Eve Sits Up

Eve loves to sit unassisted now. She still topples over after a little while but she loves to keep trying.

Easter

There's always something new with the Fifes! Morgan began his Internal Medicine rotation in Baltimore, MD on April 5th. He will be there until the end of June while the kids and I stay in Georgia. After this rotation he promises that he won't have to leave again and that he can finish the remaining rotations in Atlanta. Cross your fingers!

So since my parents live half way between MD and GA, we decided to meet there as often as we can. We drove up to NC to spend Easter with the Lewis family and then sent Morgan on his way Sunday morning. Saturday we had a family Easter lunch and lots of fun with the kids.

The Easter Egg Hunt was a huge hit! Here they are patiently waiting for me to take the picture and let the hunt begin:

Each child had their own technique for hunting eggs. Miriam simply picked up any egg she saw. She never questioned what was inside.
Luke liked to shake the eggs and would try to determine if the egg had candy in it or not.
Kaitlyn liked to also just pick up any egg she saw lying on the ground.
Madison was a little more selective in her hunt. She stayed in one particular area of the lawn and collected those eggs. Luckily for her, it was the section that had all the money eggs. Great job Madison!

Miriam and Kaitlyn's technique required them both to have 2 baskets to hold all their goodies! Luke found the prize egg and Madison scored the most money. A win for everyone!

After the hunt, the fun inside began with opening the eggs and discovering the treasures inside. Eve had a great time playing with the eggs.

April, Jenn and Melanie (not pictured) added so much humor to the event. I love it when the girls get together!

Miriam and her bag of goodies! She was so proud of herself!

Here are the kids with their Easter baskets shortly before Morgan left for Baltimore.

Our Backyard Playground

You know you are a Fife when you spend all of Saturday outdoors! Eve and I went consignment shopping EARLY Saturday morning and found a play set for a great deal. (I LOVE DEALS!) When I got it home, we set to work washing and cleaning it up. Everyone worked on this project and we enjoyed the sunny warm day. We then cleared an area in the backyard and headed to Home Depot for mulch. We used logs for our playground border and spread the mulch out. Finally we finished after Morgan took another trip to Home Depot for a bolt and more mulch.

So with a little hard work and great deals, we now have something for the kids to play on outside!

Luke's Hickey

So Morgan decided to make dinner for everyone on Friday evening. While he ran into the store, the kids and I stayed in the van. Of course they got restless and wanted something to drink. Luckily I was prepared with water bottles. Then I hear a muffled "help" from Luke. He had gotten his whole top lip stuck in the water bottle. When he got it off, it left a huge red hickey moustache! Now 2 days later it is still very visible but not as red. That's our crazy Luke!

Miata Rides

What could be more fun on a sunny day than a convertible ride with Daddy?

Miriam said: "Daddy you are going so fast!" He was going 25 mph. I guess that feels fast when you are in a convertible.
Morgan and his little pal Luke

Atlanta Puppet Theater

cWe discovered the Atlanta Puppet Theater and the kids LOVE the shows! After the shows they get to make their own puppets to take home.

Eve is a good sport about the whole outing and is just content to chew on the carrier and being held. Good baby!

Daddy and Luke using their creative forces for good.
Miriam had a hard time deciding on which buttons to use. So many choices!

Daddy and Luke's puppet

Mommy and Miriam's puppet

A Snowy Valentine's Weekend

Friday afternoon started our Winter Wonderland here in Georgia. The kids woke up very excited on Saturday to go out and play. Since Eve has been sick, Dad was elected to go out and play in the snow. Truth be told, I think he enjoyed it more than the kids!

Miriam had to warm up to playing in the snow at first.

Luke just got Morgan with a snowball in this picture.
Why are they making snowballs?

To get me! Ahhhhh....That ended my picture taking outside.

The finished snowman.

We decided to have our Valentine date on Saturday evening. We had a babysitter lined up for the older kids, but it fell through with the weather. However Plan B worked out well. Luke and Miriam enjoyed Happy Meals while watching Wall-E in their room. We had a semi private fondue dinner with few interruptions from the children in the kitchen. We had a seafood fondue followed by a cheese fondue. Later we enjoyed apple pie a la mode while watching "The Time Traveler's Wife" after the children were asleep.

Sunday morning we found that our snowman had made a friend. A squirrel had his breakfast with him. We love to watch the squirrels and birds from our kitchen table each meal.

We hope you all had a wonderful and loving Valentine's weekend with your loved ones. We love you!