2011 A year in review...oh and Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends.  I hope this year was as much fun for you as it has been for us!  As I sit to write this and think back on the past year I think wow what a year we have had.  This could turn into an epic novel if I go through everything in great detail so I will not do that....so you can continue to read.  I am going to break the year down into quarters.

First off I will tell you that we are still in Olympia loving it here.  Leyton is growing like a weed and is super active and the joy of our lives.  Trent is still working at Madigan Army Medical Center as a Security Officer.  He has started the hiring process for WA State Patrol so next year may bring a very different update on him.  I am staying busy with my salon and still being a nanny for the same family for the 9th year now.  I never have a lack of things to do, anyone who knows me knows that.  My mom is still living with us.  I love that Leyton has so much access to one of his grandparents.  She is loving the weather and keeps busy with her sewing business. 

So now let's start with the first quarter being January, February, and March.  We kicked off the new year which would hold many adventures for us.  Leyton started swimming lessons, which he loved!!!  He also started gymnastics another beloved pass time.  He loves to be on the move and doing things....I think he gets that from me.  February brought an addition to our family in the form of a sweet as can be puppy whom we named CJ.  Trent picked the name and as most of you would not be surprised she is named after a 4wheel drive vehicle the Jeep CJ.  What would surprise most of you is that he picked it because it was the first picture in a magazine that Leyton could identify as a Truck...big deal for daddy!!!  So CJ it is she has proved to be an absolute perfect dog and fit for our family.  Leyton and her are best friends!!  March brought a lot of rain and Leyton learned all about puddle jumping.

So our second quarter moves us to April, May, and June.  April was fun month with Easter and Leyton's birthday.  We had two Easters really because of family activities.  One of which we lovingly name Naked Easter...no, no, no not what you think.  We named it that because it just happened to be the weekend we decided to potty train Leyton.  He had to run around for the weekend with no pants on.  He did amazingly well and we were able to say goodbye to diapers other than when sleeping in just about a week.  He loved dying eggs and doing the hunting and getting Easter baskets.  He did not however love the Easter Bunny.  His birthday brought us a 2 year old....I can't believe my baby is 2 all ready!!  In May we celebrated with a Puppy birthday party in honor of CJ.  She even provided the picture for his birthday invitation and also a pin the nose on CJ game I came up with.   It was a great time and always fun to get our family and friends together.  At his 2 year check up the doctor told me she had good and bad news.  Good news developmentally and speech he is were he should be for 3-4 all ready.  Bad news now I have to keep him entertained...that made me laugh because I all ready knew the bad news.  The end of May we packed up and headed out on a road trip to North and South Dakota to see my dad's side of the family.   Now this is an 18 hour trip and I was very unsure how our newly potty trained and very active Leyton would do in the car that long.  To my surprise he did amazingly well.  He never lost it at all and was ready to go with grama and grampa when we go to North Dakota.  We got to spend  a lot of fun family time and do some swimming in Dickinson.  Then we drove to South Dakota to see the rest of the family.  There we got to be on a big trampoline, chase some chickens, go rock hunting in the Bad Lands, and go to Story Book Island and Old MacDonalds Farm in Rapid City.  We also got to see the land for my dad and Ginger's new house they will be building in the next few years.  We can't wait to go visit them there.  I can't lie that I did shed some tears as we pulled away to head home.  I love being with my family out there.  It makes me sad when I think that Leyton may not have as much access to it as I did growing up.  So I decided we would make sure he gets to go out there as much as possible.   Now that we know he is such a trooper in the car it makes it much easier.  On our trip home we stopped in Montana to see my sisters and pick up a new to him truck for Trent.  Then home to get settled in for summer.

That brings me to our third quarter July, August, and September.  July was filled with trips to see Grammy and Papa in Bellingham and the 4th of July at home with friends.  Leyton loved the fireworks this year.  He had a blast "helping".  We also spent a week at a Church summer camp called Summer Hummer.  I have been a counselor for 5 years now and Leyton has been going since he was 3 months old.  However this year he was able to really have fun and loved it.  He liked all the singing at the end of the day.  August started off with a bang into fall sports.  Which isn't just for the kids.  I coached a 2nd and 3rd grade cheer squad again this year.  I had 10 of the sweetest most amazing little girls to love. And I was blessed with the best assistant coach anyone could ever ask for.  I love you Erin!!  Now when I saw them the first day of practice I was slightly worried because they could not even clap together.  But after many hours of hard work they started doing very well.  I also made a trip to Montana to see friends with my little seasoned car traveller.  We spent 4 days with my best friends in the world and got to meet three baby boys that are the loves of my life.  September brought the kids back to school which meant High School for Jared (14), Middle School for Nathan (11) and 4th grade for Leah (9).  It also brought our first games for football and cheer.  My squad turned it all around and showed everyone why we work so hard and did an amazing job.  September most importantly brought a shiny "diamond bug" into our lives.  We got ENGAGED!!!  I thought we were going to have a fun family day at the park.  But little did I know that when Trent told Leyton to show me what they found it would be something so cool.  Trent had Leyton help with the proposal and he told me it was a "diamond bug mommy" so so cute!!  It was very special to me to have two of the most important men in my life there and be at a special place.  I am so happy to be Trent's fiance.  September was rounded out with an amazing weekend of wedding festivities for my dear friend Kirsten.  Her wedding was so beautiful and I was honored to have been part of it!

And finally our fourth quarter...October, November and December.  Wow I can't believe how fast it went.  October rolled around with unseasonably nice weather which made the football games more fun.  Leyton and I travelled to Charlotte, NC to see our besties the O'Hare family.  It was a ton of fun.  We spent a week eating cupcakes, playing at parks, trying on wedding dresses, play dates, and the going to the pumpkin patch.  I have a whole post to write about this cause I could go on forever.  Best of all we got to spend much needed quality time with friends.  Our annual Cheer Competition was the goal for the month and I was the most proud of my girls for going out and doing the best they could do, being good sports, and having fun.   The second place medals they brought home was just icing on the cake.  That would be the blue velvet (yummy) cake I made for our end of season banquet.  The banquet was such a bitter sweet day for me.  It marked the end of this season which on one hand meant I got about 6 hours of practice time, games early every Sat., and countless hours that go in other times back to myself and my family.  On the other hand it meant that I wouldn't be able to see these 10 amazing little girls that I love dearly almost everyday.  Or their families who in my opinion are the best there are.  Then we paused for just a minute for Halloween.  Leyton was so much fun this year.  He really is in to holidays this year.  He got to be the cutest dragon ever for a Halloween party we went to with Trent's work friends.  Then Bob the Tomato (from VeggieTales) for trick or treating.  He had so much fun he was running off with Leah say Trick or Treat!!  And as a proud mama he followed that up with Thank You!!  That brought us right into November where I had to kind of find things to do with myself.  So what did I do but find the most amazing website ever (pinterest)...Thank you Kirsten....and start wedding  and holiday planning.  We spent a few weekends in Bellingham including Thanksgiving.  It was so great to be in a house filled with family.  Leyton loved it and most of all pumpkin pie.  Now onto December which seems like it snuck up on us.  I was so happy to put out Christmas decorations this year!!  Leyton had tons of fun decorating our 2 Christmas trees.  And our house has been littered with the plastic candy canes that I can't seem to keep on my tree.  The reason they are plastic.  We are spending this weekend in Bellingham.  We have the Jingle Bell Run a family tradition and also Trent's sister Tia's 80's costume party Sat.  Then recovering and heading back on Sunday just in time for my dad and Ginger to get here Monday.  They will be here for a week long visit.  I am very excited to see them since it's been almost 6 months.  We have a ton of fun stuff planned...Zoolights, visiting Santa, my birthday, our engagement party (casino themed), and an early Christmas Dinner with family and friends.  Then Christmas and New Years in Bellingham. 

We have had an amazing and blessed year and we hope that next year will bring as many fun adventures for us as everyone we love!!!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
 Love Barb, Trent, & Leyton (BLT) just realized that the other day...haha. 
 

Long time no blog...

Well oh well it has been a long time since I did any updates on here.  What is it that they say time flies when you are having fun.  Well I think time flies no matter what.  There has been so much going on with our family over the past few months I don't even know where to start so I will start with the most recent and go back. 

I just spent a few days with my girl friends from high school and all of our baby boys in Montana.  Now these baby's range in age from 10 years -3 weeks.   It is surreal to sit with my best girl friends talking about old times and our lives now while our boys run around and play together.  How often does it happen that friends from high school have kids that are friends.  It is an amazing and fun place to find yourself in.  I loved sharing fun times with these woman when we were girls and now I enjoy love sharing our family times and growing pains with each other too.  I so wish that all of these ladies and their boys lived closer to us but I am so glad we get to spend times like this every so often.  I know that no matter how far apart we are these ladies will be in my heart and my thoughts everyday of my life!!!  I love you all so much!!!

Before my Montana trip I had spent most of the month of Aug. consumed by cheer leading.  I know as an almost 30 year old woman that may sounds funny.  I am a coach for a group of girls who range from 7-9 in age.  I have 10 of the most amazing little cheerleaders in the world. 

I won't say that I started the season this confident but I am very confident with them now.  After the first practice with a group that is very young and very new to cheer as none of them have ever cheered before I was a bit skeptical of how our season would pan out.  I am happy to say that after a short 4 weeks of practice they are doing amazingly well and know about 40 cheers.  We are getting ready to start our competition routine which I am very sure they will catch onto as quickly as everything else. 

July was a bit of a whirlwind.  We had a fun pre 4th of July night in Bellingham with Grammy and Papa.  Leyton was a bit scared of the fireworks though.  Then we had a wonderful time at home with great friends for 4th of July and Leyton got a lot more into the fireworks then. 

After that it was mostly spending time with family and hanging out.  We did go on our first camping trip since Leyton was very small.  It was a blast and Leyton loves the fire and most of all being able to run all over outside.  It was a really fun time!!

It doesn't seem like a ton when I write it down but I feel like I have been going 200 mph all summer long.  Mixed in there was some school supply shopping, school clothes shopping, and other errands.  Along with appointments in the salon and trying to make some time with our family.  It has been a fun filled and exhausting summer.  Looking forward to fun times with friends in the fall. 

Happy Father's Day

It's unfortunate that Trent had to work all day on Father's Day.  We did however manage to have a little celebration anyway.  I made him his favorite dinner (chicken cordon bleu).  And we were lucky enough to have the amazing company of some wonderful friends.

This day makes me very thankful for a lot of fathers.  First and foremost is my own father.  I have the most wonderful dad.  I am proud to say that at 29 I am still as close and as much a daddy's girl as I was when I was little.  I think about all the times I went on the road with my dad to make farm calls, or the countless times he made me animal shaped pancakes, or the times we went fishing, golfing, camping, or on wonderful vacations.  I think one of the most memorable things was when he drove 8 hours to surprise me at a volleyball game.  Most of all I am so lucky that no matter what, he is always there to support and love me.  I know that I can count on him no matter what!!!  I love you so much Dad!!

It is probably not hard to believe that my dad is an amazing grandpa also.  In fact I am so thankful that my son has two wonderful Grandpas...well a wonderful Grandpa and an amazing Papa.  He is such a Grandpa and Papa's boy.  He love to play and watch golf with them both.  I know he will spend many years making wonderful memories with these two amazing men just as I did growing up.

I am most thankful for my wonderful boyfriend and Leyton's incredible father!!!  I have been blessed with an amazing man who loves me and is there to support me through even the toughest of times.  He is the most excellent father to our son!!  He spends time with him playing, at the park, or watching 4x4 shows...LOL.  I know that Leyton will grow up feeling the same security that comes from a dad he can count on.  I am so happy that I have this great little family.  I am so blessed and thankful today and always!! 

Last but not least I am so very thankful for the amazing men and fathers in my friends lives.  I am so thankful that the women in my life that I care so much for have men in their lives that care just as much for them as I do.  These men are there to support and love them and the wonderful little boys that I also love so much!!  We are all very wonderfully blessed with amazing men in our lives!!!

Daddy and Leyton at the Park

Bowling with Papa

Grandpa showing Leyton a bunny.

My favorite men.

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers I know!!!

Chasing Chickens!!!

Chasing Chickens, this is a new phrase I have been coming to know well.  It has a few different meanings in my life right now as I am sure most mothers can relate to.  I didn't know that one little phrase could have more than one literal meaning but am finding that to me false.

This phrase entered my world with my sweet 2 year old saying " Mommy I chase the chickens" and he had been.  Trent and my cousin John had taken him out on the farm to see the animals. They had let him literally chase the chickens.  Now with the video that I saw later I felt so sorry for these poor chickens.  My sweet boy turned into a tornado chasing the chickens through the yard.  I couldn't stop laughing while watching the video.  I have to say chickens are pretty fast because no matter how fast he ran he never did catch one.

Now while driving home from vacation I started to realize that my life is somewhat similar to the chicken chase my son had been on.  I spend most of my days chasing around with one thing or another.  Whether it be errands to run, work to deal with, or my 2 year old to literally chase.  It seems that I have become that tornado.  And no matter how fast I go I can never seem to catch the chicken.  I sat there laughing at myself and again my 2 year old says "Why you laugh Mommy" and that made me laugh even more.

So for a bit of a chicken chase story I will tell you of our wonderful family vacation.  We drove to North and South Dakota from Washington...yes drove.  This is an 18 hour drive and I was really scared that Trent may have to stop about half way and admit me to a psychiatric hospital.  To my great surprise the trip out was amazing!!!  Leyton did so well I couldn't believe it, he is such a trooper.  Just watched DVD's and hung out.

Play Doh a favorite pass time.

We spent our first few days with Grandpa Howard and Grandma Ginger in North Dakota.  A lot of time spent at the local community center which has an amazing pool area.  We also got to see Auntie Becky and Auntie Sarah and Uncle Jesse.  It was so great to see everyone and just hang around and enjoy being together.  Leyton also did a lot of running in their back yard which he loved!!!

While we were there I received the news that my two best friends had had their babies.  Krissy had a beautiful little boy Brecken Paul early in the morning.  Then, Tiffany also had a handsome little boy Kessler Reed.  Now the odd part about this is that my two best friends had 2 baby boys on the same day and both boys were within 3oz. and 1/2 in. of being the same size.  The fact that Brecken decided to start his arrival into this world on his actual due date and that Kessler arrived 2 weeks early is what made it so much more crazy.  Congrats to the O'Hare and Bentcik families Auntie loves you both so much all ready!!!

Mr. John Deere

First 4 wheeler ride with Daddy...he didn't like it so much :(

Loving jumping with Auntie Jenny, Max and Emmy.

This was so sweet...I love these kids!!

Cousins.

Rock Hunting...need I say more.

Then we got back in the car for another 5 hour trip down to South Dakota to the farm.  We spent 2 days with Auntie Jenny, Uncle Tom, Emmy and Max.  Leyton got his first ride on a 4 wheeler and his first experience on a huge trampoline.  He had such a great time running and jumping around with his cousins.  We also spent an afternoon rock hunting which as anyone who has a little boy knows he loved!!!

Walking the plank with Grandpa Howard and Grandma Ginger at Storybook Island.

We also got to spend a morning at the Handcock farm.  This has been in the family for years and I spent a lot of time there while I grew up.  It is so great to have my son now experience all the things I loved so much at the farm. This is the place  of the infamous chicken chase. We also got to meet the newest addition to the Handcock family Portia.  She is 6 weeks old and a beautiful little girl. 

Bottle feeding the lambs.

These baby chicks were so cute!

Then back into the car to head to Rapid City (1 1/2 hour drive) to see Great Grandma & Grandpa Handcock.  We spent some time in the pool again.  Also a good amount of time playing at the play ground.  The highlights of Rapid City were going to Storybook Island which is a park with little play areas made from any kids book you can think of and Old MacDonalds Farm to see the animals.  My animal lover son really enjoyed that.  It's a giant petting zoo basically with any farm animal you can think of.  Oh and they also had pig races and the winning pig got cherry koolaid...LOL!!

After 9 days it was time to pack up and head back to Washington.  We made an unscheduled stop in Montana to see one Tiffany, her boyfriend Joey and baby boy Kessler.  He told me that he didn't want to miss seeing his Auntie that's why he came early...LOL.   He is such a sweet and cute baby.  You forget how tiny they are when they are first born.

Highlight of the horseback ride was when it pooped...LOL!!

After 11 hours on the road, 2 1/2 of which were spent at the top of Look Out Pass stuck behind an accident.  This was not the highlight of my trip as Leyton kept yelling at me "Mommy I have to go potty", he would not listen when I said to go in his diaper.  And the unthinkable also happened the DVD player died.  So after clearing the accident, stopping for a potty break, and buying a new DVD player we finally made it home.

It was a fun and amazing trip but in the end I still feel like I am chasing a chicken I can't catch...but at least if I am going to be chasing it's for a fun reason.

Pawsatively Perfect Puppy Party!!!

So as much as I wanted to deny that my baby boy was turning 2, I was very excited to celebrate his big day also.  I knew that he would have fun this year with cake and his friends.  I also knew that most of the work that I put into his party wouldn't be appreciated by him now but I hope that when I tell him of it in the future he thinks he has the best mommy ever. 

After doing some convincing with daddy and getting Leyton a new puppy (CJ) I decided that it was only fitting that we should have a puppy party for him.  So my plan was to take a picture of CJ & Leyton with matching birthday hats that I made for them.  This turned into a fiasco!!!  Leyton would not have any part of this process so it turned out to be just CJ with a birthday hat and big bow for our invitation. 

The invite in postcard form.

I was very lucky to find a lot of my treasures for the party at the dollar store and I also made a lot of things as well.  I found dog dishes that I used for all of the food and also in place of plates for the kiddos.  Brown paper with dog prints on it was our table cloths and of course we had to send everyone home with doggie bags (made from brown lunch sacks I put paw prints on with a stamp).  These were filled with all dog type treats (ie. frisbee, ball, whistle, and scooby snacks). 

This cake was so cute Dom is AMAZING!!!

I made a happy birthday banner for him and we got lots of balloons and streamers.  We went a little crazy with desserts.  I made a dog dish cake for Leyton to enjoy and cake pops for all the kids.  These turned out to be very easy to do and very tasty too.  Then thanks to the amazing talent of my friend Dominique we had a 3D dog house cake for everyone else to enjoy. 

We spent the day having goodies, doing a pull string pinata, playing pin the nose on CJ (a photo I had blown up not the real dog), and crawling in and out of card board dog houses I had made for the kiddos to play in.  All in all I think everyone had a ton of fun!! 

cardboard dog houses

Pin the nose on CJ.

Pull string pinata, much safer than traditional pinata with mostly under 6 year olds.

Make a Wish!!!

In the end I think the highlight of Leyton's day was not much to do with any of the work I put in but the sun that came out so that he could go play in the yard.  I love the fact that the simple things make kids so happy.  I will try to remember this as I starting thinking about planning his next birthday party.  But let be real who's kidding who here I love to plan parties even if it is to be upstaged by mother nature in the end.  Anyone have any good ideas for a 3rd birthday theme...LOL!!

Leyton is 2!!!!

I can't believe how time flies.  My sweet baby boy who I just brought home from the hospital is 2 years and a week old all ready!!!  Happy Mother's Day to all of those mommies out there that watch time fly as well!!  It's amazing how this day changes when you have a sweet little one to share it with!! 

MacGyver Casting!!!

The one phone call you never what to get.  Your child's (or child that I have been a nanny for for 8 years who is just like mine) school nurse calling...and saying "He fell in P.E. and hurt his wrist.  I don't know if it's broken but dislocated for sure.  I think he may need to go to the doctor."  

"I will be there in 2 minutes" is all I said, slipped on my shoes and grabbed my keys with just enough time to say to my mom "you have buggy right?"  Now that I think about it I didn't even wait for a response.  Good thing she was there or Leyton may have gotten his first taste of taking care of himself for a few hours...LOL!!!

I got to the school and saw something that any mother hates to see.  The child you care so much for in unbearable pain.  I could tell that my once stoic teenager was looking like a 3 year old wanting you to kiss a boo boo better and there was nothing I could do.  It broke my heart and made me want to cry.  I knew however I needed to keep it together and just get the situation taken care of. 

Uhh...that doesn't look right.

We made it home on a very slow drive as every bump caused even more pain to his arm.  The next hour or so consisted of his dad looking at it, sending in an order for x-rays, getting him ready to go to the hospital, the drive to the hospital (and realizing I may not make it back in time for Leah and Nathan to get home from school so calling a great friend to help with them...Thank you Carolyn!!!  I owe you) getting x-rays, and hoping that surgery would not be necessary.  Finally the word comes that they were going to try to set and cast it and that should take care of it.

This is were we met Dr. MacGyver.

It worked to get his arm to hang to start to set the break.

This turned into the funniest part of our day.  The piece of equipment they needed (the doctor affectionately called it the finger trap) they couldn't find.  For anyone who doesn't know the finger trap as I was told is used to elevate the arm so that it can hang and let gravity move the bones back into place as much as possible on it's own.  At this point the two young doctors turned into MacGyver.  They ran a cord through the metal part of the ceiling and then used another thing that looked like finger traps to me to make the whole thing work.  It couldn't have looked more like a movie scene unless they would have also incorporated some duct tape and paper clips.  At least it got a laugh out of all who were involved.  Oh and just about the time the got it all put together and had his arm hanging with this great invention of theirs, a medic shows up with the allusive finger trap...LOL!!!

Molding the cast.

Luckily their resourceful ways ultimately worked and they got his arm set and started casting it.  After two attempts to get it right they got it done and we have as good a diagnosis as possible.  Six weeks in a full arm cast with follow up appointments every week for the first three. Fingers crossed he won't need surgery.

I have to tell you I was so completely shocked and impressed by Jared.  He wasn't throwing a fit about how much it hurt or even really complaining.  He took it like a man you might say.  He was so great, he didn't have any Tylenol until about 5 hours after the whole ordeal started.  Which in looking back may have been a mistake as now we are fighting to get back ahead of the pain.

There is nothing worse than looking at  a child you care for in pain when there isn't much you can do to make it better.  For a kid who hadn't really shown any pain all day including while they were setting his break and casting it.  A process that had a grown man dripping sweat off his head...literally!!!  To then see him grimacing in pain and deep breathing to try to help.  That is the worst feeling in the world for me.  I would take his pain in a second if I could but can't and I hate to see him like that.  Hopefully over the next few hours we can get the pain under control and then he will heal quickly and be back to playing basketball and harassing his siblings and me in no time flat.

Busy TImes

Why is it that in a few day so many things can happen that you feel like a year has gone by?  We had Easter brunch, an egg hunt, a new swing for buggy, birthday prep, and milestones in potty training all since my last post.  Maybe this is why the past two years have gone by in what seems like two days.

I have so much fun talking and seeing photos of all my pregnant friends.  I think back to when we would hang out after school or on the weekends.  Hiding behind bars...anyone in my family didn't just read that!!  Oh how times have changed.  Now we are all upstanding mommy's and mommy's to be that talk about birthing plans and how times goes by so fast.  I know to some we now seem so boring but I think we all would agree that we are happier now than we could ever have imagined.  I love you all and hope to join the prego club soon!!

I have one little tid bit of advice for all of my fellow mommy's as I sit here thinking that in 4 days my sweet little buggy will be 2!!!  I can't believe how time flies.  Make sure that you relish in those little moments when you know you should be doing something else.  Or the moments when you are feeling very silly or sentimental.  Those are the moments that can slip away so fast and you will never get back so take that time and really enjoy them.  I know I try and don't always succeed on doing this, but I do try and I am so glad that I do.

Love this little face...don't know what he was thinking but love it anyway!!

Love my man...he won't allow this much longer I needed proof.

The big bad bunny!

Now back to our crazy few days.  We woke up Sunday morning and went to a fabulous brunch at Indian Summer Country Club.  They had anything and everything you could imagine to eat.  My favorite (eggs Benedict) and Leyton's favorites (mini corn dogs and chocolate chip pancakes...yes he had them at the same time).  I am pleased to say that Leyton was very well behaved at this fancy establishment.  I think he was afraid if he wasn't the big scary bunny would take him away.

They had a very cute bunny there...and all though he wasn't super scared of the bunny he was very stand offish we will say.  I tried to get a picture and he would have no part of the bunny holding him so Leah did the honors and then he would not take his eyes off this giant creature he wasn't so sure about to look at mommy's camera.  He would sheepishly wave and say Hi to him as long as he was at a good 20 paces but wasn't so sure about anything else.  It was pretty funny to watch and at least afforded some good bliner (a new word Nathan and I made up because he doesn't think brunch works because they had dessert and you only have dessert with dinner) entertainment. 

I find one Mommy!!

Then to my surprise and to Leah and Leyton's happy eyes we found out there was an Easter egg hunt they had set up down the hall.  It was very cute they had laid out straw and hid eggs filled with candy and just loose candy all over underneath.  They both had a good time finding eggs.  I am not sure which of them was more upset by the 3 egg limit however.  After all that craziness we ended up missing church for a much needed nap for Leyton.

My new swing!!!

Getting all buckled in and ready to go.

He laughed, screamed, and smiled the entire time!!

Monday night was a lot of fun because we showed Leyton his new swing.  He was so excited!!!  I told him we had a surprise for him and we took him down stairs.  I covered his eyes and put him right in front of it and placed myself next to the swing so that I could get a great reaction picture.  He was so so happy to have his swing and after about a half hour he was so so unhappy to have to go inside for bath and leave his swing behind.   This will provide hours of entertainment this summer I am sure!!

We also have wonderful potty training news!!!  After a week of one accident a day days we have had 4 days of no accidents at all!!!  I am again so proud of my big  boy and am also starting to run out of Mike and Ikes which by the way are a great potty training aid if anyone wants to know.  He was even walking over to the little potty (the one that has now become a fixture in our living room) and going all by himself.  Now this creates more of a mess for me as he hasn't quite gotten the whole idea of aiming his "water gun" yet, but I can't help but be proud of him anyway.  I don't think being happy and proud of him for peeing on my floor will last for long however :)