April

April has just flown by. We started the month off with General Conference and Brian's birthday on April 1st. He turned the big 3-0 this year and we had a birthday dinner at his parents house. We sang happy birthday and then Brian got an April Fools surprise when he tried to blow out the candles.  

He was a good sport about it and I was surprised he hadn't had previous April Fools jokes played on him.

Then the next week Brian had a business trip to Arizona so Elliott and I visited my family up in Idaho and had a fun vacation there as well. Brian got home on Friday in time for Easter weekend. We had fun coloring easter eggs, making egg nest cookies for neighbors and family and making jello eggs.  

Elliott was very focused on coloring designs on his eggs before dipping them in dye.

 And the stickers were a big hit too!

I asked Elliott to smile and this is how his face responded:

 Well, this is closer to a smile, but it is for sure a cute smooshy face.

 The next day those beautiful egg creations morphed into yummy deviled eggs. Ham and potato salad can come and go, but for me, Easter dinner isn't complete without the deviled eggs.

Spring has come and Elliott and I have emerged from hibernation:

 Elliott figured out how to remove the guard on the unused dog door in our house. He then discovered his own personal exit and entrance to the family room.

 He is so proud of himself and I think he is brilliant too! He also loves shoving his toys through the flap.

Elliott loves to help me "cook." His newest discovery is to stand on his stool at the counter and shake salt into a measuring cup, then transfer it to a bowl. I figure that salt is cheap and it keeps Elliott occupied while I stir something hot on the stove.

 He also likes to lick the mixer attachments since it is usually tasty like the cheescake in these pictures.

Just because Elliott is male is no reason that he can't learn to appreciate accessories. He likes to share with mommy and I let him wear my long dangly earrings.

 He totally rocked them! And don't worry, Elliott is not girly - he is all boy! He likes to jump and roll and play with cars and trains and makes all the right sound effects for all. I am trying to teach him not to play tag (aka run around pushing other kids) and not to crash his tricycle into other children.

Elliott does not like to be out in the sunshine without his sunglasses or his hat. Pretty much as soon as he could speak, he started saying "too bright mommy too bright" in the car.

 He has a new Lightning McQueen helmut to ride his bike and we have gotten several new bubble blowing guns and contraptions that Elliott can use all by himself. That saves me a lot of blowing.

We finished off the month of April with a family gathering in Lehi for my nephew Caleb's baby blessing. Almost our entire family was there. We missed Craig's wife Holly and brand new baby Jeffrey.

Pictured starting on the left are: David holding his son Enoch with his wife Celeste holding baby Caleb. Next are Keith and his wife Rachael holding their daughter Peyton. Then I am holding Elliott with Brian behind my mom. Brittany and my mom are in  the center. In the very front are Willard, Joselyn, Ephraim and Ben all belonging to Scott and Liz holding Ruby. Craig is holding his daughter Emily in the back (Holly and new baby Jeffrey stayed home.) And then Brad is on the far right.

It is always fun to see each other and let the cousins play together and catch up on each other's lives. We are so lucky to live near enough to each other that we can travel to be part of baby blessings and baptisms and holidays. I love my Cook family!