Easter: at Vogel (and a Birthday Party)

We had our Easter eggs hunt on Saturday and also had our family party for Chess's birthday. We went to our favorite place, Vogel State Park. If you've never been there, you really should go. It's lovely.

Be prepared for many pictures.








Twin T-shirts!


Chess, in her brand new pink chair from Mimi and Poppy.






Look at this cousin staircase! Can you believe we got this picture?






This one cracks me up. Chess knows the plastic eggs have candy or other treats inside. She also knows the hard boiled eggs, created with love and care, do not. Here, she is generously giving Lera one of the hard boiled eggs she found.


Raven's first egg hunt.


What do you see in there, Lera?


A necklace!






Mimi and Poppy with all the grandkids.




This is how Lera eats cake.


Thank you, everyone, for the great presents.


Finding (and eating) jelly beans.




He's a good Daddy.


Chess found a friend to play in the river with.

Easter: at home

We did a few fun Easter activities.


Chess was pretty good at dying eggs this year.


Lera was a mess, as most 18-month-olds are.


The finished products.


Baskets, waiting to be found.


I did a little treasure hunt this year. It was fun to see Chess working through the clues and running from place to place.




The chocolate bunny became headless immediately.

Three-Year-Old Interview

I have seen other people do these interviews. I decided to do them with our kids around every birthday, starting at three years old. I imagine they will adapt and change some as they get older. So without further ado, here is the first of many birthday interviews:


What is your name?
Chess

What is your birthday?
April 19

Where were you born?
In a stable

How old are you?
three

Who is your Momma?
you

What does she do?
Press on the 'puter (computer)

What is your favorite thing to do with Momma?
Read library books

Who is your Daddy?
At work

What is his name?
I don't know his name.

What does Daddy do?
He works

(What does he do at work?)
he just works

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
Play with toys

What is your sister's name?
Lera

What does Lera do?
Plays with me

What is your favorite thing to do with Lera?
Play toys

What is your favorite color?
pink

What is your favorite animal?
giraffe

What is your favorite food?
Pasta

I laugh and ask again b/c she always says she does NOT like pasta. So she says:
granola bars

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A woman

Where do you want to live when you grow up?
A stable (still thinking of that Christmas story)

What do momma and daddy do after you go to bed?
I don't know.

What is your favorite song?
Ernie (an Ernie song I used to sing her every night – I'd Like to Visit the Moon)

What is your favorite movie?
Frogs (Leapfrog)

What is your favorite place to eat?
Outside (at her picnic table)

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Blue

Who is your favorite person?
Momma

Who is your best friend?
Lera

What does Momma say?
I don't know.

What does Daddy Say?
I don't know. (I ask again and she started making up words.)

What is your favorite book?
Monsters (I have no idea what book, if any, she is talking about. She loves her books, but has had it with these questions.)

What is your favorite toy?
Dinosaur (What? We have one tiny dinosaur that someone gave us, but it doesn't really get played with. She is done answering me!)

Birthday Festivities

Chess woke up feeling good and getting birthday greetings from me and Lera. When we got downstairs, she saw all the decorations and gasped. I asked her what they were for and she said, "My birthday!"



When I asked Chess awhile ago what she wanted to eat on her birthday, she said, "Chocolate." I said we could have a chocolate cake, and what kind of food did she want to eat? She replied, "Chocolate food." She takes after her momma on that. We ate waffles with whipped cream and chocolate chips as a compromise.



We went to the library and park, two of Chess's favorite places. After lunch we played outside with the new water table, which both girls LOVED.



Chess "helped" me frost her chocolate cake.



When Jared got home we had homemade pizza, a favorite for everyone, and chocolate cake with white icing.






She's got that "cheese" face down pat.


If you'll notice, Lera has frosting on her mouth. That's because as soon as I got the cake on the table, she leaned forward and took a bite out of it.

Then Chess opened her present, a Melissa and Doug wooden house with keys, locks, doorbells, and little people to go inside. Chess saw it awhile back and wanted it, so I went back and got it for her.



We had a great day celebrating our three-year-old. We love you, Chess!

Wordless Wednesday

The Accident

From here on out, don't be surprised when you see this face:



My poor little Lera had an accident the other day. We went to the fountain to let the girls run and play and have fun. They did have a great time for about 15 minutes. That is when Lera fell on her face and slid a few inches on her nose. She lost some chunks of skin, so it took awhile for it to stop bleeding. I scooped her up and tried to apply pressure, but you can probably guess how that went. She was more upset about not being able to get back in the water than about being hurt.

It is healing slowly, and we are trying not to touch it much. Just don't be alarmed when you see it in all Chess's birthday pictures, AND Easter pictures to come. We will never forget this well-documented accident, for sure.

I Love to See the Temple

The Atlanta temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been closed for almost two years, and will soon be rededicated. The past few weeks it has been open for tours. As soon as it is dedicated, it will only be open to members of the church with recommends. I love going to the temple and it was such a blessing to be able to take our girls there, as well.










She found a little caterpillar.


On the beautifully manicured temple lawn.

Interesting...

This is what Chess did one day during her "rest" time. She took out EVERY piece of clothing hanging in her closet in placed them about the room. At least she kept most of them on the hanger and helped me put them back. She's a sweet little stinker.