Beautiful day

We've had a very wet, dreary spring so far. This past week it rained almost every day and on Thursday there was a major downpour while I was trying to get to the children's museum. I had to cover Serafina in the stroller with a heavy blanket and Leo was in the carrier on my back wrapped in my rain jacket. Then I ran for it. If I regularly jogged like that, I would be in amazing shape.

Yesterday the weather took a very positive turn and today it was down right beautiful. We went to a local park with the water feature Leo likes.

Here's Serafina, very happy to be at the park.
Enjoying some sandbox time.
Swinging with Dad.


Serafina explored the water a bit but didn't like when the fountains got stronger and she was in the spray. I didn't like that she kept putting little twigs and leaves in her mouth.
Rewarded with some watermelon.

Just another...

couple of kids dancing to Lady Gaga on the internet.

Stealing her brother's water bottle

And very proud of herself

Photos by Leo

I let Leo use my camera for a little while yesterday. He took over 60 pictures and they all included his fingers on the lens. Here's a particularly artful shot of his feet, fingers and shiny Buzz Lightyear.

On the move

Scooter and puffs

I scored this scooter on craigslist. He loves it, but I need to get him a helmet. That mop of fluffy hair probably won't protect him in event of a crash.

Serafina started eating puffs - baby finger food that melt on the tongue - this week.

Conversations with Leo

Leo: You have to be super good.

Me: How do you be super good?

Leo: By shaking your booty around.

Holy Kale

We took a break from our CSA but we're back in the swing of things and that means lots of kale in our lives. I'm not a big fan, but I've tried to get creative with the two big bunches we received on Thursday. I put some in a smoothie for Leo. It's rumored that banana can mask the taste of just about anything. Um...not exactly true, but Leo drank more of it than I expected. His favorite beverage is water and he really doesn't drink much else. Today I seasoned and baked it into kale chips. I read they are addictive as potato chips. Again, not true, but they weren't terrible either.

Here's Leo snacking on some.


We dusted off the little music table for Serafina today, but clearly someone else was equally interested.
Serafina likes to move to the music. I look forward to her turn in dance class.

Little monsters

The title doesn't refer to my children, though some days it is an appropriate description. No, these little monsters are made of felt. I made them for the new babies arriving this summer. In each of them has a fabric heart buried in its chest and inside the heart is a little message for the baby. We had a joint baby shower at the park today and the monsters were well received.

They are very homemade looking, but kinda cute. I hope to improve my technique as I make more and more. Leo is anxious for his own monster.
This little one with freckles was for Cara's baby girl (Addison's little sister) due in June.
And this little guy was for Tameka's baby boy (Ruby's brother), due at the end of July.

Water park season

We had good weather today and the park we visited had the water feature on. Doug and Leo had a blast.


He's not standing on his toes, but doing some jumping. He does a lot of jumping.

And Serafina...so happy to be a mobile baby. Baby Maia is in the background.

Watch out world...

she's on the move!




I can't believe she's crawling. She looks like a little wind-up toy with her jerky movements. She seems so young to be crawling but I guess it only seems that way because Leo was such a late crawler. It's kind of nice to have her hitting her milestones, so I don't have to fret.

Here she's doing a little dancing.

Spring has sprung

We've enjoyed some beautiful weather this week. We tried to take full advantage of the sunshine by going to playdates at various parks and spending time in our yard.

Here's Leo setting out to do some gardening
Serafina hanging out at the park today wearing her brother's hand-me-down overalls.

Beets

Serafina tried beets for the first time tonight.


Here's Leo eating them when he was nine months old.

Our new bathroom

So our bathroom project took longer than planned, but I was warned that would be the case. We are very happy with the results. It has great style and high quality materials. Right now it also has a team of small plastic dinosaurs hanging out in the shower. I had both kids in the shower with me this evening. It was Serafina's first shower experience and she did great. She's a water baby just like her brother.

Here are some "before" pictures. There was nothing really wrong with the bathroom; it was just dated and not our style. We didn't like the gold accents and the linoleum floor was starting to peel up in the corners. When we first moved in, it was the clear downer of the house. I told Tom he could redo it for me for our fifth anniversary. We will be celebrating five years of wedded bliss this October. Way to go, honey and thank you.

Cameo appearance by Leo

Stripped down to the studs. All the plumbing was switched to copper during the construction.
The new and improved version. The paint color is a little washed out in these pictures but it's deeper and richer than it appears here.

Don't know if you can see it, but the vanity has a beautiful marble top.
The only problem with having such a nice new bathroom, it makes our other bathroom (the hall/guest/kids' bathroom) look a little dumpy.

Ballet...er, Dance class

I'm not big on classes. Some kids are in art and music and gymnastics and...well, I'm sure there is other stuff but you get the picture. Leo and I have done swimming the last two summers and a gym class once. I have two major issues with classes. One is the fact you have to show up on time. This isn't easy when you have to deal with a moody toddler and a nursing infant. Second, most classes for kids under three require parent participation and often a younger sibling isn't suppose to attend. Even before Serafina came along, I wasn't that interested in participating. I'm an uninhibited parent in the privacy of my own home/car/yard - dancing crazy, singing silly songs - but in a class with others, not so much. This class appealed to me because it specified that parents would wait in the lobby. Perfect. I don't have to dance, I can hang out with Serafina and Leo can have some practice of being in a class without me in preparation for preschool. The class is technically "ballet class" and requires ballet attire. What the heck. Dress him up in ballet slippers. He loves them. Here he is eagerly awaiting the start of class and meeting his teacher.
The parents were allowed to stand along the side and watch the first two dances and then we exited so they could continue the rest of the class. Throughout the time I watched, Leo stood pretty still with his finger up his nose. I know it was just a nervous tick for him and I didn't want to get on his case about it and cause him to get upset. Some little girls burst into tears just being in there. Other freaked when their moms tried to leave. Leo hung tough the whole time but was timid about participating. The teacher said he seemed to want to watch and she thinks he'll be more active soon. This is very much his personality - observe and assess. At least he didn't cry and he said he enjoyed himself. It's only once a week and next time, Nana will be joining us.


Here are all the kids following along with the teacher and Leo watching with his finger up his nose. Ha! That's my boy.

Pool project

We loooooove our pool, but we didn't love how the degrading fiberglass on the steps caused tiny little scratches on our skin and gave us the "itchies" (the repair guy's technical term). Before the summer comes, we are having it drained, patched, sealed and refilled. After a few days of pumping, it is almost empty, so we obviously had to get in and walk around. We don't currently own a skateboard or I would totally shred in there.

Eight months old

Look at that sweet face, those chubby thighs, those adorable toes - what a doll, right? Yes, but she's also a total diva. She screams if you take something away from her she shouldn't have. She gets pissed if she's left out when you are eating. She bite me yesterday, twice. Literally chomped down on my hand when it got close and she was angry. She's getting more mobile, but often ends up scooting backwards and getting frustrated. The last couple days she's gotten up on her hands and knees but doesn't know what to do after that. But we adore her. Sometimes, she'll look over her shoulder, give a big smile and my heart just melts. Anytime we hold her, even if she's very fussy (which is often), we can't resist kissing her darling face.



Thanks to Nana, Leo now has his own Raggedy Andy.