Snapshots

I hardly ever take pictures of the kids together because they don't stay put, and they never smile at the same time. I only have 2 kids! It shouldn't be this hard, right? :)
I took these on Saturday because I want a new picture for my desktop background. Which one do you like best?
One of the rare times that Elena is photographed with a true smile and not a cheese-y smile.
I love this outfit so much, I squeezed him into it on one of the first warm days we had! (My first instinct is always to say "squoze.")
I took this picture halfway through his dinner tonight because Kevin was so messy. It was a mixture of things: pasta salad, frank and beans, and banana slices.
I had to take another picture at the end of the meal because he got so much messier! Now that he doesn't like to be spoon fed, he gets with food everywhere, every meal! I strip him down before dinner and bathe him after. (He's not throwing the sippy cup. I'm holding it up to get his attention.)

In Her Own Words

My sister-in-law Barbie had a great idea. She said that we should have Elena tell us the story of her little hospital stay and record it. When I read it to Dan, he said that it had to be posted, so here it is. Everything in parenthesis was added by me for clarification.
"When I was sick, Mommy took me to the doctor and then to the hospital and Dad slept in my bed with me and we had a fun time there and then I got better.

"I ate pancakes and waffles and pizza. I played at the special place (playroom) with the Dora backpack song (some toy) and in the play area (playground). It was a silly, tricky, fun, play area because it was bouncy and I liked bouncing every time I jumped (it had one of those recycled tire floors).

"I didn't like it when they put the cold water (saline flush) in the straw (IV) or the medicine. I did questions with Daddy (his practice test questions). He brought his computer. Every time you came (in the AM), he would go check on other kids to make sure they were okay (on a pediatric psych rotation 2 floors up).

"They (the nurses) kept waking me up every night. Every nurse was not going to poke a hole in me or do anything. Some were nice. There were lots of girl doctors (the med students) when the boy doctor (the attending) would come in.

"All it was fun because I played upstairs and watched movies like Handy Manny and Dora."

(Her final thought) "Chicle (gum) is always good for you when you're sick."

Happy Post

Here are some good things that have happened in the past couple of weeks:

I made Elena a dress (reversible) and matching bows. It was so fun to do. Thanks for the pattern, Summer!
Elena and I made tamales for a fundraiser. I'm going to camp this summer with the Young Women (12-18 year olds) from church. I am super excited! Since we will be horseback riding and white water rafting, it's not going to be cheap. We made 1,300 yummy tamales. Well, it was mostly the girls - I probably only helped make like 500 before I left around 2 pm for E's nap. I took the picture, so I'm not in it.
We went to an Easter egg hunt at the church early Saturday morning (top)and then had our own on Sunday afternoon(bottom):Saturday night we hurriedly dyed eggs after dinner. There is such a small window between dinner and Kevin's bedtime. You can see all the dishes on the table still.
These first two are the view from the roof top playground at the hospital. This was the highlight of Elena's stay for all of us. The weather was perfect and the playground was a lot of fun.
Dan is floating away (Elena is playing on a spaceship):Kevin has so many little stages that only last a week or two. This is one thing that has already ended, but it was so cute for a while. Whenever we would say, "Hooray, Kevin!" He would raise his little fists above his head and look so proud of himself. Even a couple of weeks ago when his cold was really bad, he would raise them up part-way and do a little smile. He's such a sweetie!!!This is the result of too much "hooraying" while eating. The strawberries stayed up there the whole meal.
A cute pic of Elena and Granny on Granny's first night in town 2 weeks ago.
I love this picture because my parents have pictures of most/all of us kids reaching up in this same way.
I know I already mentioned Curious George Live, but it was so fun - Elena talks about multiple times a day. Here's two more pics: