Easter Eggs

I had never dyed eggs with Atreyu before so I thought it would be fun to do it this year.  I saw on idea online to dye the eggs with Kool-Aid.  You just take a packet of Kool-Aid and mix it with 2/3 cup of water and voila!  The Kool-Aid smelled so good and it worked pretty well.  Atreyu thought it was fun to drop the eggs in the water.  We wrote on some of them, put stickers on others and put the shrink band thingys on some others.  It was a fun day and Cambria enjoyed watching us.

Atreyu, like any kid, gets excited about the Easter Bunny, eggs and candy but I am trying to teach him the real reason we celebrate Easter.  I can ask him why we have Easter and he says, "Jesus died."  I then ask him what happened next and he says, "He was resurrected."  I'm glad that he at least knows the reason even though he is not going to focus on it.  I don't expect him to either with him being so young but I know he is learning and I can build on the story every year.

Learning and Playing

I saw this idea to drop some Skittles in warm water and watch them dissolve.  It's a way to teach kids about dissolving.  I don't think Atreyu really understood that concept but he liked watching the water change color.  He doesn't really like to eat Skittles too much but he asked to taste some of the water in one of the cups.  He did not like the Skittle flavor especially in warm water.  It was a fun little activity.

Cambria sometimes sits in her high chair and watches us do projects.  We give her some toys and she's usually good the majority of the time.  I told me mom about the whine that she does and I was informed that I did the same thing when I was a baby.  I swear I find out that she is more like me everyday.

As part of Atreyu's potty training, he would get prizes when he got enough stickers to fill out a chart.  One of the prizes he got was a bunch of toy hay bales to use with his tractors.  I played with him the other day and I got the best picture of him.  His expression is priceless.  I love it.

A Day Full of Fun!

First thing this morning Atreyu and I called Grammie and sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  It's one of Atreyu's favorite songs and he sings it really well.  Grammie loved it!

Atreyu likes to watch this cartoon on PBS (I think) that's called Sid the Science Kid.  On the show they do fun experiments.  I decided that I want to do more fun things with my kids.  I found some good ideas on Pinterest and decided to try some of them out.  The first thing we did this morning was to put some water, food coloring, and dish soap in a 9x13 pan.  I put it on the table and gave Atreyu a straw so he could blow bubbles.  He seemed to have a lot of fun doing it except for the few times that he sucked on the straw instead of blowing on it.  I then gave him some spoons and a spatula and he made a cake.  It was a fun activity for an inside day.

After his "cake making" I painted the bottom of the kids' feet and made "carrots" for Easter.  They both wiggled alot but I think they still turned out pretty cute.  I think I might start doing this every year.

Since Atreyu had paint on him I figured it would be a good time for a bath.  I saw this idea for a "hot chocolate" bath and he said he wanted one.  I put a little hot cocoa mix in the water, sprayed some whipped cream on the walls to look like steam, blew up some white balloons for marshmallows and then made some hot chocolate paint with whipped cream and hot cocoa mix.  I think Atreyu had fun since he was in the tub for probably close to an hour.

We then made a little sign for Uncle Chris because he is being sent overseas again and we wanted to thank him for all his service to our country.

Lastly, Cambria is 33 weeks old today so here is her weekly picture.  She's a doll!



Some Fun Things We Do

Cambria is quite the little champ at sitting now. She does it all the time and I think she's glad that she can do it. She still doesn't roll too much yet but that's alright. I don't mind my baby being a baby for a while.  She can be the sweetest, cutest little girl sometimes and then moments later she can become the most annoying one.  She whines and whines until she gets what she wants sometimes.  And then as soon as she has what she wants, she's just fine again.

Atreyu has such a fun imagination.  He likes to pretend he's Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, WALL-E and other things as well.  He plays with this basket all the time and it can be any number of things: a motorcycle, a snowmobile, WALL-E's lunch box...whatever he feels that it should be.  I tried getting a picture of him with it but he didn't hold still too well so it's not the best picture.

Both of these kids love bath time.  When I tell Atreyu it's time for a bath he always asks if Cambria is coming too.  As soon as Cambria sees the water running and Atreyu climbing in the tub, she gets real excited and starts kicking her legs and waving her arms.  She even does pretty good sitting in the tub.

I just love that my kids love each other so much and I hope they can always be good friends.  They each have brought so much love to our family and I know we couldn't live without either of them.

Easter Crafts

I saw this really cute idea on Pinterest to make some eggs with water balloons and embroidery floss. I decided to try it and I think that they turned out adorable. However, I don't know if I will do it again any time in the next few years because it took so long.  If I get a container just for them, I think I will be able to store them just fine and they'll last a long time.

I have a friend in town and her sister showed me a craft that she did with my friends' boys.  They made chicks and easter bunnies with hand and foot prints.  It was very cute and I think I may try it with my kiddos.  I don't know how well it will turn out with Cambria but we'll see.  I'm excited to be better and doing fun craft things with my kids and I hope they enjoy it all too.

When we were at story hour today the kids made these cute chicks.  I love the feathers!

Then when we got home this afternoon Atreyu and Cindie made these cute little bunnies.  They had fun for the most part but Cindie got frustrated gluing on all the cotton balls.  All in all, it's been a fun day!

Confessions

I have a temper with a short fuse and I will be the first to admit it.  We were having a good, happy morning and then I did some laundry and some clothes were caught and tangled in the washing machine which made them difficult to get out.  That irritated me.  Then I asked Atreyu over and over what he wanted for breakfast and he finally said he wanted Cheerios.  I again was irritated that he took so long to answer me.  I then got him an orange to eat as well and he kept refusing and I lost it.  I started yelling at him and telling him to stop whining and to listen when I talk to him.  I just got so upset and it made him cry.  I always feel terrible when I yell at him but I have the worst self-control sometimes.  After I calmed down I told him I was sorry and I hugged and loved him but I still felt terrible.  I know no one is perfect but I also know I need to try harder to be patient and calm with my kids.  I don't want them to have bad memories of their mom yelling at them.

After cuddling him for a bit, Atreyu wanted to watch a movie so I turned one on for him and started looking at some of the blogs I follow.  One of them shared a link to a blog that tells the story of a little toddler who fell in a washing machine and drowned.  Anytime I read stories like these I bawl and my heart hurts for the families.  I can't even imagine the horror that I would feel if it were to happen to me.  The stories make me feel even worse about the times when I lose control and get so upset.  I love my kids so much and I can't even imagine my life without them.  When I'm upset I know I just need to take a moment and remember how blessed I am to be the mother of these sweet spirits.  I am the luckiest girl in the world to have the kids I have and I wouldn't trade them for anything.  I know, however, that I need to live in such a way that I deserve to be their mother.  I am setting a goal right now to be more patient and that when I feel I am going to do something I later regret I will instead take a step back and calm down.  I want to be the mother my children deserve and I want to be a good example to them.

Let the Good Times Roll

Atreyu has been doing awesome with potty training!  The first week he only had one accident but this second he has had a few more.  I think he just gets busy playing and forgets he needs to sit on the potty.  I knew that when he decided he was ready it would be pretty easy.  It has been so wonderful not having to change two kids' diapers!

The weather here in Bear Lake is starting to act like the typical spring weather we get here.  It's really beautiful for a day or two with snow melting and then the next day it's snowing.  It's been nice having some warmer temperatures.  Last week the kids and I went for a walk around Bern.  Atreyu pushed his baby in her own stroller as I pushed Cambria.  It's so funny watching him pretend to be mom.  He also likes to put his phone in the home phone charger.  He's such a silly kid!

 

Cambria just continues to grow and learn everyday.  She is getting much better at sitting on her own.  She rolls over onto her tummy a lot but has trouble rolling back and she gets really frustrated and makes sure we know about it.  She has this whine that she has done for a long time that drives both Jesse and me crazy.  It's just a constant whine when she wants attention that doesn't stop until she gets it.  We both agree we would rather she cry.  Hopefully she will grow out of that (and soon).  I was able to snap a shot of her two little teeth the other day.  It seems almost anytime I try to get a picture of them her tongue is in the way but not this time.  She is just a doll!

Lastly I thought I would put up another of Jesse's Lego creations.  He made an Eve to go with

WALL-E.  I don't know how he is able to just make all these things but Atreyu loves it!