Cake

Yesterday was my birthday, we spent most of the day getting our house back to normal. We had new carpet installed on the second floor and yesterday we moved everyone back into their rooms. When Gillian found out that is was my birthday she asked "Can we make cake?" Gillian loves cake. Daddy promised her that they would make a cake together on Sunday. 

The first thing she asked this morning was "Can we make a cake now?" Daddy told her that they would make the cake while John was at religion class. After class I told John, we need to go to the store and get icing. He said "Can't we make icing?" Let me just say that I am so proud of him immediately thinking that we could make it. I said "Yes, but mommy doesn't have time today." John said "But everything you make at home tastes better than the store stuff." Again, this kid knows just what to say to make me feel amazing. I said "Thanks, but like I said before I don't have time today." 

We arrived home to find that Daddy and Gillian had made the cake. Well Gillian did all the work Daddy just cracked the eggs. 

I helped Gillian ice the cake. Gillian and John helped clean up the icing. 

The cake was delicious. Gillian did a great job!

 

Egg Hunt

Grandma had an egg hunt at her house on Easter. We had the usual cast of characters: Justin, Sammie, Kyle Thomas, John and Gillian. 

Grandma sets up the egg hunts so that each kid has a specific color or theme to look for. For example Gillian had to look for purple and animals while John had green and dinosaurs. This makes it fair for everyone hunting considering the wide range of ages. This year there were new eggs that were tricky and looked like common things like the grass or a lady bug or a rock. These eggs were free game for anyone to find. 

I stuck with Gillian during the hunt, mainly because John is too fast and ran the whole time. Gillian didn't really need much help. She would see purple and go running. 

All the kids helped each other out. There was a lot of yelling "Hey, there's an animal over here." Or "I see sports over here!" 

We went around the house a couple times looking for some of the camo eggs (they are hard to find). And we finally gave up and everyone counted their eggs. 

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for an awesome egg hunt! The kids had a blast!

Milkshakes

On Saturday night, we took the kids to Smashburger for dinner. Normally the kids opt for milk as their dinner beverage. But we decided to treat them with a milkshake. It was well worth it. 

Gillian kept calling her milkshake a smoothie. She said "I love my smoothie. John, let me try your smoothie." She tasted everyone's milkshake and decided Mommy's chocolate Oreo and her chocolate milkshakes (I mean smoothies) were her favorite. John, on the other hand, kept drinking his shake and then said "Do you see how far down mine is?" And they would compare the heights of their shakes. 

Once again, I love that a simple treat made a huge impact. 

Trick Shot

Daddy caught John demonstrating his trick shots with his Nerf Gun on Sunday.  I love this little video.  He is so confident and creative at the same time. 

Chalk pictures

John and Gillian spent the day at Grandma's house. They spent most of the day playing outside. Aunt Betty sent me some pictures of Gillian's chalk pictures. 

That's Gillian. Aunt Betty traced Gillian and Gilly added the tutu! Then she added more detail. 

Gillian laid next to her chalk picture. 

When I picked up the kids, Gillian proudly asked "Did you see my picture?" She was so proud. 

At dinner tonight she said "Oh no! I wanted to make Elsa's ice palace." John said "Well, if it rains tonight everything will wash away and you can make the palace." I love her picture and how excited she is to create something new. Can't wait to see what else she makes. 

Clinking Cookies

I love making cookies for holidays and just for fun. Yesterday I brought a platter of Easter cookies to Grandma's house. Gillian ate more cookies than I would like to admit. But she also handed cookies out to Uncle Kevin, Aunt Betty and Grandpa. Gillian and Aunt Betty started a new tradition of clinking cookies before they would eat them. Silly girls. 

Puzzles

Gillian loves to do puzzles. Last week I went to pick her up from school and I found her sitting at a table putting together a puzzle. She asked "Can I finish it?" I have a hard time saying no to that. So I sat down with her and watched as she completed her puzzle. She put some pieces together then said "close your eyes. I want to surprise you." I closed my eyes and waited for what seemed like forever. It was totally worth it. She was so proud of her finished puzzle.