Trick

Anna surprised us shortly after the boys were born and showed us her trick (http://mattandtania.blogspot.com/2009/11/photo-update.html) and she has been doing it ever since.  Mason has picked up on Anna's trick but for some reason he only seems to want to do it at this particular spot.  The video make us giggle because it reminds us of Anna, shows us Mason's silly side, and Olivier in the background showing how he got the "taxi cab" un-stuck. 

Time to play!

Today we went to the park for a picnic and see family again.  This time the boys came along, much more kid friendly!  Anna and Olivier enjoyed playing in the large egg, Anna said they were waiting to hatch.  

 

 Mason was turned sideways and when Matt asked him to look at Mommy, this is what we got! 

 They were very excited to play with Natalie too! 

 We tried to get a photo of all the little ones together.  All five kids in one photo!  Not sure it totally counts since Rhys was in the carrier but I will count it!  :-)

 Anna decided she needed to hatch with Mason.  (Make sure you take a close look at Mason's sunglasses, they stayed that way the nearly two hours we were there.)

 The four "big" kids, all looking at the camera, wow! 

 And this is when I realized we should probably get going, Olivier decided to lay down in the egg and was rubbing his eyes.  Not sure that is a good nap spot...

And then comes marriage, for Ciara and Nate!

 Today we we fortunate to be able to be part of Ciara and Nate Martin's wedding day!  Ciara is one of my cousins and was our Maid Of Honor at our wedding more than 10 years ago!  So excited to see her so happy!  Welcome to the family Nate!

My uncle Chuck and aunt Gigie (Ciara's parents)

 

 Can you tell they are happy? 

 And Anna was the flower girl!  She was beyond excited and it has been the hot topic in our house for a long time now.  She did so well! 

 So brave for our shy little girl.

 But does it get much better than this?  Fancy dress, basket and flowers! 

 One happy girl!

 And the beautiful bride with her proud papa!

 Such a happy time! 

 One of the photos Anna took during the ceremony. 

 Such a happy girl!  We love you so much Anna!

 I took a few photos while the photographer was going. 

 So in love! 

 And making their big entrance into the reception.  Ciara was wearing the hat her mom wore on her wedding day! 

 Love the grins!  (And not a bad shot for being very far away!)

 A sweet photo of my brother holding his youngest daughter Rhys. 

 During Ciara and Nate's first dance.  They did a great job! 

 Anna loved how Ciara's dress twirls.

Wishing you all the best Ciara and Nate! 

And a fun Sunday!

Happy Easter! Our morning started off early (but they all do, one of us is always up before 7 a.m. on the weekends, yuck!) and the kids were excited to hunt for eggs!
Anna was very excited to find an egg with two colors, can you tell?

And the Easter bunny left coloring books, stickers, and sunglasses in their buckets. The like the new shades.
And the boys showing off their new shades and pile of eggs. The Easter bunny was smart, Fruity Cheerios was in most of the eggs with only a few having jelly beans and/or mini marshmallows, Made for a happy breakfast, and will for the next few days!

Anna was very happy to be able to wear one of her new dresses. As if she needed an excuse to wear a dress! Very hard to convince her not too.

The weather has been beautiful this weekend so we spent a lot of time outside, not like two years ago when Anna got the Winnie the Pooh for Easter. Big difference! We had to bundle her up and we were only outside for a while before she had been asking to come back inside, not this year! We were able to have lunch outside too!
Anna had fun dancing with all the bubbles.
And as promised, here are the tie dye shirts the kids made at Eli's party yesterday. They are excited that they get to wear them to school tomorrow. Nice to have such a cool shirt, thank you Eli!

All in a busy Saturday!

Today was a crazy busy day and we hope that everyone will sleep well because we sure need it! :-)

This morning we went to Eli's 2nd Birthday party! It was a lot of fun and we will be sure to display the kids tie dye shirts when they are completed tomorrow! Eli was thrilled to have his own cake and was more than happy to enjoy the yummy frosting!
His shirt says it all "cool beyond my years"
Lina and Anna enjoyed cookies. Yum!
Mason was enjoying his cookie which made his lips turn green!
This afternoon we colored eggs! It was a beautiful day so we colored eggs outside, made for easier cleanup too! Always nice!
And the finished product less one egg that was still in the blue after sitting in the red for a long time and became a nice dark shade of purple.
And after coloring eggs the kids played in the backyard for a while and found their new favorite thing to do, play in Rufus' igloo dog house. Very silly but great to see them having fun together!
And a short video of the boys playing on the teeter totter. Great to see them playing together!

Eager to help now, will it be this way when they are older?

The kids love helping sweep the floor now and I wonder how much they will like it when they get older and it becomes a chore (when they can actually do it without making more of a mess than there already was!).

First day of "school" for Olivier and Mason!

Yesterday was Olivier and Mason's first day at "school"! When Anna started at Cal Poly we called it school because she was leaving a preschool program and now it seems a bit odd because they have children of all ages. Regardless of that, the boys are very excited to be going to "school" at Daddy's work, just like Anna!

Monday morning we all went together so I could be part of their first day and help, if needed, with the drop off. When we arrived and went into their room they really didn't have any issues. We put their things in the cubbies and Anna helped them explore some of their class. After a little bit we got hugs and kisses and off we went. No tears or fuss! Yeah! We dropped Anna off in her class and went back to double check on the boys (through the one way window) and they were playing with their classmates.

When they arrived home, Matt had a big armful of coats and three happy kids! They were excited to tell me what they did (although some of it I don't believe). Mason was very excited to tell me that he took a nap on his belly and on his head. They had a busy first day and were good and tired Monday night.

Today they had another good day and Mason told me that he rode a bike today at school "with the pedals". He has been very hesitant to use pedals on his bike and although we can get him to put his feet on the pedals he won't push at all. We are hopeful that he is figuring out that part now. Mason also told us Olivier rode a bike with pedals, and that I believe, he loves riding his bike!

On another note, when we get the boys undressed (for baths or to get dressed for the day), Olivier has been saying that he is "super naked". It makes us giggle, but tonight we couldn't help but all out laugh as he said he was "super naked" as he clenched his fists and did what looked like a body builder type of move. Silly, silly boy!

They are both doing well with going pee on the potty when we ask them if they need to go potty. They aren't saying they need to go potty on their own yet (except for the rare ocassion) but Olivier is staying dry longer and starting to hold it.

Exciting times for two exciting little boys!