Mary, from The Secret Garden, explains what Spring is to someone who has never experienced it saying, "It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine, and things pushing up and working under the earth."
There is something so special about moms. They love their children so much and it is hard to comprehend that love until you are actually a mother. When I became a mom, it made me more fully appreciate my own mother. She loves her children and now grandchild so much. She helps us to be better, she created a safe, and happy home and is so much the mom and person I want to be. Thank you for all the zillions of tiny and huge things you have done for me Mother Dearest.
To Tyler's mom, Kim, thank you for loving and raising such a sweet boy! You love us all so much and we love you. You are such a wonderful grandmother as well!
I am so extremely grateful for this little girl who made me a mom.
Being a mom is so many things in one. It is the best and sometimes the worst. It is the most fun and it is sometimes the least fun. There are ups and downs, but mostly there are ups. Elanor often says, "I have the best family in the whole world." I melt every time because she says it so sincerely. Family bliss is real and we have it in our home everyday, even amid the tantrums.
I am so sorry I missed last week. It was a busy week. I decided pretty last minute that I wanted to make a friend a baby quilt. This friend of mine was coming to visit Wednesday-Sunday, so I only had two days to do it! Plus, Tyler has been home since he is done with clinicals and I kind of wanted to see the guy. So, with the combination of being busy finishing projects, having friends visit and then getting a pet rabbit on Saturday made for a blog-free week.
For last week's Weekly Photo, I wanted something from Easter, but also you have all already seen all those pictures. So, you have to see this one again (I need to keep track, since I put all these Weekly Photos in a photo book at the end of the year), sorry.
For this week's Weekly Photo it is a bunny picture.
Meet Flopsy.
Elanor picked her name. Elanor loves the Peter Rabbit books and wanted our rabbit to be named after one of his sisters. It is really hard to get a picture of Flopsy, as she jumps around the whole time she is out of her hutch.
Tyler converted Elanor's old changing table into an awesome hutch.
I told her to smile and this is what she did.
We think this little bunny is pretty darn cute. Have you seen anything cuter?
Easter was so fun this year! Elanor was simply delighted at the idea that she could leave her colored eggs out and the Easter Bunny would hide them and then leave something in her basket. She loved finding eggs and kept saying things such as, "Oh, you silly bunny, how did you hide an egg up there?!?!".
We dyed eggs, but it was done quickly and only in two colors we had left over from last year. We did not have much time because we went to pick out a baby bunny on Saturday and then had to quickly get back for dinner and dying eggs before Tyler left for work around 5:30. So, yes, we are getting a pet rabbit! We picked it out on Saturday and will pick it up in two weeks, when it is a bit older. Elanor fell in love (we all did). We are getting a little Holland Lop rabbit and it is brown and white and seriously one of the cutest things I have ever seen.
So, back to Easter---Easter morning was so enjoyable! Here are some pictures and videos:
Elanor looking at everything in her Easter basket.
Elanor with the things she got in her basket (a bag of blocks, an Easter book by Tasha Tudor, jelly beans and a chocolate egg on a stick).
This is just part of the Easter egg hunt, but still quite cute!
Hot cross buns and hard boiled eggs for breakfast!
All ready for church (I did pin curls to get Elanor's hair curly)!
Family Easter pictures:
Tyler had work on Sunday night (uggghh--poor guy), so Elanor and I went with my aunt, uncle and cousins to my uncle's mom's house. We had a good time and Elanor played with all the little kids. Tyler did not have clincals or class on Monday so we had our Easter dinner then and it was delicious. I got a ham from Trader Joe's that was sooo good, plus I also made chocolate eclairs for dessert. Yum!
I made Elanor an Easter dress! Let me say that again, I made Elanor an Easter dress!! I am surprising myself just as much as most of family members are surprised by my new found sewing abilities (they really aren't much). I have mentioned several times on here, just how bad of a seamstress I used to be. My Young Women's leaders can attest to this! I was so bad at sewing and understanding what I was supposed to do, they would often have to sew a lot of my project for me. Oh, and cutting straight lines. Yeah, I am pretty much the worst cutter in the world (that might not be entirely true).
I have sewn Elanor a few little shift type dresses, a skirt (so easy!) and her halloween costume, but this was the first time I gathered a skirt and attached it to a bodice. It was quite easy actually. This was also the first time I made a peter pan collar, and it went pretty well, but next time I will do it much better. My next dress I do want to try sleeves out, but for some reason I have been a bit nervous to try.
I also made a little bow for her hair.
Also, this whole dress did not cost me anything to make! My friend, Becky, gave me some fabric that her Grandma has given her. So, this was a cheap project for me!
I also took way too many pictures of Elanor in her dress (I knew I would not get much of a chance to on Sunday morning), so enjoy if you have not seen Elanor in awhile!
Pase!
This picture cracks me up!
She also really loves her dress, which make me happy!
Since it is Easter this week, we have been reading about Jesus' life and watching the corresponding Bible videos . It has been wonderful and great prep for this weekend. If you feel the need to get into the Easter spirit, then watch this beautiful little video. It will do your heart and soul good.
As everyone knows it is Easter this Sunday! I am exited, as I love this holiday, both the spiritual and temporal aspects. I love Spring, new life, blossoms, spring flowers, baby animals, etc., so I enjoy celebrating that. More importantly, I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, and the new life and new beginnings we can have because of Him. To get you started on some Easter prep, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has some great resources. Check out the Seven Days Till Easter activity/scriptures you can do with your kids, here.
I did not take any pictures last week! The weather was rather miserable and cold, we did not do much and the one day I wanted my camera, I forgot it! So, I took a picture today, for my Weekly Photo, which does not really count. Oh, well. I did make some videos though, so I am putting one of those up!
Elanor picking flowers this morning.
Elanor loves being read to and loves looking at books on her own as well--as most everyone who reads this blog already knows. She has memorized several books, especially ones that are her favorites and we read often. I decided to finally get a video of her "reading" and it is so cute. She is "reading"Dream Animalsby Emily Winfield Martin. It is a beautiful bedtime book and I highly recommend it.
Also, it was General Conference this past weekend! Every year, I find myself getting more excited for it. I love General Conference and learning about the Gospel and how to be a better person. If you missed it, need a recap, or have never heard of General Conference, check out the talks here.
Elanor picked her name. Elanor loves the Peter Rabbit books and wanted our rabbit to be named after one of his sisters. It is really hard to get a picture of Flopsy, as she jumps around the whole time she is out of her hutch.
