Erin's "Talk About"

So, whenever Ben has the girls or when he puts them to bed, he'll often ask them what they want to talk about. So we started calling our little conversations with the girls a "talk about." A lot of the time, they'll ask to talk about cats and dogs, other times it's just random things to give us anything to talk about with them. Recently Ben has been taking the girls one at a time on Daddy dates, which they totally love, but I hadn't had the chance to do it though and I really wanted to. I know I spend most of my waking hours with the girls, but one-on-one time is really important. It shows them that they are special and important to us and it gives us, as parents, a chance to talk about a specific topic, random topic or just pick their brain and see what's going on up there. That's what I got to do with Erin on Saturday. We just went to the dollar store to look around and buy a couple of things, but being able to visit the whole time, just she and I together,was so fun. Here's what I found out about Miss Erin.

What is your favorite show: Cars 2 (this was funny to me because she has only seen it once, like almost 2 years ago when it came out!)

What are your favorite shoes: My fast running shoes. (If you read my last post, you'll see why.)

What is your favorite dinner: Peas and rice. (Good girl-loves her veggies!)

What is your favorite dessert: Crepes (This is a new favorite in our family.)

What is your favorite color: Pink (Needs no explanation. Have you seen their room?)

What makes you happy: Toys, baby, blanket

Who is your best friend: Shelby (I was happy to hear that, since Shelby can be NOT a best friend at times. Sisters DO make the best friends though.)

What is your favorite toy: Mousie toy (I don't even know which one that is!)

Who are your favorite people: Sophie (Sorensen), Sophie's mom, Noah, Max, Melody, Emma, Bekah (Notice mom and dad are NOT on the list!)

Who is your favorite cousin: Kate, because she's nice (I probably shouldn't have asked that, it's like asking do you like mom or dad better!)

Outdoor Fun

Last summer we got Shelby a new (to her) bike. She had fun for a little while but the training wheels weren't the greatest and she kept falling off. So, once it started getting warmer this year, I got Shelby some new training wheels that actually fit the bike. My ulterior motive here was to get Shelby comfortable enough on her bike that I could resume walking with the other two in the jogging stroller. So far the training wheels have been a success. We've had a lot of fun riding bikes this spring.

Now, for Erin. I think she's going to be my little sports superstar! She's very active and loves to just get up and GO! She'll take her scooter outside when we go to ride bikes and ride a few times around the playground. Then she'll just ditch her bike and just run laps. It's hilarious to watch and pretty cool. She just keeps going....and going....and going....and going! She has great stamina. Love that girl!

Easter

First of all, we have a new family picture. Do you like it? Of course Shelby is the one holding Paige. She sure does love her sister.

And here's another one with us all dressed up.

Notice where there should be a "mom" and "dad," it says Michele and Ben. Shelby likes learning how to spell all of our names. And that thing down there at the bottom, well that's a dragon.

And now on to Easter stuff. This year I tried to do a few activities with the girls that talked about Jesus Christ, his different names and what they meant. We had a little Easter topiary tree on our table that we hung little tags with the different names of Christ and tried to review and remember them each time we sat at the table. I got the idea here. Although I didn't do all of the activities listed I think it's something we can come back to in the future and do. I really liked the ideas.

This was also the the first year we actually colored eggs for Easter. We all had a blast. The girls especially loved the clear crayon they could write on the egg before they colored it. We called it our secret message and kept singing the very important message song from Backyardagains as we did it. I also had so much fun with the first dozen that we colored, I cooked the rest of the eggs in our fridge to dye them as well. Thankfully the girls liked to eat boiled eggs so that took care of some of the eggs and the rest we ate as egg salad sandwiches with Ben's homemade mayonnaise!

A Hobbit Party

Early this month my mom had knee surgery so I took the girls and spent about 4 days at my parent's house to help her out as well as plan and throw my sister's 16th birthday. She decided on a hobbit theme. My other sister Juli came down the day of the party to lend an extra hand in getting everything together on time. I think it turned out spectacular! Of course all of Laura's friends obliged when she asked them to dress the part...as well as wear the foot patch! What fun kids and what a fun party.

While we were there, Laura got asked out on here first date--PROM!!! I can't believe how fast she's growing up.

Rounding off March

The last part of March Ben was able to put some shelves in for me!! One was in the pantry and one was in the laundry room. Between the existing top shelf and the ceiling was a ridiculously tall space and much of it unused so the shelf wouldn't be overloaded. Since we have little storage as it is in this place, I put Ben to the task. I must say after months of trying to get it done and thinking it never would, Ben finally got it done quickly and did a great job! I'm so happy to have a more organized pantry and laundry thanks to that extra space. (Who knew those days Ben spent doing carpentry for the theater kids would ever pay off?)

Here's the girls helping dad in the pantry...and playing (hopefully nicely) with his tools.

Here's some other random stuff from March...

Paige has discovered her pointer finger and likes to suck on it when she's tired and ready to go to sleep. I think it's pretty cute, I've never seen a kid suck that finger before.

And here's Erin and her Strawberry Shortcake puzzle.