Spring celebrations with Maw and Pampa

Mid-April seems like a good time to get caught up on Easter posts, right?

The weekend before Easter, my parents drove down to celebrate an eventful couple of weeks ahead: my 30th birthday (what the what?) and Tyler's orthodontics' residency completion (woot woot!) So, out to eat we went!

And strawberry cake we enjoyed!

The next morning, my dad did something he'd apparently been waiting 30 years to do...play army men with a little person! Dad had more of an attention to detail than Ben, but Ben did make a couple furry contributions by adding Cookie Monster and Elmo to the ranks.

As Ben has become quite fond of playdoh lately, Mom wow'd him with his very own playdoh machine!

Thanks to this gadget and the Easter eggs of 'doh Nana brought during her visit, I can't even say how many minutes at a time Ben has since sat at his little table squeezing playdoh through the tubes and chopping it up...perfectly content with his creations. It's as if these women just knew what a two-year-old would like to do!

Eventually, mom and I dragged Ben away from the playdoh factory and on to the Easter Festival at Dawson Baptist Church. It was a gorgeous day, and although he was a little overwhelmed with the crowds, Ben had fun:

seeing friends, like Owen

hanging out with "Maw"

driving Maw around in the (very fast) train

riding around in a much slower train with Mommy

chasing and popping bubbles

and finding special treats inside the Easter eggs!

Ben had so much fun in fact, that it was next-to-impossible to keep him awake on the ride home.

And we only live 10 minutes away!

So after a well-earned nap, Ben was up and at 'em, ready to get down to business with Mom in the kitchen.

After observing how seriously this boy takes his culinary craft, Mom decided Ben needed his own chef hat and apron for Easter cookie baking.

I understand if the cuteness is too much to take.