Ready for Easter!

Check out my haul from freecycle yesterday – all of this was from one person!

Dress up clothes

Cool Princess chest to store clothes in


Yay! All parts are here and working!

Misc. Strawberry Shortcake bags, hair dryer, Barbie computer

Tools for Ryan, placemat, alphabet computer game, keyboard with microphone

Addie: Couple of hits and misses with the potty lately…I have mostly tried to catch her going and put her on the potty, but there is still no real interest on her part. Today at church, I hid and watched as her class let out into the playground to hunt eggs. There were a few older kids and the teachers were calling, "Go find eggs, pick them up and put them in the bags!". I watched Addie come out the door in a line and was really expecting her to kind of stand, maybe get jostled some, and slowly walk around trying to get to an egg while other kids snatched them out from under her. Instead, I watched her trot around with the rest of the kids, find eggs, and put them in her sack. I still think of her as about 15-18 months old in that regard, but she is a big girl now and understands directions. When we got home, I asked her what she did and she thought and said, " I get eggs! I counted them, one, two, three!" She told me there was candy inside them, and told me about a craft she did too. Going through this phase is remarkable to me. I could sit there and ask her questions all day and just listen to what she says. Witnessing her daily transformation is the absolute greatest gift anyone can be given. I hope I never forget this feeling. Also, I cut her hair in the back since it was getting long and stringy. It’s probably not super-even, but it curls a little naturally and looks really cute right now.

Ryan: Rocking on hands and knees all the time, and digging in his feet, making an upside-down V shape with his body (downward dog for you yoga people). He is really trying to sit himself up from his belly. He’s been waking up crying a LOT in the night for the past couple of weeks, and ran fever earlier and has a runny nose, so I am positive that teeth are in our near future. None yet though. He is getting better at eating solids, and fusses if we’re eating and he isn’t. We went for his 6 month checkup, and he is 17 pounds 11 oz, which is 55% for weight. However, he is only in the 30% for length, so he’s in the 80% of weight for his length. If that makes sense. Bottom line, he’s a little chunky for his height, but normal for his age. I know he will be crawling any day now.

Me: Trying to find the time to spend with Ryan and work on getting to know him more, instead of just shuffling him around from place to place. I was used to having more time to do things for myself (well, not for myself, but keeping the house a little cleaner, being involved a little more in things outside the house, etc.), since Addison was becoming more self-sufficient and predictable, and I have been having trouble reducing my activity level since I have a baby again now. A baby is a lot of work on its own, without other kids or outside obligations, and add in a 2 year old and you have a full day, every day. I have been feeling a little bit guilty about not having as much time to spend with Ryan. Some wise friends pointed out that I shouldn’t feel guilty for Ryan’s sake, because he is loved and cared for and is able to experience lots of things that Addie didn’t, like having the constant entertainment of an older sibling, listening to her talk and read and sing, watching her play pretend with her animals and taking baths with her. Although I am not the one to do as much face-to-face with him, he is getting lots of stimulation and playtime. My problem is more internal – I don’t feel like I am getting what I need, which is more one-on-one with him. So I can work on that to help ME feel better about my role as his mother, rather than worry about HIS development or well-being.

Matt: Recovering from his surgery well, but facing some rounds of steroid shots for the bulging disk in his lower back that has been bothering him constantly. He’s planning a trip with some friends back to College Station in a few weeks to hang out, relax, and utilize the dining halls and rec center at A&M. That was one of the most fun times of his life, the good old college days, so I’m glad he’ll be able to sort of revisit the fun of college life without the workload! The engineering department at A&M is having a reunion of sorts in a few weeks too, with dinner and free tickets for all to an Aggie baseball game, which should be a lot of fun. I have never been to a baseball game there, but I have heard they are a blast! I wonder what the kids will think?

My mom is coming down for Easter, and Addie will have a grand total of 4 Easter egg hunts this year! She should be an expert come Easter Sunday.