Egg-stra special day

We celebrated Easter a week early with my family since Grammy and Poppy were in town. Auntie Kiki and Auntie Nancy took care of all the details and all we had to do was show up! Thank you for making it such a fun day for everyone!
Here are some pictures of all of the fun we had!

Our first egg hunt!

Grammy & Jackson


Auntie Amy & Peyton - did I get them all?

Auntie Nancy & Brett

Uncle Jackie & Sophie

Me & Caroline

Checking out the treasures!

Cracking into the eggs - Brett wasn't too sure about a piece of candy!


Egg coloring!



Caroline and her eggs in every shade of pink imaginable!

Smiley Sophie! She sang the whole time she painted her eggs!

Brett helps get the egg in the coloring

Brett waiting patiently for his egg

Brett and Auntie Kiki

Peyton liked to stir his eggs so they were in the dye awhile. He also wanted to taste the dye.

Jackson - he really got into it!

Jackson & Grammy. Grammy says she doesn't like to color eggs, but the two of them had a great time giggling and goofing around!

If you're happy and you know it

Who needs a new season of Dancing with the Stars when you have this? All the boys love their music, but Jackson really loves to dance.
You may need to turn up your volume the music is kind of quiet.

Hippity Hoppity Easter's on its Way!

Yesterday we made a trip to the mall to visit the Easter Bunny! Last year it was the first time the boys were in a mall and we were afraid about germs. So me, grandma and granddad got the boys in right when they opened, sat them on the bunny's lap took a picture and went home.
What a difference a year makes! This year we didn't even use the triplet stroller. Brett was in a single stroller and grandma and granddad held Jackson and Peyton's hands to walk in. They warmed right up to the bunny and took a cute picture (which I will share for Easter). But for the first time Jackson and Peyton went on the train in the mall. I wasn't sure they would be too happy about it, but as soon as the first ride was over they were saying "again?, again?" So they went a second time. We all look forward to the day Brett can sit up and get on the train too! We played in the indoor playground until we were overrun by "big kids". We ate lunch in the food court and by then everyone was worn out, but we had such a great day. The boys were well behaved. We had a few dozers in the car, but grandma got Brett belly laughing and imitating noises and it got everyone laughing along! Thanks for a fun day Grandma & Granddad!


Peyton carefully watching to make sure he doesn't miss his turn with the Easter Bunny while Brett waits patiently.


Jackson and Brett check out the water fountain while waiting for the bunny.


A picture with Grandma & Granddad (nobody wants to sit still!)


Jackson & Peyton on the train!


On the way out there is a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and there is this giant bear. The boys were giving him high 5's but Jackson didn't want to stop hugging him. I think if we let him he would have curled up on the bears lap and taken a nap!

Our little leprechauns

Jackson, Brett & Peyton
Like any good Irish folk we kicked off St. Patrick's Day three days early with a yummy corn beef and cabbage dinner at Grandma & Granddads! On actual St. Pat's day I was at work and Auntie Kiki and Auntie Nancy brought the boys to their house where they cooked corn beef and cabbage and each got a pot of gold with gold coins and got to hang out with their cousins!
Here are some pictures of our little leprechauns (thank you Aidan, Connor and Liam for passing down your super cute shirts!)


Jackson

Peyton

Brett

Sneak peak of spring (updated)

(If You previously read this post scroll to the end. We added a picture that includes Brett splashing in the water. Granddad captured it and I didn't realize it!)
There aren't any tulips peaking out of the ground yet and there are still mountains of dirty snow dwindling away in some areas, but we have had weather in the 40s and 50s this past week and it has been so nice to get outside!
The boys cry whenever they have to come back inside so I can see we are going to spend a lot of time outdoors this spring/summer!!!
So spring means rain and Thursday they were calling for rain and thunderstorms all day. But at 7:30 a.m. after they had breakfast it was 52 degrees out and the rain hadn't started. So I got everyone dressed, put on their shoes, put on their coats and as I'm zipping the last coat it starts to pour. The boys didn't understand why we couldn't go outside and I was just as disappointed. So we piled in the van and drove a few blocks to a nearby parking lot where there are a few dump trucks and snow plows parked and I drove past the trucks while the boys pointed and identified each truck and then said "again" and I would circle back and drive past again. Brett, however, does not like to be in the car so we headed home after a few laps and played in the garage instead.

Peyton practicing pulling the wagon

Jackson playing with dump trucks

We haven't pulled the outdoor toys out yet but the slide stayed out all winter and so did my garden statues which are all frogs so we played with the slide, a truck and mommy's "hop hops" as the boys call them. Until Daddy got home and then everyone wants a turn on his lap.


Jackson sending the frog down the slide

Brett tells daddy all about his day

Jackson getting ready to kiss his "hop hop"

Peyton hanging with Daddy and his frog

Friday we spent some time at Grandma and Granddads. They spent a lot of time picking up rocks and relocating them to various locations throughout the yard and having Granddad pull them in the wagon. But when they discovered the pool of water in one of the planters the real fun began. These photos do not quite capture the pure joy of boys splashing in the water. Peyton in green, Jackson in red, Brett in blue. Of course the air is still chilly so once they were soaked we had to go in. Thankfully Grandma had some backup clothes!

Three budding bakers

As winter drags on I try to find new indoor activities for the boys to keep us all from going too stir crazy. I'm also trying to continue to vary their foods since they have food sensitivities to wheat, soy and dairy. I got into a breakfast food rut with them feeding them French toast sticks every morning and vowed I would change it up. So I found a special muffin mix that is allergen free and decided to make an afternoon of it. We read the book If You Give a Moose a Muffin and then headed into the kitchen to mix up some muffins of our own. Baking is one of my favorite things to do, but also one of the things I never seem to make time for anymore. I'm so glad the boys enjoyed it too. It was so much fun and they were quite delicious! Here are some pictures of me and my assistant pastry chefs at work.

Brett adding in his share of diced apples for the apple muffins.

Brett didn't want to let go of the bowl!

Peyton adding his apples while Jackson waits to stir them up.

Before I realized it Jackson dipped in and tasted the batter (who does he take after?)

After adding sugar sprinkles on top the boys couldn't wait for them to be done!