Sunday, April 12, 2009

We are having a boy!!
Easter Weekend!
When the Aunts come to town....
My sisters Steffaney and Sydney came into town from BYU-I to pick up our car. Mom and Dad so kindly bought it for them. The kids were excited to see their Aunts and I was excited to have some company. The morning they arrived, while they settled in and unpacked I took the kids to a primary activity. Andy had to work in the morning and the primary activity just happened to be at his work. Nice!! The kids had a lot of fun entertaining all the "grandma's and grandpa's" and the music therapist did great! After the primary activity we went back to the house to pick up Steffaney and Sydney. After a quick stop at McDonalds we headed to the mall to meet Dorothy, The Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man. We waited in line for 25 minutes. By the time we got to the front of the line Aubrey,Caleb, and Ainsley were too nervous to get there pictures taken. Steffaney and Sydney were very excited!!! The crowded mall and long line erupted with laughter.Right as we were leaving Aubrey wanted to take a picture with Dorothy. She was a little shy. After pictures we headed to the Wizard of Oz play area.
When we are all done playing we headed to the Candy Store and each child/aunt picked a lolipop or small bag of candy.
*While we were at the mall Andy left work and went to buy a swing set.
We got home from the mall just in time to clean faces, change Ainsley clothes, and walk to the neighbor hood Easter Egg Hunt.
Ainsley was very serious about collecting eggs. Once she had 4 in her basket it got "too heavy" for her and she started dragging it. One by one her eggs started falling out. She was unaware that they were HER eggs. I would point to her eggs on the grass and (unaware) she was so excited to keep finding eggs!
Finally her neighbor hood friend Nathan helped her carry her basket!
Steffaney and Sydney were pretty wiped out. Caleb loved the extra attention! Surveying the candy!
Sydney didn't keep a very good eye on Caleb. When she realized he had melted chocolate everywhere she quickly handed him over to me!
Aubrey made a special request to talk and take a picture with the Easter Bunny!
Easter Morning!!!
Steff/Syd, Caleb, Ainsley, and Aubrey's Easter Baskets!
Caleb's "steam roller/shovel"
Aubrey's lip gloss, umbrella, and barbie clothes were a big hit!
Although Caleb initially liked the chocolate bunny...one bite into it changed his mind.
Ainsley was the only one who liked the chocolate bunny. How can this be??
I guess the Easter Bunny didn't have enough time to put the swing set together before Easter morning.
First thing Easter Morning Andy went outside to get started on the swing set again! My fault....I thought I had read that it took 8 hours and 2 people. Come to find out it says 2 experienced people 20-24 hours!!! I think we all wanted to die!!! After spending 4 hours on it yesterday and completeling 5 of the 103 steps this is what the kids saw in the morning! Not exactly the exciting view I had pictured for the kids but hopefully it will be done by May!:) Wish us luck!
HAPPY EASTER!
**On Friday morning while Aubrey was at school and Andy was at work I took Ainsley and Caleb with me to the doctor to find out if we were having a boy or girl. Its a boy!!! Once Caleb found out he was very exited and kept asking the doctor questions like:
Can I see my brothers heart?
Can I see my brothers head?
Wow! My brother is bald!
Andy is very excited...I think more excited then he has been after the last 3 children's ultra sounds! I am a little scared to have another "Caleb" but very glad that Caleb will have a brother!!! The baby is really small...not yet a pound so I will be going back often for observations and ultra sounds. We feel very blessed and excited!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

One Year remembered, 70 years of Oz, and an Easter Party

It's been exactly one years since Caleb was released from his 8 days stay at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. What a humbling and life changing experience. In just a matter of hours Caleb can go from running around to trouble breathing. If you would have asked me last January if a child could die from Strep Pneumonia I would have said of course not. Life is fragile and we are so grateful for the BIG part that Caleb plays in our little family!
Last Saturday we had the opportunity to go to Crown Center to meet Paul aka. Grandpa Griner during his yearly Dental Conference. It is the highlight of the kids entire March! This year the theme was "70 years of Oz". Digging out old Halloween costumes turned out to be hilarious!!! Aubrey squeezed into her 2T Dorthy outfit, Ainsley wore Calebs old Lion costume, and Caleb borrowed the neighbors Lions costume! Walking around the mall with Dorthy and 2 Lions caused a lot of heads to turn!:) We were lucky enough to be there when "Glenda the Good Witch" arrived!!
Even Ainsley took a picture with the GOOD WITCH! It was a miracle!
We ate lunch at a fun train restaraunt. The train acutally delivered the food. Caleb was in heaven! After lunch we headed to the "70 years of Oz" play area. It was awesome!
With slides, pretend tornado's, and tons of cool different play areas I would say that this years theme was the best. KANSAS represented well!!!
Andy's yearly work Easter Party. I thought the bunny was great. Of course when we asked Aubrey to smile she wouldn't. Caleb turned on the charm and smiled the entire morning! He hugged, laughed, and said hi to all the "grandma's and grandpa's"!Once Ainsley saw the Easter Bunny she was done...scared, clingy, and crying. The solution was the fake Easter Bunny! She loved the fake bunny!
Dyeing eggs was "magical" for the kids. Since I was absolutely not doing it at home I was glad they had a chance to do it here.
Aubrey took the Easter Egg dyeing very seriously. She didn't want to get the dye on her painted finger nails. The Easter Egg hunt was a lot of fun! Caleb DID try to cheat by getting a head start but after calling him back to the starting line he eagerly waited!!
Ainsley liked the Easter Egg hunt and actually found 3 eggs!
Defiantly a fun weekend! We cant wait until tomorrow, we love going down to Windsor to watch General Conference and celebrate Paul's birthday! The kids sure do love Grandpa Griner!

*** Yes, we will find out boy or girl on Friday. If anyone has any boy name idea, please share! We are unable to agree on names and since Andy is dead set against Bleaker we are back to the drawing board. I am pretty sure it is a girl though!