Winter Humor
Katie is 2 years 9 months old today!
And two outtakes:
Puddle Jumper!
I promised Katie she could jump in the puddles when we came out of the store. She was having sooooo much fun I just let her keep jumping and jumping and jumping. My quick run to the dollar store morphed into over an hour once the jumping was done (she was jumping for almost half an hour!)!
I couldn’t decide on the best in-flight pics—it’s amazing how high she actually jumps (which you can’t tell just watching in real time)—so I included all of them. 🙂
If you just want the slow motion jumps in one video:
And if you want them as individual gifs you can copy and paste elsewhere:
Light saber battle!
Katie is a force to be reckoned with.
Oh yeah—we have our fence!
So while we were in Florida, I got a call from our landlord. He was going to be dropping off the fence materials and told us it would be started ASAP! Of course he didn’t know we were on vacation but that was fine—we’d enjoy not being there while they were working on it. Of course, we honestly didn’t expect it to be done by the time we got home—everything else has taken so long we just predicted it would take another month to actually get it done.
So imagine our surprise when we came home…and our landlord was actually in the back yard working on the fence! It was all up except for the gate and some finishing touches! He told us he was there working on it because the guys he hired did most of it then left for another job! (WHAT?!)
Long story short, it took another week or so for him to come back and finish it up, and it’s not bad. The good part? It’s a fence that will keep Maggie and the kids contained. The bad? It’s not the best quality (it’s all put together with nails instead of screws) and is definitely not a fence for the ages.
This is a panoramic so it looks a little skewed but you get the gist.
Unfortunately, Owen is not a fan. He told me he doesn’t like it because he can’t run all over. So, that’s more mommy guilt to add to my pile. 🙁
The only other sucky thing is that they didn’t clean up the yard—they left pieces of wood and piles of dirt and stones all over. What kind of workers leave that kind of mess behind? The wood was easy enough to pick up, but the rest was horrible.
But we have a fence!
Twirling and drama with Katie
This is a typical 15-minute time period of any given day.
Owen’s homework helper
A successful Lego mini build!
Tom was able to come home from work in time to go with us for the monthly Lego build.
Once again, it was a complete cluster…though completely different than the last time. This time, we were prepared with our blue Lego Passport, but as we got in line, the lady in front of me told me we needed to have a white card. What?! I briefly explained our last attempt and them telling us we needed the passport but the line to get the passport was 100 people long. She said she had no idea about the passport but this time we needed to wait in a different line to pick up the card which would then allow you to get the Lego set. What?! Ugh. Thankfully Tom was with us so he and Katie went and waited in the ticket/card line and Owen and I waited in the actual Lego line.
Two different visits, two completely different routines. I don’t know why they seem to have no clue what’s going on. At least the lines for both weren’t long at all.
So we got the Lego pack and decided he wanted to build it right then. They have tables set up with numbers on them (which I had no idea why) but I asked if we could build it and we were told that we didn’t have an appointment. What?! Yeah, turns out when you pick up the card from the other line you had to tell them whether you were just picking up the Lego or if you wanted to build it at the store. Tom thought we were leaving (as did I) plus the next open time slot was an hour away. I told the worker that my husband picked up the card so I had no idea that there was an appointment time and I must have shown my exasperation as he took pity on me and said there were some openings because they were ahead of schedule so we could go ahead and build.
It took Owen all of three minutes to build the flying saucer. I took my first picture at 5:15, the completion picture at 5:18, and the post-build picture after we left to meet daddy and Katie at 5:20. 🙂
Meanwhile, Katie had been playing down the hall at the play area. 🙂
Cute little napper
My little newspaper reader
My zombie guard.
And Katie pouting.
Sidewalk chalk paint, Day 2
They weren’t nearly as excited as they were the first day, and I’m not sure why. (They were eager enough to WANT to do it, but once we were outside and painted for 10 minutes, they were about done.) And of course, since they stayed perfectly clean the first day, I didn’t make them change into different clothes…and it’s the day Katie got paint all over her.
So I pretty much did all the painting just so it wouldn’t be wasted.
Owen’s big Easter present…complete.
He loved Lord Business’ Evil Lair—and he would have had it done in one day, but he spent a lot of time playing video games with daddy instead.
Click for a full-size version.
She loves being carried by her daddy.
Pink Princess Chair
We were at a local thrift store when we turned around and found this. 🙂 (No, we didn’t buy it.)
Happy Easter!
We told Owen he had to wait for us to come get him in the morning, otherwise he likely would have found all the eggs before Katie even got out of bed! (We also said it in case we didn’t get around to hiding the eggs before bed and Tom had to do it in the morning.)
Every time Katie opened an M&M, it went straight into her mouth. 🙂
A “fused” photo so I had one without Owen’s tongue sticking out. 🙂
Some fancy twirling in her new tutu. And we have NO idea where Owen got the “I’m going to text my friends” bit. NO IDEA.
Katie has started taking after Owen with the crazy faces when I’m trying to take a picture.
The ears didn’t fit Owen at all so it was only a matter of time before this happened!
Since it’s Easter, I thought I’d pull out a pretty hand-me-down dress from the Beson girls—and of course Katie LOVES it! She kept saying “It’s so BEAUTIFUL! Look at my beautiful dress!” 🙂
And the best two:
And since she was dressed up, and we were actually all getting dressed to go out on errands, we took a family picture!
Owen’s letter to the Easter Bunny
We don’t have much candy but do have other things…so I suggested to Owen maybe he could ask for less candy. I may have also suggested Katie might want a tutu. 🙂
This was the Easter Bunny’s response:
T-ball practice!
It was sunny but windy and chilly.
Katie: Mama, look at that pillow on the floor.
Me: ???
Another T-ball mom: The base.
Me: Ahhhhh.
Enjoying some cuddle time.
They learned the different positions, practiced some fielding, and each had a practice at-bat:
Tom was helping on the field and said it was like herding cats. Yep, that was exactly what I had been thinking. 🙂
They have had five scheduled practices. Owen missed one due to our vacation and two have been canceled due to weather…so he will be playing his first game only having had two practices. It’s going to be a HOT MESS. 🙂
HelloFresh Dinner #2
Pan-Seared Calamari over Bulgur & Chorizo Hash with Parsley Gremolata—I wish I could cook like this all the time! (I can’t wait until my kids will eat stuff like this…then I will cook more things like this!)
Remember! Signing up and using code AV8W2E will get you $40 off your first box at HelloFresh!
Sidewalk chalk is boring after paint.
We had only used half of the paint, but the driveway and sidewalks were about out of room so we just used regular chalk today. Normally this keeps them occupied for at least an hour, but after the coolness of the paint yesterday, they were not having much fun with the plain chalk and it only lasted about 15 minutes.
Kidisms 7
Katie had the iPad on the road trip home.
Katie: Mom, there’s no triangle button.
Me: What?
Katie: There’s no triangle!
Yep, she was watching a movie and it was paused and the play (triangle) button had disappeared!
Katie: I want to give you a hug.
Owen: Fine. Here’s your hug. Now go.
Katie: My beautiful dress has sparkles and glittery on it!
I’m apparently raising a rebel.
Owen sees the sign, reads it, then says: Ha! I’m standing in the fire lane!
Katie at the playground:
Owen was pretending he had to go to work but then I heard:
Oh! My general isn’t here today so I have the day off.
Tom loved that one!
March pictures are online!
>>> March pictures are online at Shutterfly!
Waiting for the pizza
I ordered pizza for dinner and the kids love to watch the progress meter (ordered, baking, out for delivery, etc.). They didn’t move an inch for a good 15 minutes. 🙂
Sidewalk chalk paint!
Even though I was the one that bought the paint, I really hadn’t been looking forward to it at all (because…mess!) but then I read this article on Facebook: Why You Must Let Your Kids Jump In Muddy Puddles (about the Muddy Puddles Project) and I instantly knew what we were doing today. If you read the article, get your tissues handy.
And a few close-ups of some of the drawings (taken the next day after they were completely dry):
Katie’s slipper doesn’t work
Welcome to my world. I see stuff like this on a daily—and sometimes hourly—basis.
Kitchen Lego Battle
A bunch of Owen’s Legos migrated to the kitchen counter… He said they were having a battle.
Playground during spring break
She can finally—most of the time—make it up the tube herself!
Target Kids
Owen showing Katie what she looked like with her new headband.
Tonight’s jammies
