Busch Gardens with Brittany!!

My sister Brittany came out to visit!!!! She was only out for 2 days, but I will take whatever I can get.  My only wish, okay well maybe my second wish (the first wishing she could have stayed longer) but my real wish, is that there would have been better weather. We froze, and yes it was only 50 degrees, but it was chilly to us.  It was fun to just hang out at the house, do a little shopping, and spend the afternoon at Busch Gardens. We all froze and I felt like an idiot for not dressing warmer, and the girls probably could have lasted a little longer if it were warmer, but they still lasted a good while. 

The photos look amazing because they were all taken by Brittany and with her camera. I want her camera!! 

Boston was a trooper.  It was cold, so he just stayed bundled in the stroller the whole time.  

I love this beautiful girl.  It's also so fun to see her act and look like Brittany, so I end up feeling like Addie is my little sister instead of my niece. 

How precious is this!? Solana looks up to Addie just like a big sister. She wants to be just like her :)

Zoe is Addie's favorite and now it's Solana's favorite as well. 

Someday we will live by these two...someday!!

What's up with those crazy tongues! Brittany took the best photos of these two dancing during the Sesame Street show. 

So the only reason she wanted to go on this ride is because Addie was going on it.  Solana was actually not even allowed to ride this ride because she did not pass the height requirement.  I tired to tell her she would get scared, but of course, I just let her figure that out. The woman said if Brittany went on the ride, then Solana could on as well.  So high up in the sky they went and Solana sunk lower and lower in her seat.  She did not like it, but I give her points for trying. haha! (her face is awesome!)

Baby B is 2 Months!

I can't believe our little Bos-man is 2 months.  I swear time goes faster with your second sweet kid. He is getting so big and so wiggly!  I love love love how happy and smiley he is, it just makes my day.  Seriously, he is just a smile machine.  Anytime someone enters into his view, it's like he says, "Oh!  I'm just delighted that you're here!"  

At his 2 month check up he weighed 14 1/2 pounds, and he is a whopping 25 inches long (95%). It definitely explained why he is growing out of all his one-sies and is wearing 6 month clothes. I have to buy 2-piece outfits in everything! 

This little man's latest:

-He takes 4 naps a day and eats 8 times a day

-He loves tummy time and scooting along the floor

-He now sleeps 7 hours straight at night, and I can't get over how amazing all that sleep feels.

-He has blue eyes and super white, blonde hair, and we are hoping both are permanent

-He's a people watcher, he just wants to be where the people are and stare

-And he loves to cuddle (my favorite thing!!)

Now if you ask Solana about Boston she will tell you his favorite color is blue and he loves animals, especially horses. 

Easterness and Baby Blessing

I love how the any type of holiday gets better and better as your kids get older and older (well I only can say that as far as 3 years go).  Easter was fun last year, but even better this year.  She also grasped the Easter Bunny concept a lot better. And we were also able to explain the real meaning of Easter and and focus on Christ.  And since we decided to bless Boston on Easter as well, it made the whole weekend really special.  

She was never really scared of the Easter Bunny, but this year she was even a little warmer to our gigantic furry friend.  She loves anything stuffed, so I think she was pretty excited about taking her picture with him. 

We went Saturday morning to the WISC Easter Egg Hunt.  It was pretty exciting and kind of competive which made it really funny to watch.  They divided the soccer fields by age (to make it fair) and then when they gave the okay, the kids were allowed to go wild. No parents were allowed on the field, so we coached her from the sidelines.  Adam gave her an aggressive and strategic prep talk.

Then we headed over to another park to have a more personalized Easter Egg hunt with some friends.  This was the hunting gang, all lined up and ready to go. 

She had so much fun at this one, which was less competitive.

All dressed for Easter and ready to be blessed. 

So Adam and I are not traditional people as everyone knows, so the thought of just an all white blessing outfit didn't seem right. We wanted a pop of personality.  So we came up with the idea to make a bow tie from one of Adam's favorite old ties from his mission.  It was super easy to make, and since we love bow ties,  I figure I better learn since I'm sure he will be sportin' lots of them. 

Oh I could eat up his cuteness. Love this little man. His smile is so contagious.

All blessed and happy as can be :)

Phone Fading. A Needed Update

My phone is fading fast.  Last November when we were potty training Solana, she accidentally dropped my iphone in the toilet.  Let's just say it was a collective mistake by all of us.  Luckily it survived, but ever since that happened, my phone continues to slowly work down from its full capacity.  First my wifi stopped working, and some other things, but now my screen goes black and even though it's on, I can't see a darn thing on it.  While it was working, I hurried and uploaded all my non-insta photos so that I could have them on my computer.  These were so fun to look at over the last couple of months and get some photos of some random days we had.  

Fingers crossed my phone lasts a little while longer till it's upgrade season at Sprint :)

But here are my favorite captured moments. 

 Parkin' it up. Slide racing is the best!

No these are not leggings.  Adam actually dressed Boston with his pants under his one-sie!  He was in a hurry to get him dressed, I suppose, but he says it was a joke.  Oh that man makes me laugh.

Why does my daughter look kind of stressed taking care of her baby? I really hope she is not emulating me.  I think it's so cute how well she takes care of her babies, but now that I look at these photos, she kind of looks tired.  I know the feeling!

 (love those matching jammies)

Bedtime is my favorite time.  One reason is that I love it is the alone time Adam and I get to actually have conversations without a little voice saying "Um excuse me, I tell you a question", while Adam and I are trying to catch up from the days activities, or my new favorite "Mommy, you listening to me?" But the other main reason that I love it is the STORIES! Solana loves to read, and her new favorite thing is to have us read it her, then she repeats it back word for word.  We are pretty impressed with her memory.  But then after you tuck her in, she tells you a great story straight from her almost 3 year old imagination.  They usually get pretty long, but they are the greatest stories in the world.  

She loves to dress up. One afternoon in particular, she dressed up in ALL her costumes.  Her chef one is the cutest! 

Oh I wish this day could have been filmed. Not because it was fun, but it was a string of events that continued to get worse and worse throughout the day to the point that it actually became humorous. 

I will you give you the brief version.  Solana woke up really tired (but we did not know she was sick) so we continued on our day and headed out to Busch Gardens. After being there one hour and her not cracking a smile on any rides, she passed out on Adam (which has never happened, seriously!) then she woke up and while I was holding her, she threw up all over both of us. We left the theme park and rest is a bad day of history. But I'm so happy we have this photo to document it :)

Phone update: It finally died, please email me :)

Sunday Afternoon

We have church in the morning now, bright and early at 9am, and at first we thought we would love it, but now we are realizing that we are definitely afternoon church-goers.  But the one thing that has been nice about this is the long afternoon we have wide open.  We all just sit around the house and relax or head to Colonial Williamsburg for walks.  

I have a new goal to take photos of my children every day. I just feel time is going too fast and I want to remember it.  Having our family blog has been a great way to remind myself that this is for us and that we should document each day.  So for the past three Sundays I have been really good about documenting the "everyday."  So here is to more photos of random play on Sunday.

Solana is obsessed with animals.  She loves them stuffed or plastic or on TV or in a book.  She always asks every person she meets what their favorite animal is. Hers are elephants and kitties (formerly puppies) and I'm sure it will be ever-changing.  But we just love when she busts them out and we watch her play with them.

My boys. Love them.

I feel so bad that Boston lost his hair on top, so he's sportin' the horseshoe hairstyle.  But what is even more random, is now his hair has grown back on top all blonde, like white blonde! 

My kids.  Love them too!

I guess she got a little tired of playing outside and decided to take a break. She is a people watcher for sure.  

I caught these two painting each other's faces.  I guess when you run out of paper, just paint the next best white thing, your face!

Yes. Last week we got lots of snow..well a lot for little Williamsburg.  Solana and Adam had so much fun playing in it. Boston and I stayed in the warm house. I cannot wait for Spring to finally arrive!!

Here's hoping for sunny days ahead.  (Except for Adam, who says he wishes he lived in White-Witch Era Narnia.  Nerdspeak meaning: "winter all the time.")