"You Don't Look My Mommy"...

This was the comment I got from Kelsey when I came home from cutting my hair for the summer the other night.  She has gotten over it and says I look like Rapunzel from the end of the movie. I got 8 - 9 inches to donate to the Pantene Great Lengths program that makes wigs for cancer patients using real hair.  This is my 5th or 6th time doing it, I've lost count.  :-)  It takes about a year and a half to grow my hair that long.  Now to start all over again....

Before:                                                                                                   After:

Happy Easter

We had a blessed Easter together.  It started at 4:30 am with Kelsey running to our room all hyped up with the Easter bunny coming.  We hadn't even talked that much about it.  Mark got her calmed down and back to sleep.  All 4 of us made it to breakfast at church and then the family service. At church we took pictures in front of the gorgeous flowers by the altar.   At home we took pictures with the baskets and rested before going to dinner at the Simon's house.  It was nice to celebrate with family friends like I grew up doing.  Grandpa hid eggs outside for Kelsey and she would find them and count them and then repeat.  It got chilly in the evening so we ended up doing it inside.

 Below: Josie, Zeke, and Kelsey

 Below: Evan and Xander (Zeke's new baby brother at only 10 days old) These guys will be best friends at church being 1 month apart.

 Above: Sunday School friends: back: Josie, Zeke, and Jaden.  Front: Cara, Johanna, Kelsey, Maddy
Below: Kelsey finding eggs

Kelsey's Friends

We have been very fortunate to have so many visitors during my time off on maternity leave.  On Wed. April 16th our friends Kristen with daughter Lily (3) and Kim with kids Dean (3) and Alice (8 months) came to visit.  The kids had a great time playing together while the moms got to chat and catch up.  We all live about 45 minutes from each other so we don't see each other that often.  The kids played together like they were best buddies.  Kelsey and Lily got out the princess dresses and probably changed back and forth 10 times while Dean played around the house and eventually they all joined together to play.  Evan slept while Alice was happy as a clam hanging out.  The kids ate their lunch sitting at the new bar, which unfortunately I didn't get a picture of.  Thanks ladies for coming over for a great playdate!

Left: age 3                                                               Right: 9 months??

Below: Alice (left) Lily (right)

How do you get 3 3-year-olds and two babies to pose in a picture?  You have two adults hold the babies and hope to get everyone to smile.  Hahhahahaha....you can see it didn't happen.  Oh well, they're all there. :-) Even Ella joined in the fun!

Kelsey "holding" Evan

Kelsey doesn't "hold" Evan very often. In fact, she's not really near him all that much.  She plays around him and talks to him, but not so much "holds" him.  So, when she came over to give him a hug on April 13th I was more than happy to try to capture that moment on camera.  Enjoy!  Hopefully there will be more moments with the two of them.

Evan One Month Old

Evan continues to grow each and every day.  He had his one month check-up on Friday.  Currently he is 9 lbs 4 oz which puts him at the 30th percentile for weight and he is at the 60th percentile for height.  We'll see if the height continues.  He has been very fussy the past few weeks whenever he is awake and spits up a lot after feedings.  We didn't realize there was a "problem" until recently when he is awake more often and not sleeping as much.  At his appointment I discussed this with the doctor and determined it is acid reflux.  This is a challenge with trying to calm him down and taking care of Kelsey at the same time.  Luckily, the doctor gave us a prescription which helps keep him less fussy, but doesn't help with the spit-up.  Thanks Grandma for all of the great burp cloths, we wash them often. :-)  

Enjoy the pictures of our little man from the past week.  His one month pictures were taken late because we never could get a picture of him awake and calm.  Things are better with the medicine but we'll see how it continues.  

 Over the weekend, April 12th and 13th, Whitey, Krista, and Madden came to visit along with Jamie and Justin to work on the basement and spend time with Evan and Kelsey.  Madden loved giving Evan pats.

 On April 9th our friends from church, Kelly and Josie (3 and 1/2) came to visit.  Notice how Josie is holding Evan and not Kelsey.  We'll see if one day we can get Kelsey to hold her own baby brother.

 On April 10th I took the kids down to visit my godmother Jari who had been in the hospital over back pain and hadn't had a chance to meet him yet.

 On April 8th Wendy came to stay with us on her way back to Florida.  It was great catching up and having someone else to hold our fussy baby.  This is why we love living near the airport, we get to see people. :-)

Outdoor Fun

While in PA Kelsey got to go outside and blow bubbles and start looking around at what fun things will be here for Camp Newburg this year.  Enjoy the many faces of Kelsey....

 4 week old Evan

Madden's 1st Birthday

We decided to take our first trip away from home to visit NanNan and PopPop up in PA to go to Madden's 1st birthday party.  Mark and I enjoyed 2 hours of visiting with friends while others held Evan.  Kelsey enjoyed eating popcorn, fruit cup, pork sandwiches, and cupcakes with juice while playing with the other kids.  The highlight of the party was when Madden got his very own truck.  Even Kelsey got to drive it around!

Left: Grandma Nancy (Madden's Grandma) Right: Madden enjoying his cake!

Above: Jamie (Madden's aunt) and Evan

Below Left: Whitey (Madden's Dad) and Evan

Below Right: Donald and Evan

Swim Lesson 1

On Thursday, April 3rd Kelsey started swim lessons with godmommy Meghan to get ready for summer time at the pool and beach.  She had to review what she learned last year with blowing bubbles and jumping off of the ledge into the pool.  Evan and I sat up in the bleachers and watched, well I watched and he slept.

Family Friends

The visitors just keep on coming!  We spent some time at my parents house on March 23rd.  Family friends came over and got to meet Evan...or should I say hold Evan.

Linda, Paul, and Carole all took turns.

 I just handed Evan to Xavier for him to have a turn and he even kinda smiled while doing it. :-)

 Ryan and Bekah get their turn holding and smiling for the camera as well.