Easter Love

Life is full, life is rich. We are spending our days in the grind and staying afloat, magically. Here's a little of what has been going on:

• Alice moved up to the toddler room at daycare a couple months ago. This has been life changing in the best possible way. She eats, she sleeps, and she is so happy when I pick her up at the end of each day. She is still not walking, but scooting around quite a bit. I honestly believe much of her development was stymied by her experience in the nursery. She was always cranky because she could not get any sleep, so she was always being held. I am so lucky that she was in a center where the workers cared enough to give her what she needed: physical contact. Even though she was cranky, she always felt loved. She is thiiiiis close to walking and takes a few steps unassisted, but still prefers to scoot around on her hands and knees.
• Everett has been taking one-on-one swim lessons at Gonzaga for the last couple months. I can see an improvement every week, he loves the experience, and he absolutely idolizes his swim coach. Bath time these days has featured him giving his rubber ducks swim lessons. He has also enjoyed the change in our weather, since that means he can play outside and explore.
•  We planted our cold weather veggies! It will be so nice having healthy food to come home to once everything starts growing. The rhubarb is coming back in full fury, like it always does. I rediscovered this picture from a couple years ago and it continues to crack me up. All that being said, I think I need more rhubarb recipes. Please send them!
• We are planning some pretty great vacations, so that is exciting. Our camping gear will get a lot of use this summer.
• Easter came and went. We had a wonderful day surrounded by family, and I did not lose my sanity with all the church obligations that were on my plate. And now it finally feels like spring is officially here. 

For the Easter extravaganza I made Alice and I matching outfits. The boys were maaaybe going to get matching bow ties, but I certainly didn't prioritize it, and I definitely didn't budget for it when ordering fabric. Next year. Maybe. Probably not.

 I had been eyeing the Hanna Andersson matching spring outfits for a while, but hated the idea of throwing down hundreds of dollars. Much of it is sold out now, but I believe the adult skirt was upwards of $80, the t-shirt was $34, the shoes paired with it were well over $200, and the baby dress was $45. Not happening.

I spent less than $40 on fabric from Fabric.com (I still have a TON left), the t-shirt was $7 from Target, and I already had the Saltwater sandals. The skirt pattern was $1 from Joann's, and Alice's dress is a free pattern from The Cottage Mama.

Regarding the picture...Alice had just woke up from a nap (see: hair), I still hadn't brushed my teeth or put on makeup, and Everett was over it. Also, Jeff couldn't figure out how to use the camera. A winning experience for all involved.

Please also take note of the rhubarb plant photo bombing us in the bottom right corner. 

Everett was pretty much head to toe in Cat and Jack. He picked out everything himself, with a small bribe of shark slippers to sweeten the pot. Honestly, I'm shocked that we got him in this outfit since it doesn't have any firetrucks, dump trucks, dinosaurs, or monster trucks on it. Boys. The suspenders were from the dollar bin at Target, and he loved looking like a farmer.

Alice was comfortable in her dress all day. We had a sweater layered over it for most of the day, as Spokane springs are still quite chilly. She even took a couple naps in it without complaints. It should also be noted that she and I wore our outfits all day without the fabric wrinkling. That's a major bonus in my book.

I would say the day was a success, and so were the outfits.