Random fun in April

April went by in a blink of an eye.  Every weekend was busy with some sort of activity and the weekdays seemed to fly by.  The weather has been gorgeous so we were outside constantly enjoying it before it turns too hot.  Here are a bunch of random pictures from April.

On April 1st, they were all really quiet in the playroom so I peeked around the corner and this is what I found.  It probably didn't last long but moments like these just make my heart smile.

Sweet sisters.

After dinner on April 4th, Joseph asked to eat his ice cream outside and Ella followed him and Rich peeked outside to find this.
The love  to play "Starbucks" in this play structure-normally Ella sits inside and Joseph or I go to the window and order drinks from her.  One day as we were walking outside, Joseph runs ahead and says, "I want to be the Starbucks girl!!"  Ha!!  Made me laugh! 

Julia still is not napping well.  I am guessing that I have totally spoiled her with the swing and sleeping in the car.  She is napping in about 30 minute increments only 3 times a day and normally either in the carseat or in the carrier.  Rich sent me this picture after her 20 minute nap on April 4th as I was getting my haircut.  She can totally hang though even with such short naps and is still sleeping like a champ at night so it's ok!

April 6th

She has found the kid's tupperware cabinet!!  Joseph and Ella both loved playing here, too.

And, another tupperware cabinet on April 25th.

She loves herself some peas!

Hanging out at the library after story time on Tuesdays.

On our way to Liberty Branch Park on April 9th.

Trace, Joseph's good buddy, came to play that day.

Making soup together on April 10th while I made dinner.  Julia wanted to be a part of it, too.

She made it and is ready to help! 

Joseph began soccer with the YMCA for their spring season this month.  He is playing with Alexandra so Ella and Victoria have a lot of fun together during the practices and games. 

They had a tough first game but Joseph and Alex have fun being on the same team and playing together.  Exposure is what it is all about at this age, right?

They were pretending to sleep while on the beach-they amaze me daily with their imaginations.  This is totally random but one night when getting Joseph ready for bed he says to me, "I like the cold part of pillows."  It just made me smile that he has these preferences already especially because I love cold pillows, too!!  He's getting so big!

This little one just hangs out wherever they are wanting to be a part of it all. Normally they love having her around but Julia does love to get into Joseph's lego duplos which drives him crazy.  Every time that he is building something she makes her way over to destroy it, hence the "Julia destructosauras" nickname.  And, don't worry, they are the duplos, not the itty bitty legos so she is ok to be around them!  Joseph knows that he needs to be at the table with his real legos.

Fell asleep on the way home from picking Joseph up from school.  The bandaid on her shirt is the perfect accessory to the sunglasses and paci.  

On April 12th, Rich ran the Dallas marathon.  He drove up on Saturday by himself because we figured that he needed a good night's sleep in the hotel by himself before the race but the kids and I decided to drive up early Sunday morning to surprise him on the race course!  I woke the kids up at 5:00 and we hit the road.  They were so great in the car and we made it to mile 22 with plenty of time.  We hung out under the overpass which provide plenty of fun with sticks and rocks while waiting to cheer Daddy on.  He was really surprised and thankful that we were there!  He didn't have the race that he had hoped for so the quest for Boston continues...he is signed up for another marathon in August.

We found a park close to the race where we played for awhile at before making the trip home.  We stopped half way and met Daddy for lunch and the kids all napped for awhile, too.  It really was a great trip!

Ella is such a good shopping buddy.  She totally knows where all of the samples are at HEB now and asks for them while we shop and loves doing Buddy bucks after.  

Life with two sisters!

Sporting Aunt Lindsay's "Girls on the Run" onesie!  Julia is looking forward to being a Girl on the Run in the future!

Her sweet, sly smile eating peas!

Looking so grown up on April 16th.

They were on their way to the Arctic one morning on a mission.  Joseph said to me one morning while looking for Ella, "I'm going to look for my best friend."  Awww!  

I just can't take this girl!!  

And, this one either!!!

Fun on the swings on April 18th

So, the biggest news in April is that Ella is potty trained!!!  Yay!!  On Sunday, April 19th she woke up and said, "no diaper" and she hasn't looked back since!!  Of course she chose the day to make this decision as we were heading out the door to church and to the mall so I was a little nervous as to how it would all go so we went armed with diapers, pull-ups, 3 changes of clothes but sure enough she did awesome!  She had no accidents and enjoyed donuts on the way home from church for doing such a great job.  Being out and about definitely takes longer now since she seems to pee ALL OF THE TIME but she is always so proud of herself and loves telling Joseph, Julia, Daddy and whoever else that is around that she peed.  At home she goes back and forth between using the little potty and the regular one.  Within the past week she has started insisting that she wipes herself and it is just the cutest thing to watch her do so (I know, it doesn't sound cute, but it is!)  I didn't officially potty train Joseph or Ella and that method has worked really well for both of them-just introduced it to them, encouraged it randomly and when they were ready, it worked.  It really has been easy and not stressful at all because it has really been on their terms-let's hope that Julia is just as easy when the time comes.  It is hard to believe that she is out of diapers-she really is becoming a big girl which is definitely bittersweet.

Love watching these girls together.  Julia still loves to grab Ella's paci out of her mouth!

Lots of fun afternoons at the park this month.

April 20th

Will have to frame this one!

Julia is busy, busy, busy this month!!  She is non-stop all day long!  

Ella loves working out with me and is always watching!  I had to snap a picture when she was squatting with her hands in front of her just like how I do!  In true Ella form, she insisted on wearing her pajamas all day, too.  Ahhh, oh well.

We finished out the month on April 30th with a backyard picnic for lunch.  Such a perfect springtime here in Texas!