Squishy Boy

Warning: an absurd amount of cuteness to follow.

 Isn't he just so squishable??

And his sisters, well, they're goofy, but they're pretty darn easy to love on, too. :)

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo...

 Nana and Granddad are in town!!!  But if that weren't fun enough, we also went to the BIG zoo (aka Brookfield) with them. 

In preparation, Brooks got a little exposure to a certain sea creature...

...and he made sure that octopus knew who the boss was.

Noelle wasn't sure if the zoo would allow her enough opportunities to get grimy, so she started the day by licking our window crayon-ed window.

Finally, though, we got to the main event!

The dolphins, I'm pretty sure, were the highlight of the day.  

We even got to see the show!

Brooks and I really enjoyed it. :)

But as much as I liked the show, it made my heart melt when Noelle reached over and held her little brother's hand.

 Granddad and the girls

Can you waddle like a penguin?

Riley and Noelle can.

We made sure to experience the wildlife at home, too. 

It was an absolutely wonderful day.  Three kiddos at the zoo, and the only crying that occurred was when Brooks was hungry, and that only lasted about three minutes.  Now we just have to convince Nana and Granddad to move back here...

Easter Recap

Easter was wonderful.  What a gorgeous day to celebrate our salvation!

Since we had lovely weather, we headed outside to snap some pics.

Riley made sure to act extra serious for the occasion. 

"Wait..." you say, "Who's this chick?  I don't think I've seen any pictures of her before."  Believe it or not, I am posting a picture of myself.  Wow.  Don't expect many more, though.  Just sayin'...

Brooksy-boy is pretty much the sweetest thing on this earth.  I can't believe how much I love having a boy.

I don't know if you can tell, but I am STRUGGLING in this picture.  The girls are NOT getting lighter.  It was quite a task to get both of them lifted.

In case you don't believe me, here's what happened, just moments later.

 After church we headed to Grandma and Papa's.  We started with a cousin Easter egg hunt.  Noelle was, initially, being a major grumpypants (an increasingly more common state for this *very* two-year-old).

Riley and one of her favorite people-- Ben.

 

 

In case you're wondering, Noelle cheered up significantly as soon as she figured out what was going on.  Candy?  Pop?!  

 

We scarfed down a FEAST; then the kids napped.  Riley took a monster nap, so Brooks and Noelle got to goof around with Daddy, sans Big Sister.

Oh my.  Noelle is going to be trouble.  She's gorgeous; she's sassy; she's trouble.

"You lookin' at me?"

This was even more impressive in person. Mike has mad skills.  Where can I nominate him for Father of the Year???