Tooth Checker

Ben went to the tooth checker today and he did GREAT! He was (understandably) not looking forward to it. This was his third check-up and I knew it was time for a more in-depth cleaning. I am so proud of him for being still through the entire cleaning. He got to watch tv on the ceiling with headphones and wear sunglasses - I am sure that helped a lot.

He picked an eye patch from the treasure box when it was all over.

Ben asked if he could get two things so he could take one home for his brother. Sweet boy. I told him we would have to wait and see if Liam was a good boy for the tooth checker and then he could pick his own prize. It will probably be awhile before I'm up for that adventure. We are still working on Liam sitting to get his hair cut.

School days & Swim'n

Liam goes to school two days a week. He loves his classroom and his teachers. Each week they "study" a different animal. This is chick and bird week. I can just imagine all nine little toddlers going up and down the halls chirping. Here is my little bird walking into school. He always wants to wear his backpack.

My big boy is still loving school. They are studying the ocean right now. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission came to school last week with a huge traveling aquarium. Very cool.

Ben is desperate for me to get out the blow up swimming pool. Since I can't actually heat the water in a blow up pool, we are putting that off for now. In the meantime, the boys used the lid to their turtle sandbox as a pool. Not much space, but they didn't seem to mind.

Full day of fun

My little artist in the morning light. They are loving the easel.

The boys got boomerangs in their huge Easter eggs. It's going to take some practice but they sure had fun trying them out.

It turned out to be a rather warm afternoon so I suggested we get our their swimsuits and jump in the water. So stink'n cute in their suits!

Those were some excited little boys!

Liam never let go of his boomerang.

At this point, Ben kept asking me to turn on the hot water. He just could not understand why I couldn't adjust the temperature. Silly boy.

Ben was super excited to show me his "B"'s on the dry erase board tonight!

Back to nature

The Easter bunny came to our house and dropped off some HUGE eggs filled with new art supplies for the boys. To say the boys were excited would be a major understatement.


There was also a new easel in the living room. There were smaller eggs hidden about the house but the really big ones seemed to be much more impressive.

We decided to spend Easter morning at a beautiful garden with my parents. It was perfect. The weather was great. The kids loved the trails. There were very few people there. It wasn't exactly relaxing (with two kids) but it was a wonderful way to spend Easter morning. In the garden.
Grammy and Liam.

Grammy, Ben and Poppy.

We even got a few photos of our family of four! That is a rare treasure.


The tulips were beautiful. The boys thought they stunk but what do they know? Liam only "accidentally" picked one flower.





We brought a picnic lunch and afterward, Poppy thought Ben should take a nap on this rock.

Fortunately, he decided he'd rather sleep in the car.

It was a sweet day with family. Everyone came over for dinner and the kids played for a long time. The huge eggs continued to be a hit with everyone.

Happy Easter.

Egg dyeing 101

1. Place a cup for each color on a tray.

2. Gather eggs for coloring.

3. Pose with "the golden egg" for Mommy. (Note clean hands.)

4. After carefully following the directions to make dye, begin gently placing eggs into cups using spoons to move eggs from one cup to another.

5. When your little brother turns his head to squeal in delight at how much fun this is, you can stick your whole hand in the cup. It is much easier than using a spoon.

Soon the entire work space will become a gigantic mess which will make the experience even more fun.

As shown here on little brother's face.

An aerial photo shows that this activity works easily for up to four children. One of which, is about to get dye dumped on his shirt. (Note the eggs lying about on the ground.)

At this point, mixing the colors together is a good idea. "Are we doing it right, Mom?" Huh, sure.

Just for fun, grab some white paper and make hand prints. This is Liam's art work.

And, this is Ben's. Love those hands.

Green monster.

Go ahead and do your feet while your at it.

Any questions?

Candy candy and more candy

We had the pleasure of attending the (now annual) VietFamilies Easter egg hunt this afternoon. So fun! Liam has to stop and eat the candy in each egg before moving on to find the next egg.

Ben is taking the - grab as many as you can - approach to egg hunting this year. His basket was overflowing with eggs so he gladly re-hid a few for the younger kiddos. Sweet boy.

We had six families attend this year. Nine kids, six moms and four dads - super fun time. Loads of candy, bubbles, balls and friends.

Happy Fool's Day!

There's a snake on your face. Happy Fool's Day.

Your pant are not zipped. Happy Fool's Day.

There's a mouse in your ear. Happy Fool's Day.

There's a fly in your food. Happy Fool's Day.

And, it went on and on and on... love that kid!