Sand

Someone no longer dislikes sand...

Duck Exploration

"See that duck by the bird feeder? I'd like to go pet him."

"Here I go!"

"I'm getting closer..."

"It hissed at me! I need reinforcement!"

Cooper

Cooper was back this weekend! Renee called me earlier in the week to ask if Cooper could spend the weekend. I asked Sassy if she wanted to see Cooper and she replied, "OH-KAY!" (her new favorite word) with great enthusiasm. She got out of bed, went down the stairs, and was calling for me to take her to Aunties in the car. She was very unhappy that she had to wait a few days. She really enjoys Cooper (I think it's that he makes her feel in charge). On Saturday she asked me, "Coopy, kib, Mama?" I asked if she wanted Cooper in the crib, and she gave a resounding, "OH-KAY!" Cooper wasn't quite as excited...

Proud

Sometimes you are so proud of yourself, you just burst into applause.

A Trip to El Azteco

We went to El Azteco in East Lansing this weekend. While we were there we stopped by our houses from our college days (the houses we lived in when we met). Leah had fun posing in front of them.
I told her Daddy and I lived next door to each other, and we used to go back and forth between our houses several times each day. I explained to Lili that this house used to be white with a purple door. She was intrigued.

I had to take a picture of Daddy and Uncle Andy in our minivan in our old neighborhood.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a great weekend with the beautiful weather. We got lots of pretty flowers for the yard today. I got the best Mother's Day present this week--next year I'll be working 1/2 time (assuming I'm called back from the lay-off list!). I couldn't have asked for a better gift. And, summer vacation is only 5 weeks away!

Bird Seed

Leah loves to play outside. Her newest thing is a love of playing with bird seed. She fills her blue cup and carefully plays with the seed in the cup for 5 minutes or so. Then she teases Rugen with the seed. The she unpacks it into her cottage or takes handfuls full and throws it into the grass. Today she was putting it at the bottom of her slide. When it's all gone, she asks, "more, please?".

Mo-Mo Shirt

It's no secret that Lili loves Sesame Street. Her favorite characters (in order) are: Ernie, Grover, Elmo, and Zoe. But, Mo-Mo is her favorite character to talk about. We got her a Mo-M0 shirt off Etsy. It's a hit!

Lili did not want her picture taken.

Play-Doh

During Easter break Leah grew very interested in Play-doh. She could never resist the urge to put it into her mouth for a little taste though. I remembered a peanut butter play-doh recipe from "Jon and Kate Plus Eight". It is equal parts peanut butter, honey, and evaporated milk. It tastes like the inside of a Reeses Peanut Butter cup. Leah loved it--so did Ruggie. He ate the container when Leah and I left.

All Eastered Out

Then and Now

A year goes by too quickly. I can't believe how much Leah has grown. After every stage of her life, I get so sad thinking of my baby growing up so fast. But, I seem to love the next stage better than the one before! Happy Easter!

Candy Hunt

Leah has quite the sweet tooth. She loves cookies and candy (especially mini m and m's). We advised the Easter Bunny to only hide a few eggs or Sassy might put herself into a sugar coma. She immediately ate the contents of 2 of the 3 eggs. I had to hide the 3rd egg when she wasn't looking. Daddy especially loves the last picture here because you can see the candy juice coming through her teeth as she says, "cchhheeeeeesssssseeeee!"

Easter Morning

The Easter Bunny heard that Lili was a good girl this year, so he gave her an exceptional Easter Basket! The big winners were the Sesame Street Pop Up book, the Ernie shirt, and Elmo with bunny ears--I seem to be noticing a theme...

Leah was excited to look through her basket. She took things out one at a time, played with them a little, and moved on to the next item.

Doggie Treat

I asked Leah if she wanted to give the doggies a treat that Auntie Renee left. She was very eager to give the treat to Cooper herself. After giving him 1/2 of the treat, she decided that she'd like to try the delicious treat. She loved it. She ate the rest of it; we couldn't get it away from her! Thankfully the treat was an organic, all-natural treat.

Best Bud Brain-Brain