Easter

I am SO excited that Easter is upon us!

Being that it's Spring, I spend every possible moment outside

and I am convinced there is not better place.

(I have even tried convincing my little sister of that truth,

though she's a little slow to warm up to the idea...)

I got to spend practically the whole Easter week outside.

The WHOLE family started out by dying Easter eggs...OUTSIDE...on Palm Sunday.

It was awesome.

On Easter morning, my family dressed up and went to church,

and I got home to special presents waiting for me.

(I particularly loved my new trash-truck book, and a big, huge garbage truck that my grandma & grandpa brought me later that day!!!)

...And somehow those Easter eggs we dyed the week before were "hidden" all over the grass.

I even found some that had gummy bears and stickers inside of them

(I ate every last gummy bear, which I called "vitamins," on the spot!!!)

(I also found out that babies think vitamins are "icky".)

I got to see my whole family on Easter too - Grandparents, aunts, uncles, & cousins!

It sure was a special holiday, and mom says when I grow up I'll really understand that it's even more special than I can comprehend.

Something about little girls...

Because I'm a big brother now, there are lots of responsibilities that I'm learning to take on, and I'm not JUST talking about putting on my own shoes...

...There are lots of "big boy" concepts about GIRLS that I'm catching onto as well.

For example, (1) I am learning that girls don't just get a birth-"day"...
They get a birth-"week..."

Emma Rose's birth week started a couple days before she arrived...

Mom & Dad took me to the zoo so that I would feel special on Emma Rose's big day / week...

...And it's been a nonstop party ever since...

Not only have Emma Rose and I celebrated her birth week by seeing ALL my grandparents,



... But Uncle Bill and Aunt Launni,

...Aunt Jackie & Uncle Zach,


...Miss Angela,

...Cool Aunt Jenny,

...Cousin Holden, Uncle Tim,

...Aunty Bryn,

...Uncle Chad, Aunty Becky, and Cousins Caroline, Ansley & Avery have ALL been by to celebrate the birthday week of this little girl!


(2) I've also discovered that baby girls cry from time to time over silly stuff
(like being cold);


...But every time she does, like the big boy that I am, I make this face:

...and I thoughtfully ask, "Baby Cry-nin???"

(3) I've learned that baby girls also come with a great deal of shoes, hats, bows, clothes and other elements of glam:


(Thus I decided to join in and style my own hair so I I could be a diva like Emma Rose...)

(... 'Problem is, I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to lather my hair with Vix Vapor Rub to make it look like this...)

But what I'm learning most of all...(4):

...is how much I love my little sister...

Emma Rose

My little sister was born on April 13, 2011
(4 years to the day after cousin Dylan...)



Mommy started saying "OUCH!" at about 7:30 at night on Tuesday.
I was a little concerned as she was putting me to bed that night,
and would ask, "Mommy hurt?"

Emma Rose was born at 12:23 am, just 2 hours after Mommy and Daddy got to the hospital.

They loved all 7 pounds 2 ounces and 19 3/4 inches of her right away.



She didn't cry much until she got her bath.

Mom found in the first couple days that like me, she doesn't cry much.
Unlike me, she really only cries when she's cold.

She looks a lot like me with her chubby cheeks and little chin.

Daddy says she's his little princess...

...and I knew why just as soon as I met her...

I was excited to touch the baby's eyes in the first few seconds we met
before I was off to explore the new trains that Grandma brought to the hospital for me to play with.



Isn't she perfect?

Grandma and Grandpa took me home for the night and when I got home the next day,

There was my new baby sister for me to meet!



I was very excited to "hold it..."



So for now, Emma Rose,



I think I'll let them keep you.

Here she comes...

While preparing for my little sister to get here in no time (Mommy is 37 weeks pregnant...) I'm becoming such a big boy and understanding so much (counting to 10 on my own, playing imaginary games, and repeating every single word - good or bad - that I hear in the appropriate context) that Mommy and Daddy are officially convinced that I'm a prodigy (what Mommy and Daddy don't think that of their kid, right?)

Everyone thinks I'm going to make a great big brother because I'm so nice and cuddly. I LOVE to kiss and hug my friends, my parents, my grandparents, my cousins, strangers, and especially Axl and "Bite-chu" (the name I've given my kitty.)


I'm also very helpful. I like to say, "help mommy" when I see her clean, and actively take part in the very fun event.


(I do it just like Mommy - first I sweep and then I scoop it into the pan. Who cares that the broom is my pan and the pan is my broom???)


And I'm getting so excited about being the big brother that as soon as Mommy finishes getting the baby in her belly checked out, I have to get mine checked out too.


I absolutely love my family and can't wait for it to get bigger. Just a couple weeks! I can't wait for everyone to hear me say my little sister's name - it's adorable.