Bunnies, Books, and Babies...

...these are a few of Lizzy's favorite things.  Besides saying, "I'll do dat!"  Which is her new favorite saying.  I am trying not to dwell on the fact that she is starting to want to do everything on her own, how she wants, in her own timing.  I have to admit the little stink eye expression she has started doing is kinda cute, but yelling "Nnnoooooo!" at the top of her lungs is not so cute, so back to her other favorite things.  

Babies-

Oh how she loves babies.  Baby dolls, or real babies, she can't stay away from them.  We are still reading Christmas books because she loves looking at baby Jesus.  Speaking of Jesus, "Jesus loves me" is her favorite song and she won't allow anything else at bedtime.  Sometimes she sings it in the car.  Her rendition is just "Jejus... Bibol....Jejus....Bibol...Jejus...Bibol..." you get the idea.

giving one of her fav babes a kiss

Books-

The boys have always loved to read but I think Lizzy would listen to stories all day long if it were possible.  Here recent favorites have showcased springtime animals; ducks, chicks, bunnies, mice.  I love snuggling up to read to her in her cozy chair twice a day.

recent favorites

Bunnies-

What with Easter season and the new Knuffle Bunny book my mom got us Lizzy can't get enough of bunnies.  Even squirrels are bunnies to her.  I was just telling Kyle not long ago that I wished I could find a way to let her pet and cuddle one of these springtime animals she loves to read about- a chick, or a duck, or a bunny.  Then we went to Kyle's cousin's house for Easter and low and behold, their daughter Noelle has a bunny.  What a perfect Easter treat!

holding Jackie the bunny

Jackie has an adoring crowd

Beautiful Noelle

Lizzy was in heaven!  We had a wonderful Easter by the way.  I didn't come down with the flu until later that night so most of Resurrection Sunday was thoroughly enjoyed.  Here's a couple more pictures.

Egg hunt

GG and Great Grampa

my boys

I've been waiting for this day!

Since the moment I found out I was having a girl I have been looking forward to this day...

Pigtails!

Yes, that's right... we have PIGTAILS!!!  The cutest little piggies I've ever seen.  They made us late to swim because I lost track of time taking pictures of my sweet little girlie that is looking so grown up.

Cheesy face

Sharing a little hug with big brother

The pigtails lasted all the way until lunch time- even through a little coloring session, then Lizzy pulled them out.  But it was fun while it lasted, and I can't wait to put them in again, maybe with little bows next time.

Concentrating- lizzy loves to write

Thanks for celebrating this milestone with us!



In other news, there was a baby shower at my house last night for my friend Amanda and baby Kate.  Amanda loves red and isn't big on pink so we did a red and white polka dots theme.  It was so fun to see how everyone got on the red and white bandwagon.  It was a festive and fun night of celebration.

Thanks for the cake Cailyn!

A visitor...

Oh, what a glorious weekend.  We had a visitor... and his name was Mr. Sun.  And he is one visitor that can never wear out his welcome.  If I could get him to move in permanently I would.  It was so nice to bask in his rays today and get a little much needed Vitamin D.  This morning we checked out the new play area at Wright Park- it's quite nice and Sunday morning seems to be a pretty safe time to go.  Next we hit the waterfront for a run. Then home for lunch and yard work before church.  Kyle cleaned up my little garden and I planted the peas, spinach and lettuce.  Yay!  It finally felt a little bit like spring!

In the spirit of spring, we also headed up to the Skagit valley on Saturday to see the flowers.  The purpose of the trip originally had to do with a bike exchange in Bellingham. (post to follow)  We have never been to the Tulip Festival before so I agreed to the trip only if suggested we stop to experience the tulips in all their glory.  It was pouring rain when we got to Mt. Vernon so we sailed on past the line of cars trying to exit on the shoulder and stopped on our way home instead.  By this time our kids were starting to exhibit the telltale signs of exhaustion and hunger (AKA "spazzing out" for lack of a better term)  At one point as we were walking in the fields and Isaiah was belting out a new song he was making up at that moment, an elderly gentleman leaned over to me and said, "He could win American Idol someday!"  So that's a positive I guess.  There was lots of people and lots of mud but it was very pretty and another fun adventure.    Here's a couple pictures.

Daffodils! 

Tulips!

I loved the bright strip of pink by the tractor

Lizzy girl

Getting a little squirrelly 

And I think it's time to go

Trying Something New

I love trying something new.  Even more, I love watching my kids experience something new.  This weekend I got to do both when we went clam digging for the first time.  Kyle grew up going clam digging and we've always wanted to go but you kind of have to work around the tides and the season.  That means clam digging time is not always convenient or appealing with three kids.  So when Kyle's parents called and said the tides would be right at 9am we jumped at the chance.

Headed toward the water

The day was surprisingly nice- which means it didn't rain on us and the sun peeked out a couple of times.  I didn't take my nice camera out on the beach because I didn't want it to get caught in a freak rain shower. Nana's camera was not so lucky- it ended up in a puddle of water.   Lots of people turned out to dig clams on Saturday.  Apparently it wasn't the best day of clam digging ever- the clams weren't showing.  But that didn't stop the kids from having a great time in the sand and surf.

Lizzy manning the clam gun

Kyle diggin' for a big one- mmmm don't they look tasty?

Auntie Kaylene giving Lizzy a lift                                          Nana and Isaiah shooting the breeze

I did not want to leave the beach until I got at least one clam with the gun.  I kept coming up empty handed, or a couple times I got a partial, broken clam.  That sand felt like it was getting harder and harder the more I tried.  FINALLY, I got my clam.  OK, mom can go now.

My prize

We had fried clams for dinner and there's clams in the freezer for clam chowder in the near future.  I love just being outside and being together.  It was a great day and we can't wait to go dig us some clams again soon!

Good Times with Grammy Bee

Frozen yogurt... twice
Happy Meals... twice
Hide and Seek
Trip to the toy store
Make your own pizzas
Unlimited stories and games
Movie night
Cuddles
Sewing project
Shopping
Walks
Chocolate milk/coffee at Starbucks
Overnight trip to Portland
Children's museum

This is what happens when Grammy Bee comes to visit for the week on her spring break.

It's fun.  It's happy.  Everyone gets a little spoiled.

Chillin' with Curious George

We made a quick trip down to Portland for the night to visit my Aunt Ruth.  We got to try out the Children' Museum there- a first for us.  The kids played hard the whole morning and had a great time.  I realized again how much the Tacoma Children's Museum pales in comparison to any other.

In the Diggin' pit

Storytime

Busy little workers all morning long

We also had a visit this week from my sister and cousin Isabelle.  Whenever Lizzy sees little Izzy she sits down, holds out her arms and says "baby!"  She has such a sweet little momma's heart.

cute chubby cheeks and wrapping up baby                            

Thanks for a great week Grammy Bee!!!

Haircut for Lukey

We love Lukey's hair.  It's the kind of hair that looks great messy and tousled.  It's soft, with a tiny bit of curl and bleaches blonde in the summer- the perfect "surfer" hair.  We tend to just let it grow cause we like it, plus it's really thin and wispy which makes it hard for us to cut.  A buzz cut just doesn't do it justice.  Here is Luke a couple of days ago...

As you can see he's cute as pie but we felt like it was time for a trim, makes things a bit more manageable that way.  He is four after all and not a big fan of washing his hair.  We usually cut the boy's hair at home but we decided to have a professional do it this time, to see if we could take some off but still preserve the surfer look.  Here he is before the cutting began...

Having his hair cut in an airplane, while watching a movie, with the promise of a treat if he didn't cry made for smooth sailing.  Although here he still looks a little unsure...

Lizzy had a great time playing with all the toys.  Someday we'll have to figure out what to do with the mullet she is growing but for now we'll just enjoy the fact that she doesn't know the difference.

Here's the handsome little dude when he's all done.

I heart that sweet little smile.  Sometimes I want that kid to stay little forever.  Of course I think he looks great and the woman who cut his hair was super nice but I think I miss his crazy hair just a tiny little bit. It kind of suits our wild and crazy guy.  Since it was on my mind I had to look back at a few of his longer hair moments.

showing his muscles on the left and a feathery do on the right- notice the head wound in both of them

And a couple of my favorites...

This is in Hawaii- his surfer hair at it's best

Love you Luke- short hair, long hair, or no hair at all.  :)