Mother's Day Tea

Today was the Mother's Day Tea at Abi's preschool. Similar to last year, it was adorable and so fun to see how much Abi has grown, matured and developed. The teas at her preschool will definitely be memories that I will always cherish. (And I realize the importance of remembering these fond times since I know that there will be many years in the near future when Abi won't always be so loving and appreciative of her Mom!)

First, a few pictures at home before we head to school...

When I arrived at school, Abi greeted me at the door, presented me with a bracelet that she made and escorted me to my seat.

Then she served me pound cake, strawberries and juice.

Next was the entertainment portion of the program!

(I tried to trim down this video since it is so long but each part of the song was just too darn cute to delete!)



Finally, we received gifts (a homemade flower pin) and a Mother's Day card!

Before leaving, we took some time to take pictures with friends!

Abi and one of her friends, Mariella

Vet Clinic

Unbeknownst to me, Abi and her friend Claire started a veterinary clinic in Abi's room. Rumor has it that they run a very busy but fun practice (visits often include a tea party after their exam). Apparently there must have been a breakout of cuts and bruises because in one afternoon they nearly emptied a 40-count box of Band-Aids.

The practice serves all types of animals including dogs, cats, mice, bunnies, pigs and even bears!

The only downside is that they are not the tidiest and leave quite a mess for the clean up crew!

Note from the clean-up crew: We're not complaining! It's much easier to clean up this mess than the time that they pretended to be painters and painted the walls with lip gloss! :)

My Little Picassos

Since we have been cooped up inside with all of the rain lately, I decided to break out the paint and brushes for some arts and crafts.

Apparently Brady didn't get the concept of washing off his brush in between colors. Oh well, it's all about the experience, right?

Their respective works of art

Happy Easter

We had a great time celebrating Easter with a busy weekend full of fun activities.

On Saturday we headed down to the Eggstravaganza in Redmond for an egg hunt. The weather was gorgeous and both kids had fun collecting and opening their eggs.

Field of Eggs

Patiently Waiting...
(5 minutes of waiting is a tough feat for a 2 year boy - we almost had a complete meltdown!)

3, 2,1....GO!

"Look what I found!"

Checkin' out the treats inside!

A well deserved drink after the egg hunt.

On Saturday night we colored Easter eggs. Thank goodness for Ferryboat Grandma who helped Brady or we might still be cleaning up egg dye from all the furniture!


On Sunday morning, the kids woke up to discover that the Easter Bunny had arrived.

We left the bunny some lettuce and strawberries. He left us a few jellybeans!

Next we searched for our hidden Easter baskets...


Then we ran outside for a quick Easter egg hunt before the rain started...


And finally a few quick pictures before Easter Mass.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Park Time!

Today the sun made a rare appearance so we took full advantage and headed to the park. Although it was only 50 degrees, we were all ready to get out of the house for an afternoon and enjoy some time outdoors.

Swings!

Our little fashionista climbing trees in her pink boots

Of course Brady finds all the mole hills in the field so he can play in the dirt!

Abi trying to put a flower behind B's ear - we all were adorn with flowers when we left the park!

Brady's Favorite Word

This video will give you an idea how most of my conversations with Brady go these days. The other day I decided to count how many times he said "no" and I lost count after 45. Thank goodness I did not mention anything about the potty or that number would be twice as much! I am hoping that this phase will pass soon. Gotta love the terrible twos!

Snow Bunny

During each winter for the past several years, I have talked about taking Abi skiing. Since I learned how to ski at a young age, I thought it was important for her to give it a try while she is still fairly fearless and open to the idea. So last weekend Abi and I finally made it to the ski hill. Although I tried to prepare her for the experience, she was over-the-top dramatic from the minute she put on her ski boots to the moment we got in the car to head home. In hindsight, I'm not sure why I would have thought it would be any different...this is Abi we are talking about after all.

Abi taking a ride on the Magic Carpet at Snoqualmie Summit

During our 2 hours on the hill, I discovered a new found respect for ski school instructors. I only had my own child to deal with and throughout, I had to dig deep for a new level of patience. I could not imagine trying to teach a class of 5 year olds!

Despite her dramatics, Abi did great, seemed to enjoy it and we were able to get in about 5 or 6 runs. Abi's only goal for the day was to make a snow angel, which she completed before we headed down the mountain so I guess that means that our day was a success!