Easter Fun!

We had a great Easter this year! We died Easter eggs and did numerous egg hunts in the house to practice for the real deal, lol. We planned on going to a local egg hunt that drops 20,000 eggs from a helicopter but then it rained. So, the church moved the egg hunt inside. It was essentially thousands of eggs thrown onto the floor and the kids scooped up as many as the could. Grant got a TON of eggs this year! Sloan had to open every egg to see what was inside before she would pick up another one. I tried to get her to not open them but we all know how that went. My super strong willed girl! She ended up with like 10 eggs so that wasn't too bad.

We went to see the Easter Bunny and fully expected a scream fest out of Sloan. She was saying "no, no thank you" when she saw the bunny. And then we watched the little boy in from of us, who was around her age. He went right up there and sat in the bunny's lap and smiled. Then, he got a bunny mask afterwards. I talked it up that he did it and the bunny was sooo nice. I did my normal spill to the photographer, "just take the picture even if she is screaming". It was our turn.....Sloan had a very fearful look on her face and I know what was coming so I just put her right next to the bunny and walked away. She was borderline but then decided she wasn't scared and half smiled for the camera! Shocking and wonderful! My screaming pictures may be over now!

Grant had his Easter Preschool Party at a local park. They got to play games and do an egg hunt.

The Easter Bunny brought the kids some fun toys this year. Grant got tinker toys and a light saber that shoots out both sides. Sloan got some dollhouse furniture and a Barbie Head. She loves to brush her hair and pretend to paint her nails. They got a bubble machine and some other little stuff too.

Some stat updates.....we just got the kids some new shoes and Grant is now an 11.5 and Sloan is wearing a 5 finally! Sloan weighs around 21 lbs and Grant is 39 lbs.

Sloan has also started pooping in the potty this week finally. She has had the peeing down for a long time but the pooping has been harder for her to get down. I think she was just scared for some reason. We have seen a ton of progress this week though, yay! She is also a control freak (like mama) and has to do things "her way". Teenage years will be super fun! One of her favorite phrases these days is "That's not fair"....guess where she picked that up from...siblings! Second child vocabulary is totally different. She knows most of her colors and can count to 10 consistently. She will hold 2 fingers up and say she is 2 if you ask her how old she is. And she knows her first and last name....Grant gets credit for this one since he is learning his full name now.

T-Ball

Grant is getting really good at hitting the ball now....and I actually got to take a video this time. Sloan usually keeps me so busy that I don't get a chance to take videos. And it is not great quality since it was on my little camera. I will take the actual video camcorder next week.

Spring Break Fun

Grant had spring break last week but we aren't going to the beach until this summer.  So, Grant and I took a day to visit some fun places.  We went to the Aquarium and the Zoo.  He loves going anywhere but really enjoys these.  We are now members to both so that makes it even better.....getting our money's worth this year!

The kids also enjoyed decorating an Easter Gingerbread house.  Sloan just wanted to eat the entire house though.  She has a major sweet tooth!  I actually had to get rid of it after a few days because she wouldn't stop eating it.  It was destroyed anyway at that point, ha!

In order to cook dinner, I have to find something to keep Sloan busy.  She wants to be right up under me if not.  And Grant wants to "help" with everything.  It makes everything take twice as long and I have burned more things and messed up ingredient amounts more lately then I care to think about.  Grant loves corn on the cob so I decided to put them to work.  They were my little shuckers!  Sloan pulled all of the "hair" off and Grant ate some of his raw but it definitely kept them busy and happy, lol!

At the zoo

 Riding the train at the zoo!

 He loved watching the scuba diver feed the fish.  They guy even had a speaker so he could talk to the kids and tell them what he was doing.

 Sloan with her corn.  She is always talking so it's hard to get a smile these days!

Grant busy with his corn!

The Easter Gingerbread house.....see Sloan stuffing her face with sugar!  Grant was not happy that she was destroying the house he spent so much time decorating! 



St. Patty's Day, T-Ball and More

The kids had fun with St. Patty's Day this year. Grant had a party in his pre-school class and took everyone green beads and gold coins. We also made shamrock cookies that he decorated with green sprinkles. Sloan had fun with the beads....let's hope that doesn't predict any future acts on her part, lol!

Grant continues to improve in his T-Ball skills. He can now hit the ball pretty far off the tee and is running to first base now instead of home plate. They don't really keep any score and I don't know that we could even if we tried right now. Every kid gets to go around all of the bases. They are all learning the rules of the game and just getting them to pick up the ball and throw it is a challenge sometimes. Every kid wants to get the ball so as soon as it is hit....they all swarm to that part of the field (even they outfielders come running in, ha). Sloan likes to watch and enjoys her numerous suckers during practices and games!

I took Grant to Trader Joe's and he loved it. They have kid sized carts and he thought that was the best thing ever! He didn't like it when his cart got full and it was harder to push though. And he thought that he could get anything he wanted so he was putting all kinds of stuff in there that "we needed".

Sloan is our little "control freak". She wants to control everything and she is happy as a lark. If something doesn't go her way, she is not a happy camper. And it is "two of everything" in our house now....and it has to be exactly the same! If Grant gets something to eat or play with, she wants it and vice versa. And she thinks she can do anything he can and I dare you to tell her that she can't! Normal sibling stuff I guess but it is a work in progress. She also wants to dress and undress herself which triples the time and is a real pain when I am in a hurry. She continues to do great with potty training although the poop is still something she is not perfect on. She never has pee accidents though. She is in underwear all day except I put her in diapers for her nap still and she will wait sometimes and poop right after her nap. I am going to have to get rid of the diapers during this time I think to rid her of this process. I am waiting a little longer though before I do that. Grant was definitely easier than Sloan on this so whoever said "boys are harder to potty train" is just crazy! Might be personality too....I just thought Grant was head strong but we have all met our match with Sloan!

Sloan's First Haircut, Petting Zoo and Grant's first T-Ball game

Grant and Luke needed haircuts so we decided to go as a family this time. Sloan has need her First Haircut for a while now. It just needed to be evened out mostly. She is horrible at the doctor and doesn't like anyone to mess with her.....it has to be on her terms which I guess I can relate to, lol. Too much of her mama in her. So we assumed we may be entering a scream fest on this event. She got to watch Grant get his hair cut first and when we asked her if she wanted to get her hair cut, she said "No!". I tried to sit her in the chair and she started screaming "NO!, NO! NO!" so then I put her in my lap and she was okay with that. She calmed down and let the lady actually cut her hair. Her hair looks good even though the curls still make it a mess sometimes.

We took the kids to a local petting zoo type place. They didn't have the deer roaming freely this time but we still had a great visit. Sloan was very hesitant to get close to or feed the animals at first. They got to feed alpacas (like a llama), goats, sheep, donkeys, rabbits and more. Grant loved chasing around a peacock too!

We had Grant's first T-Ball game. Luke did a great job coaching and Grant hit the ball great. The kids are just learning the rules so it is comical at times (kids running to the pitchers mound instead of first base, etc.). We look forward many more practices and games.  



Sloan's First Haircut

Another picture from reptile day at the preschool

Sloan and Easton (the sister of Grant's teammate and Sloan followed her everywhere!) She is 15 months old.

Grant is a leftie!

Valentine's, Donuts, T Ball, and Swimming

We had a great Valentine's Day.  Grant's class all made their mothers a card and actually mailed it.  He loved that I actually got the card in the mail.  Luke also got to visit Grant at school for "Donuts for Dad". 

Speaking of donuts......a brand new Krispy Kreme just opened down the road from where we live!  We have already been 3 times, lol!  It is packed all the time so we are hoping that dies down a little bit.

Grant is now playing T Ball.  Luke is coaching his team, The Mets.  We had to buy him a left and right glove since we still can't figure out exactly which way he does best.  He switches his throwing hand a lot still which is a little strange. 

Sloan appears to be left handed too.  At least, she draws left handed and eats that way mostly too.

Grant has just started swim lessons again too.  He jumped right in and picked up where he left off.  Sloan loves to watch him swim.  I am going to get her in some group lessons soon but I am not so sure how that will go.

First T Ball practice

 Sloan doing the crab walk

 Donuts with Dad

 Can anyone say "HOT LIGHT!"

 About to eat Mexican!

Grant mailing my Valentine Card at preschool 

More Snow Days, Releasing Butterflies and the Hi-Pad

As you all know, we got another snow storm which Grant LOVED!  The snow wasn't as pretty this time around.  It was a wet snow with a layer of ice on the bottom.  But they both got to sled and play in the snow. 

It finally warmed up enough that we could release our butterflies.  Grant had a great time getting them out of their cage and holding them before they flew away.  It was a really fun process to watch.  We saved the little cage and may do it again later on.

Sloan's favorite phrase these days is "Grant, give me my hi-pad!".  Yes, it is a "hi-pad" to her and she loves it.  She has some apps on there that she plays with.  My mom suggested one, "Endless ABC".  It basically shows a word like "Invisible" with all white letters and puts all of the letters, in different colors, mixed up all over the screen.  You have to drag the letters over the correct letter in the word.  If you pick the wrong one, it makes a noise to say you missed it.  As you are dragging the letter, it says the sound of it like "I, I, I, I, I" until you get on over the I and then it says "I".  The words are way to advanced in my opinion but it did not take her long at all to catch on.  She can now do every word in the app correctly.  It is kind of shocking to us that she can do it.

Sloan's hair is getting so long now.  I am going to have to take her and have it trimmed a little to even it out at least.  I have to blow it dry at night after baths now.  She hated it at first but now she actually likes it and will ask to dry her hair.  Tonight, Grant was watching me blow it dry and when we were done, he looks at her and says "awww you look like a lady" LOL!  I have no clue where he got that one from.  Random things that come out of his mouth crack us up all the time.

 Sloan in her skinny jeans.....well they are supposed to be fitted, ha!  She is still so tiny for her age.  She makes up for it in personality for sure.

Butterflies, Cookies, Movies and More

Grant received a Butterfly kit for Christmas.  We ordered the caterpillars and received them in the mail.  They come in a cup with food, etc.  They eat and grow (really fast) for a couple of weeks.  Then you watch them create cocoons (chrysalis's) where they stay for a little over a week.  And then, out come butterflies!  It has been really fun to watch for all of us.  These butterflies only have lifespans of 2-4 weeks, so you are supposed to release them after a week.  However, the instructions say that you can only release them into temperatures above 55 degrees.  Yep, not going to work with our weather lately.  So, we are on week 2 of having butterflies and guess what is happening now......they are mating!  Yikes!  The instructions also say specifically that they will lay eggs and it will be too many to maintain hence releasing them before this happens.  We don't really have another option at this point so we are playing it by ear.  They eat watermelon, oranges and sugar water.  The kids love to watch them, especially when they are eating breakfast everyday!

Sloan is now saying 8-9 word sentences or maybe more to be honest.  She has picked up a couple of words that are not so good though.  It amazes me how many kids shows say the word "stupid", even Cat in the Hat.  There is a Christmas version that says "stupid little star" and when that part is said, Sloan looks up at us and says "Stupid" and laughs.  She knows it is not good but enjoys our reaction too.  And then Grant picked up the word "loser" from something (still trying to figure that one out).  He said it to Sloan and got in trouble and then she promptly started repeating it over and over, ugh!  She wants to do and say everything that Grant does or says.

I took Grant to see the Lego movie this weekend and he liked it.  It was an okay movie in my opinion but he sat through the entire thing and ate a ton of popcorn.

We also made cookies this weekend and they both really enjoyed eating the dough!

Eating off the beaters! 

Breakfast with Butterflies

 Sloan with a cucumber piece in her mouth at the Japanese restaurant

 She said "look mommy, juice on my head!" and yes, it was!

 Super flexible!