We Have a 3 Year Old Again!

On May 1st our little May Day baby turned three!

We really had her taken aback when we all came in to her room in the morning and sang happy birthday to her, and I think she was downright wary after we threw the confetti. By the time she came out and saw the streamers and balloons she seems to have recovered well though, heehee.

After a hearty pancake breakfast per the birthday girls request, we packed everyone up and headed to the zoo. We got to feed the birds, it was Andrew's first time and Bethi's first time that she remembers.

Andrew was kind of up tight at first with birds spraying him with water and flying by brushing his head with their wings, but before we left even he had calmed down enough to take a turn and have fun with it. Bethi about jumped out of her skin when a fight broke out between a couple of birds right by her head, but she recovered quickly and talked about the experience for days afterward and even still occasionally mentions it!

Another highlight of the trip was getting to see the new baby koala! Something the girls had all been looking forward to since we had heard of its birth. We even got to see the koalas move, a truly rare occurrence!



After we got home we had an early supper. Bethi wanted pizza and we watched Charlotte's Web (the old animated version). Mommy "cheated" on the cake this year. I frosted a cake and decorated it with a Little Pony play set. Hey, she was impressed ;). The play set came with a little plate of muffins that Bethi promptly lost. We couldn't find them anywhere and eventually we convinced her to go ahead and finish her cake and we would look again later. A few minutes afterward she went to take a drink and stopped abruptly. With the cutest look of bewilderment on her face she said, "Ummm, guys...what's in my drink?!". Yep, she found her muffins ;).
Besides the little play set she got some bath crayons and some lacing cards which she calls her "knitting". She likes to get them out when big sister Bri is working on her knitting :).





After cake it was time for baths and night devotions and then bed time. It was a very nice day. We have already planned the rest of the birthdays for the year and will have all of the minimal shopping done very soon. With Baby's due date the day before Lee's and my birthday and three more birthdays within the six weeks after that I know that birthday planning/shopping, etc. is not going to be very practical when the time comes ;).

1st Hair Cut

While the girls first hair trims have always been somewhat "traumatic" for me, nothing could have prepared me for the change a hair cut can make in a little boy! But, it does suit him and a couple of weeks ago even I suggested we cut Andrews hair again, he was looking a little shaggy. He is such a handsome little man :).

March 8th, 2008 (before his hair cut)...

March 8th (during his hair cut), he was really very good!

And May 11, 2008 after his third hair cut! Can you believe how much he aged in two months?!

Have a Blessed Resurrection Sunday!

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received , how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried , and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ~1 Corinthians 3&4

No Greater Joy

I went in to get Bethi up from her nap the other day and saw that she had fallen asleep "reading" her Bible that Bri gave her for Christmas. Before that she had had to borrow her sister's Bibles for family devotions so she thought that was a pretty wonderful gift. 

 
Andrew is really starting to talk well! Several weeks ago he said "Jesus" for the very first time during our family devotions, it was so sweet! And he knew he had melted mama's heart cause he kept saying it over and over with a huge grin on his face ;). 

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. ~3 John 1:4

Bath Time?

Andrew loves bath time! He comes running any time he hears the water start in the children's bathroom, even if it isn't for him. I was running the water for Tori's bath the other day and Andrew came up and leaned over the tub watching the water as usual, the next thing I knew he just climbed in, fully clothed and uninvited! Haha :).



Doesn't he look content...?


I was telling my sister about it on the phone a couple of days later and after we had hung up I told the girls to start getting ready for bed and went to vacuum. Guess where I found Andrew when I was done???


He had climbed into the bathtub, *with* a bowl of potpourri. I guess he wanted a scented bath this time ;).
I need some water mom...


It was so funny after the conversation I had just had with my sister so I ran for my camera to take some pictures to email her.

  
Incidentally, out of four children this is the fourth child that has consistently enjoyed making huge messes with my potpourri. I should scan in the pictures I have of all of them with their favorite potpourri messes sometime, it could make for an amusing post. I am happy to say that after four children I have finally gotten smart. After I cleaned the potpourri out of the bathtub I threw it away and all of the rest of it too, I am through with the stuff until I run out of toddlers! Our poor new baby will be deprived of the potpourri experience...


Isn't he cute though...?

My Least Favorite Part of Couponing...

Filing the coupons :P...


I dislike it so badly that I often have a few weeks to file at a time which is a big mess!
Believe it or not, by the time I was done they all fit nice and neatly into my little black couponing box. I file them in several categories (dairy, baby products, paper products, etc) with one envelope per category and I file them by expiration date in the envelopes. It is kind of tedious to do (though it wouldn't be nearly as bad if I would just do it every week!) but it makes them super easy to find and every week as I file the new ones the expired/ing ones are right at the front of each envelope to throw away or as a reminder to use them very soon if the are good enough to use even without a sale.
But it is worth it :).
Here is what we got on our shopping trip a few weeks ago...
(especially note all of the "free" chocolate!)


Total value of all of the product: $343.17
Total we spent in Extra Care bucks(not including the many we simply rolled over), register rewards, and cash out-of-pocket: $23.63!
And the Extra Care Bucks we earned...


The next week we bought  several packages of diapers, sippy cups, and much more for a total of about five dollars spent and last week we were paid $6.00 to buy 10 bags of M&M's! We are set for popcorn and M&M nights for months!
Not bad...

Our New Year

Waiting in eager anticipation for Daddy's annual New Years Eve firework display to begin...



Lee helping Andrew with his sparkler...



Andrew "helping" Daddy start a fire in the fireplace...


Andrew's first participation in the annual New Year's Eve s'mores night...




Andrew wearing his s'more plate...



Haha :).

Obviously baths were necessary afterwards ;)...

After everyone was all cleaned up we waited patiently (and sleepily!) for the new year to arrive and Lee ushered it in with a prayer of blessing over our family, the sweetest time of all the year. We had a grape juice toast and I was feeling so "blech" that I forgot to take an official "first of the year" picture of the children :(. But we had a lovely time together that night remembering God's goodness to us over the last year as we gathered around the fireplace with our fun treats and we are looking forward to a wonderful year that holds, among other things, a new baby for our family!!!

I pray you all have a blessed year!!!

Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. ~Psalm 65:11