St. Patty's Day...

We had a tiny visitor make their way into our home in the wee hours of St. Patrick's Day...

Charlie was the first up and down the stairs but all he cared about finding was his blankie and some warm milk!

Jack and Emily on the other hand got to work finding their gold.  Emily had to do some extra convincing to get Jack to participate but once he saw that "gold" was "money" he got a little more excited...

When all of the gold was accounted for we made our way to the kitchen for a little breakfast and were surprised to discover a few of the "tricks" Shammy the Leprechaun had left for us...GREEN milk and GREEN orange juice!  Emily was over the moon while Jack was beside himself...

After breakfast Emily and I ditched the boys and headed to Anacortes to celebrate Olivia Love's birthday.  When we returned later that afternoon the boys were needing some mommy time and Emily was needing something to keep her mind off of leaving the party so we decided to decorate our cookies...

That evening I prepared our tradition, yet small, St. Patty's Day dinner.  To my dismay, Bryan has deemed this his new favorite dinner so it looks like we may be eating corned beef more than one time a year now!

On the menu: corned beef, roasted potatoes, carrots and onion, roasted kale, green biscuits and green honey butter...

After dinner we played a question and answer game to earn some well needed beads.  Even Charlie earned a few beads with the few words and sounds he knows!

To end the evening we settled in for some chocolate chip mint milkshakes topped with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles...

Charlie is fixated on sitting at the bar with the BIGS after watching his cousin Vinnie do it a few weeks back....

Then Grandma Emily (who spent the entire evening with us) got the kiddoes settled in and read them some books...

Remembering...

A year ago today my Grandpa Jack went to heaven.  It's funny the things that bring him to mind and how quickly a flood of memories will take over my every thought.  I am thankful for the memories I have and incredibly grateful for the time he had to spend with my children...

OUTdoors...

It seems like more than ever the kids have been itching to get outside and play.  Charlie literally stands at the sliding glass door, hands balled into fists and bangs on the door until I let him outside. 

When the snow came down early last week I couldn't resist their pleas, headed upstairs to sort through the "winter clothes" bin and eventually found all of their snow gear once again...

Emily was by far the most diligent worker of the three.  She quickly got to work on her very own snowman...

I think it was right about now that Jack decided to come over and help the snowman right over.  Poor Emily was bummed out but she quickly got to work and repaired him to new again...

By the time she was completely finished the boys had long since headed inside to warm up. She was so  incredibly proud of her masterpiece.  Even the boys shouted their words of approval from inside...

A few days later it looked like this outside.  All that was left of "Charlie the Snow Baby" was a carrot, some mushy cookies and a bag of fruit snacks.  The boys were banging steady at the door again so we ventured out back...

I accidentally left the lid to the sand table ajar and snow and rain seeped inside.  It was a big mess for me but heaven to this little boy's eyes...

Eventually I emptied all of the water out of the sand table and cleaned up the John Deere riding toys and Coup Car for the boys to ride around in.  I think Jack pushed Charlie around in the Coup Car for a solid thirty minutes before he finally wore out...

In like a lion...

We started out March with a brotherless visit to meet the newest member of the Love family, Harper Constance Love...

Holding this precious baby girl brought back so many memories and for the first time since I had Charlie I wished just a tiny bit that we could have one more...

The following Monday the DeHoogs and Lautenbachs paid us a visit after an afternoon of shopping.  The kids played and played while we visited.  I spent so much time chatting away that I took just one single picture the entire time...

Emily was itching to get out the glitter so we made a few Easter eggs...

Later last week the boys and I had an impromptu Dr. Seuss party.  It wasn't much but we did manage to do a few crafts, read a boat load of books and even watched our favorite movie, Green Eggs and Ham...

We also made a few more batches of cookies to satisfy Daddy's late night cravings...

On Saturday night Jenny watched the kids while Bryan and I met up with some friends at the Train Wreck.  She texted me around 9:30pm to let me know that the kids were all running fevers.  By Sunday morning the kids were SICK.  The last few days have been tough.  All three kids continue to run fevers, have a terrible cough, congestion and have been vomiting.  They have literally been moving from our bed to the couch to Emily's bed, all snuggled up and watching movie after movie...

This little girl has been a saint.  As sick as she has been, she is my little helper.  While I pack the boys around, one in each arm, she is at me side offering up help with a smile on her face...