Spring 2012 - Easter and more!

Noah, Evan, and Joshua had a very fun Easter weekend!  That Friday evening, Noah and Evan dyed Easter eggs at our kitchen table and loved it!  They had much more fun with it this year than last year.  Brian and Sean started to put together a new swing set that we bought for all of the boys' birthdays (Joshua included).  After working on it for about 4 hours until dark, the main part was built, so the boys got to check it out for a bit.

Evan mixing his colors for Easter eggs

Noah dying Easter eggs

On Saturday morning, we drove to their Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's farm in Hermitage, MO.  While we were there, the boys got to play with the toys that they have in their back bedroom, ride the Gator, throw rocks into the creek, feed catfish in the pond, and also go on a mini hayride.  We also had a very yummy Easter dinner that afternoon.  We decided to drive home that night because it is much easier to sleep in our own beds here at home.  Brian and Evan were also suffering from some major allergy symptoms, so being at home was best for that night.

Daddy and Noah riding the gator at the farm

Mom, Evan, and Noah riding the gator

Evan ready to throw a rock in the creek at the farm

Noah, Evan, and their friend Alex throwing rocks into the creek

 Brian was so terrible the next morning, so we didn't make it to Easter mass.  That afternoon, Noah, Evan, Joshua and I all went to Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mike's house for Easter dinner.  Brian was too sick to join us.  We had a very good Easter dinner and all of the kids got to do an Easter egg hunt - complete with real eggs and plastic eggs with stickers, chocolate kisses, and even some with money from Aunt Ruthie!  They all had a blast. Joshua even picked up one egg and put it in his basket.

Noah's Easter egg hunt loot at Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mike's

Joshua putting his egg into his basket after finding it himself

Evan during the Easter egg hunt

Noah, Evan, Joshua, and Michael checking out their eggs!

The new swing set was finished the next day, so Noah, Evan, and Joshua have been playing on it every single day (weather permitting)!  They love it!  We even bought Joshua a baby swing that he likes to use.

Noah getting ready to slide on his new slide

Evan enjoying his "fort"

Joshua loves to slide!

Miss Mia enjoying the baby swing

Evan, Noah, and Michael hanging out

Joshua waiting for someone to come down the slide

We took the boys to their Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah's house last week to check out baby Dominic's baby nursery, and their new hardwood floors.  It was a lot of fun...now we're just anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby Dominic!

The weekend after Easter was laid back.  We played outside as much as we could, but we also had some bad weather that kept us from being out there too much. I did take Noah and Evan out to Orange Leaf to get frozen yogurt on Saturday night.  We love to go there!  Noah always gets "yellow" ice cream (pineapple), and Evan likes to make his colorful...he goes with pink (strawberry), purple (blueberry or raspberry), and yellow.

Our next big event is Joshua's first birthday party!  I can't believe how fast this year has gone.  It's been amazing!

Here is Joshua's 11 month-old photo.  I'll have a new blog soon after his birthday.

Noah and Evan's 3rd birthday! and more...

Noah and Evan turned 3 years old on Thursday, March 1!  We gave them their presents that afternoon (we got them spiderman roller skates and several new superhero figurines) and took them to their favorite restaurant...Pizza Planet (Pizza Shoppe) for dinner. They even got free dessert.  Their birthday party was Saturday, March 3rd.  They were spoiled by their family and friends with new clothes, superhero swords, hulk hands, masks, books, riding helmets for their roller skates, and much more!  The party theme was Superheroes - Brian even created awesome decorations for the walls.  It was a great day. 

Noah with his new roller skates and pads

Evan blowing out his birthday candles on their birthday

Evan and Noah in front of their birthday cake

Iron Man and Wolverine!

Brian and I got to go to two games of the Big 12 Tournament this year, thanks to my awesome dad who let us take some of his tickets.  We got to see KU win, so it was a fun day. 

We held a baby shower for Sarah on St. Patrick's Day here at our house.  It was a lot of fun and we can't wait to meet baby Dominic! 

We had a birthday party for the boys' Uncle Mark and Great Aunt Ruthie over at Grandma and Grandpa Sonderman's house a couple of Sundays ago.  Everyone had a lot of fun, and the food was fantastic. 

We are very busy here at our house, and still very much love living here!  We've been organizing the garage, donating toys and clothes, and are getting ready to get a fence and swingset in our backyard (the swing set is being delivered tomorrow!). 

Noah and Evan are doing great!  They started playing soccer this past weekend.  Noah loved it!  Evan wasn't sure about it, so he didn't do much playing.  We're hoping he comes around and wants to play next time.  Their cousin Michael is on their team; they are the Green Gators!  We also recently signed them up for preschool for this coming fall.  They will be going to a school that is under a mile away from our house, and will go two days a week in the mornings.  It will be a great experience for them!  Their current obsession is still superheroes.  They love to watch "The Super Hero Squad Show."  They usually tell us that they are someone other than themselves, and we are not allowed to call them by their real name.  Noah is usually Wolverine, and Evan is usually Captain America, Thor, Spiderman, or Iron Man.  I'm usually Pepper Potts (from Iron Man) or Storm (from the X-Men).  Evan will say, "Mom?  Oh, silly me, I meant Pepper."  Brian and Joshua are usually the "bad guys."  Noah and Evan love doing puzzles and love to color at the island in our kitchen.  They are still learning letters and like to point them out to us when we're out and about.  Their favorite thing to do when they go to bed is talk to Brian about superheroes or about their Great Grandpa's farm. 

Evan golfing at Dick's Sporting Goods

Noah golfing

Our first trip to the zoo of 2012!

Noah on the KU horse on the Carousel at the zoo

Evan on the Carousel at the zoo

Soccer boys!!!

Practicing before their first game

Joshua is growing up SO fast!  He turned 11 months old this past Monday!  I can't believe how fast the time has flown by.  I think he probably weighs about 20lbs now.  He has four teeth and his fifth and sixth ones have just started to pop through.  He talks A LOT.  His favorite things to say are, "mama," "dad," "nigh-night," "nuck" (no idea what this means) and "no-no-no."  He loves to climb stairs and can cruise along furniture very well.  He has stood on his own for several seconds a handful of times.  He loves to give me and Brian kisses (open-mouthed, but it's still very sweet) and hugs, and likes to wake Brian up in the mornings.  He also likes to make his big brothers laugh in the car.  They like to play with him as well.  Joshua loves to play catch while sitting on the floor, so we all do that with him very often.  He loves going to the park and playing just like Noah and Evan.  His favorite thing is the swing.

Riding along at the Bass Pro Shop

Morning hair :)

On the tram at the zoo

Joshua's first ride on a carousel

Proudly supporting his Jayhawks!

Joshua and Grandpa Mike waiting to watch the older guys play soccer

This past weekend, Noah and Evan participated in an Easter egg hunt in our neighborhood.  It was great because we met most of the families who have kids in our neighborhood, and there are a ton!  It's so awesome to be in a neighborhood with so many kids.  Noah and Evan already made new friends and we ended up playing in their backyard for over an hour on Sunday night!  Noah and Evan are good friends with our next door neighbor Abby as well.  They also had another egg hunt this past Sunday at our church.

Neighborhood Easter egg hunt - Noah is in the middle sitting in the front row

Evan, Noah, and our next door neighbor Abby at the Easter egg hunt

Happy Easter everyone!  We'll be sure to post an update after Easter.