Watermelon

Aliyah enjoyed her first taste of watermelon!! She studied it for awhile before getting brave and putting it in her mouth but then she didn't let go of it! She is going to love summer!

This girl . . .

. . . is into everything!! She isn't crawling yet but she is scooting around on her bum. And she can get places fast! And, like all babies, she's really good at getting into things that she isn't supposed to have!!Playing with the bag of potatoes and the juice that doesn't fit into the pantry

Looking for old Cheerios under the table. Samuel wanted to join her.

Aliyah pulled all of these books off of the shelf. Once again, Samuel decided to join her.

I love his picture! Aliyah pulled the stroller over on top of her and it just so happened that the handle went over her head and trapped her. Silly girl! She wasn't sure what was going on but she didn't like it!

She loves to get into Hope's basket full of her g-tube supplies, ear drops, wipes, combs, hair stuff, etc. It makes a mess but it definitely keeps her entertained when I am trying to get Hope ready for bed. This just made me laugh because her feet are off of the floor and up on the rim of the basket. Chillin' out and making a mess all at the same time!

Spring?

Some days seem like winter,
Some are nice and warm.
Rainy days and windy days,
Maybe it will storm.
Warm or cold or wet or dry,
What will the weather be?
I think Spring is trying to play

Peek-a-boo with meBrrr!! What happened to the beautiful weather from last week? I can't even think about how beautiful it was just a few short days ago. Today is cold, dreary, and rainy! The 8 day forecast shows no temperatures over 40. Ugh! What unreasonable Spring weather. Samuel and I braved the cold this afternoon because he kept on begging to go outside. He didn't last long once we were other there. It wasn't nice weather at all but I also don't think he feels the greatest. He's coming down with a cold along with the rest of us. In fact, after we went inside, he slept on the couch for over an hour! He never ever does that unless he is extremely tired or not feeling well. Today, I think it was both. Spring will be here soon, right? I'm so ready!

Brother and Sister

My Brave Boy

We went from little pushes and cautious swinging to . . . .
Big pushes and Samuel constantly saying "Go higher, Mommy!" in only 2 days!
I would tell him, "Samuel is such a brave boy" and he would reply with "Samuel is a brave boy!" He is so proud of his accomplishment on the swing and how he can now have big pushes and go really high!!

And yes, he is swinging with socks and no shoes. That's how we roll around here. Actually, he was wearing his rain boots and they were falling off while he was swinging so I just pulled them off. And don't ask why he was wearing his rain boots . . . b/c it wasn't raining . . . it wasn't even wet outside. He likes to wear them because he can put them on by himself. So he did. :)

70 Degrees!!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day. Even better than yesterday! It got close to 70 degrees - warm enough for the kids to play outside in just short sleeves!! We were outside from 11am-3pm and then again from 4pm-6:30pm when we finally convinced Samuel and Hope to come inside for supper. The warmer weather made me so excited for summer. Hope enjoys being outside, but Samuel loves loves loves being outside. The sandbox, the swings, the slide, riding his cars in the driveway . . . he can stay busy out there for hours. We've been going through a lot of challenging behaviors with Samuel lately and I think part of it might be because he gets bored inside and therefore gets grumpy and grouchy and mean to his sisters. The temper tantrums and whining are far less (almost nonexistent) when he is outside and busy running around and playing. He can be such a sweet boy but my oh my can he throw tantrums like I did when I was little!!

Swinging is by the far the most popular thing to do outside. I could push these two on the swings all. day. long. Hope especially.

And Aliyah loves it too! Look at those teeth!! She has 5, almost 6!

We had our very first picnic of the year. That alone makes it a great day. I can't wait for many, many more picnics!!

Yes, it is St Patrick's Day. And yes, none of my kids wore green. That's just how it went. I don't have any excuses. I just didn't dress them in green. :)

March Madness Is Here!!

This is what March Madness looks like at the Huinink house! All 3 of the kids have been inspired by watching basketball on TV. Go Blue!! :)