Ava was home all week because it was her spring break. That meant that Mom had to think of lots of things to keep her busy and entertained, which can be a challenge with daycare kiddos here. On Monday, while the little ones were napping, Ava and I went outside and planted some flowers. She has been asking to do that for quite some time, so she was excited we were finally able to do it. We will take another picture once we start to get some growing.
Ava is making a "flower" with her hands.
We had some crafts that Ava got for Easter from Nanny and Papa Umthun, and Ava did those as well:
Ava had her good friend Taylor Jo over to play also, and they had fun matching the American Girl dolls that Ava has, and putting on a fashion show. It was nice for Ava to have someone her own to play with when Mom is busy with daycare.
Silas is finally at the age when he can start to entertain himself and play independently for awhile, which allows me to quick do a load of laundry to wash some dishes.
Ava was so excited to be home this week and get to hold and help take care of my newest daycare baby, a four month old named Lorelai. She is a great baby so far, and very laid back. Plus, she still eats and sleeps most of the day which makes for pretty easy work!
On Friday night, I was able to do a "Mom's Night Out" with a friend (Taylor Jo's mom), and she treated me to supper and a few drinks as a belated birthday gift. It was really nice! We went to a brand new restaurant in Lake Nona called Nona Blue. It was great! Outside bar and eating place, gorgeous weather, wonderful food! It was nice to get out of the house for a bit!! Eric stayed home with the kiddos, and they had some pizza and watched a movie.
On Saturday, the whole family got up early and we packed some sandwiches and headed off to Epcot for the day. We wanted to check out the Flower and Garden Festival that they have going on right now, and it was beautiful! The weather was just perfect, and we were there from about 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We had lots of fun! Here are some pictures from our day at Epcot:
The cute "shrub statues" at the front of the park.
Ava being a good big sister and lifting her brother up so he could see the flowers in the water.
Mater!
Lightning McQueen! Very cool!
Kiddos playing at the Radiator Springs playground they had set up in Epcot.
Silas has to go up the slide, of course. I quit trying to stop him. It didn't work. :-)
Slide down.......
And climb back up again.
Getting to be such a big boy!
They had Easter Egg Hunts for kids. This one was for Ava.
Ava with her "loot" after the Egg Hunt.
Ava and I went on Test Track, and you get to design your own car. This was Ava's creation. :-)
Beautiful Epcot during the Flower and Garden Festival
Cogsworth and Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast.
Playing the drums!
Maybe she will take after her Uncle Brett. :-)
Silas's turn for the "little kids" Easter Egg Hunt.
It was a fun but exhausting day outside, but it wasn't over yet! When we got home, it was time to dye some Easter Eggs! Eric wanted to pass on this, but I insisted that it wasn't Easter without dying some Easter Eggs. Guess who won? :-)
Doing this with a 20 month old boy was a challenge.....to say the least!
Ava had fun though, and ended up doing the majority of them!
Silas did about two, and then was bored and ready to move on to something else.
Daisy watched intensely to make sure we were doing it right.
Callie was curious, as usual.......
Ava with her finished colored eggs.
Tried to get a good one with both kids and this was as good as it got. :-) He was saying "cheese," just in the wrong direction.
And that brings us to today..........Easter Sunday!!! This was the first year that Ava woke us up early (6:23 a.m.) wanting to see if the Easter Bunny came last night. We made her wait until 7:00 a.m. until she was able to wake up Silas. She couldn't do it, and found about ten eggs in the meantime. :-)
The Easter Bunny was good to them, as always, and they got lots of candy! Silas got a toy school bus and some new hot wheels (that boy LOVES cars), and Ava got a fuzzy poster to color, and a new puzzle, and they both got Peter Pan on DVD.
HAPPY EASTER FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!
