Easter and Springtime

After an eventful February, it was back to normal. That is, if you can call these guys normal...

As we waited for Spring, we had lots of back-and-forth days when it came to the weather. On cold days, we stayed inside. We watched movies. Aubrey even fell asleep during one! That has NEVER happened before. I think she was sick maybe? I don't remember.

With colder weather, there was also plenty of time for snuggles. I can't get over how cute Carter used to say it!

There was also lots of cute sibling time.

On days when the weather was warm, we went for walks around the neighborhood. That happened more when Aubrey was at school, so it was often just me and Carter. Aww, our shadows are so cute together!

One of his favorite things to do was (and kind of still is) throw rocks. It's so cute the joy little kids get out of little things!

See what I mean? Look at that smile as he goes down the slide. Loooove.

This was also the time period during which Daniel and I tackled lots of home improvement projects (more on that in another post at another time). When we painted the kitchen cabinets, things were a bit torn up. So, of course, the kids found a way to play among the chaos.

Then there was the super fun time when Carter grabbed a small paint sample (at least it was small) that was definitely NOT out of his reach, apparently, and chucked it down the basement stairs. More than a year later, the door still looks that way. *sigh*

Come April, it was Easter time! And now that we're living near Nana and Papa, we got to spend the holiday with them. The kids loved their baskets...

... and we did a little egg hunt in the backyard. Carter, in particular, was pretty entertaining. He didn't quite understand it all, I think.

April also brought Aubrey's birthday! At preschool, they have a little celebration and "birthday buckets" tradition. Carter and I went to preschool that day to honor Aubrey, and Carter was Aubrey's "helper" for the buckets. Not sure how helpful he actually was... haha.

Then Grandma and Grandpa came back to visit for Aubrey's birthday party. I wrote about all of that on her individual blog, so I won't do it here. But I will talk about the fun day of kite flying we had! 

First, I have to draw attention to the awesome outfit Aubrey chose.

Girl's got style. Anyway, back to the kite flying. Grandma and Grandpa bought a kite for Aubrey, and on a fortuitously windy day, we took it out in the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the houses were blocking the good wind, so we headed to Founders Park. It made a huge difference to be out in the open!

Aubrey was so excited to have a chance to fly the kite herself.

She also helped Grandpa launch it in the air a few times!

It was so fun to see her pure joy at such a simple, classic activity. Ah, to be a child again!

Before Grandma and Grandpa left, we took advantage of their presence and asked Grandpa to take a family photo for us while we were dressed in our nice church clothes. The kids never looked great in the same photo, but this one was pretty good.

After Grandma and Grandpa left, we bought Carter his first pair of sunglasses. He was so happy to have his own pair, just like Mommy and Aubrey! It's the little things.

Aubrey also got her second-ever haircut. I thought she just looked so sweet and grown-up here!

The weather got warmer and warmer, and we started having backyard picnics...

... and going on hikes.

There was also that one time Carter showed off his amazing basketball skills at the park. This is Daniel's favorite video of him...

Aubrey and Carter also invented some fun games, like this business/customer one. I'm not sure Carter has a future in customer service...

And finally, we celebrated the end of the school year. Aubrey's class had an ice cream social. Here she is with her Little Bears yellow team and teachers! It was a great year for her (though it started a bit rocky), and we were (and still are) so grateful we stumbled upon this preschool when we moved here. It was absolute divine intervention.

And then it was summer! Yay! Stay tuned for more on that...