jelly beans, piano, and learning

{The bed-head this kid gets... just kills me.}
Britt just HAD to get a picture to show what was left of the carrot he put out for the Easter Bunny.

Marnie wasted no time and got her sugar-rush started before breakfast. I did limit her jelly bean intake after this, but I figured it couldn't hurt to let her enjoy the morning and go a little wild.

Britt bounced the day away. :) (I have a 2 minute video of him explaining how the bouncer-ball works, and it's HILARIOUS! He says the word "control" about every 3 seconds. It might have to go on youtube...)



The kids put on a private Easter concert for Granny, which consisted mostly of Britt singing "where is humpkin" (that's how he says it) and MJ getting mad when Britt played louder than she could... it was lovely. :)


Then MJ got sleepy, so we had to cuddle with her new baby and read books... For about 5 seconds, until she realized she was sitting down and had to get up immediately.

She still wanted to read books though.


Proof of how much MJ loves animals. She's particularly fascinated by cats right now (probably because we don't see cats very often). She knows how to start a movie in the playroom and I'm always walking in to find The Aristocats playing while MJ signs 'cat' and meows at the TV.

Britt's latest obsession is drawing and writing. His Grandma-Great gave him a sketch book 2 weeks ago and it's almost full. I wish he didn't have to wait another year and 4 months to start kindergarten... he's so ready! He loves to ask us how to spell things and then write them all by himself. Yesterday (after wondering how Marnie had come across the package of hot dog buns she was carrying around the house) I found these papers in Britt's room. He told me he had gotten the buns out so he could copy the letters and spell 'hot dog buns' all by himself. The other paper, he said, is a list of things he needs to get done (actually, it's just his favorite letters), a happy sun, and the words 'I love bats,' which he copied from a different paper. I'm amazed at how fast this kid picks things up...

More of Britt's masterpieces

{to add to the 'vineyard' theme in my kitchen}



"Momma, here's the thing... I just don't really like orange juice. I tried a sip, and it's just not my thing."

Me- "Britt, how'd you get so cute?"
Britt- "just...life."

"Know how Spider-man turned into Spider-man because a spider bit him? Well, I bet Robin got pecked by a robin bird, and that's what turned him into Robin!.... yep, that's gotta be it..."

"Momma, can you fix my cape? It's just real coopywumpus back there."

Me- "Britt... are you wearing one of my bras under your Superman costume?"
Britt- "Well... yeah. But it's NOT for boobs, it's just to look like muscles. I don't have boobs..."

"Marnie, I can't let you play with my glasses, but you wanna play with my glasses, so what can we do about that?"

"oh man... that guy is a HOOT!"

{Saved the best for last...}

Aunt Kaitlynn- {whispering} "Hey, let's play an april fools joke on Uncle Jordan! Let's tell him his epidermis is showing."
Britt- "Hey Uncle Jordan! Your penis is showing!"
[it wasn't]

I leave the room for 5 minutes...

and this happens.

Thank you, Justin, for leaving your electric razor on the bathroom counter.

driving me crazy...

Being strapped into a car seat has never been on Marnie's list of "things that I love and that don't make me scream." In fact, we travel much less than we used to (as a means of preserving some of our sanity). She has good moments... but they almost always involve food. I used to say that when I had kids I would never feed them in the car. I thought it was unnecessary and a bad habit, and blah blah blah. Needless to say, I've changed my feelings on that. :)

Yes. I gave my 13 month old a Redvine (or two, or three, or four...) to keep her from screaming us all crazy.

After a long trip today, I treated Britt to a Frosty. {It was the least I could do after I made him try on 10 pairs of shoes at the shoe store.} I had to pull over and take this picture with my phone, because it was just so cute. I don't know what I'd do without Britt's in the backseat. He's my extra set of hands...He's the best big brother I know. :)

let's go fly a kite

Britt made this little beauty at story time last week.

Miss Marnie was too busy running laps in the front yard and trying to open the gates (ugh, already) to care about the kite.



After realizing that his homemade kite wouldn't fly more than 30 inches above him, Britt asked Daddy to take him to the store for a "long long long stringed kite." You can imagine his glee at finding a long long long stringed kite that had a picture of Batman on it.


sorry about the poor photo quality on these last ones. i just had my point and shoot handy, and dusk is tricky...

to do...

See if I can finally gather all of MJ's hair into 2 ponytails... check!

Give Britt a few peaceful moments in which to practice the timeless art of meditation... check!

Keep MJ from falling off the step stool... uh... (for the most part) check!

Try not to laugh too hard when MJ tries (for an hour!) to climb into her doll stroller... yeah, there's no way I could watch that and not laugh. :)

I've never been so constantly busy/entertained. :)