started.

 They both got lots of eggs and lots of candy.

 Next we dyed eggs. The kids had dyed eggs at their friend's birthday party that week, but we were lame and didn't do it at our house, so they were excited to have another chance.

 Then Hayden and Cole each got a special present from Grandma and Grandpa Woodland. A fishing pole!! Cole go a special green pole, of course, because he LOVES green!

 They were so excited and ready to head out to the pond behind Eric and Camille's house. There were tons of fish looking for food. We were just using bobbers, so no fish were caught, but the kids loved it!

 Sunday morning the kids followed the clues left by the Easter Bunny and found their baskets. Candy was skimped on this year. The kids got cups, watercolors, pencils, and stickers.

Saturday night I started feeling really gross. By the time we left for church on Sunday morning, I was pretty miserable. We went to Sacrament meeting, where Ryan got to help bless Quinn. Then right after the Sacrament we left for home. Unfortunately, we missed all of the birthday and Easter fun that was planned for after church! We drove the almost 5 hours home and I spent the next 2 days in bed.

Despite the bummer ending, we had a great weekend, especially since we got to get some cuddle time in with Quinn!

We talked a lot with the kids this year about the true meaning of Easter. We taught them about Jesus Christ and his resurrection. It always warms my heart when they can answer questions about Jesus. I'm very grateful for the Easter season and for my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Random

 Life has been crazy around here, but we've taken some time to have fun!

 There is a forest preserve near us called Independence Grove. We love it there. It is so beautiful, there are fish to feed, and a great playground. The kids are always excited to go there.

 Hayden got to bring home Ellie the Elephant from preschool. We took her around and then Hayden took pictures back to her class to show what we did. Hayden was so excited, and took Ellie with us everywhere we went.

 We took Ellie for a walk around our neighborhood, and down to the pond by us to see the big frogs.

 Another day we took Ellie to the Volo Bog. The kids were excited, because we saw worms, birds, spiderwebs, and a slug. All kinds of exotic wildlife to be thrilled about ;)

General Conference weekend was wonderful! We got to actually sit and watch all sessions this year. The kids were so good. We had yummy food and some fun projects. One of our projects was dying rice. The kids thought it was cool to color the rice and kept going back to play with their rice throughout the day.

Here is a pregnant belly picture from March 22. I was about 27 weeks. Now that I'm almost 34 weeks, I'm much bigger. I had 3 different people tell me how big I am yesterday. One was Cole. He was sitting on the couch and I bent over to pick something up. He said "Momma, your bum is big. REALLY big!" Then at church 2 women told me they couldn't believe how big I was, because I'm SO BIG! Luckily, I don't get offended by these comments, and I actually think they're funny.

I'll post pictures of my huge self soon ;)

Pearly Whites

Cole had his first trip to the dentist last week, and he did awesome. He was at Hayden's last appointment and saw her getting set up this day, so he knew just what to do. He climbed right up in the chair and was ready to go.

He looked so tiny in the big chair. He usually seems like such a big boy, but he seemed like such a little boy there. The staff kept commenting on how cute he is and what a good boy he was being. They asked him what kind of fluoride he wanted- grape, orange, cherry, or marshmallow. He said "Green." Green is his favorite color, and is always his first choice. He ended up with marshmallow :)

He and Hayden both have 20 healthy teeth. They both did a great job, so after their appointment we headed to the McDonalds playland for lunch and some fun!

*As a side note, Hayden was so sweet at the playland. Cole was scared to climb up and play at the top. Hayden was up there playing with her new "friends" and Cole was very sad. I kept telling him he could do it, but he was too scared. Hayden ended up coming down, helping him on every part of the climb, and then coming down the slide with him. She did it over and over, and they had so much fun playing together. It was so sweet to see her watch out for her little brother!

Kids

The kids have been having some fun, while we've been stuck inside due to the cold.

They've been playing with homemade "sticky goop", as we call it. Of course, it's a sticky mess to clean up, but oh so fun!

Having glow stick baths (yes, it was dark in the room). They've done this several times and always love it.

Playing with "sand". I mixed flour (it's whole wheat, that's why it's brown) and some baby oil. It's really cool because it feels like flour but it's more moldable. Hayden and Cole played with this for over an hour! It was a big mess, but actually didn't take much effort to clean up. I saved it in a zip lock baggie. I think we'll probably pull it our again today :)

For breakfast on Valentine's Day, we had heart shaped hootenanies (german pancakes) and some strawberries. We had a pretty low key day. I had young women that night so Ryan and I went out to dinner the next night. I got a beautiful red rose. The kids gave Ryan a bag of oreos and I made him a candy card. The kids got balloons and some art supplies. Their grandparents all sent them a card and some fun, too. It's so fun to celebrate how much we love each other!

This is how I found Cole, when I got out of the shower the day after Valentines. He obviously really enjoyed Ryan's candy card. I was surprised how much he loved the Hot Tamales.

They love to play or just hang out in the laundry baskets.

Cole is such a love bug. He gives great hugs and kisses. He loves to give eskimo kisses and smooches, and I love to receive them. It's seriously the sweetest thing!

I love my kiddos!

Crafty

I've been getting back into craft days with my friends over the last few weeks. Here are some of our projects...

Conversation Hearts

Valentine Ribbon Wreath

Heart Clips

Lucky Frame

It's always so fun to get together and get crafty!

Baby Girl!

We are having a healthy baby girl! We went in on February 7th (the ultrasound has the wrong date) for an ultrasound. I was almost 21 weeks. The baby was curled up with her bum wedged low and her legs and feet pulled in. Because of her position the technician couldn't see her lower spine and was pretty sure it was a girl, but couldn't say 100%. I had another ultrasound this week and it is a girl and she is developing right on schedule. Hayden and Cole don't really care too much. For the first few days, every time we mentioned our new baby girl, Cole would matter of factly say, "no, it's a boy." He's now come to terms with the fact that she's a girl. He loves to kiss my belly and talk to the baby. Hayden isn't so into it all. She's excited for a new baby, but really passive about the whole thing for now.

The morning of the ultrasound.

After the ultrasound, we got lunch at one of our favorite places, Mainstreet Smokehouse. It was as delicious as ever. Then we did a little shopping. This is the first outfit for our little miss (except for what we still have from Hayden). The picture really doesn't do it justice. It's so tiny and just adorable. I'm excited for all of the ruffles, bracelets, bows, etc that come with having a baby girl!

We are so happy to have this sweet baby girl coming to us in a few months, and we know she is a blessing from our Heavenly Father. I'm in love with her already!