the bunny

we take the chocolate bunny pretty seriously around here.

and nothing quite beats that first taste.

i've heard that you either eat the ears or the bottom first.

maggie tried both.

ultimately, i guess she ended up being the kind of person that digs her hand into the chocolate, deep enough to rip off a chunk, and then devours that chunk while ripping into the bunny for another.

happy easter.

eggs

this morning we joined some friends for an easter egg hunt.

we weren't sure how it was going to go,

since tennyson cried the entire way there.

and when we got to their house, he just laid on the floor.

then we got outside and showed tennyson that there were eggs to find,

and that he could put them in his basket.

and so he ran around for a while yelling,

quite excitedly,

"i see the egg!"

"i see the egg!"

"i see the egg!"

"i see the egg!"

"i see the egg!"

and then once his basket was full to the brim, and there were no more eggs to be found, he went back to crying.

oh, and maggie was there, too.

but since the ground was frozen solid, she didn't spend much time crawling around for eggs.

we had another hunt we were going to go to after this,

but since tennyson came away from this with a billion eggs (that might be a slight overestimate, but it's close)

and since his hands were completely frozen,

we decided to stop at mcdonald's instead.

so when we got home, he got to enjoy french fries and nuggets and the lorax,

all while playing with the loot from the hunt.

bedtime series, pt.3

tonight we present to you

"goodnight moon"

(probably the most understandable of all the books).

also, before you watch,

i would like to apologize for my camera work.

i clearly wasn't on my "a" game tonight.

enjoy.

the hunt

every year our ward has a little easter egg hunt.

last year, it was nice enough that we got to do it outside,

but since there was a nice fresh layer of snow this morning...

ugh. i hate snow.

this year, we learned a thing or two at the hunt.

we learned:

{1} mister likes almond joy.

{2} he isn't so much into the hunt this year.

{3} while other kids are distracted by eggs, you can have lightning mcqueen all to yourself.

{4} if you open up the eggs, candy will come out. and if you suck hard enough on that, chocolate will come out.

{5} tennyson is actually an okay photographer. after a dozen pictures of his fingers and the palm of his hand, he came through with this gem:

but the biggest lesson we learned...

{6} easter eggs in a basket will keep maggie entertained for quite a while.

better believe i'll be utilizing this over the next few weeks.

p.s. i'm not sure how into this whole early easter thing i am. easter belongs in april, people. where the warm weather is, and where st. patrick's day isn't, and where it doesn't make me feel like the year is whooshing right past me.

bedtime series, pt.2

today brings the second installment of tennyson's nighttime stories.

we present to you

"moo, baa, la la la"

by sandra boynton.

enjoy.

bedtime series, pt.1

folks,

bedtime is the best.

once we get past all the fighting and kicking and screaming.

lately tennyson has been reading his books to us every night,

and he gets really animated when he does.

usually, he jumps on the bed for the entire thing.

this is why i am starting this series.

mostly, this is going out to all the grandparents out there,

but i figure the general public might enjoy this, too.

he has five books he reads to us at night,

and i intend to capture each one in all it's glory.

i'm starting with my favorite book he reads:

"no, david".

somewhere along the line, he picked up shaking his finger when he says no.

it's super cute,

and besides the fact that he's jumping up and down,

he's taking it all very seriously.

actually, i don't have to explain it.

because you can just see for yourself.

in the next few nights,

you'll get to see more of his bedtime theatrics.

be excited, people.

be very, very excited.

kids

i can't imagine a better picture to sum my kids up than this.

mike said,

"it might be better if maggie was also holding a cheese stick."

to which i replied,

"if that were the case, she'd be happy."

he quickly admitted i was right.

i can't look at this picture without giggling.

because it's so perfectly them.

and i really, really adore them.

ten months

at ten months, maggie is

playing pat-a-cake,

eating everything in sight,

pulling up and starting to cruise,

taking two naps a day,

only waking up once a night (usually),
and causing all sorts of mayhem.

maggie now has 6 teeth.

three on bottom,

three on top.

she seriously has the strangest pattern of teeth coming in.

her favorite foods are string cheese, pirate's booty, and hot dogs.

she loves mickey mouse clubhouse (but doesn't get to watch it often, since someone else is usually monopolizing the tv).

her favorite toy is every ball. every shape, size, color, if it's a ball, she wants it.

her favorite person is mom.

she loves bath time, especially when big brother is around.

and at ten months,
maggie still can't stop wiggling,
still has the most kissable rosy cheeks,
and still can't manage to keep that tongue in her mouth.
c'est la vie.

suess

today was dr. suess's birthday.

we're big suess fans around here.

we've read "hop on pop" a lot.

we've seen "the lorax" a billion times.

well, maybe i'm over exaggerating that one.

but we have seen it a lot.

but nothing beats out "mr. brown can moo".

in fact, i estimate i have read "mr. brown can moo" well over one hundred times in the past three months.

bonkers.

it's because mister has a routine before bed that includes reading the same five books

night after night after night.

"mr. brown can moo" is number one.

followed by "it looked like spilt milk".

after which, we read "no, david".

and then "moo, baa, la la la".

then, we end the night on a sleepy note

with the classic "goodnight, moon."

and tonight, to celebrate suess, i let tennyson read the stories to me, instead of me trying to get through them as fast as possible, so i could get downstairs and spend quality time with a mr. ben and his friend mr. jerry.

i love when he reads to me because honestly, i have no clue what he is saying.

except that i do know that he is reciting word for word the book. just in his own tennyson language.

and so,

in case you haven't had your fill of dr. suess yet today,

(or your fill of adorable babbling toddlers)

i present tennyson's rendition of our two suess favorites.

mr. brown can moo:

hop on pop: