Catching up is hard to do

Sorry that I have totally been MIA in the blogging world. Don't you worry your pretty little head though; I have been keeping up with all of your blogs so I have been enjoying the blogging world, just not actively participating. Two kids is surprisingly busy--more so than I thought it would be.

We had a fabulous Easter. On Saturday, we went with some friends to see the Easter bunny and do the egg hunt thing at a local church here in Kennewick. Niev LOVED it. Unfortunately, the parents don't know quite how to control themselves at these sort of events so Niev went home with a very small amount of eggs, but she was happy. She even saw a boy that was sad because he didn't get any eggs; Ian then encouraged her to share one of her eggs with him. She is becoming a very sensitive, bright girl. (Now if we could only stop the biting and hitting!) She even gave the Easter bunny a hug and waved hi to him. Pretty cute.

We dyed Easter eggs together as a family in an unusual way this year using silk ties. Things got so busy I didn't take an AFTER picture, but here is the before!


Niev woke up to a fun Easter basket left by the Easter bunny on Sunday morning. In it were marshmallow chicks, marshmallow bunnies, bubbles, a book, a big bouncy ball, eggs to hide and some eggs already hidden by the Easter bunny. She loved the candy and was more excited about eating the eggs' treasures than actually finding the eggs. (Can't really blame her!)

One FHE, I gave a lesson on temples and got a great idea from one of the blogs I follow (thanks Katie) to build your own temple using sugar cubes. Ian and I participated in a friendly contest of "best temple" while Niev enjoyed licking the "temple".

I've recently been called as Primary President and am a bit overwhelmed with the calling. We luckily have a small primary and so it is quite manageable. Our first Sunday was Easter Sunday and the bishop hadn't replaced me as chorister so I was over Sharing Time and Singing Time. By the end of church that day, I was exhausted and felt like I had been riding a rollercoaster for two hours. I think once I actually get things under control, I will really enjoy this new calling. I have three fabulous counselors/secretary. Each of them are so enthusiastic, creative and a great support to me.

The girls are so much fun right now. Rowan is laughing and smiling pretty regularly.

She is eating oatmeal/cereal from a spoon and really gobbles it down. She hadn't been sleeping more than a five hour stretch so the doctor told me to put it in her bottle, but it still wasn't enough so she eats meals with us now. Niev thinks Rowan's food is pretty tasty and is always asking Rowan to share her food. At her last appointment she weighed 14 1/2 lbs and seems to have beefed up since then a bit. When we took her to Spokane for her eye appointment, the specialist couldn't see anything! She said her eyes looked perfect. At Rowan's 4 month appointment, our pediatrician (who originally saw it) looked again and couldn't see what he saw before. So who knows what it was, but at least it disappeared on its own. I'm not complaining!

Rowan just stares at her dad. She is so intrigued by him. She will reach up to touch his face (probably because it is rough) and will smile the biggest at him. It really is the sweetest thing!

Rowan is a big fan of Niev's. She thinks Niev is hilarious. Ian and I were worried that she would always live in fear of Niev, but to the contrary. She brightens up as soon as she hears Niev's voice or sees Niev paying attention to her. It really is the cutest thing. I'll try to upload a video of the two of them playing on Niev's bed together. Adorable! stay-tuned...

Niev is potty training and has been for at least a month. She is still taking a duke in her panties at least every other day if not more (anyone have any advice for me! We have tried everything!). She loves Mr. Rogers, Bill Nye the Science Guy and Sesame Street. (We get all the old school stuff from the library and we own some SS.) She loves going to nursery and playing with all her friends, especially Olivia and Emma. She loves having her friends over to play. Normally, this involves her taking her bed apart (two twin mattresses stacked on top of each other) and jumping from one mattress to the other mattress. I'm just waiting for someone to get hurt (does it sound like I'm neglectful???) She is hilarious and loves to be a show-off.

She is very independent and has learned to open the fridge (hence the need for a fridge lock), climb up on the counter (hence us taking all the barstools away from the counter), turn on the DVD player (hence us shutting it off manually), etc. As soon as she sees me start to feed Rowan and begin pumping, she runs out of the room to see just what she can destroy in five minutes. But as soon as she hears me coming, she will say, "I put it back, I put it back." She goes a mile a minute and still is even though she has been sick the past two days.

Notice the remote--now you know who really wears the pants in this family!

She is very picky about her footwear. She doesn't really care what I dress her in, but she MUST wear her "boots with cherries on them" everywhere she goes (including church--yes, we get MANY comments on them, good? bad? who knows.) We are in the process of trying to find replacement shoes for those boots. I love them but not chapel attire!