Easter 2011

This Easter we didn't do anything very exciting. I did do some fun crafts with the kids and even though they were simple and kind of silly, I was pretty excited about them. This wreath was fun because Addie got so excited to help me put the chicks on (yes, those are peeps) and I really got excited about how cheap it was to make an Easter wreath.

So I had heard of silk-dyed eggs before, but the pictures were so pretty and elaborate that I assumed there was no way that I could do it. But, one of the cooking blogs that I follow re-posted their tutorial and in skimming the first paragraph saw that it mentioned using ties. The surpluss of hideous ties at our house made me intrigued. Turns out it's not all that hard and I was able to use some of the uglier silk ties that we have in boxes downstairs. We only did a couple because since the dye on the ties is not food safe, the eggs were inedible but they sure were fun. Here's our finished products:

Addie got to choose a tie, and of course picked the one with Santa and his reindeer. It's not very easy to see, but here is Addie's egg:

This one was my favorite. And it was actually made with the ugliest tie. Funny how that works; the ones that I thought would look so cool didn't turn out so well.

We had an Easter Egg Hunt with our ward on Saturday morning, but we left the camera in the car. But the clever Easter Bunny hid those same eggs at our house that night and what a fun time both kids had looking for them. This was the best picture we could get of Andres' reaction EVERY time he found an egg. It was pretty entertaining!

Sorry, I know it seems like Addie is never wearing pants and that is pretty much true. The only way I can get her to put them on is if we're going somewhere or someone is coming over. As soon as we get home, they're off again. Or she goes potty and just doesn't come back with the pants. Anyway, I digress. Addie did a really good job finding her eggs and also did a good job helping Andres to find some.

We only had time for two pictures before church and these are them. Not perfect by any means, but you can see their cute Easter outfits.

What have I done?

Last Saturday I gave Addie a haircut. Yes, I did it. I was very scared to do it. Not just because I don't know really how to cut hair, but also because I wasn't sure it was even going to make the situation better. The situation was this: Addie would not let me do ANYTHING with her hair. EVER. Washing her hair was stressful (it has improved in the last few months but still isn't a fun experience), and brushing her hair was torturous for all involved. And it was getting to the point that even when I brushed it, it didn't look that great. Like this random picture that Addie begged me to take. This is how her hair looked most days. But it wasn't until her hair bugged her so much in the car one day that it prevented her from falling asleep, thus not getting a nap and being grumpy the rest of the day. That was it for me. I decided to take action. It was Saturday morning and I had already done the dishes from the night before and Jason was still asleep. I knew he would have a problem with 1)me, 2)cutting her hair short, 3) and doing it over the carpet (even though I think hair is a lot easier to vacuum anyway). So I just went for it. Here she is, the last of her long beautiful locks. I had turned on a show to distract, but soon realized that her straining to look up was making it difficult, so I put something on the computer that was on a more even level.

The wet finished product made me quite nervous:

But as it dried, it just got cuter and cuter. I did have to trim a few scragglers later that day, but I think it looks pretty cute.

And, no, she didn't magically want to wear cute things in her hair all of a sudden. She wore the headband for the picture and that's it. Cute though, huh? Washing and brushing are much less painful for both of us though and she doesn't look like a complete ragamuffin.

While Jason was away, we had our own sort of fun. Actually the first two days that Jason was gone we were all sick. Yeah . . . that was REALLY fun. But, then my mom came from Utah to party with us, so even though we were at home we immediately went into vacation mode. And that means yummy food. I had been waiting to make these for a few months and thought this was the perfect time. They're Salted Caramel Cupcakes and the recipe is here. So Amazing! The picture does not do them justice. They're really really good. The syrup that is swirled with the frosting and drizzled over top is amazing all by itself also. We used the leftovers on our green pancakes that we made for St. Patricks Day and even that was amazing and a half. I'm telling you. So good. Anyway, enough about the food. We also had some good times. These are the shirts that Uncle Allen made for the kids and they looked so cute. Every time Addie sees the shirt in the drawer, she picks it and says "That's my favorite, Allen made it for me."

And of course here is the famous German dress. When my parents were living in Germany they bought this dress and a pair of lederhosen so that the grandkids could all get a picture in them when they fit. It's a good thing Grandma brought it with her, because it fit Addie perfectly. We kept offering to braid her hair so she could be a little German girl, but Addie would not have it. Oh, well. Still cute.

Since Jason has been home, life has gone back to normal. Andres is pretty funny when it comes to naps. I didn't want to get in the habit of rocking or dancing him to sleep like we did with Addie, because he's already such a big kid. But he's never wanted that. If he's tired, all he needs (usually) is a comfortable place and some one to rub his back or his tummy. He can be squirming and fussing and climbing all over me, but if I start to rub his back he immediately stops and sinks into my lap. He's such a cuddly guy and gives really good hugs. This was on Sunday morning when they were supposed to be getting ready for church. Instead, this is what I found.

It's so fun to see how much Andres and Addie love each other. Andres calls Addie "Adda", which is sometimes hard to distinguish between Dada, but he's getting really good at getting his point across and letting us know what he wants.

Andres is a crazy sleeper. He sleeps through the night . . . well, obviously not soundly because he's always in a different position.

Addie fell and hit her head . . . about 12 hours before she asked for a band aid . . . and then another one.

Andres got out of the tub and was so excited that Dad had his guitar out. These boys love their music.