Easter Garden

This year, I wanted to do something special for Easter to help Jack and Kate understand the meaning behind the celebration. A facebook friend had a link to an Easter Garden (http://www.colleenhammond.com/family-life/craft-easter-garden/) and I knew right away that this would be something the kids would be able to participate in. We walked around outside and gathered up our materials, then set to work on making our very own Easter garden. All the while, I was explaining bits and pieces of the Easter story. Kate was a little young for this (although she LOVED filling up the pot with gravel and dirt), but Jack asked lots of questions and I think he is starting to understand. Here is a picture of our garden.

Jack decided that we were missing Jesus in the tomb (since it isn't Easter morning yet, he should still be in there). So we found a wooden peg doll and wrapped it up in strips of cloth and laid him in the tomb. And then we rolled the stone in front of the opening. Ideally, this would have been done on Good Friday, but Jack was insistent that our tomb contain Jesus. So our pretend Jesus will be in the tomb for 10 days instead of 3 :) On Easter morning, we are going to roll the tomb back and Jesus will not be there . . .


As we were getting ready for rest time, Jack asked me how Jesus is going to get out of the tomb without rolling back the stone. While I was trying to think of the answer he asked "Does the Easter Bunny help him?"

Oh well. . . we were so close!

Jack's First Race

Over the weekend, Jack and Osh ran the Azalea Trail Fun Run. This was Jack's first race and he was so excited! He ran 90% of the time (it was a 2K race) and declared that he won the entire race. Gigi had a medal made and engraved with his name on it to make him feel extra special. He wore it for the rest of the day. I couldn't resist uploading this video of Osh, Jack, and Kate warming up before the race. Kate was a great cheerleader!

One last vacation . . .

... before our family of four becomes a family of five. John and I spent the weekend at the beach while Jack and Kate spent some time with my parents in Mobile. While Gigi and Osh had a big weekend planned for the kids (the Azalea Trail Fun Run, bike rides, lunch at Lenny's, puzzles, looking at planets through the telescope, books, a visit with Meme and Pop--my grandparents, a little bit of gardening, and trip to krispie kreme) John and I did absolutely NOTHING at the beach! A big thank you to our friend Susan who let us borrow her beach condo, to my in-laws for keeping things running smoothly here, and to my parents for keeping Jack and Kate entertained and incredibly happy all weekend.

Potty Trainee and Potty Trainer Helper

What a week this has been! It is spring break here, the weather is absolutely beautiful, and the kids are home with me all week. Although you wouldn't normally think of spring break as a perfect time to potty train a two year old, it made sense in my head to tackle this milestone while there was nothing else going on. After a rough two days, Kate has caught on quickly and we are starting to make lots of progress. We are now at the end of day four and decided to celebrate with a trip to the ice cream store. The kids think it is a reward for them . . . really, it's a reward for me! I've worked my tail off this week! Potty training is hard work!! Kate has been a real trooper and you can tell she is trying her hardest to get it right. Jack has been a great helper to me and an even better cheerleader for Kate. Fingers crossed that the rest of the week continues to be successful!