our very own.

i was in the kitchen when i heard max and lilly giggling from the living room.  lilly yelled "mom come see this...our very own mr. potato head."

wordless wednesday.

Easter:)

Easter was a fun filled day with family:)   lilly was the first one up, then max and grey.

Easter morning, the kids were so excited to look for their baskets!

the Easter bunny brought a floaty for max and lilly:)

it was impossible to get a good picture with all three kids with their baskets, but the ones that i did get were pretty funny:)

lilly was the only one who posed for  picture:)

grandpa elrick and grey.

max sitting by the window:)

 



 Easter presents at grandma and grandpa elricks!

all of the kids were wanting to take a nice group picture because we said it had to be done before the Easter egg hunt(bribery... not always the worst way to go!).

our family with grandma minten:)

baby grey and lilly with grandma pingel.

i hope everyone had a happy Easter:)

wordless wednesday.

snow fort.

lilly and nick spent hours outside building a snow fort together:)  the next day lilly couldn't stop telling me all about the fun her and her daddy had outside in the snow.

this picture was taken just before they came in from outside:)  lilly(and nick) were so proud of the fort they made!

World Down Syndrome Day!

monday was World DS Day, we were very lucky to celebrate with so many of our special friends and their wonderful families:)  our local group planned a great party at wild air!  we never were there... and it was awesome!  we had such a great time visiting with others and playing on all the inflatable. 

my mom was so kind to watch baby grey for us so we could both have fun with lilly and max:)  thanks again mom:)

max had a blast on the giant slide...  he laughed to whole way down them:)

lilly made a new friend named madison:)

Happy belated World DS Day!

wordless wednesday.

winter up north.

our family really enjoys up north in the winter, it's our time to get outside and breath in the fresh air:)

baby grey all bundled up in his snowsuit.

i was laughing so hard after i took this picture!



a family picture:)



grandpa elrick giving grandma, lilly and max a push down the hill.

after the fun of sledding we took a ride around the lake on the snowmobile, then took a nice walk on the road... lilly and max had a blast running in their snowsuits... they looked like little penguins wading down the street:)



with all that fresh air baby grey was out for hours:)

grandma and baby grey taking another cat nap.

boy,  it was a lazy weekend:)



lilly just hangout on the bunk beds.





come on max give your mom a smile:)



oh, there it is:)



max is all about doing the things his big sister is...



no bunk bed is going to stop this little man from following his big sis:)

max giving his daddy a five for making it to the top!

lilly is so excited to have him playing on the bunk beds with her... and

max was happy to be there with her:)

wordless wednesday.

lilly.

this morning i received this email from nick, i thought it was pretty cute and wanted to share:)

Last night when I was putting Lilly to bed I said "Man I can't get that Sesame Street song out of my head". She slapped me in the side of the head and I said what was that for, she responded "I'm getting that song out of you head for you". Hilarious., I forgot to tell you when I came downstairs.  -Nick

wordless wednesday.

our kitten.

last weekend our family adopted a kitten.  nick and i have been thinking about this addition for awhile now, and decided now was the best time for our family:)  now i'm sure many of you are probably thinking... "they are crazy, they just had a baby!"  but we have truly thought it through and it is the best thing for our family.  nick and i both feel that a pet is a huge commitment especially when it is a family pet, when your children are involved and get emotionally attached.  there are many reasons for wanting this kitten but have to say that they are all for my children. 

lilly is at a great age for responsibility, not that i am relying on her to feed her or having her clean the litter box, but i am having her help.  another reason is lilly loves baby grey, and it is wonderful how much she loves him.... but there comes a point where i think she needs to focus her love onto something else, we thought a family pet would be perfect:)  one other big reason is that lilly is so good during max's at home therapy.  in the beginning when max was tiny she would sit and watch the therapist play with max, but now they are doing some really fun things and lilly would try to get involved:(  i feel bad because she just wants to play and sometimes it works out where she can but most of the time... it's really is max's time, it's his time to work on new things and i think that is a hard thing for a little girl to understand.  so for the past year that time has been her tv time... now it can be her special time to play with the kitten(she is really excited about that)! 

onto the reasons for max,  it was funny i told max's therapist about getting the cat because i wanted to make sure none of them were allergic, a few are and said it shouldn't be a problem.  but they all were really excited.  They all shared the reasons from each of their specialties how having a family pet was going to help max.  from the first day we have had the kitten i have seen the things that they told me.  it is the cutest thing he sits down right next to her and just talks, i'm not sure what he is saying to her but he talks and talks and talks:)  he follows her everywhere under the table, under the chair, up and down the steps:)  most of the time i am seeing he is very gentle with her, she will just lay there and let him pet her... and he loves hearing her purr.  he is seeing that when he is not as gentle she gets up and walks away from him, he is learning that cause a reaction that he doesn't like.

oh, and i can't forget about baby grey, having a family pet would be that he has less time with his big sister kissing on him:)



max holding the kitten for the first time.

lilly's first time holding the kitten.

lilly letting the kitten play with her toys:)

max lying down talking to the kitten.

it's pretty cute, he tells her something then he laughs, it must have been something really funny:)

we are enjoying our newest family member!