Easter 2013

It was a little surreal having two Easter baskets out for the Easter bunny this year. I guess it didn't really hit at Christmas since I didn't really do stockings and Ryker pretty much slept through the whole hoopla then. But this time he was wide awake to look at what the Easter bunny brought him and it was so much fun! 

 Em looking a little jealous as Ry gets his basket of goodies first

 Touch/Feel Busy book

 New car seat toy

Can't get enough of the book though

Em's turn! Her favorite was the Wreck it Ralph movie (we've seen it a fair amount of times already too!)

"What the heck is this thing?" That, by the way is a porcelain duck pot that you can grow grass in to look like his hair.... and it has come along nicely :)

Looks like he already needs a haircut!

 Waiting patiently for grandma to open her new Lalaloopsy doll

Still that movie is her favorite! 

After all that we went to my grandparent's for our annual egg hunt. It was also surreal to think that last Easter I had barely found out I was pregnant (we hadn't told anyone yet though), and now he's here.... and next year he will be joining in the hunt. Along with my cousin's little boy Felix that was born just a day shy of two weeks after Ryker, so they are sure to be good buddies! 

Ryker and Felix together for the first time on Ryker's two week birthday and Felix's one day one :) 

I meant to get a picture of them together at Easter since we never got one of the two of them at Christmas, but we failed again :( Hopefully next time!

Some more fun from the egg hunt

 Miles had to help Em get her hat on first (my mom got her that hat)

 And Ry was zonked for a bit at first... but when he woke up, grandpa was the first one to his rescue

My dad with Ryker

 Miles with his grandpa

 And his aunt Cassy (my beautiful cousin!)

 Em checking her loot

 My grandma watching

 Mommy helping Em as I do every year.... this year was much better than last though, because it was neither 83 degrees and I wasn't pregnant! 

Miles finding one under his grandma's leg (he thought it was pretty funny!)

And then of course had to do a little Easter shoot afterward....

 My pretty girl so beautiful in her dress

And I couldn't figure a good way to get Ryker in without me joining... so you get to see me too ;) 

And after we got home, we tried a few more pictures of the kids with all their Easter goodies. Keep in mind that it was late by this point and the kids had had a long day!

 Ry got an owl pillow for his crib, the touch/feel busy book, a new rattle and a car seat toy. I should also mention that his grandma (my mom) got him his adorable bow tie! And both kids got their stuffed rabbits from their great-grandma (my grandma)

Em was the one not very cooperative for pictures this time, so these are the only two we got of her

But Em also got a new book, Mouse About the House (super cute and interactive!), her Lalaloopsy doll, a new bracelet, Wreck it Ralph movie and her duck chiapet, as well as various treats that are safe for her.

Sorry for the picture overload, probably should've done a slideshow, but oh well! 

Easter 2012

Because I am lazy.... and because Blogger takes forever with picture uploads.... doing Easter with yet another slideshow ;) 

Brief description to start off: We got our van the day before Easter, so I guess that was our big Easter present! But, I mentioned in the March post that we had done an Easter photo shoot with Em on the last day of March, so that starts off the slideshow..... then Easter morning with Em looking at her basket and then to end the day with an egg hunt at my grandparents (Andrews) house. We had much better weather than last year! Sunny and temps near the 80's.... almost made the egg hunt a little unbearable! Course, maybe it was the fact that I have to give so much aid to my 30 lb girl! Still, I prefer the weather we had than the cold and rainy Easter weather of last year! 

So here's the slideshow, and just in case you don't remember- change resolution from 360 to 720, and full screen for best viewing pleasure :) 

Best. Easter. Ever.

Play song, "And Then You" with this post

First, thought I'd post a little timeline.

I wanted to do this for Valentine's day, but our home computer has been on the fritz and unfortunately has all of our pictures from Steve and my life together. We do have everything backed up on external hard drives, but unfortunately my MacBook can't read them. 

But I do have an Easter picture from each of Emarie's Easters on here, so I can do it for Easter which I'm excited about, because you can really see how much she's changed!

Easter 2008, about 3 1/2 months old (First Easter) *Newborn dress*

Easter 2009, 15 months old (Second Easter) *9 Month dress*

Easter 2010, 2 years and some change (Third Easter) *18 Month Dress*

And this year's Easter 2011, 3 years and 4 months (Fourth Easter) *3T Dress!! (and my favorite!)* (18 month shoes though, that were HUGE! And a 9 month sweater, but we're still making progress!)

FYI, this was our amateur Easter photo shoot on Friday (if you're not on FB, you can see the rest of the photos here)

This one so reminds me of my sister...

probably because of this picture

Can't quite put my finger on why they are so alike to me... but best I can describe is the expressions on both their faces and excitement written all over as well... not to mention the fact that they're both Easter pictures of adorable girls :) I'm so grateful for what this holiday represents and the sacrifice of our Saviour means that we will all be together again.


But here's a few highlights from the actual Easter Sunday *At Home*

Uhm yeah, not much to say about this look, except that it's awesome! It's her "dirty look" before she gives her cheesy smile... we've been trying to catch it forever *success* And the hair... well all those of you that are after me for always having her hair perfect, this is why that has to be *nuff said*

 Flower headband

Hugging her new "Sing-A-Majig" She now has 2!

 Snuggled on the couch to watch Tangled (the best present! Way to go Easter bunny!) with daddy :)

And what do you know, I guess last Easter wasn't her last set of pictures on this staircase ;)

This has become a new signature "Em look"... it's almost like she's saying "wasn't me"

My beautiful Easter flower with all her loot. She got 5 books (2 of them Easter ones, all were a steal at not more than $6 a piece!), a light up toy, a "Sing-A-Majig", Tangled, and her only form of candy- a giant marshmallow sucker (one of the only things "safe" for her to eat in the candy world, which she has yet to even make a dent in! And the lamb was her present from Grandma Peters (Steve's mom). And she also got a great bubble set and stuffed bunny from Grandma Karen (my mom).

All in all, some would say she was spoiled, but I don't give a hoot, because she darn well deserved every bit of it. And this has been the first holiday that she has really made connections with, can't explain it to those that don't really understand, but those that do, you know how amazing, and priceless, and heartwarming.... and really I could go on and on... but this next picture says it all

*At Grandfolk Andrews*

Normally, probably wouldn't post a picture like this of myself... but it really is the best at showing the pure blissful joy I felt in that moment as I saw Emarie make an Easter connection, or more simply and beautifully put... She. Got. It. Tears of proud mamma joy welled up in my eyes as I watched her find that egg first with her eyes, then pick it up, then (here's the amazing part) proceed to pat down with her sweet little hand every inch of that garden around the egg to make sure she got all that was there.

Can't describe how all the memories from last 2 weeks just washed away for a moment when she became just an excited little girl on an egg hunt. This girl is going places. She is amounting to way more than she has been given credit for. She is unbelievable. Always. She will always be pushing the bounds, always be surprising us with yet another miraculous recovery, then the very next week be shattering her boundaries that were once set before her. I am proud to call her just my girl. Everyday. So proud. Everyone may not "get" why I'm so excited over this, but you don't have to. Because all that matters is that her mom "gets" it, and knows what she's capable of, and also knows, that she will most likely even exceed that. She is so close to crawling. She is making humongous strides in the world of walking. She is pure, amazement.

A few more highlights from the Andrews' bunch

 Blowing bubbles with uncle Bryan (my brother) and Miles (my cousin Lexi's boy)

Love the "stern look" from Em here... guess she knows those are her bubbles ;)

 First egg found!

 Hands are full, what more do you need??

 Oh, now we have a basket, so lets get more!

As I said, she checked that flower bed thoroughly!

Love this look from Miles, as if he's thinking, "look how many eggs I have" He did get a lot after all, since Em only picked up 5 (she really didn't even need that many!)

 Both these pictures have their hands blurry because they're doing what's only natural when you find an egg...... SHAKE IT!

 Sitting pretty. Thought for sure with Easter as late as it was this year would find us with warmer weather

And that's a wrap! *Best Easter ever!*