A request for you all...

So, in the past few weeks I have read some really DUMB books. Dumb to the point that I really don't know why I even bothered to finish them. I got most of them from the "Reader's Choice" section of the library... Who are these readers and I what made them choose these books? I think I was extra annoyed by them because I have been in the mood for something excellent, but I really don't know what I'm in the mood to read. I thought "reader's choice... if readers are choosing them they must be good." They weren't... Anyway, you may be wondering, How does this involve me? Here's how... Please take a few minutes and leave me a comment with your top 3 books of all time. I'm placing a lot of faith in you, but I am certain that you can do better than those "readers" at the library did. Also, maybe if you all leave one and then look at what everyone else put down, we can all have some good books to read. Hooray! Everyone wins! No one will have to read dumb books!

Easter Eggstravaganza

We started off our Easter weekend a little early, because my mom and dad were heading out of town for the weekend. On Thursday, we had a very fun Easter party with Ethan and Tanner and Grandma Marlene. We went to lunch at Chuck E Cheese's (can you say overstimulation?) and had a blast playing with all the games and rides and eating yummy pizza.


Riser liked most of the rides, and had a pretty good time on them, but this one scared him to death! Shortly after this was taken, he very firmly requested that he be taken out.


Enjoying some fabulous pizza with Cousin Ethan.


This was his all time favorite game there. I caught one of the rare moments that he was actually trying to knock one over. Mostly, he just like to watch the ducks roll by and quack. Every time the game ended he would look up and say "again? again? again?" So funny!


After we finished at Chuck E Cheese's (and made a brief trip to the store)we went back to Grandma's for a much needed nap and then we had an egg hunt. Riser had lots of fun and has been hauling around his digger ever since.


Easter Morning, Riser got to hunt for his Easter Basket.


He couldn't have cared less about his new church outfit (surprise, surprise) But he was VERY impressed with the Elmo and Cookie Monster Egg, and his new swim suit.


Here he is sporting the new swim suit. (he picked it out himself a few weeks ago, but the beauty of having an 18 month old is that they get excited about anything they haven't seen in over a week... It's brand new again to them!)


Later that night, we went to Grandma Kelly and Grandpa Kraig's we brought some eggs to color and Riser had an egg hunt after.


Riser really like coloring the eggs, but he had a hard time with the whole "eggs are fragile and you can't just toss them in" thing.
It was so fun to watch him, he gets so serious when he is busy with a big new "project". What a fun weekend!

Oh, Grandma Kelly and Grandpa Kraig, the P.J.'s are a HUGE hit. When I took them off of him this morning he started crying and kept trying to put them back on. What a funny boy.

Were you right?

Well, we just returned from the doctor and the results are in! The summer of boys continues!! Riser is going to have a little brother. We will post some pics from the ultrasound a little later, we just wanted to let everyone know!

Easter Egg Hunt at Grandpa Wayne's

Saturday morning, we met Riser's cousins Kennedy and Matthew at Grandpa Wayne's for an Easter egg hunt. They had a good time searching for candy. After the hunt, we went inside for a yummy brunch. Riser loved the French toast with vroot vroot vroot (fruit) on top. Later on Riser and Karl played ping pong. What a fun day. Thanks for having us over Grandpa Wayne!


He was a little unsure of what we doing at first.

He would look at the candy, but wasn't sure if he wanted to pick it up.

After a while, he figured it out.

They also had the Easter Bunny make an appearance. Kennedy liked him. Riser and Matthew were a little unsure of him.

Riser had to keep his eye on him to make sure he wasn't going to come after him.

The whole crew. Matthew, Kennedy, Riser, Uncle Kris, Grandpa Wayne, Aunt Milly, and Me!

Kennedy and Riser by the Egg Hunt sign. 2 very cute kids, I must say.

Karl and Riser playing ping pong

Riser and Kennedy take the game.

Who knew?

As anyone who has ever had the privilege/misfortune of living with me might attest, I have a really hard time keeping my living space picked up. Always have. From the days of sharing a room with my sister, to my room mates in college (most of whom seemed to share this quirk... strange how we find each other...) to now... I just have the worst time keeping things where they belong. My mom always told me, it takes just as much time to throw it on the floor as it does to hang it up/put it away. I never believed her. I always thought I was saving myself so much time by throwing my towel on the floor after my shower, leaving my hair dryer and products all over the vanity, my coat over the chair, my clothes on the floor at the end of the day... etc. etc. etc. I guess I thought it was a worth it to have those few seconds now instead of the hour(s) that it took to put it all away when I finally felt like Sara Cynthia Sylvia Stout. Anyway, I was feeling just this way a couple of weeks ago and decided it needed to end. I cleaned up my whole house, and decided it was going to stay that way... Guess what? She was right. It really does take just as much time to throw it on the ground as it does to hang it up/put it away. I have spent the past 2 weeks being completely amazed at how much time I have to do other things now that I just put things where they belong. I have to admit that I feel a little, o.k. a lot, sheepish that it took me 30 years to figure this out. I am just glad I figured it out now. Maybe I can help Riser figure it out sooner. So far I have taught him how to put away his socks and t shirts after I wash them and he helps me pick up his toys and books every night before bedtime. Anyway, I guess the moral of this story is: Listen to your mommy. It's almost like she knows what she's talking about!

Cookie Monster!

Last Saturday night, we made some sugar cookies. We decided to let Riser help us decorate them... o.k. well one. We had the rest done by the time he realized you were supposed to decorating the cookies, and not just eating the frosting and the sprinkles. Oh well! He kept us laughing the whole time. He just kept saying "ummm!!!" Who can blame him? Butter cream frosting. A boy after my own heart!

A little for the cookie... a little for my mouth...
and a little more for my mouth!

I love the look of concentration in this one. Cookie decorating... Serious stuff.

After a while he found that if he licked his fingers and then stuck them in the sprinkles he could get a lot more out. Don't worry, we threw the left over sprinkles away!

A moment of realization...

As of late, Riser's new favorite word is uh huh... it is his answer to everything... do you want breakfast? Uh Huh! Do you want to call Dad? Uh Huh! Do you want to watch Elmo? UH HUH! He says it all the time. I kept thinking "That's so funny. I wonder where did he picked that up from." Then, last night as I was chatting with Karl, I figured it out. I kept thinking "I sound like someone, who is it?... oh... oh dear... it's my one year old!" It's all my fault! I answer everything with "uh huh" too! He is even copying my inflections. I guess the days of watching what I say in front of the boy have officially begun.