Happy Easter!

This year's Easter season was memorable for so many reasons. It was the first holiday where Mary Ellen seemed to "get" what was happening. She hopped out of bed on Sunday saying, "Egg. Egg." We'd put her empty Easter basket out the night before, and after having read "It's Easter Duck and Goose" about 100 times, I think she put two and two together. It was so cute to see her run down the hallway and it gave me just a taste of the excitement that will accompany every holiday from now on.

Also, this was the first super-successful season that I've had with my ETSY shop. I sold more than 175 little guy ties for the holiday, along with several dresses and quite a few baptism stoles. I've been so busy that I was worried things around here would get a little out of hand or that I would not get to focus on making the holiday special for my family. I'm so proud to say that it wasn't the case. I actually finished Mary Ellen's dress (and I did NOT have to do anything to it on Sunday morning, which would be the norm). I made Easter cookies with her. We hosted a neighborhood Egg Hunt. And we made it to church as a family (though not in time to snag a seat). It was what I want all holidays to be (minus the fact that all of my other beloveds were spending the day 1200 miles away).

 Our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt was a huge hit. Mary Ellen did her best at hunting but would have been just as happy with the first egg she found.

  The dress! After outfitting many friends and family members for Easter, I just HAD to make a dress for my darling. I started it on Wed and had no trouble getting it done. Shocking, I know!

 The Easter Bunny brought Mary Ellen her first set of golf clubs. Is this the start of something great?

Brian has been working hard to get into better shape over the last few months and he's looking great! His favorite new pastime is to run around Lake Baldwin, and Mary Ellen was dying to join him this time. She didn't quite make it all the way around (3 miles) but she sure got a workout in!

Bubbles, Bubbles

Magic Kingdom - January 2012

Catching Up - Videos from Months Past

A very wise woman reminded me recently that all of Mary Ellen's little milestones are going to pass by so quickly and I need to be vigilant about recording them and sharing them (thanks, Mom). I had been very good about capturing videos of Mary Ellen over the last few months, but I've not been so good about sharing them. So here's to the start of a string of videos. Some of them are a bit outdated, but they so fun to watch! And I'll try (really, I'll try) to keep putting current ones up.

January 2012 - My Little Bean Breaker

It Really Is Magic

Seems like forever ago, but on Christmas Eve, Amy Chris and Jenson met us at the Magic House. For those of you who haven't been (and you must not be from STL), the Magic House is a children's museum in St. Louis that is jam-packed with activities and exhibits for even the littlest of visitors.

Needless to say, the kids had a blast!

Strawberry Time!

It may seem strange to those of you up north, but February is strawberry season down here. Jealous?

On Mom's most recent visit, we took our girl out to pick some berries. She was thrilled, since strawberries (or sta-boos) are her favorites. And she did a great job, though running through the rows proved to be more fun that actually picking the berries.

Our Little Chatterbox

So we always knew that Mary Ellen would be verbal, but this kid continues to surprise and delight us with her blooming vocabulary.

You name it, she'll try to say it. She names her colors. She names the animals in her puzzles. She gives me plenty of ideas about what she'd like to have for lunch, snack, etc. She loves to "play," "walk," "cook," and "read." She loves to ask for basketball, either to play on the porch or to watch on TV. So her pronunciation isn't perfect, but she's getting the hang of this talking thing and fast.

This week she started putting a few words together. Here are a few of my favorites:

Upsie Daisy

I don't know.

Open it. Shut.

I did it.

The quiet days in our house are gone. Long gone. And I love it.