Hunting

We have some awesome friends who threw together an Easter egg hunt the Wednesday before Easter at a local elementary school (it was Spring Break here).  Everyone brought twelve eggs for each of their children, then hid them near the playground (we had two groups--4 and under, 5 and up).  

Catherine enjoys playing on the playground while things the eggs are being hid.

Seth & Taylor, both looking thrilled to start the hunt.

I can't even remember why he was whining...it's pretty much a constant thing right now...

The 4 and under group getting ready to go

"I'll take...that one!"

"It looks nice and ripe."

"Yes.  I have made a good selection."

She was quite pleased to discover that there was candy inside her eggs.

I ended up stealing several wet wipes from a friend to clean off her chocolate-disaster face.

I was very impressed with Seth's egg-hunting skills.

As you can see from the above picture, the eggs were practically impossible to find (cough).

After collecting all 12 eggs, he immediately ate everything inside.

That's right--I'm the "get it over with" kind of candy Mom.

Thank you, Bente & Catherine, for a great time!

All of March

Apparently during the month of March I manged to take five pictures.  I'll appreciate this later when it comes to scrapbooking, I guess.

This is our beautiful niece Brianna.

Her parents trusted us to watch her while they dealt with some stuff at the Peruvian embassy.

Perhaps they shouldn't have.

Seth's pacifiers taste DELICIOUS!

He wanted to wear pajamas.

I wouldn't let him out of the house unless he got dressed.

Behold the compromise.

(Yes, we totally went out in public like this.  To Ikea and the White Marsh Mall, in fact).

I had the last Joy School before Easter, so we did Easter stuff even though it was still March.

Here they are coloring on still-warm hard-boiled eggs with crayons.

Thank you, Pinterest!

Easter Egg hunt in the basement (we're missing Gabe in this picture).

I only teach Joy School one more time before we're done, and I'm actually pretty sad about it.

Must be why I volunteered to help teach Seth's preschool next year instead of just dropping him off.

Am I crazy?

A Video for the Grandparents

She walks!

(actually, she's much better than this now.)

Aren't those skinny little legs the best things ever?

(Totally unrelated Seth story)

Yesterday at breakfast:

Seth: "Mommy, you're plump."

Me: "I am?  Why?"

Seth: "Because you have two babies!"

He has a point...

Steps, Kisses & A Threat

*For St. Patrick's Day I printed out some shamrocks with letters on them and hid them all around the house.  When Seth woke up I told him the leprechauns had hid them.  After grilling me for a few minutes about these suspicious characters, he happily ran off to find them all.  When Jon got home, Seth told him all about the hidden letters.  And who, you ask, did the hiding?  "The sneakers."

*When Seth says "you're welcome," it comes out as "ah welcome."

*Catherine is walking!  She's taken 3 or 4 steps before, but last night it was 8, then 10, then more.  She can stop mid-walk and start again, plus start from sitting (instead of pulling up on something first).  And all this in ONE evening!  We'll see how soon it becomes her primary method of transportation.  Am I already in the toddler phase?  (video coming soon, Mom!)

*After reading to him last night, Seth wanted me to stay in his room and hang out (sounds sweet, but really he just wanted to delay bedtime).  I told him it was time for bed and that we were both tired.  At this point he leans over, says, "Mommy, I love you forever", and then kisses my cheek.  It was SO sweet, and so unlike him to spontaneously show affection.  Of course, his next move was to poke my Adam's apple and say, "I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR THROAT OUT!"

Lately

Not much to report here (and no pictures yet).  We endured another round of stomach flu and are thankfully healthy enough to enjoy the gorgeous weather.  Our garden is started and we are all slightly sunburned after our first encounter with 'real' sunshine.

Catherine has added a new word to her vocabulary.  Okay, two words: "Thank you."  This is usually spoken when we put food on her tray or hand her something she wants.  "Dane doo!"

She's also taken 3-4 steps in a row, but still no walking.  I can't wait to see her walk--she's so tiny that watching her walk around is going to be hilarious!

Catherine is quite...possessive of her pat the bunny book.  At the mere mention of its title, she squirms around to see what you're talking about.  And if Seth tries to read it?  Ooh...  She actually crawled over and ripped it out of his hands, then gave us a pouty look, complete with the lip.

Seth is adding to his vocabulary, too.  His word of the week is currently "furious".  As in, "I got my shirt wet and that made me furious."

He's also had some real gems lately that I wish I had written down.  This one is from yesterday: "When this explodes, it will be a BIG FIRE and it will break you into pieces."  For a boy who refuses to watch anything more violent than Signing Time, this is a remarkably accurate description...

The night after he woke up vomiting (round 1), he sat at the breakfast table and apologized for throwing up.  I told him he didn't need to be sorry--it wasn't his fault!  At which point he promptly started to apologize for crying after he threw up.  Poor boy!

He loves playing Angry Birds.  Preferred method is on the Kindle (which is not very often since he only gets 30 minutes a day).  But he'll also play on the couch with the cushions or with his blocks.  Occasionally I'll look over at him and he'll have this furrowed brow and a huge frown.  "Seth man, are you okay?"  "NO! I'm an ANGRY BIRD and the pigs took my eggs! I'm going to KILL THEM!"  (at this point he proceeds to make a flying leap onto the couch and destroys the structure he's built).

I've started to have him 'read' me a book every day.  It's been such a blast to hear him.  Some books he can recite verbatim, others he'll get a few phrases here and there.  And then there's the truck book.  It's basically just a book with pages and pages (and pages and pages) of different kinds of trucks.  It takes him FIFTEEN  minutes to read me this book because he studies it like it's the scriptures.  But he's the only three year old I know who can tell the difference between a tractor with a baler/tractor with a plow/tractor with manure spreader/tractor with trailer...

Life is good.

One Year

Dear Baby Girl,

Have you really been with us for an entire year now?  I feel like it was just a few months ago that I met you for the first time.  But, then again, I can't imagine our lives without you now.

You have been a ray of sunshine in our home.  Your smiles, your laughter, your ridiculous stubbornness--you make us laugh every day.

We started calling you "Princess" when you were just tiny.  We had no idea that the name clearly came from divine inspiration.  You pretty much get whatever you want, whenever you want it, just by pointing.  You have us all wrapped around your tiny little finger.

But you can also melt our hearts with your hugs-you snuggle up to our shoulders and then wriggle up and down to show how happy you are.  You also show your affection by chewing on our shoulders.  I have to wash my shirts after a single wear because the shoulders are covered in whatever you had for lunch that day.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Little Bug, we love you so.  We love how teeny-tiny you are; how your hair curls around your neck after a bath; how you attach yourself to our legs while we're trying to clean up after dinner.  I am so excited to watch you grow--to see who you will become.  Happy first birthday, my baby.

And now for Catherine's accomplishments at one year old:

*loves playing with Seth on our bed--they'll take everything off and then jump around together.  She also loves flopping around on the couches.

*can go up the stairs and down, except for the initial approach position.

*she dances to music, which is SO fun since Seth never did anything like that.

*she's finally letting us read to her, slthough she still insists on turning the pages herself (and usually before we're done with the page).  Her favorite book is pat the bunny--specifically the peek-a-boo page.  Pretty much we can't read any page besides the peek-a-boo page.

*Which leads to her first (and currently, only) word: boo.  As in "peek-a-boo."  She'll put her hands up to her head and say, "Boo!"  So, so cute.

*Generally she gets what she wants by pointing and saying "buh!"  Which is probably why she isn't talking too much yet.

*She's taken her first steps, but prefers to just fall straight to the ground and hope you'll catch her.

*Teeth...I don't even want to talk about how awful she's been about her teeth.  Let's just say there was one night that involved a late-night run to the pharmacy to spend $15 on a single bottle of infant ibuprofen and two miniscule tubes of Baby Orajel, which is apparently distilled from gold, based on the price.  Totally worth the price when she stopped screaming literally instants after I plopped it in her mouth.  Total: four on top center, three on bottom center, potentially a molar (she won't let us look).

*She stopped nursing a few days after her birthday, but she certainly isn't making life easy on us.  She hates milk in basically every form--chocolate, strawberry, mixed with OJ, warm, hot, cold...  Lately we've had some success with ultra-concentrated Instant Breakfast, but she'll still only take a sip or two at a time.  And to top it off, she refuses more that a little taste of cheese or yogurt.  Who needs calcium or vitamin D, anyway?

*16 lbs. 14 oz. (less than 3%) 28.5 inches (13%).  Still 6-9 month clothes.  But she is growing, so her doctor is fine with it.  Her only concern is that she's this tiny already--just wait until we add all the burned calories when she starts walking.  Her advice: feed her a lot, and often. Check.

*she's still taking two naps.  The first is generally 40 minutes, the second is (usually) longer.  I should probably push her toward a single nap, but I'm just not up for it yet.

*apparently we have a daredevil on our hands.  I've had to start putting things (like the yellow chair featured below) out of her reach, because she is just bound and determined to kill herself.  You can't tell in this picture, but she is actually trying to STAND on the chair.  Great.

Happy Birthday, Little Boo.

Love you so.

(pictures by Tara Long--there were so many adorable ones that I had a hard time picking which to post!)

Princess Party

Catherine's first year went by so quickly that I'm almost scared to have another kid.  

Will time go by even FASTER?  Is that even possible?

Keeping with tradition, Jon missed his child's first birthday while he was off doing church-related stuff.

For Seth's birthday it was a meeting of some kind.

For Catherine's it was Scout Camp.

Before he left on the morning of her birthday, 

we opened her cards from her grandparents and great-grandparents.  

Seth helped by playing Angry Birds on the Kindle.

Once all the cards were opened and thoroughly investigated, Catherine resorted to her favorite activity:

throwing things on the floor: 

At this point Jon exits right and we are left to party by ourselves.

The birthday girl devouring her birthday breakfast of eggs (her favorite): 

Attacking her birthday balloon (Seth picked it out for her): 

We postponed her actual party until the next day.

I figured her father would kind of like to be there.  

The thing with first birthdays is that you have to catch the kid at just the right time of day.

Otherwise the party is just a disaster.

We...missed our window of opportunity, shall we say.

I hope she doesn't compare her cake with Seth's first birthday cake: 

Even I will concede that it's not that cute, and I MADE it.

But her cake wins the taste-test, hands down.

Lemonade cake with raspberry filling and lemon cream-cheese icing.

Yumyumyumyum.

Her party was very mellow--just us and the Oliveras.

We decided that Emma and Catherine would be best friends before they were out of the womb,

so it was only right to invite Catherine's best friend.

(We've also arranged a marriage between Emma and Seth, but they don't need to know that yet).

Catherine and her loot:

She was not a fan of the sticky icing on her fingers:

Want to know what she has in her hand?

A bottle of ibuprofen.

It was the only thing that kept her happy.

Time for present opening!

To absolutely no one's surprise, Catherine was one spoiled little girl.

Of course, big brother generously offered his assistance with the gift opening:

But Princess was quite capable of ripping paper to shreds all by herself:

pat the bunny book from us (we used to have one, but it disappeared):

...and an electronic birthday cake from Grandma Cathy:

The cake was a big hit with all party attendees (including Seth): 

Emma investigates the cake.

As it turns out, the electronic cake was a bigger hit than the real thing: 

And the verdict is... 

...not good.

Seth was more than happy to take care of her rejected cake.

So we failed pretty miserably at making her party enjoyable for her, 

but first birthdays aren't really for the kids anyway.  They're for the parents.

At least she's pretty happy with her gifts:

"Sit and Spin? I think I'll try for a Stand and Spin.  That sounds like WAY more fun!"

"Oh, I know what THIS is.  I've only been waiting for mine my ENTIRE LIFE."

"Now let me just position this carefully..."

"Ta-da!  Now no one can mistake my identity."

Happy Birthday, Princess Bug.  We love you so!

(12 month achievements to come when I get her photo shoot CD back) 

Valentine's Day

I saw some pretty cute Valentine's ideas on Pinterest, but decided to opt out this year.

I tell myself it's because Seth & Catherine are too young to appreciate it, but really, it's because I'm lazy.

But not too lazy.

The kids did get strawberry milk and pink pancakes for breakfast, 

along with their treats from Grandma Cathy.

Seth, bleary-eyed at 7am.

(funny side story: Seth started getting up earlier and earlier, so we finally put a digital clock in his room.  We taped over the minutes, so all he can see is the hour.  We told him that as soon as he sees a 7, he can leave his room.  Now, almost every morning at 7:02, he'll come stumbling down the hallway to our room.  We try to explain that just because he sees a 7 doesn't mean he HAS to get up, but to no avail.  How fondly we think back on those weekends when we used to get to sleep in until 8 am!)

Princess also enjoys her Valentine's pancakes: 

And her Valentine's Princess bear from Grandma Cathy: 

Seth got cars, of course.

Three red Valentine cars.

I asked him why he got the cars.  His answer was, "Because Gramma WOVES me!" 

Jon and I gave each other...nothing.  

Sometime we'll go out to eat, but at the moment we don't feel like torturing anyone by leaving them with Catherine.

And here is Seth wearing a portion of Catherine's bow collection.  

No, I did not instigate this.

Stuff Happens

Like one of Seth's (and our) good friends moving away: 

(Victoria, Brie, Angelina, Gabe & Seth)

Last day of Joy School with Victoria

Just for fun, here are Seth and Victoria at 4 and 2 months old:

And their second Halloween: 

Best of luck in Utah, Atkinsons!  We miss you already!

Sometimes I forget that I'm antisocial and take my kids to fun places with fun people.

Like Storyville with (I swear) every kid under 4 in the stake.

 

Catherine investigates the 'babies only' area

She prefers to be with the bigger kids.

You know, where she can get run over repeatedly.

Anora & Catherine, banished to baby land

I couldn't get Seth to slow down long enough for a picture.  This is as good as it gets.

Then there was one day where it sort of, maybe, possibly, thought of snowing for three minutes.

Seth told me he wanted to go taste the snow with his tongue, so out we went: 

He told me it tastes like sugar.

And then there was the one time I tried to be a good mother and let Seth help me make cookies: 

Note to self:

Seth's idea of 'helping' means turning the oats into snow and making it snow all over the counter.

This next picture is to remind me that really, my daughter is usually sweet and cute.  

Not a whiny, terrible teething disaster like she's been for the past three or four days.

This is actually Seth's doll, which he has since abandoned.

Seriously--anyone want to borrow her until her molars come in?  

Because some days I don't think I'm going to survive this round...