"He's just a big stuffed bunny, Rachel. It's okay." -Noah

We took the kids to see the Easter Bunny a couple of days ago and Rachel was very hesitant about meeting Mr. Bunny. I kept asking her if she wanted to say hi to him and her reply was always "No Mommy". It was funny. Noah kept reassuring her that he was just like a big stuffed animal and he wasn't going to hurt her at all. Doug and I were cracking up. Doug finally carried her up to him and let her pat his face and ears. I'm not sure what Doug told her, but she did finally sit on his lap.

Also, there have only been a couple of mentions of the binky... Rachel seems to be doing fine without it, but every once in a while she'll ask about a certain colored one that 'dissapeared' or got 'broken'. I'm glad she didn't struggle with it like I thought she might have.

"Uh-Oh Mommy -- Broken."

Rachel: Uh-oh Mommy - Broken. (Referring to the pink binky I had just handed her as she laid down for her nap).
Mommy: Hmmm, well, do you want the blue one?
Rachel: Yes. (I hand it to her expecting tears and perhaps even a tantrum) Uh-oh Mommy, dis broken too.
Mommy: Uh-oh, well, do you want to hold them?
Rachel: No.
Mommy: What shall I do with them?
Rachel: Trashcan
Mommy: Okay.
Rachel: Mommy, new binky?
Mommy: We don't have any new binkies. I'm sorry. You okay?
Rachel: Yes. I hold pink blankey.
Mommy: Okay. Love you. Night-night.

Whew, that went oddly well. Hopefully she'll still feel the same way tonight. Today was the day. I'm not sure why, other than the fact that she has only had them when she sleeps for months now. She's getting so big. I'll miss her little binky face. This was possibly (if not probably) harder for me than it was for her!

Edited to add - She did decide that she needed to hold her pink binky. Glad i didn't toss them like she told me to. Funny. Cross your fingers for us!

Hello Mr. Snowman

Note: Don't agravate Jack Frost... After all the talk of being glad the snow only comes once a year and even then it melts fast, ole Mr. Winter decided we needed a bit more snow! We don't mind though, it just gives us a chance to play some more! After looking outside this afternoon and figuring there must be enough snow to make a real snowman this time around, I remembered that some friends of ours had given the kids a snowman kit a year or two ago. I remembered thinking at the time that we would be lucky to ever have that much snow... but today we did! The kids had fun helping pile the snow up for the parts of the body and Noah stuck the face and buttons in. I helped with the scarf and mittens. The kids were so proud of this guy. Rachel even stole a kiss from him! =) Ofcourse, Noah decided he just wasn't complete without his own light saber.... I guess Mr. Snowman is on the dark side. ;)

Simple Joys

Seventies and sunburns on Saturday and snow on Tuesday.... The weather's been crazy! We woke up this morning to about an inch of snow and the kids were so excited - they couldn't wait to get out there and play in it! Noah kept running into our room and saying "Mommy, it SNOWED! It's like at the rebel base on Hoth!!". The snow was brief, completely gone by noon, but thoroughly enjoyed all the same. Before it melted the kids played, had a snowball fight, made snow angels and a small snowman they dressed with Mr. Potato Head parts, followed by running in to warm up with hot chocolate. It was wonderful to see the pure joy on their faces. Lots of firsts today for the kids. We haven't had enough snow in the past couple of years to do the things mentioned above and when we lived in Iowa (and experienced lots of snow) Noah was too young to do those things. I love how pretty it makes it look (if only for the morning). That's the good part about 'snow storms' here - they only last a couple of hours, rather than a couple of months! =)

Soccer Game!

Go #5!!! Noah had his first Soccer game of the spring season on Saturday. He was excited to get out there and play and has asked if he gets to play soccer today, everyday since. I like that he seems to like it so much. Check out that tall boy! He is the tallest kid on the team by far (which is not much of a surprise since he is the tallest boy in his class at preschool as well...). He's got most kids his age by two or three inches. Rachel was happy because she got to play with her little friend Madison. She asks to play with her every single day. =)

A Big Brother & A Big Sister To Be

Wanted to share our news with everyone. =) This is quite the surprise for all of us and we are excited about this new little miracle that will bless our family.

1st Night of Spring Soccer

New team, new coach. Noah had his first night of Spring Soccer tonight and he had the cutest grin on his face all night. You know, the tongue sticking out ('cause he's thinking) with that little happy grin on his face. We were really glad to see that little grin. There are six kids on his team - with three of them being returning players from his team last fall. So he knows half the kids already - that's cool. Rachel's little friend Madison is back (her brother plays on the team and the girls love to run and play together) so she is very happy too. =)

Happy 5th Birthday Noah!!!!

Noah had a good time at Chuck E Cheese for his birthday. Poor guy though, he has been sick since we arrived here in Maryville (we all have with the flu or what ever this is going around...) and he was so wiped out. It was hard to catch him with a smile on his face for the pictures although he said he had a great birthday and fun with all his little cousins as he played. Lots more pictures to come. I have limited access to what I can do with my photos right now while traveling, but wanted to put a few pictures up here. =)

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Today is Noah's 5th birthday, and Doug and I can not believe he is 5 years old already. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital... It's been a wonderful, exciting five years with our sweet little man. We are in Tennessee and tonight Noah is having a Star Wars party at Chuck E Cheese. Lots of pictures soon! Stay tuned..... =)