Easter: Part 2

With all the hullabaloo of having two kids, we somehow weren't able to go to the store to gather the items we wanted to put in their Easter baskets. Yes, we know this is a secular tradition but it is so fun to celebrate and it makes it even more fun to celebrate with kids. We decided to surprise our boys (ok, mostly Charlie) with a Easter "basket" (mixing bowl) a week late. He didn't know the difference and we still got the excitement of surprising him.  

So early Sunday morning, even though Miles was still sleeping...we got up and went downstairs for the few minutes of excitement. And we don't really own any baskets...so the boys got Easter mixing bowls. 

He was pretty excited about his Easter candy and I liked that we got it for 90% off because we got our goodies late. 

Charlie got some Easter candy, some fruit snacks and a memory game that we are excited to play. 

Miles got some Easter Candy that his mommy will have to eat so we can make sure he gets it through his milk, and 2 summer outfits!

We then ate breakfast and Max and Charlie went to church. I'm thinking Miles and I will be ready to go back next week when he is about a month old. While they were gone Miles and I attempted a photo shoot while we had decent lighting in our living room. I was more pleased with how these turned out. I think it's much easier to photograph a newborn than a busy toddler.  

 I love this sweet boy so much. Time seems to be going fast and he's already growing a ton.

Happy late Easter!

Saturday mornings

It would have felt great to sleep in this morning but instead we had two active boys that were ready to start the day! So this is what happened. 

As great as it would have felt to sleep in, Max and I couldn't help but feel overly blessed as we looked at each other over our beautiful, healthy, and happy boys. Being awake early on a Saturday morning is the good life for us now! 

Note:.I just did this whole blog post on my phone while holding a baby...I'm getting good!

Easter: Part 1

Some of our Easter celebrations have been delayed until this coming weekend since we are still staying home a lot. I wasn't able to get to the store last week to get together Easter Baskets for my boys but other than that we were able to celebrate Easter among so many family members. It was our first outing as a family and the first time most of our family members were able to meet Miles. But let me not get ahead of myself.

The night before Easter, we got to dye eggs with Charlie. It was pretty exciting.

I was planning on hiding some eggs for Charlie to find in the morning but since we have a newborn that keeps us up in the night, Max and I both slept in a bit, and it was already time for church when we woke up so Max got Charlie up and they went to church. In the meantime. I got showered, made some bread for a potluck later, and snuggled with my baby. I hid some eggs before Charlie and Max came home. I was excited to see how Charlie's Easter egg hunt skills had improved since last year. A year ago he got so excited when he found one egg that he would stop the hunt and be thrilled about his one egg. Charlie loves playing hide and seek and other hiding games so we figured he would be a lot more interested this year.

I tried to not make it too hard..

Charlie loved hunting for the eggs. He would get really giddy whenever he found one.

After a quick egg hunt, Charlie downed 3 hard boiled eggs and we went on our way to a Baertlein family get together. We don't get together with this side of our family very often. This is Max's dad's family which also includes Max's 3 older half-siblings and some of our nieces and nephews we don't see very often. 

We met at Max's cousins house for an Easter Potluck. 

Miles with his Uncle Brad (Max's Brother) and cousin Tristan. 

After Dinner, there was an Easter Egg hunt in the backyard. Their backyard is an amazing huge forest and a patio to look over it all. Charlie loved looking for eggs but got pretty excited when he saw the swing-set 

He then had to take a break to eat some candy!

And then back to the playground! 

And then more candy!

And then we decided to get some pictures of Charlie flying! You should probably know that these are the only two people I would ever trust to throw Charlie around. This is Max's brother Brad who not only did Gymnastics but also raised 4 kids who have done gymnastics. He also threw Max around when he was a little kid. Max loved it as a kid.  

Charlie loved it so much! And we got some great (but too bright, I'm still figuring out exposure on my camera) flying pictures!

After a good visit we fed Miles, gave both boys diaper changes and went on our way to My Red Grandma's house to celebrate Easter and for Miles to meet more family.

Red Grandma's backyard is pretty exciting too! We're glad we had such great weather this Easter.

Aaron being a tiger.  

At any given point in our visit Charlie was usually carrying a random assortment of toys.

Miles basking in the sunlight. 

 Sword fights with cousins are the best!

Timmy the Jouster

Another random assortment of toys. 

 Miles snuggles with Great Red Grandma!

Aaron was Miles' biggest fan. He would give him kisses and even whispered to his mom "can we take this baby home?"  He loved the little toes.

Then Charlie got to participate in a third egg hunt. He was really catching on by now and loved spotting the colorful eggs in the bushes.

There were so many little boys there! We were definitely missing Grace and Gwenevere! 

 We then stayed until it got dark and then decided to make the effort to load up the boys in the car and make our way home. It was great to spend so much time with family, especially since we have been staying home so much these days. It is beautiful to celebrate Rebirth and the resurrection of Christ while having a newborn. It puts things into a whole new perspective. I'm grateful for the Atonement and resurrection of Christ which makes it possible for me to be with my beautiful family forever.

And in case you haven't seen it yet, here is a beautiful short video about Christ and the meaning of Easter. It puts it into much better words than I could attempt.