Easter Egg Hunts

Declan had his first Easter egg hunt(s) this year.

Friday, we went to the HEB grocery store near our house. They had an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos. They had donuts, muffins and orange juice for the parents, and for the kids, they had roped off three aisles and littered them with tons of plastic easter eggs. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year olds had one aisle to themselves and they got to go first. They were also allowed to bring their parents with them, since most of them were so little they didn't know what to do, and some couldn't even hold their own Easter basket.



We took Declan in, and it took him a couple minutes, but then he figured out that we wanted him to pick the eggs up off the floor. Then it took a little while longer to convince him to put them in his bag (we forgot to bring a basket).



Then he was determined to put all his eggs in the basket of a 1-year old who looked very confused about the whole event.



But a good time was had by all. Declan quickly figured out that he could open the plastic eggs and there was candy inside! He had some jelly beans and started running all around the store. That's was the point I left him with his daddy and went to work! Mwa ha ha.

Sunday morning we had a neighbor egg hunt for 3 houses and 3 little kids. We littered one neighbor's yard with ..sheesh, there must have been almost a hundred plastic eggs there, plus bubble wands, sidewalk chalk, coloring posters. These kids are gonna be so spoiled. :) It was Declan, Christian (who's the exact same age), and Celeste, who's 3.

Christian was sort of tired, so he spent a lot of time picking up eggs and throwing them at the cat. Declan ran around opening up each egg looking to see if it had chocolate or jelly beans in them. Celeste was on a mission. She was picking up every egg she could find and putting it in her basket. Maybe it's a good thing we had a hundred eggs.

I took a lot of pictures, but they were all moving so fast, most of them were blurry. I could really see what a jelly bean rush does to a 2 and 3 year old this morning!

We started off good, getting Declan to pick up a couple eggs and put them in his basket (sand bucket).


But then he remembered that these things opened and there might be candy inside.



And a second one.


And the third and fourth and ...


And the tenth...


Mmmm, jelly beans.


Occasionally he found other things he liked. Like sidewalk chalk, and some weird thing that makes strange noises when you shake it.


Here's Declan and Christian, chasing each other down the sidewalk.




Hope you had a hoppy Easter!

Hair cut before and after

Hurray! I didn't butcher his hair or give him another bowl cut.

Before:


After:

Declan Turns Two

My parents came to visit, and I was really looking forward to their visit. We managed to get to the beach at Galveston on Tuesday, before everyone got sick. Unfortunately, my dad, Declan and myself got horrible colds. Mom had a sinus infection, and Daniel had a bad reaction to a new drug. I said we should just put a quarantine sign around our house. It was terrible.

But in spite of all the sickness, we still had a fun time, and I'm glad my parents came to visit. They helped me build a sand box for Declan, rearrange my patio so it looks nicer to sit on, helped me build a new mini patio to hold some of my container plants, and my dad rebuilt some shelves in my garage, so now I have space to buy an upright freezer and install it! We may not have gotten to the zoo, but we had a good time.

We actually postponed Declan's birthday party by a day. He didn't know any better, and it gave everyone else a chance to get better. By then, everyone except myself was doing much better. I'm also glad I didn't put a lot of effort into making fancy decorated cupcakes. He got cupcakes from a mix, and I made frosting for them. And we got ice cream. It was a good enough birthday for a 2-year old. thank goodness we didn't have a big party with lots of people planned!

Declan raked in the loot, at least for a 2-year old. His Virginia grandparents sent him a Mr. Potato Head and a recycling truck that counted tags as you put them in. He's all about counting to 10 now, so he loved that. I got up the next morning, and Mr. Potato Head had had a horrible accident, with pieces scattered all along the hallway. It was a terrible crime scene. I think we've only located a hand, a set of lips and the main potato. Who knows where the rest of the pieces are.

He got more Duplos and a couple puzzles from Daddy and me. His Uncle Poppy and Nana Shannon and cousins got him an awesome, 2-foot tall Little Person car ramp, and he spent many happy (and quiet) moments experimenting with what would go do the ramps. Mom's friend Anita got him a Thomas the Tank Engine beginning reader book, and he loved it! He demanded that we read him that book about 10 times in a row the first day. Since then, we've bought a second book like that one, and we read both of them several times each day. He frequently asks for his choo-choo book.

His Illinois grandparents got him toys for his new sandbox, some t-shirts and an Easter present still waiting to be opened.

Here he is with his favorite bubble mower, mowing the hallway and modeling a new hat.


Opening presents.






Blowing out the candle.


(Daddy had to help a bit)






Declan, Meme and Papaw.

Random pictures

Because I'm going through my pictures in a big old batch. These are from last winter (if you can call it winter in southeast Texas).

I think I did this one already, but it has to be one of my favorites. I managed to squash a piece of aluminum foil on top of his head. He thought it was hilarious. Camera phone quality, but still a great picture.


Daddy rides.


Bathtime. With a washcloth on his head.


One of my friends gave us a train set, and now he adores all things trains.


Sacked out. A rarity in this house.


A really good apple.


The joys of finger painting.

Beach Pictures!

I finally made time to do pictures!

We went to the beach a few weeks ago. I got burned red as a lobster. Declan only got a bit of sun. I took a lot of pictures, and some of them actually came out nice.

"Hi, mom"


Walking on the beach.


Laughing. Why? Who knows. The wind felt good?


This was funny. Declan wanted to eat part of Daniel's sandwich, but Declan's hands were covered in sand. So Daniel insisted that Declan just take bites of his sandwich. Before long, Declan was running a circle around us sitting on the blanket, stopping each lap to take another bite of his daddy's sandwich.


Walking on the beach.


Investigating the surf.


Shoes.

The Beach

I owe pictures. I'll get them up tonight(?). If there's time. We promised to do legal paperwork tonight. Fun.

We went to the beach at Galveston on Sunday. It was a blast, although I got way too much sun. I'm burned red as a lobster. Declan got a bit of sun on his cheeks, and Daniel fared just fine. We were only there for 30 minutes, too.

We went to Sea Isle on the west end of the island. The east end was packed with spring breakers. So much nicer to be on the west end, even if we did have to drive another 20 minutes. The only people on the beach were a group of surf fishers, so Declan was able to run around to his heart's content.

We even packed a picnic lunch, but that turned out to be an exercise in logistics and baby handling. Declan was soon covered in sand, and we had to feed him without letting his hands touch the food. At one point, he was literally running in a circle around Daniel and me, and stopping on each lap to take a bite out of Daniel's ham sandwich. Hilarious!

The beach was littered with blue button "jellies." Technically they are distantly related to the man o' war, meaning they are colonial creatures, instead of jellies, but they look the same. I'm glad Declan had water shoes, although he needs a new pair. The one he had rubbed a raw spot on his ankle.

It took Declan a moment to warm up to the beach. When we got out of the car and started walking on the soft sand, he started crying. He sat down and it took a lot of persuading before he would walk on the soft sand. I think it upset him that the ground wasn't firm, like he was used to.

Then he was playing in the very edge of the surf. At one point, he had gone out a fair way, and when the surf came back in, he ran back to shore, but he tripped and the wave came up and smacked him in the butt, getting him fairly wet. He cried at that, but only for a few seconds. Then he decided it wasn't so bad and went back to playing and running around.

It was lots of fun, although we definitely have to find the sunblock before we go again.

Declan's Tot Spot

We had a video chat with Declan's grandparents today. It worked out great. I had my new netbook, downloaded the video chat program from Google, and within 3 minutes, we were talking to each other complete with video.

Declan's favorite part was seeing himself in tiny inset picture. He started hamming it up, waving his arms around, doing spit takes, and generally having a great time amusing himself.

I loved that we could follow him around, show my in-laws the new furniture and paint job in the bedroom. We had a couple of technical glitches where Declan smacked the keyboard and muted our mic. Took a bit to get that reversed.

That was kind of the bright spot in his day. He spent most of the day whining, getting into trouble, or sleeping. He got into trouble for climbing up where we keep the cats' food and water, and throwing he food all around. Then it was climbing on top of Daddy's computer desk and fiddling with his big, heavy monitor. Later, it was pushing his toddle chair next to the lamp, so he could swing the lamp back and forth. It's been a tiring day!

I did a lot of cooking for him this weekend too. Not that he ate much of it. Made a black bean and sweet potato stuffing for tortillas. Then I made croquettes from a toddler recipe book. I'm not use to frying in oil, so they're a little greasy, and now the whole house smells like oil.

I finally managed to get most of the public part of the house cleaned up today. Cleaned the pantry yesterday, then picked up papers, tossed stuff and cleaned the kitchen counters and floors today. Took the throw rugs outside and beat them, then put them in the dryer for extra fluffing and decontamination. Finally swept everything. Still have to mop. Later.

Declan's been learning new things, besides just climbing places to get into trouble. He can identify S, B, and A. We're working on D and O. He says Happy and sometimes even Happy Baby. Plus Pizza. He loves erasing his chalk drawings now. He can work the shape puzzles really easily.

He's also learned to say Da-da and Ma-ma. However, his way of saying Ma-ma is by tapping his chest twice. He invented that sign all on his own.

Merry Christmas!

Here's our trip to visit Daniel's parents. We flew, since it's a 1500 mile trip one way. Can you believe the pilots let a toddler into the cockpit? He loved it. All those buttons!!!!









Here we are at their house for a late Thanksgiving - early Christmas.

Uncle Justin got Declan a Tickle-Me Elmo, which was a big hit.




Here he is with Grandad.


Grandmommy kisses:


One big hit was being pushed around the house in a big box. Who doesn't love that?


Then there was being dragged around in the laundry basket. See how much fun you can have with regular old household things?


Saying goodbye at the airport.


Christmas morning.
Flashlight as present. Can be used for peering into the tree and seeing what's hidden in the middle.


Train o' blocks.


Elmo makes a surprise return!


Daniel's been wanting to get Declan Legos since before Declan was born. So he got his first set of Duplos today.






And tractors


More of the block train. We love blocks. And these roll.


Our Christmas pictures. Daniel says Declan has a Buster Keaton look here, kicking his leg back.



Jazz hands!


We went to see Santa at Bass Pro, but Declan wasn't too keen on sitting on someone else's lap.


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!