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.

Sunday Walk

We decided that we needed to get out of the house on a beautiful Spring Sunday evening! We have been staying inside a lot these days as I have had no energy to chase Charlie around in the great outdoors. He still is having a hard time understanding the instructions "stay on the deck." Anyway, with Max home, we decided to walk to the playground at the church by our house. It isn't much of a walk but enough to get some fresh air. And now we can say Miles had his first trip to the park. 

Feeling the sun on his skin!

I like the spit-up on Max's shirt...proof that he's an awesome dad!

We then made the "trek" home which included a quick visit with a great neighbor.

It was fun to spend a little bit of time as a family of four. It also makes me really anxious for my body to heal because this little walk seemed somewhat strenuous. OH well, each day I'm feeling more like myself, still tired, but more comfortable. 

I love my growing family. 

A father's love

I'm kind of obsessed with this photo right now. More correct would be to say I love these boys so much. First of all, this picture was not posed at all. He was just playing and checking out Miles and I was there trying to figure out some lighting for pictures we were going to try with our family. I like to think that this captures the love and dedication Max has for his family. 

For weeks, I've been overwhelmed with the dedication and work that Max has put towards his family as I became more sedentary late in my pregnancy. He works hard all day then comes home and does more projects on the property (we just had a new tenant move in days before Miles was born) he would then still have energy to run around with Charlie, rock him to sleep then spend the evening cleaning the house or painting my toenails. He continually encourages me to rest and never makes any suggestion that he is working harder than he should. Here is an example: One Sunday afternoon shortly before Miles was born we were both pretty tired. After church we put Charlie down for a nap then Max had to go to a couple meetings that would take a few hours. I probably should have napped during this time but I felt like I wanted to get some other things done. When I realized I was super exhausted and should sleep Charlie was just waking up. Max got back shortly after and even though he was exhausted, and I'm sure he would have loved a nap, he encouraged me to go nap while he watched Charlie and did some random mending. The mending included Charlie's favorite stuffed animal and one of my cardigans..What a man! He continuously serves his family in everything he does. He has gone above and beyond with helping me figure out how to feed our newborn. With the breast feeding issues that we face, Max has been up with me day and night to make sure that Miles gets fed and helps in anyway he can. I feel so privileged to have this amazing man in my life and that I get to raise my children with him. He truly demonstrates giving his all to his family and is an amazing example to me of service. I am overcome with love for him and amazed that I get to go on this journey alongside him!