Sunday Fun and Lydia at 5 months

A retake for our Easter picture... per Jackson's request:) 

The actual Easter picture - Jackson was NOT happy with me because I bought him new Khaki pants and he didn't like them.

Life is certainly busy here at our house.  I can't believe how quickly the weekends and evenings go here.  It seems like we're always in a rush and I have to constantly remind myself to slow down and just appreciate the little things ... I keep telling myself it's okay to not get that next load of laundry in, or vacuum the floors, etc. 

Jackson is thrilled because Luke is playing baseball again this summer.  He was especially excited when Heath and Christie bought Trent and him jersey's that match theirs.  Luke then found baseball pants that match his for Jackson so Jackson is officially a "mini Luke."  Although the games don't begin until June, the team practices on Sunday afternoons so that means we get extra time with Christie and the kids.  The past 2 weeks they've come to play at our house and we're excited to soon start playing at Sandy Pines during that time (although it needs to get a little warmer).  It's certainly fun to watch the boys play with their cousins.

 Lydia has reached her 5 month milestone.  Yikes!  Time is going so quickly!  The biggest news for her this month ..... TEETH!  She has her first two teeth and two more and ready to come.  It was amazing how quickly her temperment changed when they popped through.  We have our happy little girl back.  We attempted starting cereal but she wasn't thrilled and so we're going to hold off a little bit longer if possible.  Her pediatrician said that anytime between 4 and 6 months so we're just going to wait:)  She's a great mix of her brothers - active like Jackson yet smiley like Brendan.  I am so looking forward to spending more time with her this summer yet I know that as we reach summer she'll be 6, almost 7 months old so I don't wish this time away too quickly.  Before I know it, she'll be moving all around and I'm NOT looking forward to that yet.  I want my baby to stay a baby just a bit longer:) 

Spring Break 2012

Leaving our house ... ready for the long drive to Florida!  We made sure to take a pacifier for Brendan so there would be some peace and quiet.

Walking to the pool ... ready for a swim.  The boys loved finding lizards whenever we walked around.

Ready, Set, Jump.... the boys would jump in together (SOOOO cute!)  Our favorite was Brendan would then "push" himself in by putting his hand on his back.... priceless!

Jackson said one of his favorite parts was miniature golfing by the condo.

At Downtown Disney ... 14 years ago Sara and I took our picture by Sleeping Beauty now Lydia had her first picture there.

Riding the train at Downtown Disney - so much cheaper than actually going to Magic Kingdom (shhh... don't tell the boys that wasn't Disney!)

Enjoying lunch on the porch.  I miss waking up to the palm trees!

Brendan and Papa in the pool

Lunch at T Rex ... Jackson loved it and Brendan wasn't so sure which was surprising since he's my brave one.

Jumping in the pool - something both boys couldn't get enough of.

It seems like so long ago that Jackson and I started our countdown to Florida and now it's already over!  We made the long trek down to Florida with 3 kids ... YIKES!  However, we can't complain.  The kids did quite well in the car it was difficult though because one of us had to always be in the back to help them and keep them busy.  Thankfully my sister rode down with us so then there was another person to keep the driver awake:)  We made it down in 23 hours but it only took us 21 on the way back (there was some serious traffic this year). 

Our plan when we were down there was to possibly go to Sea World, the zoo or the beach but of course the boys were enamored with the pool and since they were perfectly content swimming, we were happy to stay back and play with them.  We did manage to head to Downtown Disney one morning and had lunch at the T Rex restaurant (very similar to Rainforest Cafe) but the boys were anxious to head back after that to swim. 

As usual, it was hard leaving the area - I love the enormous amount of Disney themed things down there, the palm trees, the flowers, etc. but of course walking into our house that first time was glorious too.  But I have to be honest, I still wish we were down there.  There's something about being somewhere other than home and not having jobs to do around the house and just having family time.  The memories we make on a vacation will certainly last a lifetime!

Lydia's Baptism

Our family has grown so much - this picture makes me smile as I see us all together.

Rev. Newhouse baptized Lydia - I've worked with his wife Kathy for 9 years now and her and I have also run the 25K and the 10K runs together.  We were thrilled to have him as part of the special day!

The picture we had for the screen - I think she looks a lot like a VanderZwaag in this picture. 

Baby girl and I ... she and I both wore the baptism dress. 

My mom and Lydia - My mom also wore the baptism dress so it was pretty special to have it worn for a 3rd generation.

The beautiful cake - I definitely didn't make it;)

Cake time!

Isaac and Brendan were all over the cake!

Lydia wore her Grandma Hansen's coat for the day (this was taken at the end of the day so the tights were off:)).  We had a special bracelet as well but it didn't fit and we didn't want to lose it so we're saving it for her first ballet recital someday.

Sunday was Lydia's baptism.  Prior to the day I was having nightmares thinking of the boys up in front of church - Jackson hates to be in front of people and Brendan ... well, Brendan is LOUD when he speaks and has never been in a service before so I could just imagine how things would go.  I imagined Brendan yelling out and getting mad as we tried to keep him by us and then Jackson clinging onto us.  I shouldn't have worried so much - they did awesome!  Brendan was the one who appeared terrified to be in front of people and he didn't make a peep while he was in church.  Jackson was very curious and tried to peek at the water but overall stood so nicely.  Lydia was wide awake and smiling during baptism. 

Fun in the Tub

Can you find 2 boys in all those bubbles?

Our house was hit with illness again this week - I'm pretty sure Brendan was sick because of all the gunk that's in his nose made it to his stomach. But nevertheless it was gross (I can officially say that I've been puked on!).  But after anyone gets sick, I feel like everything needs to be washed - including the kids!  We spent Tuesday evening cleaning, disinfecting and letting the boys play in the tub so we could clean the bedroom out (because of course he got sick in our room).  I had put some bubbles in the tub so they'd stay in and play longer but then Luke decided to turn on the jets ... well the bubbles certainly multiplied!  The boys had a blast and I couldn't resist their goofy faces.  However, after all was said and done, there was another thing to clean.... the bubbles all over the tub.  But it was worth every minute of it! 

I love Brendan's happy face here - especially after his sad face the night before:) 

Lydia is finally out of that terrible little baby tub ... you know, the kind where they really aren't even in the water so bath time isn't enjoyable for them:)  I put her in her bathseat with the boys and of course she loved looking at Jackson and laughing at him.  The boys thought it was pretty fun having her in there too - until Brendan got too loud and scared her and the tears started.  (Can you believe all the toys in the picture?!  For some reason the boys think that the more toys and mess they make in the tub, the better it will be). 

Story of our life - one kid not look, one kid being goofy and the other enamored with her older brother!

February Randomness

Jackson the football player.  He seems to think that he's such a tough guy with his hat on.  I love that he's so into sports though - he and Luke are so similar. 

Brendan the goofball.  Of course he has to copy his brother but it just looks goofy on him ... especially this picture!  He's so spirited and definitely gets us laughing.

Lydia my smiler!  She's such a happy little girl - makes being parents of 3 so much easier.  And she's already 3 months old!  I don't think that I'll ever stop being amazed at how quickly time goes with kids.  

Huge Help

I'm going crazy with posts now as I know that once my maternity leave ends I will have fewer pictures and less time to sit down to post about the kids.  I'm not even going to think about that right now!  Anyways, yesterday I had a wonderful surprise - Jackson wanted to change Lydia's diaper!  I've been changing countless amounts of diapers since 2007 (when Jackson was born) and yesterday he actually ASKED to change her diaper.  I should say that Luke has changed some diapers in those years but he's never really "asked" me if he could change a diaper.  So of course I happily obliged and let Jackson change her diaper (he did say he wouldn't change it if it was a poopy diaper).  He was so pleased with himself and I just loved seeing his look of accomplishment. 

We Love Aunt Sara

One people that I treasure most in this world is my little sister, Sara.  Sara is 5 years younger than me which meant that as kids we didn't really get along (in fact, my brother and I were actually quite horrible to her) but as we got older things changed.  I think that we really started getting closer when I went to college.  When I came home over the summer, Sara and I had to share a room (because my parents gave my old room to my brother and made his room into a living room... that's another story!).  Sara and I would make our room into a "dorm" for the summer.  In fact, one summer we put up a loft in our room - it was pretty cool.  While I was at MSU, Sara would come for the weekend or a night to just hang out with me.  During that time we really started becoming good friends.  When Jackson was born, Sara was the first to hear (and the first to meet him... still something my mom reminds us of!).  She would come to our house and hang out with us.  She even came on some camping trips with us.  As our family has grown, Sara remains close to all of us.  The boys love when Aunt Sara will come to spend the night (although now she's busy so we don't get to see her as often as we'd like!).  When she comes, she sleeps on the bunk in the boys room and they think that's the coolest thing, to have their Aunt Sara have a sleepover with them.  Sara is now completing her masters at MSU (go green!) but over the holidays she had some extra time off and spent time with us.  We all loved it!  It's fun to see that not only is Sara special to me but now she's someone special to the boys and Lydia as well.  She has a way with the kids that makes them absolutely adore her.   And I have to admit, I think Luke enjoys having her come over so they can gang up and give me a hard time. 

When Sara is over, the boys have to sit right by her - we become not so cool anymore.

Don't mind the child without pants and the super old jersey on Jackson ... the boys have minds of their own!

Sara and Lydia on Christmas Eve