Hippity Hoppity.....Happy Easter Day!!!

We awoke, not too early to Mr. Logan ready for action......7am

Quickly Ella realized what day it was and was ready for action as well.....

Checking out the goodies......Logan was happy carrying around the carrot stumps!

We headed to church at 9am....such a beautiful day.....had to snap a pic of my beautiful family!

Then off to Grammie and Papa's for an egg hunt and doughnuts!

This was our best try at a family picture.....

Ella looked super cute and loved showing off her 'pretty-ness'

Logan was looking quite handsome......his 1st time wearing a tie

Was near impossible getting a photo of the two together....

More like playing peek-a-boo

All photos of Logan had to be action shots......he was on the move!

The handsome boys!

Me and my sweet boy!

Me and my sweet girl!

Had to take advantage of him holding still!

Ella LOVED her chocolate bunny with the funny LONG ears!

Loves to spend time with her grams!

We headed back home for a rest and Suz,Pat, and Jack were first to arrive for dinner.....Ella thought Suz needed to look a little fancier so she fixed her hair and her "eye-flashes"!!!

Logan took a 3 hour nap and woke up just in time for dinner! Yum!

Suz and Jack

Festive Stevie

Festive Uncle Kenny

Renee (who will be mad that I posted this pic but I think it is a good one!)

Ella and Uncle Pat cooling off their tootsies!

The Hatcher Road Crew.......gotta keep them in a cage!

Paul had cleaned the chairs to get ready for today and Ella thought it was for playing 'musical chairs' so we had to play a couple games after dinner.......MC Take 1

MC Take 2

Ella enjoying one of her easter basket treats! boing boing

Logan LOVED carrot cake and kept going back for more bites.......he would not let go of his prized possession.......an empty beer bottle.....

Mouth full of carrot cake and beer bottle in hand.......silly Logan

It was a fun day! Beautiful weather and great food!

The kids were tired and ready for baths and relaxing.......

Hope everyone enjoyed their Easter!

Getting Ready for Easter

We've been reading Easter books since Valentine's Day was over......

this is a 'hard' holiday because after it is over, there is quite a break before we 'decorate' for something again... Ella loves the anticipation and the preparation and the decorating!!!

I joined her on Thursday at preschool for a little Easter party.....

They had colored an egg and I was pretty surprised when she peeled it and took a big bite, but then not surprised at all when she handed it to me and said, "no more!"

Of course she colored her egg pink!

They had decorated their special cupcake to look like a chick. I think Ella did a great job!

I had to get a pic of her outfit......tutu cute!
This was one of the crafts we did, so cute. She loves school and is always proud of what she makes there!

Auntie Jojo and Uncle Curtis surprised us with a special parcel in the mail and we waited patiently until daddy got home before we opened it......

Here are the little bunnies anxiously opening the goodies...

So excited to try it all.....

Had to show you how cute it was all put together! Thanks Jo and Curtis!

Logan LOVES the yogurt pretzels and always ends up with a white moustache and beard!

Today we met up with Megan and Addy for a little Easter celebration!

We started at Krispie Kreme and enjoyed some yummy warm doughnuts and then we were off to see "Alice in Wonderland" at the AZ Broadway Theater. We have seen quite a few of the children's plays there but this one was AWFUL! The girls enjoyed it, but honestly for Megan and I it was a nightmare that wouldn't end..... The set was very 'urban' with fences and street signs and it was just plain whacky...... I can't even tell you what exactly happened because it was so hard to follow.....

Here is a pic of the happy 'matching' girls that enjoyed it!

After the play, we ran some errands and had a nice surprise at Trader Joes......free face painting. Ella picked a bunny "with sparkles"......super cute!

When we got home, I did a little preparing for tomorrow's dinner and roasted the pecans for the salad......nothing smells better!

Tonight, it was time to get ready for the Easter Bunny.........LOVE this cute plate that we bought this year!

Ella was amazed at the giant carrots I bought for them to leave out! We talked in the car about how the Easter Bunny may like different things and how her friends might leave something different out as a special treat for the bunny and her response was, " I know mommy. In England, they leave out noodles for the Easter Bunny"

Logan just wanted to carry around both carrots in his basket!

Well, EB made his visit and I can't wait for our kiddos to enjoy discovering all the treats in the morning!

Happy Easter everyone! Sweet dreams of jelly beans and chocolate eggs!

Diamondback Daddy Day at Preschool

It was a special day today.....

Ella's preschool had a great day planned for the kids and their daddies.

The kids were supposed to wear baseball attire, so we borrowed a hat from Jack and she was ready to go with her pink glove in hand......

Another cute photo!
They got to do lots of fun activities which included some playground time so here is a pic of Ella with her best buddy Meredith

The master colorer hard at work

What a surprise, she ate her 1ST hot dog EVER!!!!!

You can see the rash on her face and neck :0(

And then came some teeball.......

I hear Ella did really well and caught a ball and threw it right back to home plate

Safe on base!

The 'action shot'.......look at the ball go!

So proud of Paul for taking all of these photos.......

Logan and I met up with them after for lunch.....

We had spent the morning getting his shaggy hair cut.....boy is he handsome!

The rash that won't go away......

So, it's back in full force....... (not that it has stayed away for more than 7 days since it started well over 6 weeks ago)

Ella was in tears on Tuesday and just couldn't take it anymore. It hurt, itched, and she was devastated by it when she looked in the mirror.

I called the dermatology office yesterday and asked if she could PLEASE be fit in to be seen since her doctor is only in that office on Wednesdays. Her appointment was made for 3:10pm and I was so sad that I couldn't go with.....daddy was responsible for taking Ella on his own since I was at work.

I un-patiently waited an hour and a half after appointment time and then began calling to see what was going on.......

The doctor was glad that we brought her back in. Unfortunately the time had come for more 'drastic measures' and they had to do a biopsy. I guess about 10 doctors came in to see the rash, take photos of it, and examine it under the microscope. Originally, the plan was to biopsy the 'bad' part on her neck, but Ella just could not tolerate that. Ouch, I can't imagine the needle into her neck to numb the area.....ugh! So after some debate, it was decided that the area on the back of her leg is the same rash, just not as inflamed. Poor Paul had to hold Poor Ella down while they injected the numbing medication and then scooped out a small bit of skin from her leg. So devastating! I guess she gave the doctor a hug to make him feel better since her was so sad to have had to 'hurt her'.

It was a rough time for both Ella and daddy.

When I spoke to Ella on the phone, she sadly told me in a whimpering voice, "I was brave mommy but I had to cry. It hurt SO bad"........my heart was officially broken.

So now we wait.......approximately 10 to 14 days before the biopsy comes back and I PRAY for a simple fix to this BIG problem.

Ella was doing well when I got home and and has done well today. She just wants to be "all better"

Wiggly-Addict

What can I say......we have a little Wiggles lover on our hands.....

Logan LOVES the Wiggles!

Immediately when he wakes up, it is "wiggles....wiggles"

He dances, twirls, and sometimes just sits back and relaxes all while he watches the dvds

He inherited cousin Jack's old Wiggles shirt and he wore it proudly the other day and then the day after he kept looking down at his shirt (not Wiggles) and getting a sad look on his face and looking at me and saying, "wiggles????"

If we would let him, he would watch them 24 hours a day......

They make him smile, so therefore we tolerate them, smile, and dance & sing along!

Lavender......the Posh Pony!

There is a new memeber of the Barron Bunch.......Lavender.

Ella received a parcel in the mail last week from her Nannie and Muntz and she absolutely LOVED her surprise!

It was a posh pony.......a toy that I haven't seen in the US which makes it extra special to her!

Ella usually 'likes' her stuffed toys and plays with them for a while, maybe even a couple of days, but this pony is something special! She takes it everywhere.....she feeds lavender (carrots, apples, milk, and juice), baths her, brushes her, and always takes her to bed with her....

Ella also noticed on the packaging that Lavender had 'friends' available and she mentioned this to Nannie so we have Lola and Summer on the way to join our family as well!

Ella said today, "I am sure glad that Nannie and Muntz know exactly what I love!"

She actually said this while Ella and I played Memory with Lavender who won 2 times in a row!

Out to dinner....

Sliding at the park....

I even had to give Lavender feet a real bath today and I used lavender shampoo.....Ella instructed me to be careful because she loves her!

Can't wait for her friends to arrive!