This month I want to celebrate Spring!
Spring! When God brings green back into his color palatte again. And not just dull hunters and olives but lively chartreuses and pistachios and harlequins.
When the "grass" around town turns purple and you can't help but be brightened by the blooming forsythia everywhere.
When daylight extends on beyond dinner time and well into the evening.
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| an after-bath stroll under the cherry tree blossoms |
Spring! When jackets are actually put away in closets and short sleeves are braved more frequently. (I say braved because both of our kids freaked out the first few times I put a short sleeve shirt on them and they realized the hem didn't go all the way down to their wrists...)
When short fingernails are a requirement and shoes are optional.
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| Bruce's method of gardening: dig a small hole |
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| pour all of your seeds into the small hole |
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| and pat it down nicely |
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| We'll have to thin these little guys out I guess... |
When midday wardrobe changes go without question and baths are now necessary and no longer just ritual.
(We stopped paying attention to him for FIVE minutes!!!)
Spring! When "clean" is relative and no matter how often you vacuum or sweep or mop - there is always dirt everywhere.
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| burying treasure |
When the sunshine just feels different, and welcoming.
This family is so thankful that Spring has arrived!
Other Highlights from the Month:
The bad news is that at least one member or another of our family was sick the entire month. Just with colds and the like, nothing serious so I hate to even complain about it - but man, it sure can still be rough! It's hard to take care of sick and extra-needy kids, and it's hard to take care of fully energized healthy kids when you're sick and extra-needy yourself! It was nice that we weren't all just a mess at the same time, but it's been frustrating that we keep passing around bugs to each other!
The good news is that despite the never-ending coughs and sniffles, we've had a really great month! We've been spending so much time outside, which is just good for our souls. The temperature continues to be really back and forth, but we were still able to be outdoors for part of just about every day.
Charlie has been traveling for work some, but he's been able to be around town quite a bit too, so no complaints there. He spent about a week in San Francisco this month, and left for Minnesota this morning. Always busy, but still enjoying his job.
We spent a weekend at the farm in Perkins!
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| finding the absolute biggest rocks to throw... just like grandpa does it |
We got the beginnings of the garden in!
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| raking out all the clovers |
We went to the Medieval Fair! Twice!
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| This year we went as pirates, of course! |
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| real swords!!! |
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| He just had to have a mug for his grog! |
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| Cheers, me hearties! |
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| We got to listen to a fun singing pirate group while we ate our lunch! |
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| Girl knows where it's at! |
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| A little Fair love! |
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| After listening to their show again the next day, we figured they'd earned a tip! |
We had an Easter egg dyeing party at our house!
And what is Bruce up to these days? We are officially entering Month Nine of living with a three-year-old pirate. And what is it like to be a three-year-old pirate? For starters, you don't demand that you want something RIGHT NOW!!! like most three-year-olds. Instead, you demand to have things STRAIGHT AWAY!!! Secondly, when you're being told that you're being too loud, you respond by informing your mother that you were only just bellowing.
You trade in your Momo for a parrot as your best Lovie, and take her with you wherever you can.
You can turn anything and everything into a cannon.
So much so that your dad makes you a "real" one.
When you're not firing cannons, you're slicing everything with cutlasses.
And you always have to haul big bags or chests around filled with treasure. Sometimes, you can take a break from gold to play bank with real money.
You often get taken as prisoner.
And look for any opportunity to jump off of things, like curbs and steps - or couches and coffee tables - justifying your actions by saying you wanted to "walk the plank."
Thankfully, our pirate also takes time away from pillaging and plundering to make perfume from spring flowers.
And cuddle the "sea cats."
And then there's Abby.
That girl.
We are definitely in full-blown tantrum phase, if you can believe that. I mean squirm-down-your-hip-to-a-puddle-on-the-floor, screaming and convulsing all the way. For, in my opinion, sometimes the silliest of reasons. Like because I picked her up when she came to my side and held her arms up to me. How foolish of me for thinking she wanted to be picked up! And I guess she thinks it's ridiculous to have to put clothes on after removing pajamas... Sometimes, especially after waking up from her nap, it's like she has a glitch in the system and she just can't snap out of feeling the need to fuss unconsolably for ten minutes. Or thirty minutes. Or the rest of the afternoon. It's been an *interesting* balance between trying to respectfully figure out what Abby is needing and wanting to communicate and drawing the line, walking away, and letting her writhe around in the hallway for a bit by herself. We sure love that girl just the way she is, but I really hope she starts talking soon because I think that will alleviate a lot of our issues!
When she's not feeling "misunderstood" - she is almost always up for a snuggle!
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| sneak attack! |
She is up-close curious about everything. And she is learning so much! Fun things, like how to stack nesting cups. And not-so-fun things, like how to un-velcro her diaper tabs before I can get her pants pulled up. Every.single.time.
Her favorite song right now is "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and she'll signal that she wants you to sing it by waving her arms up and down by her sides. And then she'll do it again. And again. The version we like to sing goes, "Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. If you see a (fill in the blank with any animal) don't forget to scream. Ahhhh!!!"
She always wants to be doing whatever her brother is doing.
She is way too brave for her britches.
And her favorite color is yellow.
I can't blame her. Happy Spring!
