Celebrating Easter

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a holiday. But I'm not gonna lie, when Easter rolls around, I have lost some serious steam. It starts at Halloween, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, Jamie's Birthday, Hannah's Birthday, my birthday, Lauren's birthday, then Easter. I try  my best to still make a big deal out of Easter and I really hope that my girls aren't noticing my lack of motivation. We celebrated a couple different days this year. We had our Easter Egg Hunt the day before because my sister and her family were already in town for Lauren's Birthday party. Our neighbors also had some family in town so we invited them over for the hunt as well. Hannah and I filled close to 500 eggs with money and candy. The kids had a blast and we were blessed with a beautiful day! That night the girls and I decorated Easter eggs and then had Jamie's Mom over for Easter Sunday.

Lauren gathering her loot

Hannah and Nora

My niece, Olivia

Looking through their loot

Hannah sorting her "monies"

coloring easter eggs

Easter at Preschool

They celebrated Easter at preschool with a super fun easter egg hunt. The preschool moms went to the park and hid all the eggs and then the class walked down together to find them. They were super cute and super excited. Well, most of them were super excited. Hannah was happy to be there but I wouldn't say "super excited."All the kids lined up on the sidewalk and the teacher said "on your mark, get set, GO!" They all took off running, except for Hannah. She looks up at me and says "Mama, I'm going to go find all the purple eggs." And thats exactly what she did. She slowly walked around the park looking for the purple eggs. The teachers and I finally convinced her to pick up some different color eggs when all the other kids baskets were overflowing and Hannah had 3 in her basket. It was a fun day!

Walking to the park. Hannah holding hands with her BFF, Alexis.

Her basket is as big as she is!

Lauren's Birthday Party

Lauren chose to celebrate her birthday with her friends at "Ceramix 101." It is a place where you get to pick your pottery, paint it, they fire it over the next week and then we go back and pick up the beautiful pieces. We have done this as a family 3 other times and the girls love it. Lauren is pretty artsy so this sort of thing is right up her alley!

Cousin Emma and Hannah

Cousin Emma

Lauren chose to paint a piece of birthday cake!

Cupcake time!

Lilly and Lauren

Lauren, Olivia and Sarah

Group Photo!!

silly group photo!!

Meeting Emma Peregrine

Quick background: Jamie's best friend from high school, who he also went to college with and then lived with after college is Kit. Kit married Jennifer 9 years ago. They tried for many years to have a baby and couldn't. They started the adoption process and after years of starting it they were FINALLY blessed with the cutest little girl you could ask for, Emma Peregrine. We are so beyond the moon happy for them. We knew what incredible parents they were both going to be and how lucky the child they were finally blessed with would be to have them.
Emma finally came home beginning of March and we could not wait to get to Indy and meet the little lady. The girls were really excited as were Jamie and I. It was so wonderful to watch Kit and Jennifer with Emma. You could see the love in their eyes and how their hearts were so filled with love for Emma. What a beautiful family! Congratulations Kit, Jennifer and Emma!

Lauren, Emma and Hannah

Hannah wanted to bring Emma home with us

This quote is on Emma's bedroom wall and could not be more perfect!

Kit, Emma and Jennifer

Lauren turns NINE!

Happy Birthday to my sweet "little" bug! It is so hard to believe that next year we will be in double digits. How is that even possible? I know parents say that all the time but until you are a parent, you never can fully grasp just how fast time flies. There are so many times that I just want to stop and press pause. It all is flying by and I am trying my best to soak up every second that I have with her. The past year has been the biggest change I have seen in a long time. She has matured so much. I feel like I can have actual conversations with her. Not just "what did you do at school today?" Lauren: "nothing." She seems very comfortable talking to me and asking me questions, which I love so much. I am so proud of the little lady she is becoming.

Thor, Andrew and Jack were here for her actual Birthday so we had a little celebration.

alarm clock for her ipod

She really wanted her Morgan Cherokee bag for school

new ipod case

sweet Jack

sweet Andrew

Her teeny magazines.. we got her a subscription to her two favs

Jack, Hannah, Andrew, Abby, Lauren and Julia