The Gerda Family: Busy, Busy, Busy...

Easter Sunday

Well, life with two VERY active little ones is making it harder and harder to update our blog regularly! I used to be so good, but it seems like things have just been abnormally crazy lately. I would also like to place a lot of that blame on our kitchen project. We finally replaced our countertops, something that has been years in the making! With new countertops, also came various other updates in the kitchen and this has consumed most of our "spare" time. It's still not yet complete, but we're getting there.

Other updates from the past month....
Jensen turned 3! Wow, our little man is getting to be such a big boy! We have conversations and he's always full of funny comments, ideas and games! He is still obsessed with the ABC's and 123's! And I do mean obsessed! It's been more than a year since this obsession started. He's also into pathways and drawing his letters and numbers in the air. And he'll explain how he's writing it..."You go up, then over, then down and that's an N, mommy!" "You go this way, and this way, and that way, and this way!" He understands what it means to have a favorite now. His favorite colors are yellow and orange and his favorite letter is still O. And when something happens during the day, he'll tell you, "that's my favorite!" We celebrated his third birthday with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse small gathering. We enjoyed pizza, snacks and a Mickey Mouse cake.
Jensen wears a giant smile on his face 90% of the day and is wonderful at independent and imaginary play! He'll grab a book and flip the pages "reading" forever! Jensen has joined his first sports team! He's playing on a 3 & 4 year old t-ball team with his friend, Bode. It's the cutest, funniest thing we've ever seen!! Our Saturday mornings have turned into comical events as we watch the kids swing at the ball on the t, try to field their own ball when they actually have a hit, run up the 3rd baseline instead of 1st base, wander in the field picking flowers or lose attention as they listen to the train pass by!

Right now my FAVORITE part of each day is watching the increasing and entertaining interaction between Jensen & Keaton!!! Jensen always wants to help Keaton get out of her crib, come with to put her down for her nap, pick up her cup when it's fallen and give hear a little snack. When riding in the car, he'll look over at her and say, "Keaton, look out the window. Look at that bird!" Or when they're playing in the playroom, he'll initiate playing with her. And she's so cute as she just sits there and watches him with a look of admiration and curiosity! The other night after dinner, Jensen was sitting at the ABC table coloring and Keaton pulled up a chair and sat and watched what he was doing. Sometimes it's like they speak their own little language that just the two of them understand!!! Moments like this, I try to just sit back and plant the scene in my "forever memory!" I never want to forget these cute moments that bring a giant smile to my face and a special warmth to my heart:) This is what motherhood is all about!!

Now I'm not saying every moment is like this because we certainly have our trying moments with these two as well! Jensen is into tackling right now so we're often working through time outs and picking Keaton up off the ground! Keaton is also very good at coming over and "stealing" a toy when Jensen is playing. We're getting good practice with our parenting referee skills!!

Keaton is now almost 16 months old! Ahhh! She's saying a lot more....bye-bye, shoe and in the past week, she's started pointing to her nose and saying "no!" She often wears her big smile too! And she has become a major daddy's girl!!! She is now taking just one long afternoon nap. And she still LOVES to eat! The only thing I've found she doesn't like so far is a hard-boiled egg! A big boy-girl difference we've noticed is that Keaton has become hooked to her doggie and paci. She wants to carry her "doe-doe" around the house all the time, where as Jensen never really had to have any particular animal/toy/etc. She is also in what I call her "protest phase." Typically throughout the day, she protests diaper changes, being put into the carseat, etc. If she doesn't want to do it, she will protest!

At the end of March, Molly & Clara came to visit us for 5 days! We had such a great visit! It was busy...how could it not be with a 5 month, 15 month and 3 year old?? But so fun to hang out, enjoy Clara's sweet smiles and watch the kids together. We went shopping, took the kids to Little Bears, went to Jensen's t-ball game, visited with the Masterson's & Phil and did a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Still trying to get them to move here!!!

A few days after that visit, we packed the car and headed south for Spring Break! We met Nana & Bapa in Cocoa Beach, Fl for the week. What an awesome week!! So fun to watch the kids on the beach, at the pool and playing with their grandparents. Most of our days were spent splitting time between the pool and the beach. Jensen LOVED the pool and by the middle of the week was asking to get in without his floaties. He loved jumping in and challenging himself to jump further, blow bubbles and kick his legs. He also wore goggles for the first time and got to see under the water. He loved the beach just as much as the pool...He wanted to jump over the waves, build tunnels in the sand and of course write the ABC's and 123's in the sand. He and Nana even started working on addition! Keaton took a little longer to warm up to everything...the pool, beach and grandparents. Once she got used to the pool, she was happy. And in the afternoon of the last day, she just decided to walk into the ocean with not an ounce of fear! She walked through the waves and went out deep with Bapa. She was hilarious waddling around with a giant smile on her face!! We got to visit with Sonja, Joe and Hannah for two days and Jane, Bill, Jackie and Joel came for a few days. Such a memorable vacation!

We spent Easter with the Barfield family celebrating both Easter and Elle's 4th birthday! We had so much fun...We started the morning with an Easter egg hunt! When Elle and Jensen saw each other, it was like they had been reunited after years apart! They ran to each other on a hill and gave each other the biggest hug! So cute!!! The Easter egg hunt was perfect as each kid had a set amount of eggs with their initial on them - so they all got the same amount and they were filled with age appropriate treats! Perfect!! We then shared a delicious lunch with Barfield's, Mrs. Barfield and the Sypos family. It was my first time meeting Reid too, who is precious! A beautiful day!

I've learned there are things you experience in life that make you appreciate each moment a little more, squeeze your children a little tighter and smile a little brighter...I feel like there have been quite a few of those over the past month. I'm so happy to have each day with my children...to watch their smiles and hear their laughs...to see them figure something out for the first time...to dance with them...and kiss them goodnight! I love them more than they will ever know! They are so precious to me and I want to cherish every second I have with them!!! Life sure is sweet!

Here are a few highlights from the past month...

Keaton in her Easter dress!

I don't know if Jensen was more excited about finding the Easter egg or looking at the letter on each egg:)

How cute is this???

Jensen, Elle, Reid, Anderson & Keaton

A lunch date for Jensen & Elle

Our big kids!

She wore this same outfit on Easter last year!

Daddy's girl on the beach!

Having fun on our last day at the beach!

Love these two smiling faces:)

Easter egg hunt in Florida

What's inside?

Date night for this mommy & daddy! So much fun! Enjoyed cocktails & dinner beachside:)

This is what the grandparents had to deal with while we were on our date! No, unless they lied to us, they said the kids were very well behaved! These tears are all an act from Keaton when mommy & daddy are around!!