Five Minutes

Five minutes. That's all it takes for this cute little boy to find big, big trouble.

Like emptying the salt and pepper shakers all over the kitchen table. The salt shaker, not shown, was completely empty. (And yes, he sneezed quite a bit that day!)

Like dumping dirt by the handful out of the houseplants and onto the carpet... which he did yesterday.

Or like tearing the wallpaper border off the wall when you are supposed to be napping... which is what he did today.

You know how they say "boys will be boys"? I think it must be true. My GIRL never tried any of these things! But at least now I know. Five minutes. That's all I've got.

St. Patrick's Day 2010

Ok, so I'm all about having fun without doing a lot of work. That's my secret, I confess. And this meal is just for looks. There's nothing remotely "Irish" about it. But it happens to be full of Lila's favorite foods. Not sure what you're looking at? Go with me here: fluffy white cloud (marshmallows - for dessert!), rainbow (fruit)... and at the end of the rainbow, why the pot of gold (mac) and little Leprechaun of course! So my leprechaun (made of fish sticks, tartar sauce and beans) is a stretch. My target audience is three, remember? She thought it was SO MUCH FUN. And here's another confession: I did too.

The Difference Between Boys & Girls

Girls, when they go outside, will pick a pretty "flower" and then tell you, "Mom, go get your camera so you can take a picture of me with my flower."

Boys will proceed directly to the bin of dirt and start scooping handfuls of it into an empty flower pot.

Girls will try to restore dead, dry branches by "planting" them in a pot.

Boys will dump their cup of dirt in the yard, fascinated as it spills out with a whoosh! -- then repeat the whole process again and again and again!

But one things boys and girls have in common is trying new things. Like when you put a handful of rice in a plastic bin and let them go to town scooping and pouring the rice with little cups and funnels.

Yes, both boys and girls really enjoy that! But moms, keep your vacuum nearby... you're gonna need it!

Warming Up

In the past couple weeks, it has really started to warm up. I hope this means spring is finally on its way! One warm, sunny day we met some friends at a park for a picnic lunch.

It wasn't quite warm enough for short sleeves, but we didn't need jackets!

This park had a very nice (large) sandbox for the kids to play. Lila loved it!

Of course, it's more fun when you can play in the sand with friends!

The kids did a good job sharing the few sand toys we had with us.

There was also a large playground and then a smaller one (good for Wyatt). Here he is saying "boo!" to me.

I thought I would also share some fun pictures from home. This is what Wyatt's hair looks like most mornings. Some serious bed head. He also loves, loves, loves to feed himself with a spoon. He can be downright insistent about it!

Having a snack after nap/room time. Wyatt will ask for a snack by saying "doctor?" which is how he pronounces "cracker".

Ben's 32nd Birthday

Some of you may remember the video we made last year. I decided it might be fun to see how things have changed :) Enjoy!