Happy Easter!

Around mid-March, my school hosted a spring bazaar which kicked off our Easter celebrations.  The Easter Bunny made an appearance.  Vera was not a fan, which surprised me because she's never been afraid of characters before.  It took a little convincing and time to "warm up" to the idea.  She started with a high five, and then eventually we convinced (forced?) her to sit with her brother.  Vince thought it was great fun to play with the bunny's paws.

We visited the egg hunt in town on Saturday before Easter.  It was chilly, but Vera found her friends and gathered up plenty of eggs.  Each egg was filled with a dime, and Vera thought it was cool to add them to her piggy bank.

Shortly after the egg hunt, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Otte's house for the family Easter.  We had another egg hunt outside and it was chilly!  Vera and Blake were sure to share their eggs and treats with their baby cousins Nora, Scarlett, Cohen and Vince.

She just can't look at the camera!

Grandma also had the idea to take some family pictures.  It went as well as it could go with six little ones.  I think the outtakes are funnier than the good poses.  Every time I look at them, I laugh!

Poor Nora Belle.  lol  Cohen was screaming, if I remember right.  Papaw was easily distracted.

 So we took a little break...

Cohen, Karen, Blake and Scarlett

Aww!  Cute picture!!  Blake, Scarlett, Papaw, Nora and Vera

Vinners is the only mobile baby for  now.

...then we tried again with the pictures.

It turned out a little better.

This one is cute!  Nora just loves her papaw.

Cohen, Vera, Grandma and Scarlett

Grandma and Grandpa had an Easter bucket for everyone.  All of the kiddos got PJs and other small surprises.

Like most years, Vera's birthday falls right around Easter, so we had a little mini celebration for her birthday.  

Dad & little brother getting ready to sing to Vera Lou.

After we sang, Vera opened her cards and gifts.  She got some clothes from grandma and grandpa and some dresses, dive sticks and goggles from aunt Karen.

On Sunday morning, we woke to realize the Easter Bunny had paid a visit.  The kids must've been good. Vince found new pacifiers and some yogurt puffs in his basket.  Vera had a basket of Frozen goodies, some books, hair bows, glow sticks and sweets.

We got everyone all dressed up for church.  It was crowded, but everyone was pretty good.

After church, we headed to grammy and papa's for Easter.  As in years past, we celebrated Vera and Bailey's birthdays with some cupcakes and surprises.  Vera even had to go on a scavenger hunt that Uncle Brian put together.  The treasure at the end of the hunt?  Pickles, of course!  haha  Vera also unwrapped a basket full of outdoor toys--a kickball, jump rope, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and kite.  There was an outfit and also a game from her grandparents.  Spoiled girl!

I think this picture is adorable.  They both hid their eyes while their birthday surprises were being brought out!

We had an egg hunt later, and it was nearly catastrophic when Vera got hung-up in the rose bush.  Even Vinners found his blue eggs!

We finished our Easter celebration with the Bertke family a week later.  It was a warm day, and it was nice to see everyone.  There were babies everywhere! :)  Another egg hunt was held (because we really needed more eggs!)

It was a busy two weeks, but we had a nice Easter with our families!

The Circus Came to Town

We didn't join, but I know we'd fit right in!  Grandma, Mandy, Blake, Vera and I went to the circus at the fairgrounds at the end of March.

The first act was lions and tigers.  It was pretty impressive watching these massive animals listen to their master.

We also saw camels, horses, and elephants.  Though we didn't pay to ride the elephant, it was fun to watch them.

Vera said her favorite part of the circus was the clown.  I liked the lions and tigers.  It was a little chilly inside the show arena, but we dressed for the weather.  Like all such events, there were plenty of vendors selling all kinds of things:  snow cones, popcorn, flashlights, glow sticks, coloring books, "paint face" (as Vera called it) and plenty of others.  Vera pointed out each and every vendor and asked for whatever they were selling.  Typical Vera to be fascinated and attracted to vendors selling expensive food and junk.  Typical mom to not give in and buy anything.  :)

Surprise!

This news came as a huge surprise to our family.  In early October, we'll be the Pearsons, party of 5!  Whoa!

We took some pictures to announce our news to friends and family.  I can't even talk about how many attempts we have at these pictures.  Over the course of these two evenings, it was either blurry pictures, no one looking at the camera, ages cut out of the picture, and I could go on....  Here are the three best ones:

We found out I was pregnant the day we got the keys to our new house.  It was especially emotional because we had a huge moving (and cleaning and painting) endeavor right as we were trying to process this unexpected news.  I'll admit that I cried a fair amount, and then I'd cry more because I felt guilty.  I kept praying and telling myself that God always has a plan.  Someday I'll laugh about all of this.  As I put away baby things that Vince no longer uses, like our swing or bouncy seat, I laugh to myself and think, "Don't pack this away too well."

These days, we're really excited for the addition to our family.  We also realize how crazy our lives are going to be!   But we also know that Vince and this babe are going to be best buddies (and probably worst enemies!)

When we told Vera she was going to have another brother or sister, she reacted with "Oh my gosh!" as she smashed her hands against her face.  Then she said, "Let me get this straight.  We're going to have one big sister, two babies and two owners living in this house?!"  lol  In the eyes of a 4 year-old, Adam and I are the owners of the kids.  Maybe it's the other way around...

I'm starting to feel so much better.  The early weeks are quite a blur because of the move.  I was so exhausted and felt pretty lousy.  I went to bed immediately after my kids went to bed at 8pm.  The nausea lingered for a few weeks.  Around 13 weeks, I noticed my energy level start to rise and the nausea subsiding.  As with pregnancy, when one discomfort or ail leaves, another one finds its way in.  I'm starting to experience the ligaments in my hips and pelvis shifting.  My hip sockets (which have given me fits since I had Vera) throb all the time.  I make a conscious effort to sit down, especially at school, and tell myself that it's all worth it!

9 Months!

Vince is 9 months old and as active as ever!  He's a very happy little guy most always.  

He chews on absolutely everything.  Everything he encounters goes in his mouth.  We've fished out plenty of small pieces from his little mouth already--carpet strands, plastic snibbles, dead flies (so gross!), and rubber bands from Vera's hair, just to name a few.  We are waiting for his two front teeth to pop through anytime.

As I was taking the 9 month photo (one day late) Vera insisted on joining the photo op.  I won't mention how many outtakes we have of this.  Not because of Vince, but because Vera cannot look at the camera.

Right as he turned 9 months, he mastered the army crawl.  Within two days, our houseplant had to be put elsewhere, as did many other things around the house.  One morning, while I was fixing Vera's hair, we "lost" Vince behind the couch.  Vera was shocked when she discovered him behind the couch.  He crawled to the center and was chewing on the electrical cord.  I could barely reach him to drag him out.  We quickly baby-proofed our house.  Vince's favorite things are shoes and electrical cords.  He has become super speedy at army crawling, and he gets anywhere he wants to go.

Vin also enjoyed his first outdoor swing recently.  Though it was pretty chilly, everyone in our house was anxious to get outside and play.  Notice the hats and mittens.  Our new neighbors probably already think we're a little nutty!

Vince can only make the walker go backwards at this point.  He does like to sit in it and cruise around, even if he can't control where he's headed.

A bath always makes him smile!

When we pick him up from Patty's, he flaps his arms and kicks his legs in the car seat so vigorously.  Adam always tells me that if he had wings, he'd fly away.  When I say goodbye to him in the mornings, Patty jokes that he waves to me with his feet flapping in his car seat.  He doesn't mind his car seat at all, and has recently enjoyed the ability to look out the window in the car.  We took off his cover from winter, and what a difference it's made in the car!  He's always content looking out the window, watching Vera or snoozing!

 Vince's typical day.  Scooting and exploring.  On Holy Saturday, Mr. Vinners took his first spill down our basement stairs.  (My dad told me that it probably won't be the last time he takes a spill down the stairs.  I don't want to admit it, but he's probably right!)  We have a gate, but it wasn't closed at the time.  He rolled down 4-5 steps before Adam grabbed him.  It was a terrible sound to hear him fall.  I'm so glad I didn't see it.  It surely scared mom and dad, and poor Vinners cried hard for a few minutes.  A little later, he was back to army crawling around the house.  A good sign, but tough on his mama!  His injuries involved a few bumps and red marks on his head.  Thankfully he didn't get seriously hurt.  Poor guy!

Vince also loves to eat!  There isn't one food he doesn't like.  He eats baby food at least twice per day, but usually more often than that.  He also loves puffs and yogurt melts.  He does a great job of using his pinchers to self-feed, and can sometimes even retrieve the puffs he drops on his lap.  I had forgotten that I have this mesh feeder, so one day I put some strawberries and bananas inside.  He loved it!  Within a few minutes he had it sucked and mashed completely gone, thought he was real big stuff, and was a sticky, gooey mess!

Welcome baby Cohen!

At the beginning of February, Karen and Riley welcomed Mr. Cohen Charles.  They kept the boy/girl ratio even at 3 each for Grandma and Grandpa Otte.  We made the trip to Findlay to meet Cohen when he was a few weeks old.  He sure is a cute little guy!

I love this picture!  Vera was thrilled to meet her newest cousin.

Grandma, Mandy, Nora, Vera and I all made the trek together.  Cute kids shot from the day.

Vince's 1st Hair Cut

Since Vince has been about 6 months old, everyone we meet talks about his crazy hair.  It stands straight on end when it's dry and clean.  For us, it's just our Vince.  To everyone else, it's a conversation piece.

Last picture before the first haircut.

It was also several different lengths.  At the crown, it was original hair from his birth, so it was much longer than the rest.  In the back, very full and thick.  In front, it almost looked like a pineapple.  So, we decided it was time for a haircut.  Dad and Grandma both thought they could use the clippers on his hair.  I must say I was a bit leery.  I was afraid the buzzing noise would scare him.  Plus, I didn't know if his fine hair would work with the clippers.  Grandma and dad convinced me to give it a try.  So we did.

He was a champ!  He didn't cry at all, even though he wiggled all around.  Grandma used the clippers on his whole head and then dad used a scissors to trim around his ears.  Even now, with hair that's all one length, it stands straight on end.  When we were done with the haircut, we couldn't decide if we made it better or worse.  We joke that it looks like a military flat top cut.

Poof!

And, when his hair is wet and matted to his head, he looks like a different kid.  Makes us laugh regularly!