Rewind & Catch-up, Part 1 {April}

As I went back over the last several months of pictures,

I realized I hadn't blogged about 2/3 of our lives.

So we'll play catch-up for a bit,

to bring you up to speed on what's been going on at the Brown house.

Now that I'm blogging again,

I have some new rules :-)

Rule #1:  I will not edit most of my pictures.

I don't have the time and that's not what this blog is for {anymore}.

Feel free to check out my photography blog if you want to see those pics

http://melindabrownphotography.blogspot.com/

Rule #2:  I will not care about the quality of the photo.

They may be blurred, grainy, improperly exposed.

But if I captured the moment then I did my job!
Rule #3: I will not feel pressured to use my good cameras.

I will be using Crista's point & shoot lots,

just cause its smaller and easier to carry around.

Rule #4:  The one and only purpose of this blog is to document our lives

for Papaw, Mamaw and all the other family & friends that we don't get to see often.

Pure and simple.

Whew!  Now that we all understand the rules :-)  :-)

on with the show! 

We're heading all the way back to April,

when Addie Grace was just 15 months old.

Still a peanut

but sweet as ever!

In one word, the whole month could be summed up as

chaotic!!

I was still baby-sitting at that time for 3 extra kiddos

and having 5 kids under the age of 4 was sometimes just too much.

But we survived that sometimes chilly, sometime rainy month

with grins and giggles and lots of playing under the carport and in the playroom.

Did I mention I was potty training the two 2 year olds?

Crista was a huge help since the girls wanted

to do everything she did.

We also participated in "Old Effingham Days"

which was really fun!

Basically is portrays life the way it was in the Civil War era.

There was also a street dance that Addie just loved.

You should've seen her shakin' and groovin'!

The girls both loved the livestock.

Addie kept following the duck around saying "duckie! duckie!"

That was when we first realized she could even say "duckie!"

By the time we got home we put Addie Grace down for her nap
and Crista and I went outside to the swing to enjoy our snack.
Cotton Candy!
There is nothing more unhealthy, but nothing quite that good either!

We started learning that month that Addie loves music,
just like her Daddy!
She plays with this guitar all the time and rocks out!
Have to say she's also rocking that ponytail too :-)

Notice anything different here??

Crista had been asking for months to take off her training wheels.

We know she's not quite ready yet,

but we indulged her anyway.

She had a blast "riding" without the training wheels

but she realized pretty quickly that its a lot harder to ride without them!

We did put them back on for her

and we'll try teaching her when she's ready.

While Crista was learning to ride her bike,
Addie was Mommy's good little model!

Such a fun little girl we've been blessed with!

We also had some Easter fun that month!
Here are all the baby-sitting kids, plus 1!
They had a really fun morning hunting eggs
and snacking on some Easter goodies!
Crista loved it and wanted to keep hiding the eggs
long after the others had grown tired of the game.
Addie wasn't sure what to do.
She was in the putting in/taking out stage
so every time I'd put an egg in her basket she'd stop where she was
and throw it out.
Then she'd run up to it and put it back in her basket.
This game went on for a long time!

Easter Sunday is always special
but this Easter was super special!
The month prior to Easter, the children of the church
started learning about caterpillars and how they change into butterflies.
They started out with larvae and watched them grow into caterpillars,
spin their cocoons, and emerge as butterflies.
On Easter Sunday the butterflies were released.
It was really a sight!

Checking out the butterflies before they were released!

One came back and landed on Crista!

Here are the girls waiting patiently for church to begin.
I know I'm a bit partial but
aren't they the cutest?!

So, to sum it up,
we had a full but great April!
We had lots on our plates
and enjoyed every minute!
And just in case you need something to smile about this evening...