Monday, April 29, 2013

Danny's Pre-First Birthday Bash


The nature of the Pre-First beast is that you get a lot of spring birthdays. So when we realized that Danny's birthday fell in the same week as two other classmates (and there are only 13 kids in the class), the three mothers who were involved got to talking. And planned what we were delighted to think was going to be the easiest - but very fun - birthday party ever. The boys just wanted to play football, and a jumpy house makes everyone happy. Throw in some cupcakes and a few snacks, request no gifts, schedule it for a Sunday afternoon, and you're done!

All of these things did, in fact, happen - along with a torrential rainstorm. The host mom wisely advised the families to pack a change of clothes, and so the P-1 class proceeded to have a wet and wild time. The jumpy slide-turned-water slide was a huge hit, and I am delighted to say no one was injured. Meanwhile, after forcing his dad to do this for a while:

Danny's buddy Ivan showed up (top photo), and they soon devised a game where Ivan (who preferred not to get drenched) would pass the football to Danny as he came down the slide. Pure joy.

Ultimately, the kids dried off, came inside for food, and then kept themselves busy with Twister, foosball and more. It was old school, and it made for this bunch of perfectly satisfied customers:

Happy #7 to Danny, Mary Margaret and Carter!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Our Growing Flower

My original caption for this photo was, "Unclear on the concept." But then a friend jokingly said, "She's a growing flower!" And I decided she was right.

Laura is definitely growing, sometimes painfully, other times charmingly so. Her hair is long enough for piggy tails, and she loves to wear tutus, preferably purple. She's using her imagination to play, even independently on occasion (huzzah!). I am now frequently able to reason with her, so that "you can eat that/watch that/do that after we xxx" is acceptable to her (well, most of the time). She is still very mommy-focused, although Clare and Danny are quite appealing as well - and boy, was she pleased with herself when Danny shared the shower last night. Par-tay.

One of her more common lines of conversation these days is, "When I'm a big girl, I can ..." This is often followed with "have coffee," "have wine," "have gum."  She also asks almost every day to go to school, then says "When I'm bigger?" We'll see if she's still singing that tune come August, when it's time for her to start preschool. Which I am most definitely looking forward to...but at the same time, she's growing fast enough.



Friday, April 12, 2013

Basement: After

The delay between the Before and After posts is no reflection on our construction crew. They were incredibly swift and finished in roughly four weeks. It's just taken me this long to get furniture, take pictures, etc. Of course there's still plenty of blank wall space, and I'm not even showing you the chaotic storage areas. Nevertheless, the basement is open for business and has enjoyed lots of Lego and TV time, and even hosted my neighborhood book club. Oh, and Quincy has recovered quite nicely and fully enjoys napping on the new couch down there.

This is now, by far, the nicest bathroom in the house.




Monday, April 8, 2013

Easter & Spring Break 2013


The above photo summarizes our trip better than I can, though of course that won't stop me from writing more or posting more photos. It was another magical week of time with family, interspersed with erratic behavior from a certain toddler who struggled to adjust to the time change just a tad. You can get away with a lot when you're two (and maybe a little too much when you're the third child, but we're addressing that). She did come away from the week able to sing "Bee bi biddily i oh," so it was an overall success for her, too.

We kicked things off with a trip to the beach to help pass the time before the cousins arrived. Danny and Clare were in their glory, playing some mystery game together that incorporated Laura when she was willing. Laura was fairly cautious on the beach, but enjoyed "going for a little walk" and looking for seashells, all of which she insisted on storing in Tim's pocket.

Following a tasty lunch at In-N-Out, we returned home and soon the Needhams arrived. From then on, it was a whirlwind of playing outside, eating, movies, Easter, the zoo, the beach and hero worship of Uncle John by Danny (but not Laura - ha!).
Dyeing eggs

Easter finery

Zoo cool

Post- egg hunt


We are so blessed to have so many marvelous memories with our families. We love you all!