{Easter Weekend Fun}

I love Easter. I love that it brings spring. I love the yummy food and friends at a BBQ. I love my Savior and his willingness to die, and rise again to save me. We had a very fun Easter weekend.

We hosted a BBQ/Egg Hunt at our house on Sunday. It was great, and we made it through the fun just in time for the rain.

Having friends gather is a great feeling. Most of the friends that came are moving next month. It throws me into a fit of depression when I think about it. I am excited for them to start their new chapters in their lives, but I wish I could be a part of it.

The Easter Bunny found us. He kept it simple this year and I am so glad. I feel a little like a spend WAY too much time trying to make the most of the baskets and candy, and not enough time thinking about the Savior and his role in my life. I'm going to work on that one.

Jonas obviously loved the chocolate.

Couldn't contain himself :)

After we ate snacks we had to cool off from the warm weather we had. (I am NOT complaining) Ms. Alyvia however, isn't a fan of the humidity. It could be a long hot summer!

Jonas danced his chocolate high away.

But did take a moment for the paparazzi.

He's acting like Devin is going to squeeze him to death. Don't worry. He lived long enough to eat another Reese's.

Alyvia got this dress from G&G Stevenson when she was born. I was SOO excited to put her in it today. She looked adorable and got lots of comments at church. Thanks G&G!

A quick family picture. (again, horrible)

We tried about 1000 times to get a good picture of the kids together. It didn't happen, but I love Lyvie's face in this one.

Jonas had a birthday party on Saturday and had a great time collecting eggs, painting, and playing with balloons. He and Barrick are checking out all the fun stuff in their eggs.

Jonas got the hang of putting the eggs in his basket this year....but he wouldn't leave any eggs behind. He couldn't fit any more in his basket, but he kept picking them up. He had two baskets full and we had to make him stop!

We had a busy week with friends this week-since it was Spring Break and the kids were out of school all week. We had lunch at the park, a movie day, and we played outside for hours at home. Lyvie and I have definitely got to prepare ourselves for a lot of trips to the park this summer because if Jonas has any say we will go every day!

Happy Easter!

{Alyvia Nicole}

Alyvia

2 Months 1 Week

We blessed Ms. Alyvia last weekend. It was a wonderful relaxing day. We missed our parents, grandparents, and all those in between, but we are so thankful for the family that joined us.

Lyvie looked perfect :) Thanks to her Grandma's who made sure she had all the right things.

Her dress was especially special because I wore it at my blessing almost 30 years ago.

Thankfully she was an angel for the blessing. She's an easy baby and a little bit of heaven in our home.

A (horrible) family picture.

We were lucky enough to have Destry and Loni and their girls stay with us for a quick visit. We took them down town to see the Cherry Blossoms and had lots of fun just being together. This could be THE cutest picture of the kids we've ever captured (missing Alyvia who was asleep in the stroller...it was a bit chilly). Thanks for coming!!

{Fun...and lots of it!}

We've been having a few beautiful days here and there and we've been having some really yucky ones. We made the best of both! We took Jonas to the Port Discovery Museum in Baltimore last Friday. It was lots of fun! Jonas had a great time and was VERY worn out when we got home.

Its safe to say the "Water Works" room was his favorite. He loves water and I think he could have stayed in this room all night.

Blocks + Water= One Happy Jonas Boy!

Here he is standing in the train car. It had a whistle that the kids were blowing, and it was loud...very loud. He didn't know what it was at first and was a little scared.

A giant Light-Bright in the Tot Trails room kept him entertained for a while. He mostly carried the light pegs around. This is from his Autism as well. Constantly carrying something around with him gives him a sense of safety and security since often, Autistic children don't have sense of their bodies and its surroundings. We have differing opinions about wether to let him hold objects, or to take them away. We haven't decided which route we will take with that challenge quite yet.

Evidence that he really did have a fun time. I would take him back again and again. (Especially on the $2 Friday nights!)

We also took Jonas and his friend, Barrick, to the Adventure Park in Germantown last week. Its a VERY big playground and after a little warming up...the boys had fun. Look how hard Jonas had played-his little cheeks are red, red, red! It was pretty warm that day though.

Jonas, Devin, and Barrick (Devin surprised us and stayed home on Monday...so fun to have a Dad day!)

Dad and Jonas (AKA BFF's)

We also got Jonas' official diagnosis this week. He is indeed on the Autism spectrum. He presents as a mild to moderate case. We were in no way surprised to hear his results. It was, in fact, a relief to learn a little bit about what is coming in our future-although children change. It was great to hear that we are doing just about exactly what the Dr. would recommend and that Jonas is showing great progress from the services he is getting. What a relief to know that he is healthy, happy, and that someday this life will not be a challenge for him. That someday he will be perfected-we all will. Devin and I joke all the time that everyone is probably a little Autistic because everyone has their little quirks-some are just a little more obvious or severe. Jonas is still perfect to me-don't get me wrong...he's a stinker sometimes...but he's our stinker..and we're so blessed to call him ours.

{Hard Work}

I've said before that I don't really love the newborn stage. I don't hate it, but its hard-for everyone. The baby is confused, the family is in an uproar from the new baby, and the Mom (who sets the mood for everyone..right?). That's not so say I am not in love with my kids...or that I want them to hurry and grow up and leave my alone. Not at all. I tell Jonas all the time that he can live with me for forever and he doesn't have to go on a mission. (I realize I am in for a rude awakening with this one.) I love my kids. They truly are miracles, precious gifts, and they bring Devin and I so much joy. Its funny how different their personalities are. Jonas is quite content to be alone, doesn't really want/need attention, and is generally happy to do his own thing. This is partly to blame on his Autism, but its also just his nature. He's happy with just playing alone. Alyvia is SOCIAL. She's already showing us that she would prefer someone to be by her all the time. She likes it best when we talk to her, and cries if she can hear people and doesn't think we are paying attention. Its ever more evident to me that boys and girls are very different to raise :)

Alyvia started smiling a few weeks ago...but it is HARD WORK to get her to give you a really good smile. She has to be full, dry, and not sleepy. That's the only way she will give you that cute little gummy smile. We love it though, so we comply to her stipulations.

Like I said, as long as you are talking to her, she is a happy girl!

I like the half smile too. I feel like she takes pitty on me for making myself look like an idiot to get her to smile.

We enjoyed conference this weekend. I think we can all agree that the messages were perfect for each of us. There was something said in every talk that I needed to hear. I am so thankful for General Authorities who follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and for a loving Heavenly Father who knows what each of us needs.

Devin got the tent out of the attic and set it up for Jonas. He loves tents. He asks for a tent every night when we put him to bed. (His idea of a tent is his Buzz Lightyear blanket draped over the top of his crib.) Jonas was a great helper.

We watched the last session of conference together in the tent. It was so much fun!

Devin setting up the tent was the icing on Jonas' little cake. He gave Dad knuckles several times to tell him what a great BFF Dad is.

Devin left his phone on the couch one night. It has a touch screen. Jonas uses it for a mirror. I guess he thought he was pretty cute because he laughed and laughed at Devin's phone. I love how he holds it so close to his face.

Here he is saying cheese. It still looks like he is in pain when he says it. We're working on that

Ms. Alyvia went to the Dr. this last week. She weighed in at 9 lbs 9 ozs. She's growing nicely and is in the 50% for everything. Great news for a once preemie. I love this little half smile she gave me.

She was scheduled for shots this visit. I decided to do a "relaxed vaccination schedule" with her. I know there is so much research proving that Autism is not caused by giving kids vaccinations, but I am still just a little paranoid. Our pediatrician was on board with us spreading them out a bit more. She's wonderful.

We're still enjoying having this little one in our home. Its fun to watch them learn and grow. I like that I kind of know what to expect now that I have done this before and I am a lot more relaxed about things. I try to enjoy things more-even the late nights, blow out diapers, and the smell of spit up. Its truly an honor to get to have these little spirits in our home...even when they are hard work.