Easter Morning and Easter Dresses

The girls had to follow some clues to find their Easter baskets.



Chess was so excited to hear and follow the clues.  Look at that face of excitement!



There's an egg clue on the dishwasher!



They finally found the baskets under the table.



Lera was the only child who wanted to pose happily in front of the azaleas before church.



The Thompson family



I decided to try again to take some pictures of the girls after church.  Here they are running away from me.  Cute.



Sisters



I found this dress for Chess a few years ago and loved it.  I am so happy that she fits into it this year.



I decided to make a toille dress in another color for Lera to coordinate with Chess.



Pink is the only color they had, so pink it is.



Here is the back.  I actually messed up and made the bodice a little too tight, so I added that pink strip to give her some more room.  I think it turned out pretty cute for a mess-up.



I have to enjoy making these pretty little things for them while they still want me to.



Happy Easter!

Birthday and Easter Gathering

We combined Chess's family birthday party with her cousin, Will's.  And we had a big Easter dinner at the same time.  April is just so busy, we wanted to combine a few things so we could still have a free weekend or two this month.


Chess and the cakes


These are my table decor.  I used egg shells and tried to plant wheat grass in them, but they didn't sprout.  So, I cut some flowers from my azalea bushes and stuck them in there instead.  Jared bent some wire to use as holders.


Enjoying an Easter feast


My dad, two of my cousins, my girls, and all my nieces and nephews


Finding some eggs


"Show me your egg, Lera."


Nan-Naw, helping Lera get the goodies out


The special eggs from Nan-Naw and Paw-Paw were filled with dollar bills!


Eating candy


Opening presents - She was so sweet and patient while Will was opening his presents.  And she was so excited when it came time to open hers.


Yay!


Playing with some of her presents


Lera is making sure they don't get wet while coloring.

Thank you everyone for bringing delicious food for our feast and for the generous presents!  We had a great time together!

Chess's Four-Year-Old Interview

Chess had a great birthday.  I will post more about that later.  Here are her answers to the interview questions.  See here for last year's answers.

What is your name?
Chess

What's your last name?

Chess Thompson

What is your birthday?

April 19

How old are you?

Four!

Who is your Momma?

You!

Do you know my name?

Alison

What does Momma do?

Help me and Lera

What is your favorite thing to do with Momma?

Bake cakes and muffins like we did today.

Who is your Daddy?

Jared

What does Daddy do?

Work and come home

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?

He likes wrestling with me and I like wrestling with him.

What is your sister's name?

Lera

What does Lera do?

Play with Chess

What is your favorite thing to do with Lera?

Play with Lera with Strawberry Shortcake

What is your favorite color?

Pink, purple, green

What is your favorite animal?

ponies

What is your favorite food?

granola

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A teacher

Where do you want to live when you grow up?

In a class with kids because I want to be a teacher.

What do momma and daddy do after you go to bed?

I don't know. Tell me! (kept going on and on about me telling her what we do)

What is your favorite song?

My Little Pony (sings made-up two-line song). It's just a short one.

What is your favorite movie?

Ponies (we don't have a pony movie, she's just a little caught up on ponies right now)

What is your favorite place to eat?

Restaurant

which one?

Everyone's restaurant

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Strawberry!

Who is your favorite person?

Lera

Who is your best friend?

Lera

What does Momma say?

“I love you”

What does Daddy say?

“Let's wrestle”

What is your favorite book?

My Little Pony (don't have that one either)

What is your favorite toy?

Strawberry Shortcake

The Coloring of the Eggs

Chess just plopped one in.


Lera decided hands are much easier to use than that dipping tool.


Having a treat after the hard work of coloring the eggs is done.

W.W.

Chess is turning four.

My big girl is turning four on the 19th.  She is so excited.

It seems like just a few months ago I was posting her baby stats and blogging about her first solid foods.  Her little brain has soaked up a ton of information in four short years.

Part of me wants her to stay little forever.  But, it is exciting to see her grow and change.  I wouldn't really want her to stay little forever, but I do need to try harder to enjoy her while she is still pretty little.

And now, four facts for my soon-to-be four-year-old:



1. Chess is responsible and usually helps pick up toys and clean up when I ask her to.



2. Lately she has been into drawing and gluing things onto paper.  There are markers and crayons and paper all over the place most of the time.



3. She has taken her role as big sister very seriously, and has become very good at "directing" Lera.  Sometimes she is more tactful than others.



4. She is very talkative and asks a million questions a day.  Her Sunbeams teacher at church says she is always quick to answer questions in class and that she is a smart and sweet girl.



*bonus fact* (I thought of one more good one) Chess loves picking out her own clothes and wearing things that are "pretty."  This includes: dresses, skirts, pink, necklaces, hairbows, headbands, etc.  The more accessories, the better.

Momma and Daddy and Lera love our Chess so very much!

Faux Camping

My parents, sister and her family went camping.  We weren't able to camp, but the girls and I went up for the day to get in some mountain time.  It was a bit rainy, but we had fun faux camping!


Playing in Mimi and Poppy's tent.


They found the doggy door!


Playing in the pine needles and dirt.


Raven joined in on the play.


Riding in the back of the truck is a must.


Fishing.




Look at that face of concentration.


Sweet.




After they got tired of sliding, the girls took turns - one going up and one going down at the same time. My dad and I were throwing the frisbee nearby and I kept hearing all these grunts, bangs, giggles, and shrieks coming from inside the tube.  They were climbing over each other and it sounded pretty fun, actually.


Lastly, sitting by the tent eating snacks.  It started raining, so we left. :)  I hear they stayed mostly dry through the night, though.  Thanks for letting us crash your camping party!

Play Group Easter Egg Hunt

I told Chess to count to 10 eggs and then stop.  She counted every one and then stopped so the little kids could get more eggs.  She was sweet and waited patiently until I told her she could get a few more.


Lera wanted to look inside each egg as she picked it up.  I had to remind her to keep hunting.










Then the girls played with some friends.


It was a very successful and fun time!