Early Easter Celebration

Last weekend we celebrated Easter a week early with my grandfather who was down from Ohio for a visit!  This was his first time meeting Katy Ellis, it was love at first sight!

 

 

He adores his great grands!

Poppy with 3 of his grandchildren and all his great grands :)

We grilled steaks in Lauren and Richard's backyard, it was the perfect night for playing and eating outside. 

My parents made the kids the sweetest Easter baskets, they got to open them a little early!

 

My mom made each of the kiddos a sweet bunny from scratch with their name on it, how cute are they?  She is so talented!

 

Banks kept squeezing his bunny!

 

I love this crazy boy :)

My mom also made them each a bucket to hunt Easter eggs with.

Both Banks and Blakely LOVED finding the Easter eggs...huge hit!

 

So in Blakely's Easter basket from my parents there was this Minnie mouse dress.  She immediately put it on and twirled around saying "I pretty!" "I pretty!"  She refused to take it off for the rest of the night.  She was so happy wearing it who would have made her take it off??  Why not hunt Easter eggs dressed up in a pink polka dot gown?

 

So determined to get them all in his bucket, and then once he had about 20 eggs he would dump them on his head...crazy boy!

Love this kids and I love watching them have so much fun together!  Cousins are the best!

 

 

I think we will be playing "Easter eggs" for a few more months at our house!

Cousin Gender Reveal

We are SO excited that Banks will be getting another cousin!  This time it is on Matt's side! Matt's sister Jordan is pregnant and expecting their first baby this fall!

On Friday night we did a gender reveal to see if we would be getting a boy cousin or a girl cousin.

Banks was rooting for a boy cousin, obviously!

The big moment!  They both waited until the day of to find out, too...it was so exciting!

Its a.....

GIRL!!!!

Baby girl Faulkner is on the way!  Jordan and Will were both so excited!

Happy parents-to-be!

This was everyone who thought it was a girl. They were right!

These were the the "boy" votes...we're sad because obviously we were not right. ;)

Banks is an expert at girl cousins,  he is excited about his new friend! 

Congratulations Jordan and Will!  We could not be more happy for you guys!

19 Months Old

Banks you are 19 months old!

(Little late, but the pictures were taken at the right time- that counts right?)

You are growing and changing every day!  It amazes us all the stuff you pick up on. 

You are a little helper right now! You love to sweep, help make the bed, dust, etc.  Its so cute!

You still LOVE the outdoors, it is your favorite.  You got a playset in the back yard this month and you LOVE swinging.  Normally you hate to be "confined" but you will stay in that swing for as long as any one will push you.  

Your emotions flip flop back and forth so quickly!  These pictures were all taken minutes or seconds apart, haha!

You have started to become somewhat interested in potty training.  When you go #2 you will come to us and grab your diaper and say "poo!"  You like to sit on your potty but usually nothing happens.  One time this month you went both #2 and #1 in the potty!  We have a LONG way to go but proud of you for showing interest!

You LOVE trucks, bulldozers, diggers, cranes, etc.  You have a truck noise that you make (its a low growl, its hilarious) when you see one!  You could watch bulldozers all day long.  You still call them "go go's."

Your favorite foods right now are mac and cheese, peas, grapes, watermelon, chicken nuggets, and ice cream :)

I would say your favorite people right now are "Gigi," "dada," and Blakely (you still haven't figured out what you want to call her).  All day long you ask for Gigi or Dada!

I would describe your personality as mischievous, spunky, high energy, passionate, and caring.   You LOVE your new cousin.  You always rock her in her bouncy seat and just want to be near her.  When she cries you will go over to her and try to soothe her.  I never imagined you would be so interested, but it warms my heart to watch!

Your favorite words are "whoa" "wow" and "boom"...such a boy!

Taking pictures of you is CHALLENGING...there is no sitting still or standing still involved!

We just love you so much Banks...you are turning into a toddler from a baby before our eyes!