Easter

We officially kicked off our Easter celebration on Saturday morning with egg decorating. The boys both had a lot of fun.

I personally liked their dyeing tactic of piling as many eggs as possible into one cup, letting them sit a bit, and then transferring them all to a different cup. I was very impressed with how many they could stack without dropping any.

Before they even had a chance to dry, some certain people who wish to remain nameless, began the peeling and eating of the eggs.

Which left something to be desired in the final presentation of "all" the pretty eggs:

As if that were not enough crafty excitement for one day, the boys later decided they wanted to paint.


I really liked Taye's painting of Mack:

That night we went to Olivia's birthday party, and got home at bedtime. They woke up Easter morning to new bubbles:

and, oh - whats this stuff called, Mama? Chocolate you say? I'm not sure I've ever heard of that, maybe I should try some...just a little...like the whole basket...

We got them chocolate, naturally, because it is educational. Here is Darius counting mini chocolate eggs as he puts them into his decapitated "Easter Bum-Bum." Count along with him - 'five, six, eight, nine, ten, ten, ten!' (at which point, Taye was yelling 'eleven!!')

For those who are not familiar, this is "Bum-Bum" (or Bun-Bun to the rest of us, who are clearly wrong, but set in our ways). He is Darius' newly beloved stuffed bunny.


Once we ran out of candy, it was time to rush to the Grinley's for a refill. Someone had magically and mysteriously hidden about eight bazillion eggs in their yard, and the kids went on a hunt to find them all. (You know there's probably still at least one bazillion that no one found!)


It wasn't just my kids looking for the eggs, there were others hunting too, you know.

After all that fun, we went to Nana and Grandad's house for desert (part 2 - who could resist Gramma's chocolate cream pie? I know Zig-Zag couldn't, and neither could I!) We had a nice time visiting everyone. All in all it was a really great Easter.

The boys and Emma call my Nana, "Nana B." When he saw this picture on the computer, Darius pointed and yelled "B!!" Close enough!

Eeya and Ewa

or, Olivia and Eva, if you want to be picky about it.

We have been so happy to cram in as much time as possible with them (and their parents too) before they all ditch us for the beautiful sunny weather of Florida. :o) Last week we went to play at their house, here is the greeting we got upon walking in the door:

Seriously, how cute is she? Even if she wasn't totally covered in yummy meatballs, I would want to eat her up!

While we were there, I learned that having our new baby with Darius around is going to be a challenge. He is a total baby hog! Actually, he was the same way with Sebastien in Peru. Once he gets ahold of a baby, he will.not.let.go. But, hey - I suppose we could have bigger problems.

Here is Olivia posing for the obligatory picture with her mom's weird friend (you can actually see her thinking, "why does my mom hang out with this weirdo?")

Friday was Miss Olivia's third birthday, and on Saturday we met the whole Ranierisholm crew at the "chicken farm" in Rhode Island. We were so excited to go to the legendary chicken farm, which we have heard about for years. It is a nice family style restaurant with all-you-can-eat delicious chicken, pasta, salad, and bread (and cinnamon rolls, honestly, beat that!) The kids all had so much fun. Actually, we all did. When they weren't laughing just for the heck of it, the kids liked to yell "ba-ba-baby!" as loud as they could - and then laugh about that! The four of them really do entertain each other well.

Here is the birthday girl (Luis was going through one of his artistic phases with the camera settings):

Posing with baby sis:

Eva just could not get enough of her Uncle Drew:

The cake:

and the crew:

Olivia and Eva also gave Taye his birthday presents. He got an awesome new water bottle (which Darius has since claimed) and a huge Hess truck, which you can clearly see he did not like:

(note the upper lip - he didn't like the cake either!)

You may be thinking "wow, thats a lot of Olivia and Eva" and you'd be right. But wait - there's more! The other night I was changing Darius and he started laughing in a way that I had never heard him laugh before. I asked him, "What are you doing? What is that laugh?" and he said, "Thats Eeya!" Olivia has got the cutest little giggly laugh, and until he said it I didn't realize it, but he was laughin just like her! I couldn't get over it, my 21 month old stand-up doing impressions! I got him on video, you can see it below (I don't know why its crooked, you'll just have to tilt your heads!) The End.

Got cream cheese?

with lemon, of course?

What about ice cream sundae?

Oh, Mama is so funny!

"Whats a glyph?"
"Its like the tail end of a hiero."

Its one of those 'location' jokes - you had to be there, so just don't ask :o)

Repeat after me..."Awwww"

We were eating lunch the other day when Taye suddenly jumped out of his seat to go see Darius. He started saying, "My brother! My brother! Oh, I'm so happy to see you!"

I was putting my sweatshirt on the other day, and Darius asked if I was going outside. I told him I wasn't, that I was just cold. Taye said, "let me make you cozy" and came over to give me a hug. :o)

Just when I thought I was done with homework...

I got the following e-mail from Penny the other day:

To inspire your blog block, I am going to ask you to do me a favor and answer me on your blog...JUST DO IT AND DON'T B**** ABOUT IT. (edited for the GP's benefit, I can't believe Penny would use such language, I certainly never would!)

Tell me in what ways your boys are similiar, in what ways are they the same, and how does this compliment them as brothers. How do you imagine them relating to each other as older kids or adults? I really do wanna know. I feel like I don't get to be with them enough to know their personalities yet...they can't tell me about themselves on the phone, so I have to rely on mommy. SO JUST DO IT!

Did anyone (besides Gramma) notice that she asked me how they are similar, and how they are the same? I just wanted to point that out, for informational purposes, though she did later send this:

I meant to say, in what ways are they similar, and in what ways are they different...ugh! I'm an IDIOT! (she said it, not me.)

I've decided to make myself do this, mostly because I'm afraid of Penny. I mean, I could easily take her in a physical fight (and her husband too - I've proven that). But I think she's just a little bit evil, and I don't want her to use any of that voo-doo, witch doctor, black magic stuff on me. Plus, I'm just really really bored.

In what ways are they similar? Well, they both have hair and eyes, ten fingers and toes, and boy parts. They're both short and noisy, and to be honest, lately I could say they're similar in every way since Darius copies everything Taye does. They're both very active, all day long (though I think Darius would tend to be more sedate if he didn't have his big brother's example to follow). "Fear" is not a word in their vocabulary, it is not uncommon to find them on top of the kitchen table, climbing up and down the stairs, and balancing on all sorts of precarious places. They are thrill seekers, and will ask to be thrown, spun, dangled, chased, and dropped endlessly. Endlessly. I once referred to them as "the brothers Knievel" and I think that is very fitting. They're both a little bit touched in the head (lets be honest, it runs in the family), and they both have a great sense of humor. They both make me laugh. They both have bad dreams and talk in their sleep. They each have exactly one freckle (Taye's is on his back, Darius' is on his neck, I just noticed it yesterday). They both love yogurt and cheese and "peppanini." They're both extremely ticklish, as in just think about tickling them and they laugh. They both think Daddy is the best trampoline in the world, and that any time he lies on the floor it is an invitation, nay - an order, to jump. They are both "Mama's boys" (can you blame them?) although they show it differently - more on that in the 'differences' section. They both love babies, and animals and Mack, and anything else tiny and cute. They are enjoyful to be around most of the time, although they have their challenging moments (and usually at the same time). I believe that they are happy little people, and lets not forget that they are absolutely the most gorgeous, truly delicious children in the world. For the most part I feel like most of their similarities are superficial, or based on something external - mostly likes and dislikes, not really personality traits. They are definitely two very different, distinct individuals.

"But Amy", you ask, "How are they different?" Well, Taye has black hair, and Darius' is brown. Taye's eyes are also a darker shade of brown than Darius'(my neighbor kids says they are "all pupil"). Taye is on the taller end of the spectrum for his age, and Darius is a peanut. Darius absolutely loves 'spagdadus' (asparagus to you) and Taye will not touch it. Taye is very much like me in how he relates to other people. He is sociable and likes to be with people, but after a while he can get overwhelmed. He needs quiet time to himself to regroup. Since he was about a year old he has been very content to play quietly by himself, sometimes to the point that I feel I am neglecting him, he can occupy himself for so long. Darius is Mr. Social, he absolutely eats up the attention that is inevitably showered on him. He sees no need for a break from his devoted following. He also does not like to play by himself very often, though he can entertain himself for considerably longer than he could even a few months ago. They show affection very differently. Darius is all about hugs (pretty much the best hugs ever) and kisses, and will give them to just about anyone who asks. Taye is very selective about who he will kiss/hug, and when - but he is a great snuggler. He takes frequent breaks from running around like a maniac all day to jump on my lap and snuggle in. His new thing is to curl up next to me at bedtime and command, "hold me!" They can both definitely make their feelings known when they are upset - though Taye is usually a "that is not what I planned, how many times do I have to tell you people!" type reactor, and Darius is more of a "I hate you, you have ruined my life, I am enraged!" type. He truly has a temper like nothing I have ever seen in such a little person. I'm sure there are more differences, but these are the big ones that come to mind. And honestly, what do you want from me? This is the longest essay I have written in years, and I'm not even going to get credit for it!

I have no idea how any of this compliments them as brothers, but they haven't killed each other yet, so i guess thats a good sign. :o)

How do I imagine them relating to each other as older kids or adults? Um, I don't - they're not allowed to grow up! Honestly, I imagine they will have their rough moments like any siblings, but as adults I believe they will be close. After all, their parents are doing an amazing job raising happy, healthy, loved, well-adjusted, kind people - and who wouldn't get along with someone like that? :o)

So, Penny mentioned my "blog block" and I would like to share a little bit about that. I told Penny the other night that I have noticed my blog changed since I started giving the address out to people. I started it as a sort of journal to myself, and wrote all kinds of nonsense that was just for me (and someday my kids) to read. I find that for whatever reason I am not writing as much as I would if I were still the only one reading. I find myself overanalyzing every post, and trying to make them entertaining. I have not bothered to write in some little things because I figured they were not that interesting, or significant. It bothers me, and I have not completely decided yet, but its possible I may be making my blog private again to see if I can get back to its 'roots' if you will. Hopefully you will not be too sad if I do. I promise to start some sort of website to at least share pictures with you all if I do decide to close this down. :o)

Quotables

Quite a while ago, I was sitting with both boys on my lap. It was abundantly clear to me that Darius was in need of a diaper change. So I asked him, "Darius, do you have a poop?" "No poop!" he told me. "I don't really believe you, I think you're stinky," I said. "No poop!" he said again, then turned to Taye, "Taye? Have poop?" Nice try, kiddo.

Earlier tonight I was listening to some music and, naturally, I was singing along. I was in the middle of "I'm Every Woman" by Whitney Houston. I was, of course, doing an amazing job of it, as like most people, I have the capability to sing within Whitney's range. As I was busting into the chorus, Taye stopped playing and came over to ask, "Whats the matter Mama?" As if I were somehow acting injured. It must have been the chair-dancing, it certainly couldn't have been my singing - I was in Treble Choir, after all. (That still makes me laugh and laugh.)

There is a commercial on TV where people are shouting out their windows, "Its my money, and I need it now!" Taye has taken to copying the slogan and shouting it around the house. Darius has got it down now, but when he first started copying Taye he would say, "My Mama, need it now!" :o)

The boys were pretending to drive a "car" (aka pillow) to "work" and they were shouting their goodbyes to me. I yelled over, "Goodbye, I love you!" Taye replied, "I love (me:holding my breath in anticipation) me too!" Punk.

We were at WalMart the other day, walking around the toy section and every time Taye saw a toy he liked, he would say, "we're not getting that car today, sorry." "We're not getting that truck today, sorry." LOL, think he hears that a lot?

Surprise Party

Last weekend, Tia threw a surprise party for Matt's birthday. It was a huge hit, and we had so much fun. There was a ton (literally - a whole ton, I mean the pig had to be half a ton in and of itself) of delicious food, music, and dancing. It was the first time I had seen Tia's family in years, and it was so nice to see everyone again. From the looks of it, everyone there was having a blast. It was definitely a much needed break from the long, dreary, boring winter.

Dancing fun:




I stole these next 2 from Tia, and I must have done something wrong because they didn't come out too great, but here they are. Darius cutting in on our dance:



Matt and Luis doing the famous guitar move - they are so cool.



This last one might not look much like dancing, but just watch the video of Taye below, and you will see that it is :o)



Luis spent much of the party playing paparazzi, taking pictures of everything. Here is Tia's cousin and her little girl, whom both of my boys were obsessed with (the baby, not Tia's cousin). Taye actually spotted her in the middle of dinner and got up to go give her a kiss.




Here is Olivia, who was very camera-shy :o)




And baby Eva, taking a brief rest.









And a nice one of Tia and I, with a guest appearance by Eva.



After a while, the celebrities caught on to his picture taking, and exacted some revenge:


After everyone had danced off the dinner, there was cake. And it was yummy. Olivia sang 'Happy Birthday' to her Daddy on the microphone, which was the cutest thing, and I just missed getting a video (its a really short song, you know). Notice Taye hovering around the cake in all these pictures. He kept trying to blow out the candles, but couldn't reach them. Fortunately that also meant he wasn't able to reach and take a bite out of the cakes either. Not that he would ever do that...

"Look - cake!"



"Ummm...so, you gonna give me some of that cake already?"


"Yay! Cake!"

I wasn't sure how late the boys would want to stay, but when we all closed the place down at 11pm, the kids seemed to have more energy than anyone else. While everyone else was winding down, they were literally running circles around the dance floor.

I put some videos below, for some reason I can't load them into Blogger and post them the right way, so I have to put them one by one from YouTube. Enjoy!