In Full Bloom

The first flower of spring has arrived! And what a cute little flower she is!

Quite Contrary

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?     With a little help from Dad, of course.

K, in panicked voice, upon getting dirt on her Croc: “Oh, no—garden on shoe!”   

Too funny!

New Digs

K. has a new play house!  I was inspired by some felt houses designed to be placed over card tables, but knew that my daughter won’t crawl under tables for fear of hitting her head, so mine is taller and made on a PVC frame.  For reference, never ask my husband a theoretical question about anything.  In this case, the question, “how much would it cost to make a 4’x4’ PVC cube"?” resulted in me digging pieces out of the PVC pile in the garage (who has such a thing?) and creating the frame in the living room.  That evening.  Moments after I had contemplated the project.

Anyway, this time the impulsivity resulted in a good outcome, plus JoAnn was having their “coupon commotion” sale so I got each large piece of felt for a discount—and a special thanks to my financial backer for this project (Mom), though the total was only forty bucks, and that included the felt, wonder under, and the flowers for the garden. (It doesn’t slouch quite as much now—I’ve finished and added some Velcro loops to secure the felt to the frame).

The flower garden:Bird house and fence: The back.  K. recognized this as a dog house, and promptly retrieved her toy dog to try it out (the door works, and I made it so there was an additional way to exit the house.  For safety.Looking out the window.  I used mesh netting for screen (and to help with the structure).  K. picking the flowers.  She figured this out right away, and can even put them back herself.    And watering the flowers.  She asked for something to water her garden with and this little pitcher was all I could come up with at that moment.  I have since dug a watering can out of the pool toys.  (Notice also Daddy’s photobomb).Playing inside with Daddy:  Checking the mail.  I put a couple of little cards in there and later she asked me to write her name on the front.  I made her help me figure out what letters to use. Yesterday, after playgroup, I thought she was tired.  She was playing quietly in her house, then got really really quiet.  I walked over to find that she had fallen asleep on the floor inside her house.This surprised me especially since she’s not really one of those kids who falls asleep anywhere.  I guess she feels secure in there.

Hopefully she’ll have a lot of fun imagining and playing!

Sister Cheeks

    Maybe they will look more alike than I thought…

Sign and Seal

N. was baptized at church this past weekend, and since my dad is an elder in our denomination, he was able to assist and do the prayer.  He did this for K. also, and I think it’s so special that he was able to participate!  We don’t believe that baptism saves a child, but it’s a sign of the parents’ commitment to raising the child to know God.

It was wonderful that N. was able to have both sets of grandparents come to share the morning with her!  Cousin M. even came, and she and K. played during the beginning of the service. 

A special thanks to my mom and my friend A, who documented this occasion for us—I thought it would be tacky for me to take pictures from the stage. 

In which N. tries to grab the lavaliere microphone from the pastor’s ear.  Perhaps she has something to say?  

“NJA, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”  And big sister K. did a great job of standing with us and obeying—thank goodness!Presenting the little one: 

In Which the Girls Make the Same Faces

Attempted to get a good photo of the girls in their cute matching shirts in a room with good natural light and a neutral background.  Ended up with matching shirts and matching expressions, but never one involving looking at the camera…or smiling.  New rule: no photos within an hour of an anticipated nap.     Aaand…they are clearly done. 

Grandpa Faces

Grandpa found someone else who finds him hilarious:

Greeting Great Grandpa

As we’ve done annually now for three years, we met with my grandpa, uncle, parents, and the people who farm my grandpa’s farm to enjoy a delicious steak dinner.  This is the first time that Natalie has gotten to meet her Great Grandpa, and it was super!

The girls with Great Uncle D, Great Grandpa, and their grandparents (and parents).

K, who did a great job of sitting politely while we lingered over dinner.  She found plenty of things with which to amuse herself (shown here: Dad’s hat), and our friend W. had some really fun animal cards that she whipped out of her purse.

Objects at Play

K. plays with a huge variety of things, really whatever strikes her fancy on any given day.  Sometimes she’s really into her dolls; other times she’ll fix things at her workbench for a while.  One day, she even carried around a silicone trivet and played with it for a couple of hours while her fancy, age-appropriate toys sat by idly.

At times, she’s in the mood for playing dress-up, so she’ll find something out of her bin of clothes to wear.  Her perpetual favorites are a too-small dress that was a Halloween costume and this dress.  She likes to wear dress-up shoes, and this particular orange pair is her favorite.  I’m pleased to report that the bracelet is not a dress-up item, but something that actually goes with this shirt in real life.  (And thank you, Aunt J, for this shirt!)

I love this next picture—I think it really captures the little girl that I am privileged to call my own. And, just like her child development books suggest she should, N. has begun to grasp toys and bring them to her mouth to chew on.  Good job, N! “What are you lookin’ at?”

Spring Forward

Daylight Savings is coming this weekend, and the weather today most certainly said “spring.”  I opened the back door and K. and I went outside to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine after lunch with friends.  It was so nice out that neither of us wore shoes (don’t tell my mom, who doesn’t approve of general barefootedness).  K. drew a while with chalk, then requested to play with her sand table. “One…two…three…four…I think I have enough colors here.” Patting the sand in the bucket.  Or as K said, “Pat…sand…bucket.” One of N’s first times outside, and certainly the first time her pudgy arms have ever seen direct sunlight.  I kept trying to turn her chair to get better lighting for a picture, but she kept craning her neck to see what K. was doing at the sand table, so I finally gave up."

“Well, how about that?  I have toes when I’m outside, too.”  Back inside, chillaxin’.

Future Friends

Here is N., meeting her future friend A. who was born this past Saturday.

Sweet little A, whose big brother is exactly a week older than K.

The girls together.  It surprises me that N. looks so huge and so alert and so old—she’s only four months older than A! 

With A. and her mom—sorry N, I let you tip over.  After I snapped the picture, she tipped the rest of the way over.  She was unfazed. 

N, laughing nervously.  “Heh heh, I totally just fell over.  Don’t tell anyone, okay?”