album 04\24\2011 (61 photos), by maureen jenkins

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Funcle and Easter

Hey guys, Happy Easter! Hope you guys all had as great of a weekend as we did! Jonny came in town this past Thursday and was here through Easter so he got to experience all the "kid" activities he could handle. Egg dying, Egg hunt and party, pics with the Easter Bunny, basket hiding and more. We had a blast and the kids loved sharing the fun activities but I think he is looking forward to the piece and quite of his own place.

The Easter party was possibly the best yet, there were only about 6 families but everyone had a blast (the Sangria was great!) and everyone stayed way past when we thought they would. The kids all found a ton of eggs as you will see in the photos and how no one ended up sick between that day and today is beyond me. Just like at Halloween we allowed the kids to eat until they could not eat anymore...so they ate....and ate....and ate! Robbie has refused all diaper duty since the candy intake has begun and I have to say it was a good call on his part.

We have been in the pool the last few days so that has been really great for the kids. I am a bathwater kind of girl so I have been on the side watching the fun with Austin. They have their water table set up right out by the pool with an umbrella in it, the slide pulled to the pool edge and floats everywhere. It is a regular party out there. They each have swimsuits with floats built into the chest and they love them! They get to be very independent in the water. Speaking of independent the kids swim lessons start Tomorrow so hopefully by the end of the summer they will be "independent" without the float suits.

Easter morning was magic today!!! This is the kind of stuff that I LOVE about being a parent. We hid buckets of candy for each of the kids and Calebs had a little horse (with removable saddle and a horse brush!) he is hooked. Braydons had a dirt biker and motorcycle in it...he has also not let his new little goodies out of his sight! The "hunt" for the buckets was great! and I tried to capture their little faces on camera so enjoy!!

We miss you guys!

Hey from Cousin Camp!

Hey every body! Hope you are all doing great. We are having so much fun with the Burke family! The kids get along so well and they have all changed a ton just since Christmas so I am glad there has not been too much of a time gap. Caleb and Sammy are playing together more and more as they both grow out of that "individual play" stage and to be honest I think Sammy likes having a little "boys club" to be a part of here at the Doane house. Jess and I sit back and watch during the week at how they all kinda puff up at each other with little shoves, mean looks and grunts. Not much comes of it but all the same it seems pretty innate to them and it is fun to watch.

We made an effort to take pics of all the kids together and what you see before you on the blog is the only 2 good pictures of the 50 or so taken....so enjoy!

So now for a little recap... Jess has continued to be a huge help each and every day even going so far as to let Rob and I have a few Date Nights. Not having the cost of a sitter has been great! Braydon went to school and soccer this week and had a lot of fun! He is getting really good at soccer and I think he is feeling more and more confident at school....so much so that I had to stay after and talk to his teacher on Thursday about some "behavioral concerns". Awesome,....having a teacher request you stay to discuss a topic like this is the last thing any parent wants to hear. Turns out his "behaivor" needs to be adjusted during school hours so Rob and I are on his @$$ like you can only imagine.

On another Braydon note, he is HUGE! I just can not believe how tall he is. In all the pics I am struck by how old and big he looks! I just cant believe this is my first baby...and he is so old and independent.

He and Grace have had a great time together and talk about INDEPENDENT! They don't need us for anything! Jess and I are constantly commenting on what they can do on their own now and the really cool thing is that they talk to each other all day long. We are not really clear on what it is they discuss all day but at any time you can hear them chatting, laughing and negotiating about life. You got me on what they are talking about...but apparently 3yr old conversation is very stimulating.

I would also like to make the announcement that the Burkes have found a House (probably not my announcement to make)!! I am not quite clear on which of the many we have discussed that has become the winner but I know they are excited and they will be in Denver in June! Congrats, Burke fam!! The pics look fabulous and since it will be where my family spends much of their Colorado time I am thrilled to say, "I approve and it is gorgeous" :) .

Caleb..poor litte guy...went to the Doctor again this week and turns out he has yet another ear infection, Strep and muluscum. I have to tell you that hearing all of that really took the wind out of my sail. I feel like I have just gotten Ausitn healthy and here we are fighting another health battle. He is on a new medication for 2 weeks and if that does not do the trick we will be making an appointment with an ENT for tubes.....keep your fingers crossed it clears up!

Austin was the reason for the Dr. Appointment and I am thrilled to announce that he is doing great. He weighed 8.11 as of last Thursday so we are packing on the pounds and looking more and more healthy! He is doing great at night sleeping 3-4 hours at a time so going to bed at midnight means only one wake up a night! You dont hear me complaining!! He is also on formula exclusively now and though you would have been hard pressed to convince me, it has turned out to be the best thing for him.

Robs work is still taking up a crazy amount of his time but there have been some major break throughs that will prove more time at home in the long run. The hiring freeze he had has been partially lifted, "survey season" is over and his last survey went really well. The Holidays are obviously over and best of all he has learned all the new systems and feels he has a fairly strong grasp on Pheonix, its market, his roll and how he is going to make his impact! For what it is worth he seems less stressed and we look forward to having him around more.

We have had a great time with Friends here this last week and with each month that passes Rob an I are feeling more and more at home.

Look forward to all of your up coming visits and most of all THANK YOU all for the help with Austin, Calebs birthday gifts, baby gifts and care packages!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU , THANK YOU!!!

Quick update with Photos

The cousins are having soo much fun. Even watching the pool guy is a group activity and soo much fun when your cousins are around.

We also had some major Train Track building this morning that everyone partook in.

Smiles all around for the camera!

The kids picked up right where they left off, no "Hello's" needed they just talked toys and went about their play! It was great. Jess and I have had a wonderful visit and she is so helpful with the baby and kids I feel like I have been on vacation for the last 24hrs....I even ate breakfast this morning!!!

Hope yall think the pics are as cute as we do. No doubt there will be many more to come by the end of two weeks with all these rug rats together.