Sammy Turns Nine Months Old!

Sam turned nine months old yesterday!  We can't believe how fast time has gone.  He is such  good baby; we all just love him so much!  He was baptized today.  Aunt Angela and Uncle Tyler are his Christian sponsors.  Sam was able to fit into Ben's baptismal shirt and shorts---Ben was the same age when he was baptized, but we didn't know if the outfit would fit Sam, luckily it did. . . .John was happy:-)  All three kids were very good at church and Sam handled the water on his head just fine:-)  The blanket behind him was made by the women's group at church---they also make a banner with the child's name and baptismal date---so all three kids have one. We really like our church and the pastor is wonderful--he even made a reference to Husker football in his sermon today!  We have been visiting other churches because ours is a little further away from home (it's in Gretna). . . . . .we will miss it if we decide to change.

It's beginning to get difficult to get a picture of Sam. . . .he likes to move A LOT!
Sam decided to take off his socks. . . .he was ready to be out of the whole outfit actually:-)
Olivia loved getting dressed up today.  She did her own hair.
Ben, on the other hand, was not as excited to get dressed up, but he managed.  He did change into his weekend Spiderman costume soon after this picture was taken:-)

Music Program

Olivia's first grade music program was on the 16th.  It was called:  "Gettin' Down With Mama Goose."  All of the songs were based on nursery rhymes---there are three first grade classes, so there were about 50 kids in the program---they all did a great job!  Some of the kids got to do special parts. . . Olivia didn't tell us that she was one of those special parts.  In the picture below, she is acting out the part of a "Mom" for one of the songs----she was very nervous, but she did a great job.

Ben and Sam really enjoyed the music program----Sam sat on Grandma Jane's lap the entire time and "read" the program:-)  Ben never took his eyes off the stage!

Happy Easter!

It was another fun Easter.  The Easter Bunny hid 28 eggs each for Olivia and Ben and nine eggs for Sam. . . .the kids left the eggs out for him along with their Easter baskets.  They also left him a bowl of carrots (Olivia's idea), which we found by the front door in the morning. . .EMPTY!  It was a very magical morning.  The Easter Bunny answered some questions that Olivia had written and left by the carrots; she's going to add some more questions next year.

Olivia and Ben had fun searching for their baskets and eggs.  Ben found his first (in the laundry room sink) and Olivia finally found hers in one of the kitchen cupboards----it took a while because it was a cupboard she "didn't think the Easter Bunny would ever hide anything in."  
Sam's basket was in his pack-n-play that is set up in the sitting room---Ben and Olivia both found it, but they didn't say anything until we asked for their help!  He loved his basket and bunny ears.  He tried to eat one of the chocolate bunnies when we weren't watching.  He wore Ben's Easter shirt and pants from Ben's first Easter----they were a little snug on him:-)
The Easter Bunny hid one larger gift for each of the kids.  Ben got this cool Batman castle!
Olivia and Ben stopped playing long enough to take a picture with me!

End of Spring Break

We really enjoyed our week of spring break!  We got a lot of little things accomplished and also had fun playing.  Most of our time was spent at home, which was fine with the kids. . . .and me!  Sam was on a great schedule, taking two naps each day. . .that gave Olivia, Ben, and Mommy some free time to do "big kid stuff."

Angela's best friend Marissa had a shower for her right before Easter.  She made this wreath out of diapers--it was so cute!  She and Angela have been friends since junior high.  Marissa is expecting her first baby in September!
Olivia helped me feed Sam during spring break.  She does a great job!  Both of them enjoy it.
We've set up a play yard for Sam in the living room.  He likes it but is starting to learn how to escape.. . .he's not crawling yet, but he scoots very well.
This was our last day of spring break---for some reason Olivia and Sam still had lots of energy, but Ben was dragging. . . . .he didn't take many naps this week.  He was a big helper and played with Sam in his play yard A LOT!

Spring Break is here!

Spring break has finally arrived!  Aunt Angela's birthday happened to coincide with the beginning of break, so we celebrated both events at Kobe Steak House.  Angela and Tyler are expecting their first baby around Mother's Day!  She looks great!  This was the kids' first time at this restaurant, and they enjoyed watching the food being cooked right at our table.  It was very entertaining, so all three kids never got "bored".  Olivia loved the food and all the girls who were there in their prom dresses, Ben liked playing with the chopsticks and watching the fire, and Sam was content trying to take plates, silverware, napkins, and menus from the table!  Our chef had a very good sense of humor:-)

Last weekend Amy and I hosted a baby shower for Angela--it was a lot of fun.  Olivia was a big help---one of her major jobs was making sure we had enough pencils for the game we played (she sharpened all of them with the electric pencil sharpener she got for Christmas--see picture below).  John had kid duty that day---both Olivia and Ben had soccer games. . .of course at different times. . . so he took them and coached both games.  It was cold (as you can see from the picture of Ben all bundled up)!  Sam hung out at the shower----there were plenty of people who were willing to hold him:-)  He will be nine months at the end of April, and he is really getting a personality.  He is pushing up on hands and knees now. . . .but only moving backwards.  Olivia is doing very well in first grade.  She is reading like crazy and enjoys writing stories. . . .really writing anything---the other day she wrote down "The Rules of the House".  Benjamin still loves Spiderman and entertaining his brother!  He is sporting a new hair cut as of yesterday--he still has a few curls left:-)

We'll update you on our Spring Break events later in the week!