He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!

That is one of my favorite things to say in church, and we only get to say it once a year. This year, I missed it! Somehow making sure the girls both looked adorable and that one of us leaving the house had beautiful hair became a focus on Easter morning. Miss Mouse had a pink Easter dress (to be seen in future posts when I have a chance to download the pictures), a white Easter bonnet, and two little braids with bows clipped on the end. Baby Mouse wore an Easter outfit, as well, with a special Easter blanket made by a very special grandma we know (not one in our family, though). Thank goodness I had my Mom to help out; we did make it to church with both girls in tow, missing only the "He is Risen" salutation and the first song. Not bad, I guess.

Easter was really special this year as Miss Mouse is getting old enough to start really partaking in the events, like coloring eggs. She had a blast doing that with Auntie Laura and Grammy. Mommy watched, videoed the fun, and fed Baby Mouse (messy-ness is tough for Mommy sometimes!). The "Mice" got Easter baskets that the bunny had left at the lake (shuttled here by Grandma and Grandpa Dick) as well as ones that the bunny had left at the farm (delivered by Grammy, Grandpa Bob, Great Grandma Muriel, and Auntie Laura) in addition to the ones that the bunny left at our place. The bunny left alphabet magnets and a game for car trips at our place. Miss Mouse "hunted" for her Easter basket after she woke from her nap (we have to do things a little differently at our place seeing as how Daddy obviously can't be around on these holiday mornings!). So sweet.

We've been enjoying getting out on stroller rides now with the nice weather, too. I found a car seat cover for Baby Mouse so that she can join us. That means we can actually get out on our own schedules instead of having to figure out how to work it so that Daddy can be watching Baby Mouse. That was rather tough, especially now that it is biking weather again. Yes, indeed, he is out again on his bike! Yay for the reparative surgery! It appears to have worked, so we are all enjoying the spring weather. We're also all very thankful that the NWS has revised the flood crest prediction down. It's looking like our house might get put back together sometime soon!

In other events, I'm preparing for a small craft show next Monday and an annual meeting of the statewide small business group of which I'm a part next Tuesday. That meeting will mean a 3-hour car trip with the girls on my own. I'm hoping it goes well. Miss Mouse is really interested in pointing out the colors of passing cars these days, so I'm actually hoping for a lot of traffic on the Interstate! I suppose a lot of livestock in roadside pastures would work, as well, but with all the water around, that is less likely to be a possibility.

Miss Mouse has really begun speaking in sentences now. The other day she said "Miss Mouse (well, she used her own name, of course) can't reach it!". If Baby Mouse is crying she emphatically says "Mommy, pick her up!". She is also repeating absolutely everything we say. Usually that isn't too dangerous, but it is going to definitely keep us on our toes as there are many things that don't sound nearly as awful out of an adult's mouth as out of a 2-year-olds! Such fun!

Baby Mouse is no longer yellowish. She's so sweet, and it is so fun to see how much more comfortable she is now. We're still fairly sure there isn't a more gaseous baby out there, but at least she is comfortable! It's hilarious to me to look at her and truly see my baby pictures staring back at me. Miss Mouse has features and certain looks that resemble me, but she is very much her father. Baby Mouse is me with a few features and looks of her dad. The really funny thing is that comparing their baby pictures, in similar poses, the girls look a lot alike. I'm not sure how that works. We're just having a blast with our little princesses!