Today will be marked off in 20 minute increments as I attempt to potty train William. I figure I might as well give it a whirl. The timing is good because William and I both have a cold, we have nothing on our calendar for the next three days, and we have tons of post-Easter reward candy. We'll see how it goes. Since we will have lots of down time, I figured I would also catch up on the blog. We are running about a month behind at this point, so I'll try to weed out and just post some highlights.
About a month ago, I decided that I wanted to start a book club especially for little boys. Since William is not in school, I wanted to give him a school-like experience. Luckily, we have 10 friends with little boys between the ages of 2-3 that were game. I kicked things off at our house, and it was a great success! We started off with our featured book (Brown Bear, Brown Bear), and then the little ones got to partake in various animal-themed activities. It was fun to see them having a good time and maybe reinforcing some skills along the way. The funniest part is that William slept through the whole thing. He was not feeling well so he fell asleep on the couch and did not wake up until the very end (despite all the commotion going on around him). Oh well, we have another Book Club meeting coming up soon, so we'll see how he takes to it then.
Monkey bread for snack - yes, please!
Giraffe
handprints - Lily was so kind to make an example before she left for school that day.
Will making a very special
handprint giraffe
Animal number match game
Andrew's on it!
A little science mixed in there with an animal habitat match game
Michael challenges his memory
Hakon puts animal puzzle pieces together to hear various animal sounds
Will playing the
Elefun game - a favorite of most kids visiting our house.
It's official. I am now eligible to run for president. Woo-hoo! We celebrated this milestone birthday in grand style with a DQ ice cream cake (before dinner of course).
After the kids went to bed, Carl and I enjoyed a completely relaxed gourmet dinner of lobster, steak and cheesy mashed pototoes - perfection!
Monkey bread for snack - yes, please!
Giraffe handprints - Lily was so kind to make an example before she left for school that day.
Will making a very special handprint giraffe
Animal number match game
Andrew's on it!
A little science mixed in there with an animal habitat match game
Michael challenges his memory
Hakon puts animal puzzle pieces together to hear various animal sounds
Will playing the Elefun game - a favorite of most kids visiting our house.
The community college where I teach hosts several children's events throughout the year. I have been really impressed with each one that I've attended. Their Easter event this year included a room full of games with prizes, a huge bouncy house, egg hunts for various age groups, and a kids' movie (although we did not attend the movie, as it started at 7 pm - our bedtime). Our friends, the Kellers and the Spencers, joined us for this event which made for a really great night (with near-perfect weather). This was honestly one of the most enjoyable, carefree family nights we've had. 
There were actually many people at the event, but we managed to get this (rare) shot of William in a quiet moment by himself.
William on the hunt (on the left).
Lily hunting with her broken basket :)
I had some fun ideas for dying Easter eggs this year, and of course, I did none of them. Instead, I went with the easy option of the store-bought kit. Let's just say that I welcome easy right now. Honestly, I'm amazed that we did it at all. These pictures are from one day this week, and no, I have no clue which day.
Do you see why I can't say "no" to these kids?
I will teach you the ways, my young Jedi.
Daddy takes part in the big reveal.
Whoa....
Lily had a retro day (I think it was last Friday??). We decided to go with the 70s. Here is a picture with Lily and her brother in his pajamas - BY FAR William's favorite clothes to wear.
Lily decided to dress up Emilia by putting the sticker from her new pants on Emmy's forehead. I think she looks a little bit like a tribal princess.
Our good friends Gretchen and Tiffany and their 3 awesome kids, Henry, Ellie and Rachel, stopped by for a visit tonight. They are making several stops to visit friends and family while on a cross country journey, and we couldn't be happier that they stopped in to see us! We have not seen them since we left Baltimore almost 4 years ago! It is hard to believe that it has been that long, and we hope it won't be so long until we see them again.
Rachel and Lily played together from the moment they met (again - Lily was 2 1/2 when she last saw Rachel) until the time they left. My absolute favorite quote of the night (and probably of the year) was when Rachel was leaving she asked Lily, "Do you want to be pen pals? I'll text you later." 
The whole motley crew (minus Emmy). It is crazy to think that when Gretchen and I met, none of these little yahoos existed. I was actually with Gretchen when she got the call from her doctor informing her that she was pregnant with Rachel. Unbelievable!
