Easter Week at the Beach House

We were able to get down to Hatteras for a few days before Easter! Only another month until we'll be here for the summer doing this.

Ila's first beach day of the year! It was only warm enough one day to be out there in bathing suits.

 Then the Fines joined us! Here they are headed to Buxton for Orange Blossom doughnuts.

Los Finos

To the beach for an Easter egg hunt!

I'm not sure if it's cameras or egg hunts that make Ila turn on her angry face. I think it might be cameras.

Ila dressing up Summer

Story Time

She's Conquered The Big Girl Bed

That's right, it's been almost a month now and Ila has never slept better in her new toddler bed. For several months before, Ila had been waking up 1-3 times per night. It was never for long,  just a "I lost my passy!" ("I chucked it across the room or behind the crib") or "I need blankets!" or the cutest one (though not so cute at 2am) "Mommy Daddy love you!" (Meaning she just needed me to say that to her). For these months it was easier to go get the dang passy for 1 minute and go back to sleep than to let it escalate into her screaming, then climbing out of her crib, opening her door, opening our door, and getting all worked up over the whole ordeal. Not to mention I was worried about her hurting herself. But last month I had had enough, so Ross made her crib into a toddler bed and we put a gate on her door so she couldn't get out. Each night before bed we sat her down and had "a little talk" saying that Mommy and Daddy will still be in the house but we are NOT going to come in her room if she cries for us because Mommy and Daddy need to get their sleep. She would always say "But I don't want to cry!" We did a few practice runs of her getting out of her bed on her own to get a dropped passy or pulling the blankets up herself. She thought it was pretty fun and exciting and slept through the night that first night and just about every night since! I was expecting to get no sleep for about a week and was so amazed the next morning! Thank you toddler bed. Hello sleep.

Easter Sunday Sass

 Our dear friends the Mcclellens were so nice to let us come use their amazing yard for an easter egg hunt on Sunday after church. It was the perfect weather with a scrumpteous easter feast, but for some reason Ila decided to turn on her sassy face for the entire time and barely even hunted for eggs. I think it was a combination of chocolate and jelly beans with breakfast, being exhausted from the packed out nursery at church right before, and her toddlerness that comes out at any point in time really. I still managed to snap a few pictures, but there was not a smile to be found on this little one. Oh well! Good thing Easter isn't about getting perfect pictures in our perfect easter dresses (though I was tempted to think so at some moments!) Thank you Jesus that we don't have to measure up and for loving us even when we are full of sass.

Here she is pretending she doesn't know what to do while all the other kids are running around her finding eggs. At least I can see a cute dimple.

Ila and Addie

Yay she found one!

William showed no mercy to the little kids on this one. 

Lindsey's friend Heritage - Isn't she beautiful?

This was actually the best group shot I got.

Easter Sunday

Baby Alexandra Is Here!

Our friends, the Mclellens, had their baby girl on March 30th and we couldn't have been more excited to go visit them with their new family of FIVE last week!

This is one of Ila's favorite past times at William and Robert's house - pull all the cushions off of their sofa and  "boing boing!"

Adventures With Kate Kate

Last weekend The Fines, or Los Finos, came in town! Ila and Kate ran in circles all the way up and down the mall and had a blast together. A few people asked if they were twins. Look at the way Ila watches Kate in these first few...

We love Los Finos! Trits for Life!

This one cracks me up. Ila was wanting Kate to get out of KATE's sleeping bag! Not a happy camper.

And let's not forget about Summer! She had the priviledge of watching the girls play, being their patient, and getting a taste of old dog food she found under the couch.

She's always smiling!