Easter Egg Hunting...

Our ward had an Easter Egg hunt a week before Easter. I was glad it was early because I didn't want to miss out and be stuck in the hospital during all the festivities! It was so much fun and they arranged it so that the little kids had their own spot to hunt eggs away from all the older kids. Tess loved it and couldn't stop from eating her jelly bean loot. I might have snuck a couple myself...

{Dad was a great "hunting" partner}

 {I wasn't quite as fast as Dad was}

 {Tess and her "bunny" sidekicks...Mya and Ella. She adores these two.}

Since I wasn't sure where we would be on Easter, Tess wore her Easter dress a week early. It was so cute on her. She must have had a great time in nursery because here she is passed out on the way home from church.

Time for Tea...

Maybe we shouldn't be teaching Tess about "tea" at this early age, but I guess she is still innocent? She loves her little musical tea set that she got for her birthday. And she loves to have her tea parties in her birthday chair.

It's amazing to watch little kids and see how quick they catch on to toys and play. Tess loves to imitate and pretend...maybe she does have a little of me in her after all! That was my favorite thing to do when I was a little girl...just ask all of my siblings. I used every possible thing to pretend that it was a cash register. That was my toy of choice. So far Tess is loving her tea set and kitchen and her baby dolls. She also loves her tent and tunnel she got for her birthday. And she loves to talk on the phone. She'll use anything she can find...remotes, cards, pretend loaf of bread...she'll put it right up to her ear and toddle around having a conversation. It's so fun to see her ability to "play" so grown up. She is growing up before our very eyes!

Color, color, color

This girl is a coloring machine! She has really gotten the hang of it since her first few times in nursery. She loves it! And so far, we haven't had to clean any crayons off the wall, but I'm just waiting for that day when we have to. She's usually great at staying on the paper...I try not to let her color unsupervised. However, this day, I forgot that the crayons were still out and was in another room. It was quiet and then it hit me and I remembered the crayons were still out. This is what I found. Looks like we aren't too far from the walls....

...and after I took a cleaning to the book. I found it ironic that the title is "I'm Sorry" (which is one of her favorite books).

Marching for Babies...

The annual March for Babies fundraiser is coming up the end of April. I've been so late in getting our team together. I guess I've been focused on other things....maybe a new baby? So I'm trying to pull it all together before this baby comes. Recently, I got together with a bunch of other NICU moms to work on posters of our children. They put them up the day of the walk so everyone can see who we are walking for. It's kind of cool to see all the cute kids and the amazing miracles that they were as babies and now as older children. It's quite an inspiration!

 This year's poster...

Not that I would ever wish anyone to have a micro preemie or any sick baby, but it has been a great experience to be a part of this group of women and be a part of a family committee that plans things for current NICU families. They are strong and have come through lots of challenges and trials! And I love to see how they beam with pride when they talk about their "miracle." (I beam too).

We are grateful to have been able to meet some awesome families and hear their amazing stories through our experience with Tess. It's just one of the many blessings that we have received through one of our hardest challenges.

Picnic at the Park

We've had a few warm days here and there in Boise. I know they are just a "spring tease" to get us all to have spring fever just before another couple of winter storms! But we will take the warmer weather any time and any way we can get it! One perk to having Dave work at home is that he usually joins us for lunch...and this time he joined us for a little playing and picnicking in the park.

We took Tess to this same park last fall. She had lots of fun on the swings, but wasn't into the slides or anything else. She also couldn't walk. This time it was lots of fun because she could climb up the park toys and walk around. And she always LOVES the swings.

Streaking...

Tess is at that age where she loves to be chased and thinks it is so funny. Bath time is no different. I'm not as quick these days, so she usually gets away from me pretty easily. She's usually going for some kind of book. Here she is in all of her glory!

2 Year Photo Shoot

Here are a few pics of the little photo shoot that we did in Utah while visiting for the weekend. Dave hasn't had time to process all the ones that he and Chelsie took, but here are a few that Chelsie was able to do for a peek (and hopefully Dave can get the other ones processed before Tess turns 3)...

 {this has to be one of my all time favorites!}

 {and one to document this pregnancy, my bulging belly and ever widening hips!}