Easter 08

We had a really nice Easter weekend here at home with Grandma and Grandpa from Idaho. They arrived Friday, about 3 minutes before Hayden's bus dropped him. It was a weekend full of visiting, basketball, egg hunts and yummy food.
Friday night we celebrated Grandma's birthday, I heard her tell Hayden she was 27...hmmm, I claim 27 too. Good for you Grandma!!!
We had lots of Easter fun. Friday, the kids went to a little Easter party at the church and had a cute little egg hunt. The candy in the eggs was the good stuff-Cadbury mini eggs, Robins eggs, Reeces peanut butter eggs, mmmm. The kids hunted alongside friends from their primary classes. Good times.

Saturday, we dyed some eggs. Boy, hard boiled eggs sure stink up my refrigerator, but its a tradition and I've got candles so we just deal with it. I love to dye eggs. I used to get all creative and put rubber bands on them and use stamps and crayons to get really fancy, but with a really eager three year old, we just employ the quick dunk method. Hayden insists on using the useless wire dipper, but Sage uses her fingers. She was quick to ask for a smock before we got started-I'm training her well! I was amazed that it was all done in about three minutes. For all the build up, it seems like it should have taken longer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not really complaining, we made a big old mess in that short time and my patience probably wouldn't hold for much longer. It really was fun though.
Lots of basketball to watch, Heath lives for March Madness, so he didn't get to far from his TV most of the weekend. My brackets took a bit of a beating, but I've got 3of my final four teams still going strong (and seeing Duke lose didn't really hurt my feelings anyway) Poor Grandma, she lost both her championship teams. Oh, and Go Cougs!

Sunday was nice and mellow. The kids had a good time going through the stuff in their baskets. Marlee liked Hayden's stuff the best. She got a little ball and had a ton of fun playing catch with her dad who really couldn't have been any more pleased at her apptitude for the game. Sage was so excited to finally get to wear her beautiful Easter dress. Auntie Shelly got her and Marlee matching dresses last year for a shower gift. (she is a smartie, thinking ahead like that!) Anyhow, for the past year, Sage has been so perturbed that I wouldn't let her wear this dress, mostly because it didn't fit yet, but also I wanted to keep it nice. They both looked so pretty in their dresses. Hayden was quite handsome too. Getting a good picture of all three is next to impossible, but I did try.
After church we had our own little egg hunt. Last year I learned that less is more with egg hunts and all the accompanying candy. Well, they still got way to much candy, but I am working on toning it down. Hint: the baskets look more full if you leave the grass in the bottom :)
We said a sad goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa this morning and are coming down off our sugar high.
I, for one, am tickled that there is no big candy event again until Halloween. Its almost time to start talking costumes...

Seat Upgrade

For our trip to Seattle, we bid farewell to the infant carrier and let Marlee ride in style the big seat. Yay Marlee! She seemed to really like it. And only a few months from getting to face forward and see where we're going. Its no hot pink princess seat like sister Sage has, but, hey, it still feels like first class-just look at that grin.

10 months

10 months already! Marlee continues to grow and brighten our lives. Over the past month we watched our little one get into all kinds of trouble as she explores her world. From scattering all our DVDs to unrolling the toilet paper rolls, she seems to know just how to make a big mess. Last month she mastered crawling, now she seems to be trying to set speed records; whoa, can she move fast! Her goal in life is to climb the stairs without being caught. Boy, if I forget to block them, she is half way up before I even realize she is out of my arms. She actually is a great climber and we think she will figure out coming down pretty fast too. Stairs are not the only thing she enjoys climbing, I have found her standing on “The Chair,” a funny little toy chair that sings and talks, the dishwasher, and anybody lying on the floor. She loves to get on the treadmill; again, I think this is part of her funny personality, she loves to watch us run on it, and I think she sees herself using it when she sits on the belt. She sometimes will pull up to something and let go, standing on her own for a bit. It makes her quite proud to know that she has done it too. How long before she takes that first step??? I really am not in a hurry for that.
Sticking out her tongue-I don't know what to say other than she reminds me of my old dog Sam when she would catch a mole out of the woodpile. sorta gross. kinda funny. What a goof! Marlee is totally addicted to her binky now. It’s really strange to us, Hayden and Sage never showed an ounce of interest in binkies. I sort of think maybe it was not the brightest move on my part to let her develop this habit, just to turn around and try and break it in a few months. Oh well, she loves it.
Speaking of things she loves, new favorites are Ritz crackers, Mom’s keys (ew, gross!), debit/credit/gift cards (even grosser), computer keyboards, wrestling with dad, Hayden and Sage’s bedtime, riding in the stroller, being outside, the sound of her voice, baths, bits and pieces of stuff on the floor. Things she does not love: riding in the car at night-still, 11:00 church, dry scratchy grass, mom checking for new teeth, noisy tables at the chiropractor, watching mom walk away.