11:41am - thursday

bel was in the mood to dance - so she requested music and her tutu
jack was in the mood to chill and observe life around him from his blessed fish swing

me and ryan - mmmm turkey burger time

best compliment ever

today I got the best compliment ever! Allow me to set the scene... I was trying to get me and the kiddos and lunch out the door at the same time so everything would be timed just right that we could eat with Ryan, feed Jack and get to our appointment on time - anyway Bel was watching a movie on the couch while I was rushing around like a crazy person. I stopped running to load the diaper bag for a minute and she walked over craned her neck so she was looking up at my face as I leaned over the diaper bag and said, "hi mom - you sure look pretty"

I almost rushed past the moment and then... I melted into a puddle right then and there.
Between my husband and my observant parrot of a daughter - I will think I am pretty forever.

ryan

got a special delivery in the mail today.
that smile makes my heart so happy.

i can't wait for this handsome honey to sing one for me

jack

a few things you may not know about this charmer...

-he's generous with his smiles and has a great little forced air chuckle

-he has long black hair on his ears (sure hope that rubs off before his dating years)

-he loves to be outside, as long as it's not windy

-he loves his sister, who can always cheer him up (as long as he's not starving or exhausted)

-can make super loud mouth click sounds

-sucks his fists

-last night he slept from 9pm-3am and 3:30am-8am ahhhh bless him for nights like this

we love you jack!

Bel loved Easter

she's never eaten so much candy in a weekend and still checks our tree for easter eggs

the view from here...

...is pretty darn good.

(my apologies for the lousy photos - my seriously deficient camera skills will never adequately capture these moments, but i just had to try. their smiles make me smile)

a few things

we've had a sunny spring week - it's been simply lovely! we finally got to dust off the chariot and take jack and bel for a ride together - they both loved it - yay!

gosh - isn't he handsome!?!bel found a ladybug and observed, screamed at, ran from and harrassed it for at least 20 minutes.

I love how she is experiencing so many things for the first time - she really appreciates things and soaks it all in. if i don't limit her then she is never bored - she runs around discovering all kinds of new things and activities. similarly i am experiencing all these things from a parenting perspective for the first time so i can watch her in equal amazement for hours at a time

We've been lucky that she hasn't been much of a climber so when her new hiding place of the day was on the window sill behind her curtains - i simply had to document the climbing it took to get there. (she's saying, "here i am!")

In case you were wondering she is loving her little brother.

One last thing... Some of you may know that I've had my struggles with the fact that Ryan is not 6 inches taller than me (so I can comfortably gain a few pounds in my old age and he'll still be bigger than me in some way). This week the issue was settled - the verdict is in - here it is : our height according to Bel