Summer is Coming!

Yesterday was a perfect Spring day. I took the kids for a walk in the afternoon, and it was the first time this year we could go out without jackets. Once we got outside and Ellie realized it was so warm, she said "Mom, is it summer?!" I think she has seen Frozen too many times.

After the kids and I went on that walk and realized how perfect it was, I decided that we were going to have a picnic at the park for dinner. 

So once Sam got home and changed and we got the kids ready, (it hasn't ceased to amaze me how LONG it takes to get our three kids out the door... Whew!) we headed to the park.

First we ate, then we fed the ducks. The entire time we were eating dinner Ellie kept telling me that we had to hurry and eat so we could go feed the ducks "because they are so hungry, Mom!"

Nathan wasn't quite sure what to think of the ducks, but I think he decided they were ok after all. He liked throwing bread in the water, if nothing else. 

Jonah and I were there, too. See? I'm a weenie when it comes to cold, so I had my jacket on even though nobody else did. I don't know if I will ever get over my Arizona blood!

After we fed the ducks, we went for a walk. They're skipping with Dad in ^ this picture.

The end destination for our walk? Why, the best place of course - the playground! Ellie was old enough last year that she remembers the park, but it's a whole new experience for Nathan. It was so fun to watch his excitement for every single new aspect of the playground. He's so short, though, that he can't get on anything by himself, so he would run up to something, try to get up, then turn around and say "Peeeeaaase!!!" so I would help him up.

Nathan wanted to do the monkey bars just like Ellie, and his face in the above picture cracks me up.

He was giggling like crazy because Sam would lift him up, and he would let go immediately. He thought he was pretty funny.

Sam was holding Nathan's hand, and Ellie grabbed onto Nathan's other hand because "him needs his big sister to hold his hand in the street."

I'm so glad my kids have such a great dad. They were having the time of their lives riding on his shoulders, skipping, and playing on the playground.

It's rainy and colder today, so I'm glad we could have a little teaser of what summer will be like. I can't wait!

Painting with Ketchup

One thing that having three kids has taught me in two short weeks is that I just have to let some things go. Some things are really just not worth getting upset about - such as the kids deciding to finger paint with ketchup all over Nathan's hair and face. They were having the time of their life playing and laughing together. Why stop them? Besides, ketchup cleans up. Though Nathan's hair was quite crusty after the fact...

A Few Random Pictures

I want to make sure to document our life lately, and this is kind of how it has been - random and chaotic.

Ellie insisted that I take a picture of her coloring. I included this picture because it shows how we don't really get out of our pajamas before 11 these days! (If we get out of them at all...) And Ellie has been sporting the untamed afro look a lot lately.

Both of the older kids want to share their toys with Jonah. It's kind of difficult to explain to them that he's too small to play soccer...

Last week Sam took all day Thursday off of work to help me with the kids, and we took them to get donuts in the morning (hence the chocolate all over Nathan's face) and to the park after that. They had some much-needed attention and fun. And apparently it was all a little too much for Nathan. :)

Nathan was telling me all about the blocks that he was building with. He loves to stack them, but mostly he loved to bang them together. Those suckers can be loud!

We took a trip to Idaho Falls this weekend to get some groceries. Ellie was quite excited about this little seat in the bathroom at Sam's Club.

Dad thought his little boy needed a Batman shirt with a cape to counteract all of the necklaces he has been wearing lately...

...And he's stinking cute in it!

Ellie still loves to snuggle up next to Jonah (who is definitely getting chubbier, by the way!). This morning while Sam was making breakfast I set Jonah on the bed so I could take a quick shower, and when I got out I saw that Jonah was completely covered with our bedspread. It freaked me out, so I quickly pulled back the covers, and there was Ellie snuggling with him. Apparently they just needed a blanket to cuddle under.

It is fun to watch how much Ellie and Nathan love their little brother. I wish he would be able to remember how many kisses and snuggles he is getting every day during this part of his life... He may need that reminder when his siblings are beating up on him in a few years!

Dancing With Her Prince

This morning Ellie said to Nathan, "Come dance with me, my prince!" He usually runs away, but today he stood up and reached out his hands. They danced together like this for quite awhile:

Jonah Cardon Brubaker

Our little Jonah was born on March 30th. He has a full head of dark hair, and we love him so much already. 

His siblings love him too, and want to be around him all the time. 

This morning Ellie requested that Jonah sit by her on the chair. They sat together like that for half an hour.

At one point, Ellie told me "look Mom, he's holding my hand!"

(Don't mind the diapers in the background... Nathan took it upon himself to take all of the diapers out of the package and fling them around the room while I was nursing Jonah)

Nathan has also gotten used to having another little person around the house. Here he is, demonstrating how he can be "soft" with the baby. When Jonah is not within sight, Nathan is asking about him. I love watching the new big brother interact with his little brother, but I definitely have to stay close by so an eye doesn't get poked out...

And So It Begins...

Don't mind the "snot shimmer" under his nose. It's that time of year - no matter how much I wipe his nose, it's always there.

This boy has officially learned how to crawl onto the table. Wonderful. He hasn't fallen off... Yet...

Our Little Princess

This little girl has become absolutely obsessed with everything "princess" lately. Of course that doesn't surprise me since she is an almost three-year-old girl. She loves all of the songs from "Frozen," and she can sing almost every word to them. We were in one of the buildings at BYU-Idaho last week, and a guy came up to us and said, pointing to Ellie, "Is she the one that was singing Let It Go earlier?" Yep, that was definitely her. She also requests the "Belle" cd that we have in the car almost every time we drive somewhere. 

When we brush her teeth, she insists that we find each princess in her mouth. She also refused a normal tube of toothpaste because there was a princess one next to it. It was about 50 cents more for the princess tube, but that's worth it for a girl's happiness, right? Her favorite book is any one of the stories from her princess bedtime book that she got for Christmas. She can name almost all of the princesses, except for Tiana. She calls her "Tina," which cracks me up because it reminds me of the llama from Napoleon Dynamite...

The funniest part of this whole princess obsession, though, is the "royalty" lingo she has learned. For a few months now she has called Nathan her prince and tried to dance with him. He does NOT enjoy it. Not even a little bit. And after renting Sleeping Beauty a few weeks ago, she has started calling me "Queen Mommy," "Princess Mommy," or my favorite, "Your Majesty." (If only her calling me these things would make her want to obey me...... :) )

The highlight of Ellie's month was when her uncle Tucker built the world's coolest castle for her Cinderella doll. Unfortunately, she kicked it over almost immediately after it was done. None of the castles I have tried to build have gotten even close to as awesome as that one. Every time I try to build her a castle with the blocks she says "No Mommy, bigger! That's not a Cinderella castle!" Building with blocks has definitely never been one of my talents...

She loves to sing, dance with her dad, and spin to any kind of princess music. We are so glad that we have our little princess to keep us on our toes!