We have a hoarder.

I'm not naming names, but someone in our household is storing food in a small corner of his booster seat.

Stored items include, but are not limited to: one quesadilla, a raspberry or two, some almonds, a few pieces of banana, a couple of pieces of chicken, and one orange binky.

He thinks that if he's quiet and sneaky, no one will figure out what he's up to.

"Yep. No one noticed what I was doing. Not even my mom who is standing over me with a camera."

Yum. Doesn't that look delicious? :)

Happiness

Lainey and I share a birthday week. We are (30 years and) 6 days apart. As a little birthday treat for both of us, I thought it'd be fun to go get pedicures. This particular nail salon has the cutest chairs for the little girls to sit in and Lainey was SO excited to "sit in the princess chair" and get some "sparkly nail polish." Unfortunately, she was so excited that in the process of picking out her color, she knocked over (and broke) a bottle of orange polish. It got all over the floor...and the wall...and it was a little embarrassing because - as many of you know - all eyes can be focused on you in about a second if you make too much of a scene in a nail salon. Thankfully, the owner just brushed it off and said, "It happens." Well, that is true. I am grateful for her laid-back attitude. I think it's funny that I took Lainey to get her first pedicure at age 3 while I didn't get my first pedicure till I was in my 20s. Ha!

Lainey liked talking to Tina, the person doing her nails. She called her the "purple girl" because she was wearing a purple sweater. She told her about how her "mom has nail polish in the bathroom" and how her "mom has sparkly nail polish." I'm pretty sure that Tina had no idea what Lainey was saying, but was so sweet and patient with her nonetheless.

And this little guy just cracks me up. He loves laying on pillows and holding remotes. Such a boy...even with his purple pacifier (which we inadvertently received because "colors may vary" when ordering this particular pacifier from Amazon.com).

Pastor Don's Ranch

On Friday evening, we visited our pastor's ranch with several other families. The weather was perfect, the food was good, and the kids were hilarious. It was a great evening. I didn't have my camera with me, but Ben had his iPhone and managed to get a few pictures of the kids (and me) riding Don's sweet horse, Red.

Three-Year-Old Stats

We went to the doctor today for Miss Lainey's three-year-old checkup. She is doing great, and all was good until the giant shot. My gosh. That girl was screaming! And to make matters worse, while I was holding a squirming Lainey, Walker was wandering around the patient room, crying and sad because I couldn't very well hold both of them. Anyway, before the shot came out, here's what we learned:

• Lainey is 37-1/2 inches tall. This puts her in the 50th-75th percentile.
• She weighs 32.6 pounds, which also puts her in the 50th-75th percentile.
• She is built proportionately.
• She is right-handed. (We knew this, but it's officially in her chart now.)
• She doesn't like the paper gown that the nurses asked her to wear for her exam. So she didn't wear it.
• She has four moles. All look fine.
• Her iron level is really good. So she's eating well. :)
• Her blood pressure is 98/50. This was the first time we'd ever taken her blood pressure, so it was a fun, new experience for her.

Whew! I'm glad that is over. The shot was not fun. As a reward, Nurse Renee gave her a princess wand and a big diamond ring from the treat drawer and then Lainey, Walker, and I went to play at a new park that had a lot of ducks. Aggressive ones, I might add. I think they thought we had food! :)

Happy Easter!

Lainey's actual birthday fell on Easter Sunday this year. Our day started with an Easter egg hunt and ended with an Easter egg hunt. In between, we experienced a beautiful service at church, brunch at Corner Bakery, a ride around the neighborhood on a newly-acquired scooter, a giant afternoon nap, and a visit to Uncle Greg and Aunt Tisha's house for an early dinner and our traditional Cascarone egg hunt. It was a good, good day.

examining Easter basket goodies

We found Walker digging into an egg. Before we could stop him, he'd eaten all the contents (jelly beans). It took him about two minutes to figure out this Easter-egg-hunting thing.

Lainey counted all of her eggs.

After church, Walker snacked on some animal cookies from one of his eggs.

There's something about his expression in this picture that reminds me of Walker's cousin Collin.

Lainey can go "so fast" on her new scooter.

And here's a picture of our newspaper man, Walker. He loves gathering newspapers while on walks. So, neighborhood friends, if you're missing a newspaper, you know where he lives. ;)

This picture of the cousins was taken near Uncle Greg and Aunt Tisha's house just before the great Cascarone egg hunt.

Our kids were the criers of the group. I think they must have been overwhelmed by all the excitement and activity.

happily holding the Cascarone

a bit sad because the Cascarone broke

getting in on the action

Don't you love the confetti stuck to the boogies under Lainey's nose? Nice.

a windy (and incomplete) family shot

We got lucky with the weather this weekend. While we did get some serious thunderstorms, they managed to occur after dark on both Saturday and Sunday. We gladly took the daytime wind and overcast skies as long as that rain stayed away for our weekend activities!

Lainey's 3rd Birthday Party

We celebrated Lainey's third birthday with a party on Saturday, April 23rd. We invited family and friends over for a "Backyardigan BBQ" complete with all five Backyardigans balloon characters, hot dogs, hamburgers, a bounce house, and yummy cupcakes. Lainey had a blast. She was happy, active, and completely thrilled with all the excitement. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate! We had so much fun seeing you and your kids!

Walker and I picked up the balloon characters on Tuesday. He had no idea what to think of them. I love this picture; it shows how wary he was of the giant balloons. He did okay riding with them, but got completely terrified when the balloons tried to escape out the back. I think he prefers them in controlled, open spaces.

Lainey is THREE!

little baby, big bouncy castle

Walker loves this truck. Lainey got it for her birthday last year.

Lainey and her cousin Brooke

Due to the windy conditions, Austin, Uniqua, Tyrone, Pablo, and Tasha had to remain inside. They got to view the party through the windows.

"Here, let me just clean the icing off of my feet. Y'all keep eating. No worries."

The birthday girl got a little messy.

And no party is complete without sampling some ice from the cooler.

The little man got the handle of this bag wrapped around his ankle. He was so frustrated (rightfully so)!

Walker was pretty excited about Lainey's birthday gifts, too.

Lainey got this fairy outfit from her friends Liberty and Landry. She LOVES it. And we have to wear all of the pieces at the same time: the wings, the tutu, and the two butterfly pigtail holders. And, of course, she has to carry the wand.

I'm thinking that this must be a "trick" of some kind.

We love you, sweet girl!