Easter

He has risen, he has risen indeed! Praise God for our Savior who humbled himself even to death on a cross, and conquered death for ME.

Easter weekend we went to our neighbor's Easter egg hunt. She hosts a hunt every year, and well this is really the first year we have been able to come. She has a daughter that is 9 years old as well as two sons, and well she had 13 friends come over. Total, 16 girls hunting eggs. Zach didn't know what to do, Ellie had a blast! Here they are waiting to go outside:
Ellie and Ainsley hunting:
Easter Sunday, the girls wore matching dresses. Ellie was so excited to dress up just like Ainsley.
We went to church and then went over to Nana and Papa's for lunch. We had a wonderful meal, lamb, asparagus, mashed potatoes, and dessert. Here the girls are after lunch:


We then had dinner with our small group to celebrate our risen Lord. We had a great time celebrating our risen Lord, Happy Easter!

Ellie Turns 3!

Really, three years old? It can't be. It goes too quick, they just don't stop growing. Oh but I love to watch her grow! I definitely have a bittersweet feeling about this birthday. I feel that Ellie is officially a preschooler, no more baby excuses. She goes to the potty, dresses herself, write her name, sits in a big chair, won't stop talking... EVER. My little chatter box is a handful, but so full of life. I am excited to say goodbye to the two's, and hoping I can handle the three's. I really do love watching Ellie take on the world and soak it all in. It's amazing how quickly their little minds grow. I look forward to seeing her learn and experience so much more this next year. What a blessing it is to be a mother to such a beautiful bubble of life and personality.

This year to celebrate a birthday, we decided to take her to the zoo. We had to take her best pal, Addison, along as well! It was a crummy day, cold and somewhat rainy, but they seemed to still enjoy it.

Zebras and Giraffes

Chimpanzee

Looking at the HUGE gorillas

Best friends

Family with the elephants

birthday cupcake at Chick-fil-a

It definitely wasn't the best day for the zoo, but it sure made the day extra special for Ellie. She wouldn't stop talking about it. Gigi came to the zoo and celebrated over lunch, and even came back to the house for presents and more sweets!

Gigi with the girls

They both loved the piggy bank

Ellie opening presents

Birthday cookie (one piece missing from daddy because he couldn't resist)

We also celebrated her birthday at Nana's and Papa's house where Ellie opened up more presents and had a yummy lunch outside. She felt so special and loved by her family and friends.


Happy Birthday to our joyous 3 year old! What a special, loved child you are and always will be.

Face Painting at Marbles!

We decided to head to Marbles the other week since it's one of our favorite places! When we got there, it turned out that they were opening a new exhibit, a vet clinic! They were celebrating with some treats and face painting. I definitely wanted the girls to try so at first I let them play...

Ainsley loves to put her face against both glass and mirrors. We catch her doing this frequently.

Taking a ride in the ambulance:

Picking some veggies.

Then I headed off to wait in a long line, while the girls played some more with Daddy. Ainsley had to come give me a hug while I waited, of course.

Now the attempt to face paint. Ellie chose to be a rainbow cat, interesting. She definitely was resisting at first...

but after some instruction, she sat still but a little freaked out.

We decided to try Ainsley, if Ellie was able to sit still we figured she would too. She got to be a puppy. We had to put her on my lap, but she did great!

The reward for doing such a good job was a cupcake and some milk. Here is the finished work (after the cupcake of course):

And again, face against the mirror. She wanted to give the puppy a kiss:

Creative shot by daddy.

The fun we have at Marbles!

Being Cute in Our Pajamas

Pink Hat

Quack Quack

Made these cute little hats at library time today. They girls put them on and showed off to daddy. Quack Quack.

First Pony Ride

In the past Ellie has been way too scared to ride a pony, but this year she finally was brave enough. Our neighborhood put on a spring fling that included a pony ride! It was successful:

The Art of Sharing

Ok, there's no art here... just an attempt at sharing, but an incredibly cute attempt indeed.

Sharing from Laura Hanlon on Vimeo.