Stella Returns

Last week when we upstairs playing with Sydney's kitchen- a Christmas present that she has become kind of obsessed with in the last few weeks- we looked out the window and saw that Stella the dog was in our neighbors back yard again! Sydney was so excited to see a "doggie" (which is pretty much what she calls every animal that isn't a bird), so I took this cute video of her outside with Stella.

Maybe we won't ever have to get a dog of our own... maybe we will just have neighbors that have dogs so we can enjoy them if we want, but without having to take care of a pet of our own!

Daffodil Sunday

On Sunday afternoon we drove through one of our favorite Cleveland landmarks: Lakeview Cemetery. It was their annual "Daffodil Sunday." Once we got into the cemetery, I got Sydney out of her car seat and sat her on my lap while we drove around and took in the scenery. It was so beautiful with all of the flowers and flowering trees in bloom!

Spencer & Sydney on "Daffodil Hill."

Me & Sydney

I'm already looking forward to "Azalea Sunday" coming up in a few weeks. Spring is my favorite time of year!

Party Crashers

My parents were invited to the wedding reception for Dusty Wright and Jenna Martin, but they couldn't make it... so we kind of took their place (with an ok from the bride, of course). Tacky? Maybe. But I figured it wouldn't be that big of a deal since I grew up with both of them. I got to see people that I hadn't seen in a really long time, plus I got to show of my cute family too.

The happy couple!

Spencer & Sydney

Me & Emily

I hadn't seen Emily for over 10 years, and Dusty for almost that long too! It's weird that I'm even old enough to say stuff like that. It's even been a year since I've seen a lot of my extended family that only lives and hour away, and they were so amazed to see how much Sydney has grown. Granted, I only got to talk to most people for like 3 minutes each since I was chasing around my little girl, but I still had a good time.

Busy Day

My spring break is quickly coming to a close, and it is making me long for the summer. And for the more distant future when I no longer have to work. What a dream that will be!

Today has been rainy, so we've been cooped up inside. But we've manage to fill the day by making and eating some yummy banana bread,

coloring,

and bird watching.

We put this bird feeder up for FHE on Monday since Sydney loves "boodies," and we hadn't seen a single bird on it until today. We were eating lunch, and all of a sudden there were like 5 birds that were checking it out! I had to get visual proof for Spencer, since it was his idea to put it up.

We've also made frequent trips to the back door window to see if Stella the dog is in our neighbor's back yard. They have family in town, and they brought their dog with them. Sydney has been completely mesmerized by it, and has been brave enough to pet it and let it lick her hands (made her giggle every time). This was our conversation at lunch:

Now do you see why I don't want to go back to work?

Obsessed

My child is obsessed with the garbage can. She always seems to be hovering over it, and unfortunately, taking things out of it. Sometimes she'll sneak a piece of orange peel out of it and (cringe) try to take a bite. Other times she's just trying to get a hold of a shiny wrapper. But tonight... oh tonight.

Spencer and I were in the living room, and Sydney had walked into the kitchen. I heard the rustling of the trash bag, so I went in to see what she got her hands on this time. When she heard me coming she screamed, "Mommy!!" and escaped into the dining room with something in her hand. I couldn't tell what it was, but it looked kind of like a really dark brown piece of bread. Much to her dismay, I got it out of her hand, and realized it was the T-bone from the steak Spencer had for dinner. Spencer and I were cracking up! Seriously, who is this kid? I put it back in the garbage, which by the way, was less than half full.

I know it's sick. Our garbage doesn't have a lid, but I don't really think that would stop Sydney anyway. She's a determined little girl.

Easter Sunday

It is so nice when Easter falls on General Conference weekend. We got to sleep in until about 9:30am, and woke up to another beautiful spring day! I put together Easter baskets for Spencer and Sydney last night, then hid them like my Mom did for us when we were growing up (yep, I hid Spencer's too). I "hid" Sydney's behind a pillow on the window bench in our dining room.

Found it!

The loot: crayons, egg-shaped sidewalk chalk, bubbles, treats, and a Toy Story kite (not pictured).

When I was trying to get her attention to take this picture, she looked at me and said, "Cheese!" It was super cute, but we have no idea where she learned it. I was just thrilled that she actually smiled for me.

I didn't want to give her any candy, so I filled the eggs with Goldfish and Honey Comb cereal. She ate all of it within about 15 minutes.

While Sydney unloaded her basket, Spencer whipped up some french toast for us. He thought the whole Easter basket hiding thing was silly, but after much coercing, he finally humored me by looking for his after breakfast.

Even though we didn't have to go to church because of General Conference, I still dressed Sydney up in a cute Easter dress from Grandma B. I found those sandals the other day at T.J. Maxx, and I thought they'd be perfect for this summer. It's so fun to dress up my little girl.

We went over to the Welch's house to watch the afternoon session of Conference and to enjoy a delicious Easter dinner. When we got home, we went on a walk around the block. Such a great day. Happy Easter!

Easter Eggs

On Thursday night we went over to the Heaton's for dinner and some serious Easter egg coloring. Thanks to inspiration from Stacey's Martha Stewart magazine, our creative juices were really flowing. Actually, we pretty much just tried to copy what was on the cover. They turned out really cool!

Spencer, Sydney, Justin, Stacey

These busy little hands wanted to grab everything on the table.

Jack's not a huge fan of picture-taking, but he let me snap this shot of him holding one of the cool eggs he colored. Such a cutie.

This morning we went to a Girl's Camp fundraiser. They had a pancake breakfast, family pictures, outdoor games, and an Easter egg hunt.

Sydney held her Easter basket in her lap for the entire car ride to the church. Here she is gearing up for the action!

The eggs were "hidden" around the entire church, and everyone pretty much started at the back. Spencer grabbed Sydney and ran to the front of the church before all the kids got there so she would actually have a chance to get a few eggs.

She did pretty good picking them up,

but then she wanted to immediately open them. We had to throw them in the basket, then direct her to the other one's on the ground.

Sydney collected about 8 eggs before the masses showed up. Not too shabby for her first time! She was REALLY excited to find jelly beans inside them, which she's never had before. If she couldn't open an egg, she would sign and say, "More" (which really sounds like mo-ie). Like a good Daddy-dentist, Spencer brushed her teeth when we got home :)

A Baptism & A Blessing

Last Sunday, we drove down to Marietta to attend Riley's baptism and confirmation. It's so weird that she's 8 years old! I remember when she was born. I was a freshman in college, and I was in the kitchen of my apartment in Heritage Halls when I got the call announcing her arrival.

Now she's all grown up!

After the ordinance was performed, Allie, who was sitting on the floor close to the font, gave Riley a thumbs up and said, "Way to go Riley." Slightly irreverent, but totally funny. Afterward, Riley, Dallin, Allison, and Austin all sang a Primary song, and it was so sweet. The three kids each sang a solo, and I was totally bawling. Reminded me of a time when we were little and my Aunt Kristie's family came to visit. We had just learned "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus" in Primary, and we totally loved singing it. We sang it for Aunt Kristie, and she was totally crying. Looks like I got that gene from my Mom's side of the family.

Riley with Grandma and Grandpa H.

After the confirmation, baby Max was blessed. He arrived on March 6th and is sooooo tiny! It is crazy to hold little babies and remember that's how small my baby was at one point. We had a good time celebrating with my family, even if it was for just a few hours.