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My little guys+girl,

Last month held birthdays for 2 of the 5 in our family. Mommy's birthday was at the beginning, and then Mason's was halfway through the month. Grandma stopped by for a couple hours two different days during the month, and one of them was on Mommy's birthday. She took us to El Puerto, where we were all very surprised when the waiters smeared whipped cream all over Mommy's face after they sang a happy birthday song. Yeah. We went to Nonni and Poppy's for Mommy's birthday dinner that Saturday. Mommy and Daddy also got a much needed date day before the meal, while the three of you hung out with Nonni and Poppy. For Mason's birthday, we had a family date day the Saturday before, where we went to "the jumping place" in Charlottesville, got some yummy pizza (and a milkshake for the birthday boy), and Mason got to pick out 5 things at the dollar store for turning 5. On your real birthday, Daddy ended up being in feeders, so he was home for the whole morning to celebrate with us. We went to the park to play for a while that morning too. Then we had Mason's family birthday party this past Saturday. Aunt Courtney and Callista came too, so you had almost all of your cousins in one place!

We had a family Easter celebration on the Saturday before Easter at Aunt Michele's house, since Aunt Michele was working on Easter day. Most of the family was able to come, so that was really fun. We had lots of good food, you boys colored eggs with Aunt Heidi's kids, and you had an Easter egg hunt too. At the end of the night we had s'mores at the fire pits. On Easter day, we went to Nonni's house, where you searched for your Easter baskets and then played together.

We spent one morning with Gabey at our house early in the month, while Aunt Heidi, Uncle Ian, Mikayah, and Lilli went to the doctor to see how their baby was doing. Grandma hung out with us for a lot of that time too.

Random things from the month: We went up on the mountain for lifegroup one Sunday before Easter this month. It wasn't for a very long time, but it was fun. Spring has been trying to kill me with pollen lately, but none of you seem too affected by it- not yet, at least. I also spent about half of the month finishing up the photography class that I was taking. We started using our first life-changing shopping thing this month (well maybe it was March, but i don't remember talking about it in last month's letter): Walmart Grocery Pick-Up. Amazing. Wonderful. Sanity-saver. The end. This past weekend, Daddy, Poppy, and Uncle Ian ran the Park to Park race, and Daddy came in 2nd in his age group and 8th overall!

We went to PA one weekend near the end of the month. Daddy went to the Carlisle car thing with Pap and Uncle Levi, so he was very happy about that. On Saturday we went to a camp jubilee thing with Grandma, Callista, Aunt Hilary, and Carson. It was rainy all day, so that was disappointing for some of us, but I don't think y'all even noticed. You still got to play indoor games, and Mason you had your face painted for the first time; you chose a spiderweb/spider. We also switched the rooms that you sleep in at Grandma's house. Mason, you slept with us, and Rylan, you got your own room. Someday you'll be able to sleep together, but I don't see it happening soon, unless everyone is ready for major destruction.

Elli- You're seeming more like a big girl and less like an itty baby all the time. You eat food (usually from those squeezy pouches). You really like yogurt. Anything with texture makes you gag a little, though. You like to roll all over and scoot around the room. Your funniest way to move is when you're laying on your back, your feet are flat on the floor, and you push your bottom up in a bridge motion. I think it's probably a good ab workout, because you do it a lot- over and over. You have sat up on your own, but you don't like to do it and don't do it often. Your brothers like to pull you around the room by your feet....I think you're getting tough already. You say "dada" and "nah-nah" a lot. You've also said "ba-ba" a couple times too. You have said "mama" twice (yesterday), but I haven't heard it repeated yet. You're getting to that stage where you're super needy and usually only want Mommy- especially when you get to that super tired point. Rylan was the first one to make you laugh out loud (he calls you his "Cake" and pretends to eat you). Mason can get you to smile and laugh easily too.

Rylan (My Cuteness)- You are a wild, crazy, cute monkey. You can be sweet and you can also be mean. You don't like to be told no, and you usually ignore all instruction/directions if you don't feel like obeying. You get scared sometimes, and you cuddle with us when that happens. You still prefer to cuddle with your paci and blankie. If you are really disappointed or sad, you collapse, put your head down, and sometimes cry...and it's very sad. You convince people to do anything for you just by asking them while being cute (which is how you end up drinking 6 juice boxes when we go to big gatherings- you ask 6 different people who all give them to you, thinking they're the only one!) You have FINALLY started calling colors by the right names this month! We are so proud of you!! You like to play with Mason, play with the white kitty that hangs out at our house, and make Elli smile. You climb on anything if you need to get higher/closer to something you want. You're good at kicking soccer balls and throwing frisbees. At bedtime, you like for me to sing the "peace song" or "I love you, Rylan" lately. You have superhero hearing when I come up to get you in the morning or after naps- somehow you can hear me coming no matter how quietly I come up the steps! And I think you watch my shadow on the wall too, because when I'm holding Elli, you say, "Is that my Cake??" before we even get to the door.

Instead of saying "another," you say "a dother." You went through a phase of being super picky about things and would always have a reason you didn't like something, like, "I don't whike what fwavor (or color or smell, etc.) it is" while sporting a very pouty face. You pronounce "favorite" like "frave-rit." You get Uncle Ian and Uncle Tony continuously confused. When Mason tries to scare you and act like a monster, you timidly look at him and say, "Is that just you, Mason?" When you get confused about something, or I ask you whether or not you did something, you talk about being tricked. Like "I tricked myself!" or "You tricked me!" (when there was no trickery involved.) One time, when I was singing to Elli that she was the cutest girl in the whole wide world, you interrupted me and said "No." I said, "She's not? Who is?" You said, "Poppy." I laughed, and then you said, "Yeah. He's a good guy." You are also still very complimentary. You regularly tell me that you think I'm cute or that my hair/shirt is cute (and you even tell other people that sometimes too).