Scenes from Easter

We had a great Easter, and I thought I would share some pictures with you.

Daddy & Caleb before church.

A solo picture of Caleb in his tux.
Mommy & Caleb. Caleb was being a little rotten because he wanted some juice. I think you can see it in the look on his face!
Getting ready for lunch minus the jacket and bowtie!
Caleb LOVED the Easter egg hunt and Grandmother's! We did it twice since he was having so much fun! He is a great egg finder! We got harder the second time around because he was so good at finding them!
Blowing bubbles that Mimi and Poppy gave him.
More bubbles!
Playing with a balloon that night. He loved it! We have some funny video!

Easter Egg Hunt

Caleb gathering eggs

Bringing an egg back to his pail
More eggs!
"Open!" Caleb started opening the eggs and eating the jelly beans!
Caleb and his good friend Austin! Cute buddies!
The whole class. We couldn't get them still to take a good picture of everyone.
Caleb had a great time! He loved gathering eggs!
He is so proud of his bucket of eggs! And maybe already a little high on sugar!

Easter Traditions

I loved Easter as a kid. It was kind of like a mini Christmas in my house. The Easter Bunny would come after you went to sleep (kind of like Santa), and he would leave a present beside your bed. Once I wised up to who the real Easter Bunny was, I would wait until my parents brought my present in, and then I would look at it. I just couldn't wait!

My family has also always done Easter lunch all together. It's pretty much the same food that we have at Christmas and Thanksgiving, so it is really something to look forward to! I look forward to these holidays and the chance to see family.

What are your family's Easter Traditions?

Pictures With the Easter Bunny

Caleb is not a huge fan of huge stuffed animals walking around. He could really do without them. At home and then on the way to school this morning, I kept telling him that he was going to see the Easter Bunny, but that the EB was ok. He is a nice bunny. And that Caleb would be ok. I had him repeat all this back to me.

When we got to school for the EB breakfast, Caleb was immediately not sure of the big, fluffy, walking animal. He kept reaching for me and whining. I kept talking to him and finally got him to say hi a few times to the bunny. But as long as the bunny was in the room, Caleb would not eat or do anything but stare at him. He had to keep him in direct view.

So, when it came time for pictures with the EB, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. His teacher had the other kids in the buggy go first so that he might feel better about it. (Yep, everyone knows my kid is a scaredy cat like his mama!) But when it was his turn, he wasn't having anything to do with the bunny.

That's when mom stepped in. Mom wants at least one picture with the EB each year, so she had to take things into her own hands. Caleb was fine as long as I held him and didn't let that mean EB at him (which just so happened to be one of the nicest guys around!). So, here are our 2008 Easter Bunny pictures. I'm hoping that I won't have to be in the picture next year. Here's hoping.

Another Missing Car

The transmission on my car went out this weekend, so I have been borrowing my dad's car all week. Yesterday afternoon, I went to the store to pick up a few things. When I came out, I remembered which row I had parked on, but I could not find my car. I walked over to the next aisle. No car.

I then instantly remembered. Duh, Stephanie! You are in your dad's car! I then walked back over to the other aisle that I had just been at and got ready to leave.

I used to think people were making things up when they talked about how their memory left them after having a kid. More and more all of the time I realize that this was no lie! It's the honest truth!

Clueless About Weather

I have been so screwed up the past few weeks. I don't watch tv, and I don't listen to much radio in the car, so I have been totally clueless about what the weather is doing. I'll think that because it was hot and sunny one day that it is going to be that way the next day. But it seems like it has been completely opposite weather every day for the past few weeks. I wouldn't mind so much, but I have been dressing Caleb and myself according to the weather of the previous day, and that hasn't been working out very well. Monday of this week was warm, so I dressed Caleb in shorts yesterday. I knew it was going to rain, but I didn't know the temperatures would drop a little bit too. So I felt like a crummy parent all day because my kid was the only one in shorts. There have been other days that it is really hot outside, and I dress my kid warmer than everyone else.

So, last night when Chris was on the computer, I finally asked him to check the weather for me, and I think I have it down for today! Yay for Mommy!

My Cool Grandmother

I have one of the coolest Grandmothers in the world! She has worked so hard all her life, and is extremely strong. Last night, she kept Caleb while Chris and I were at meetings. I bought Caleb a play tent the other day at IKEA, so I finally got it out and put it up yesterday afternoon. Caleb was scared of it at first, so my strong and agile Grandmother got in the tiny tent in order to make Caleb feel better about it. They spent a TON of time in the tent and rolling around on the floor together last night. I just hope I'm that strong and agile when I get to be her age! She really is amazing!

It's a Beautiful Day!

I love this time of year! I love it when it is sunny and about 70-80 degrees outside. I love seeing the trees bloom again. I don't love the weeds that pop up in my yard, but hey, that happens all year long. I now love the fact that Caleb can go outside to play since it is warmer. There is just so much to love about Spring!

Don't Tell My Dad

When I was a kid, my dad made my brother and me pull weeds. I hated it! We lived on a busy corner, and I always thought people driving by must have felt so sorry for me. They must have thought I was being treated like a slave girl. I mean, how could someone make their daughter sit outside and pull weeds! What mean parents I must have! I was completely embarrassed.

But now that I'm all grown up and have a house of my own, I enjoy pulling weeds. I hate the fact that our yard is covered with them, but I actually don't mind going outside to pull them. Actually, I would rather work in the yard than clean my house anytime! I wish I had more time to spend in the yard in order to make it look better, but I just don't have the time I really need.

As I was pulling weeds last Sunday, I thought about this change of heart toward weed pulling. It was one of the things that our parents made us do that I extremely disliked. It seemed like it took forever! (But most things our parents made us do seemed like they took forever...dish washing with your little brother, etc...) But it's interesting how things change when you get older and get your own yard.

Just don't tell my dad about this change of heart. :)

Caleb Lately

Since I haven't posted much lately, I thought it was time for some pictures to let you see what Caleb has been up to lately!

He loves to dig potholders out of the drawer and run around the kitchen with them. He especially loves the oven mitts because they are kind of like a puppet. And mom does crazy things with puppets.

Something was really funny here. Not sure what it was, but I love the look on his face!
Caleb and Poppy after Pit Stop. Caleb loves hanging out with Poppy!
Smiling with Poppy
Caleb loves to climb up in mom's chair at the table. He goes up and down. Up and down.
Caleb enjoying Mommy's chair
Climbing out of the chair.
Drinking his milk before school.
His first attempt at eating corn on the cob. He loved it!
My corn on the cob eating baby!

Still Here

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I've just been extremely busy. When I think I can't get any busier, other things come along. I have thought about blogging every day, but I haven't been able to come up with much to talk about since my mind has been absorbed with getting everything done. Then I haven't had the time to sit down and actually write. I hope you all are doing well and having a great week!

The Crummy Thing About It

I live on a fairly busy street, and there is an elementary school down the street. The crummy thing about living on a fairly busy street is that you almost can't get out of your driveway in the mornings. There is a stop sign near my house, and there is normally a long line of cars waiting to get through it. So I have to just stick my car out there in order for people to stop and let me through. I hate that I might be ticking people off by cutting in front of them, but oh well. What am I to do? Every once in awhile there will be a nice car that will stop after going through the stop sign so that I can back out. I love those cars!

So, if you drive through my neighborhood and an SUV cuts you off while they are trying to back out of their driveway, that just might be me!

Dinner With Family

Caleb's school had a fund raiser last night at Chick-fil-a, so we went to help support the school. The whole church was invited since the school is a ministry of the church. So, it was nice eating dinner with our church family last night. I've been thinking a lot lately about how our church has become our extended family.

I grew up in a church in my home town, but it just never seemed like family. I didn't have many friends since I went to school on the other side of the town from the other kids, and I didn't really ever enjoy going.

But now, I look forward to going to church. For the first couple of years that we were at RE, Chris and I didn't do much. We just went to class and worship and then went home. But then we got involved in a LIFE Group...and everything changed. Our LIFE Group gave us a place to belong. We instantly had friends and finally felt like we fit in. It's amazing how you can make a few friends, and then it spreads into knowing so many other people.

I now work for the church which is the best job in the world for me. Chris and I love our church! Everyone really is like family to us. I went to a church party the other day, and I thought about how I used to would have felt uncomfortable in a situation like that. I wouldn't have known who to talk to or what to talk about. I would have been nervous the whole time. But now that I have this special family, I don't feel that way anymore. It doesn't matter who shows up. It doesn't matter where we are. I don't feel like I have to know what to say. I can just be quiet if I want to. It really does feel like a family.

I Dislike Sign Trucks.

You know the ones. It's a truck with a trailer that stops down traffic in order to switch the home builders' signs around. We normally run into the same truck each Sunday on the way home from LIFE Group, and we ran into one on the way home last night too. And I really do not like them.

Why do I not like them? Well, they stop in the middle of the road, slow down traffic and do not seem safe at all. They used to not have any lights warning people about the fact that they were stopped in the middle of the road. So you would just drive right up on them and have to notice that they were stopped so that you didn't slam into them. Then traffic all around you is screwed up. Now they seem to have yellow flashing lights that at least warn people that they are there.

Chris and I wonder how it is legal for them to just stop in the middle of the road (highway) like this and cause havoc. Surely anyone else would get in trouble for just randomly stopping in the road. Why can't they just pull into a parking lot and walk over to the signs?

As you can see this really drives me nuts. I thought you would want to hear about it!

I Did It!

When I get gas lately, I tend to drive off without putting the cap back on my gas tank. How stupid is that! I have had a really bad habit of doing this ALL of the time lately! I guess I just have too many other things on my mind and think I'm done and can drive off. But today I made a point to remember to put the gas cap back on, and I actually did it! I'm proud of myself. Just one small victory in my day! :)

Do you like chili?

Come to Richardson East's Annual Chili Cook-Off this Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Chris and I have been the past three years or so, and it is so fun! I recommend that everyone go! Even if you don't go to RE!

Just Had to Take a Picture!

There's nothing much more cute than little boys doing things with their daddy's. It just so darn precious. After I finished getting ready for work yesterday morning, I came out of my bathroom to find this...
And I just HAD to take a picture. It's so cute and so great watching Chris and Caleb interact with each other. It's it is so sweet! So, I couldn't resist running downstairs to grab my camera to take this sweet picture!

This must be "cute day" because this is the second post of the day about something that is cute. Odd.

The Cutest Thing Ever!

I just saw Caleb's class walking by the office. They normally ride in the buggy, but they are starting to walk down the hall now. The all strolled by at varying speeds. Then one of their teachers told them to sit down when they had reached a certain spot. And they all did it! One by one! It is so amazing to see these kids that have been together since they were babies now walking through the hall and following directions! So cute!

Movie Reviews

It's time for another installment of Stephanie's movie reviews!

Fool's Gold: I thought it was a cute movie. Kind of predictable, but it was a feel good movie.

August Rush: Fairly good movie. Sad most of the movie. Also predictable, but was happy at the end.

Love When That Happens!

Last night on the way to church, the radio announced the next song that was about to play. I immediately sang the first line to the song. In the next second, the song started playing and I realized that I had sung it on the correct pitches/key. I love it when I do that! It's amazing that your mind can remember the key that a song is in without you really thinking about it at all. Chris and I talked about when we would be in marching band or concert season and we would play music so much that you would be able to sing it in the correct key at any time. I remember going to my piano in high school to see if I really was singing the right notes, and I was every time! The mind is amazing!