Kate

We celebrated Kate's birthday tonight & after dinner I made her take some photos downtown. I can't believe my baby is eight! Love this sweet, spunky, super-smart little girl who first made me a mama!

Easter

I don't have many pictures from Easter because Andrew still wasn't feeling well. We still had a nice day though: Kate & I went to church, we dyed eggs, and had a fabulous dinner with the Cavanaghs, followed by an egg hunt. 

Tonsils

Last Monday Andrew had his tonsils & adenoids removed. It's something we have been wondering if we should do for awhile (he snored really bad, which lead to restless/interrupted sleep for him), and we finally just decided to get it done. It's been a long recovery, but he is doing great and eight days later we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

The whole process from check-in to check out took less than three hours. The staff was so good about keeping us all at ease. When we first got there he put on these fun clothes and hat. And then they wheeled him away. That was rough, but we made it.

 30 minutes later he was done with surgery. He slept for another hour or so and then I got to cuddle him while he ate his first (of many!) Popsicles. 

 The first two days went really well. We played lots of games, 

 and he even demonstrated ninja moves three hours after we were home. 

 He did get pretty upset when I couldn't figure out how to turn on the video games, 

 but then I did!

 The second day was more of the same: lots of games & quiet time, though he still felt great. 

 And we even got some fun visitors!

 Unfortunately, after day #2 things went downhill as we expected. The past days have been rough as we feel so bad for our little guy. We know he's in pain because he won't eat and is quiet. Two sure-signs. 

Luckily as I said, things are look up. Today he was out on his scooter and talked more than he has all week put together. He is still sore, but soon this will all be over!

Kansas City

We just got back from a mini-vacation to Kansas City. It was the perfect getaway and start to spring break!

Andrew views every car ride as a rolling buffet of food. This is what happens when that buffet gets shut down. He was told it would open again if he could not talk about food for 30 minutes. 

 There was one slip-up, but in the end he made the 30 minutes. Buffet re-opened!

 Our first stop once we got into the city was this amazing creation station called the Kaleidoscope. The kids were able to spend 45 minutes using all of their craft supplies to make lots of cool projects. 

  They loved it!

After that we checked out Crown Plaza,

 and stopped for some really great ice cream, followed by amazing BBQ from our new friend, Ms. Georgia. (dessert first...must be vacation!)

 After a good night's sleep it was time for the main attraction: a day at the water park. The kids spent 7 hours in the water and had a blast!

 That night we had another great dinner at the Power & Lights District. I made Andrew pose in this spot, because the last time I was there I was pregnant with him. Time needs to slow down!

It was such a fun few days to get to spend together. Can't wait to go back again!

Lately

Every time I write one of these posts I go into it thinking "we really didn't do much this month". Then I pull all the photos off my phone and am reminded of all the fun things we got in. February may be a dreary time of year, but we made it to the other side & had a blast doing it. 

I got a call from a coworker saying she had extra ISU v. Kansas tickets for the game that started in an hour. During a snowstorm. I jumped in the car and was rewarded with a sweet, sweet victory. 

 An adorable picture that Andrew's preschool teacher sent. 

 Speaking of adorable: cousin Evan uses everything as a phone. Those eyes. 

 A big moment this month: Kate got her ears pierced! Here she is looking a bit nervous before it happened. 

 She did such a good job!

February was also big in Des Moines because of the Caucuses. National News reporters were everywhere and my school was even on the news in Canada!

 Our one & only snow day. 

 Awhile back each of the kids got a Beta. Andrew's fish had a habit of playing dead and several times we almost flushed him, only to have him quickly swim around. Well, the time finally came when he actually was floating upside down. Which lead to a social experiment: we put the empty bowl on Andrew's dresser to see how long it would take him to notice. It was well over a week, and even then it was only after he was tipped off.

 Beautiful evening on the trail. 

 Andrew went through a few weeks of wearing only cowboy boots. Even to the pool. 

I got to host the Bingo table at Andrew's Valentine's party.

And a froyo date after Learning Night at school. 

 This little lady confidently read the scripture at church in front of over 300 people. I was amazed that she volunteered to do it again this year and so proud of her bravery! 

 Just a boy in his pajamas eating sushi for a bedtime snack. 

 Evening swims have been a great way to get some energy out.

 A 65* Saturday!

 Pajama day at school. 

 Major parenting regret: letting Kate watch the Wizard of Oz when she was little. Because now she sleeps in our closet when it's windy. 

 And one more trip to Hilton for senior night. 

Looking forward to spring adventures to come!