Mom's 75th and an Unforgettable Easter

April felt jam-packed right from the beginning.  On April 1, I was able to connect with two mission companions, which was pretty special.  Camellia (Smith) Nelson and Carleen (Waldron) Ivie.  It was so fun and felt waaaay too short.

Hinckley continues with his charming, mischievous ways.  He is kissing anyone and everything.  He does cute little slobbery burp kisses but has also learned how to really kiss, which is so much fun.  Every morning and afternoon he sits in his bed and either sings while rubbing his face against one of his soft toys or says, "Sah-s" over and over while kissing one of his stuffed animals.  And let's not forget that this is all following his bum-in-the-air slumber.  It's just so darn cute.

He is so cute with dogs, loving on them and burying his face in their fur (if the dog will let him).  Max is still not 100% on board with this but that doesn't stop Hinckley from trying.  He will walk all around, trying to catch up with Max and give him a hug.

At the end of April he turned 18 months, which means he gets to officially go to nursery.  He is so cute with all of the bigger kids.  You can see, above, how he slouches in his chair (making him look even smaller).  He loves it, though and let me leave him without any tears!  

You can see him with Dane reading his favorite book: Do You Say Moo?  Instead of saying, "Moo," he says, "Baa," or "Boo." 

He is throwing tantrums more than ever, as you can see.  He often throws himself on the ground (he wants to throw his head backward, which has us really worried).  He's now added hitting anyone nearby when he gets frustrated, after which he usually will give an apologetic hug.  It is so cute but I am worried that he's going to break something or hurt someone with the items he flings or drops when he gets angry.

Even when he isn't angry, we have to watch him.  He has hit Max with a play shovel a few times just to experiment and he was chasing Atticus around one day with one of our play golf clubs saying, "Waa, Waa!" (It's his version of "Ayah!")

Another ongoing problem is that he doesn't self-manage when it comes to eating.  Atticus has always been so indifferent to food and eating that this has presented us with a new challenge.  Twice, now, he has thrown up from overeating (at least as far as we know).  Silly little one!

Hinckley Speaks:
Saw-da/Saw-dee (Sorry!)
Dit (kick)
Boon (balloon)
Jeeda (Jesus)
Bebe (Baby)
Dit (Eat or Drink while pointing to mouth)


Hinckley Sings:
Happy Birthday to you
Gethsemane
I am a Child of God
Edelweiss
Clean up, Clean up
Give Said the little Stream (he LOVES the chorus!)
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

The highlight of our month was Easter!  Not only because of all of the new traditions we started/adopted (thank you Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler!) but because my mom and brother, Danny, came to celebrate with us.  It was a wonderful visit.

Atticus got up with the Primary children for his first time to sing with them.

One tradition we adopted was to use onion skins to dye your eggs.  Don't these look beautiful?  And they definitely point to our Savior.

 Here we are on Easter morning.  Atticus is such a ham.  A very handsome ham.

More fun times from their visit.

And of course, we had to record Hinckley's first Easter Egg hunt.  Atticus wanted to wear a tie for the occasion, the cutie.

What added still more to the joy of their visit was that my mom was celebrating her 75th birthday on Easter Sunday.  I could think of no better way to celebrate my sweet mother's life than by celebrating our Savior.  It was so special to think of the ways that both of them have carried, borne and delivered me.

How I love seeing these two together.  They really are opposites in so many ways.  Atticus seems so volatile and Hinckley just rolls with the punches, until you make him angry, and then the volcano erupts.  Still, his even temper makes him the perfect peacemaker.  

On two occasions already he has been able to defuse a VERY angry Atticus, simply by walking up to him with open arms and saying, "Saw-dad, saw-dad."  The first time he even gave A a burp kiss on his tummy and Atticus went from a raging to laughing.  It was a miracle.

Atticus started a gymnastics class this month and this time around it is going so well.  He loves the class and we're even trying to practice some of it at home.  It's so fun to watch him listening attentively through the window and watching him try without getting upset (these are things that don't often happen at home!)  We also love how strong he's getting.  

He only has a few weeks left in Joy School.  I am so sad about this.  He has learned so much this year and we will both miss the moms and kiddos in our group.  

 Here he is with a picture he drew of his mom and dad "helping him."  The next several photos are of our field trip to the Fire Station.

All of the firefighters were so patient with our kiddos (and with Atticus's many, many questions!)

They even let him ring the bell!

That same day we had a wonderful visit with Dane's grandparents, Zoe and Ernie.  It was another visit that felt way too short.  We love them so much and were so grateful they made the drive!

Atticusisms:
"I don't want to put my hat on, it'll mess up my hair!" (at the birthday party above)
"I love you super much."
"Thou shalt not kill/steal/climb on the table."
"Please bless my food to taste like candy."
"When I call you, you need to come and wipe my bum."
"Okaaaaay, I'll wipe my bum."
(On Easter, during church) "Is Santa working on toys right now?" ("Uh, sure.") "What!  He should be in church!"
"He's my cheerer upper!" (about Hinckley)
"You're mean!"
"I'm never gonna love you/sit by you/play with you/be your friend again."
(usually at bedtime) "I'm sorry I said mean things.  I will love you forever."
"How are Heavenly Father's parents?"
"I don't want you to become a grandma, I just want you to stay my mommy forever."
"Okay, I'll do it but only this one time!"
"Does Jesus like bad guys?" (lots of questions about bad guys and why they make the choices they do)
"I'm lonely/I think Max is lonely/Why are you only giving Hinckley/Max attention?"

Max is getting so much better.  He still nips and jumps and has accidents, but he's getting there.  And while Dane was away for almost a week I realized just how much I valued his companionship at night.  We love him, even with all of the inconvenience and annoyance that comes with a puppy.  

Our Come Follow Me study is so much fun.  This was a day we were trying to teach Atticus not to judge by appearances, but judge "righteous judgment" (John 7:24)  I am so grateful for this inspired program for so many reasons.