Here we are with friends Kari Mueller and her new baby boy, Beck. Her daughter is Anja, you'll see her in her cute ladybug outfit in another picture. Luke has his eyes on the cookie table.

At the Hidden Springs organic farm releasing ladybugs.

Allie marched with high knees all the way to the farm from the barn. I was laughing so hard because she was so serious and didn't miss a step! She also has just two speeds: full speed and dawdle. This was a high step dawdle pace march to the farm...so we were the last to arrive. Very typical.

The march continues!

She wasn't too sure about the ladybugs crawling on her at first, but then she couldn't get enough of them. I was surprised.

Rhubarb Festival & Ladybug Parade

Allie created her own wings and antennae hat. All the kids looked darling in their ladybug costumes!

Allie had fun with her friends Lauren (above) and Anja (below).

Anja and Allie found frosted ladybug cookies to enjoy! I found delicious samples of rhubarb treats! I love this time of year!

She had such fun zipping from one activity to the next. She even willingly waited for a half an hour for a short turn in the jumping house!

Allie loves art projects, especially anything with paint, so the Ladybug Festival was perfect for her.

Grandpa and Luke enjoy cuddling...and from here Luke can stare away at the ceiling fan, he's mesmerized by it!

Really, Mom, do you expect me to eat this?!

So, Luke hates food. Seriously hates it. Baby food that is. We've tried a variety of things and he makes the most disgusted little faces. Such torture! Luckily Allie is always right there to say, "Oh, looks like he doesn't like it..." and then she'll usually polish it off.
Really, Mom, you expect me to eat this?!

Dan was away for the night, so I took the kids up to Grandma and Grandpa Eaton's for a sleepover. They had the best time...Grandpa and Allie kicked and splashed in the hottub, Allie filled measuring cups with her favorite treats (m&ms), and she invented a new game called "big ball ~ little ball" up on the pool table!






And after non-stop fun, she finally cuddled up sweetly and fell asleep to tickles. Very typical for Allie.













Luke is such a plump little man! We had to take the cozy, fuzzy lining out of the carseat because, as you can see, there's just not much wiggle room for him and the thick blankey!




















Luke is now sitting up all by himself and puts his hands down to steady himself. He's very pleased with this! He did this at 6 months, but now he's already pulling himself up to a standing position every chance he gets. He just pops up on those sturdy rolly-poly legs! And we can't believe he's trying to finger walk already! He can spin in circles on his tummy, but only counterclockwise. You can just see how determined he is....and just how busy he is!




















Luke puts everything (EVERYTHING!) in his mouth. Especially other people's fingers, like his Grandma Jan's!

Everyone gears up for the Easter egg hunt! From left: Uncle Cole, Grandma Jan with Shaylyn, Bryson, Madelyn, Allie, Brandon, Ashlynn, Grandpa Brandon with Luke, Kaitlyn.

Seriously, could he be any cuter? I realize I post more pictures of Allie since she's always on the go. But Luke watches her closely and he's learning her tricks...and some of his own, too! He's sitting up, a little. But he's so darn excitable, that he flips and flops all over the place. It's hilarious! Basically, he's happiest when I'm holding him and Dan and/or Allie entertain him with silly antics! He's a sweet and very good little boy....we're so blessed!

The exersaucer is fun and all, but I know Luke wishes it had wheels, like the walkers in the good ol' days!

Well, you can't really tell, but Luke is wearing an outfit that used to belong to Dan. I love him in Dan's baby clothes, he's darling! The joke, of course, is that Luke is wearing the clothes right now that Dan wore when he was 2!

This little rocker was Grandma Brenda's and we treasure it! Both Allie and Luke really love it!

Bryson is so silly.... Allie could laugh at him all day long. He loves making silly faces for her and she just laughs and laughs. The kids have always enjoyed pulling this bench out right in front of the cozy fire....whenever we visit, it's out and the kids always enjoy their snacks together on the bench! She adores her cousins and talks about them day after day after day after we see them.

Allie thinks flipping up and over the back of the couch is the best game ever! She even started giving her flips names, thanks to Grandpa!

Another favorite activity: rock climbing! We were surprised (and alarmed!) though when we saw her climb this boulder in her saltwater sandals and Easter dress. We helped her down right away!

Allie loves jumping off the picnic table ....over and over and over again! And apparently even an Easter dress is not going to stop her! She has always been a climber and a jumper, so we're glad we have her back in gymnastics this spring!

Allie was so thrilled with this Easter bunny sugar cookie we made together. She'd been waiting all day long to enjoy it! And it didn't last long!

Here's Allie hunting on Easter Sunday up at my parents' place.

Luke was so happy playing with all of these colorful eggs...he was actually even happier just watching Allie dash around at the egg hunt.

Allie fills up her basket within seconds at the neighborhood hunt. It's mayhem for about, oh, 10 seconds, and then it's done. It's quite a sight!

Allie opened up one of the eggs and screamed with delight, "Oh my gosh, a coughdrop (actually it was a hard strawberry candy)! How did the Easter bunny know we liked these? But I can't have it, you can have it, Mommy." It was priceless....

Luke and Allie both sitting up (though leaning quite a bit!) at 5 months!





























Luke loves this toy, just like Allie did!

Allie could hold Luke all day long, day after day... here are just a few cuddle sessions! And, of course, Luke absolutely loves having Allie constantly dote on him. They're the cutest pair!

Allie's ballet recital in March

Allie is the most darling ballerina!

She loves making "cookies" with her arms, "rainbows" and the "sun"....she also loves "fancy" hands where she flips them up and down, kissing her shoulders and spinning on her bottom! She's a cute little marcher with perfect posture (we have to laugh!), and we love watching her run and leap over scarf "ponds". Of course we absolutely love that she's so darn cute and fills out her tutu quite well!! Her little buns make it fluff out even more!

Hmmmm....what's next............oh yes, flopping. Allie loves flopping! She inherited this trait from her Daddy who once got paid $5 from his own dad for not flopping on the ground in a soccer game. She loves to flop and pop back up, it's a bit of a distraction as you can imagine. She tries to explain, "The floor keeps tripping me down...."

Our pretty little ballerina... our silly little ballerina!

McCall Winter Carnival

We visited the McCall Winter Carnival and were so impressed with the intricate ice sculptures! As a child I participated once and basically created a mound of slush, it was fun though!