April

We were lucky to begin the month by helping my mom celebrate her birthday.  My parents were on their way back to Iowa after spending some time in Arizona and the kids were excited to have a reason to help me bake (and eat) a chocolate cake.

A few days later, we went to my sister's house to celebrate Easter with my side of the family.  Waiting at the door for the Easter egg hunt to begin!

A group shot before they were set loose to find some eggs.  It was very bright and Charlie just couldn't take it anymore, hence his hands covering his face.

A few action shots...

Another tradition, trading some loot among cousins while Uncle Marty handed out his giant chocolate bunnies to all of the nieces and nephews.

Then we headed to Cascade to celebrate Easter with the Supple side.  Helping Milo find some of his eggs,

showing off the fruits of their labor,

and the best shot of the 3 hunters!  We missed Max but we know that he had a great time in MN with his other cousins.

The Easter Bunny managed to find us at Nana and Papa's house - some kites, a red light saber and Star Wars shirt for Charlie, some Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood figurines and a Frozen shirt for Lucy and their own packs of "pink" gum.

Early morning amazement that Daniel Tiger and his friends came out of the TV and were in her very own hands!

And disbelief that the Easter Bunny was able to find a red light saber because mom has been looking and looking for one :).

Post-church pictures.  Let's just say that early morning sugar was still in full force and effect so we just needed to capture a few pictures before the kids bounced out of the frame.

I can't remember what was up with Charlie and Lucy at this point but he was being crazy and she was extremely amused with him - they really are each other's greatest cheerleaders for the good, bad and ugly.

Testing out our new kites.  Who knew that Doc McStuffin was a better bet than Yoda?  The force was not very strong with him that day.  Sorry, I had to.

Contemplating life among cousins.

The view from their seats.  Not bad, not bad at all.

A sure sign of a holiday done right?  Kids asleep before we leave Jones County.

Our "art" making sessions seem to ebb and flow.  Some weeks we're burning through papers, markers and crayons and other weeks there are more important things to do.

Speaking of at, we're really encouraging Charlie to start drawing people with hands and faces so that there isn't any confusion about what the picture depicts.  He used to draw complete people but keeps telling me that he doesn't have time to finish them.  Thankfully (or not) he hasn't made the connection between what he is drawing and how people may interpret what he is drawing.

We (including Doc McStuffin) caught the Hawkeyes during their spring practice in West Des Moines,

and quickly realized that watching a team practice can be pretty boring.  Thankfully, there was a school playground within sight so we made the most of a beautiful spring morning by checking out a new park.

Over the last month, Lucy's become quite the hoarder.  She's started packing her "suitcase" (a pretend pet carrier) with random belongings and dressing to go on a trip.  This particular trip required a superhero cape and a deflated cowgirl hat.

The "suitcase" was prized possession number one until the backpack came into play.  Packed in some hand-me-downs from my sister, the backpack has become her precious.  It usually accompanies her to school where she begrudgingly has to leave it in her cubbie and can be found in or next to her bed every night.  The contents are random - everything from little rocks to a doll to little undies to BJ's cell phone and apple slices.  Needless to say, I complete a warrant-less search every night to make sure that her treasures aren't one of our treasures.

We celebrated Pirate and Princess Day at school.

She requested that I take her picture one morning and when I showed it to her she said "oh - I have so much crazy hair!"  Join the club girlfriend!

We also made the most of our Science Center membership.  It's always surprising to me that after playing with one another all day or week that they still want to play with each other when there are tons of other kids around.  I'll soak this up because there may come a day in their teen years when they don't acknowledge one another in public.

Speaking of teen years, we received Charlie's preschool graduation photo this week.  He hasn't had an official ceremony yet but I'm sharing the picture below because my initial reaction was sentimental because I can't believe that he'll be starting kindergarten in the fall.

Any sadness I was feeling quickly evaporated because behind his graduation photo was a class photo and his look is priceless.  I burst out laughing when I saw his face among all of the smiling faces of his classmates.  When I asked him what he was doing with his face, he told me that he made his "scared" face.  Clearly.  Besides the deer-in-headlights face, he also wore his Star Wars sweatshirt which I specifically told him not to do that morning.  So he's covering up the cute Gap shirt that I specifically purchased at the mall the night before pictures.  What a goon.

March

March was a blur - it felt like we spent more nights away from home than not and travel always seems to make the weeks go by more quickly than normal.

After years of talking about taking a "beach" vacation, BJ and I finally booked our tickets and headed to Jamaica for a few days.  The beach and resort were great but we joked that we spent more hours getting to and from Jamaica than we did actually at a resort.  The kids divided their time between Nana Jan/Papa Steve and Aunt Molly's house. Not surprisingly, the kids had an awesome time and we seemed to miss them way more than they missed us.

We spent a few hours at the Coral Ridge Mall before the official kid switch with Nana Jan/Papa Steve.  The carousel and children's museum were both big hits!   l

Charlie's been practicing different smiles when he brushes his teeth and it's always interesting to know which "look" he'll sport for pictures.  We have pictures at our day care this week and it's 50/50 if he'll be pained/forced smile Charlie or smug/squinty eye Charlie.

The pained/forced smile that he's perfected.

The smug/squinty eye Charlie.  Actually, Lucy's also squinty eye here so she may be evolving her look as well.  

Proof that we were on a beach.  We used what I thought was strong enough sunscreen but we both ended up like crispy lobsters and BJ guarantees that his feet hurt as much as you would have thought based on this picture.

I finally found a recipe that Charlie and Lucy want to help with - puppy chow.  These two can shake the powdered sugared bags like nobody's business.

We were able to celebrate my nieces' tenth birthday and had a great time at their party.

Between trips to Iowa City, Dubuque and back home, we all had a new appreciation for the portable DVD player.

On one of our first nice days, we met some friends at the zoo and had a great time saying hello to the animals after our winter hiatus!

The animals were cool (as always) but go figure that the kids had the best time playing in the playground, 

Conquering the rope bridge,

telling secrets to friends,

and playing the drums.

My favorite memory of the day was seeing a llama spit in the face of a guy who a few minutes earlier had teased the llama with the promise of food, only to show the llama that his hand was empty. Justice was sweet that day.

Lucy's become quite attached to her Cabbage Patch baby.  Excluding an unfortunate incident that involved Lucy taking a blue marker to the doll's face, she's pretty maternal.  Most days the doll's name is "Joanie, Joanie."  Never one "Joanie," always two.  Other days she goes by the oldy but goody, "My Baby."

We headed to the mall to see the Easter Bunny and check out the little train.  Lucy talked a big game while she was in line but when I went to snap a picture of the kids with EB, I noticed that there was a singular kid in shot.  I looked down, saw Lucy's eyes as wide as saucers and heard her whisper "hold me."  I don't blame her, he does look a little creepy.  

All was right with the world on the train.

BJ was gone for a Wartburg event one weekend so I let the kids have a pizza party picnic while we watched some terrible show.  You would have thought that I surprised them with a trip around the world, they were thrilled.  Which is great because I continue to find dried pizza sauce throughout the living room.

Charlie was excited for BJ to return from his "meetings" in Waverly and he was so proud of the breakfast that he prepared.  BJ was a good sport, but I think that he was hoping for something a little more substantive following his night in Waverly.

 Finally, we've been enjoying our visits back at our neighborhood park.  BJ sent me the picture below while I was running an errand and while I appreciated the confirmation that the kids were alive and well, the photo also serves as a good reminder that I need to put Lucy's hair back before I leave.  If not, BJ will grab whatever barrettes he can find and the result is less than stellar.  But with rosy cheeks and smiles like those, who's looking at their hair, right?

February

February started with a beautiful snow.  Lucy was already asleep and the rest of us were settled in for bed when I decided that it was a perfect night to have a little fun in the snow.

I'll never forget the look on Charlie's face when I asked if he could get out of his PJ's and put on his snow clothes so we could go outside for awhile.  We walked around our neighborhood, made snow angels and tracked some rabbit trails.  He kept asking if it was so crazy that we were outside at night. I assured him that we were two wild and crazy people.  Unfortunately, the SNL reference was lost on him, but it was one of those nights that I hope to remember for a long time.

We did manage to have some time outside the following day as a family of four but I failed to snap a picture.

 The rest of the month was pretty mundane - we had hair cuts and confirmed that Miss Jenn's hair spray is the best for creating spike-y hair and that even when wearing a toddler-sized cape, Lucy is a shorty.

Post hair-cut looks.  Lucy was amazed at Miss Jenn's use of a curling iron and the end results.  Don't get used to it girlfriend, we keep it real simple here.

We headed to the Quad Cities so that the kids could have some time with Mike, Molly and the girls while I went to a baby shower.  Fun with cousins always makes for a great weekend!

Charlie and Emma sharing a quick snuggle before bedtime.

Checking out the antique car at the Bettendorf Children's Museum, which was awesome!

 Lucy happy to be in the driver's seat and to have Claire as a willing passenger.

 Checking out the farm section of the children's museum.

And checking out at the grocery story.  If you look closely, you'll see that the majority of Charlie's purchases were for cookies and ice cream.  I'm not sure why since I only serve fruits and vegetables at home and the kids happy eat them.

 Fighting fires is tough work but easier with help from Hannah!

 Our Friday night dance party ended as every party should - somebody wearing an empty 18 pack on their head.

 Lucy knows how to party too!

 Charlie and Lucy have their fair share of wrestling matches but luckily most turn into giggles and hugs pretty quickly.

A few funnies that I want to remember:

• Lucy has started saying "actually" pretty regularly.  "Actually, I want purple jelly."  "Actually, I want water."  She sounds very distinguished.
• Lucy is doing pretty well with potty-training.  She tends to be very impressed with any deposit that she makes and will often demand that we all "come here" to see whatever she's left in potty.  Between she and Charlie, I think that 50% of our discussions are about their various bowel movements.  If only Lucy could work in an "actually" reference during those conversations, they may seem more refined.
• Charlie is obsessed about preparing for kindergarten.  Almost every other day he'll ask BJ or I a question about what the routine will be like, how he'll know what the rules are, etc.  We've tried to assure him that there is plenty of time before kindergarten starts and that we'll get to go check everything out in a few months.  He doesn't seem to believe us.  BJ commented that it's like Charlie believes that he'll be escorted out of day care at any moment and sent directly to kindergarten without any warning.  On a positive note, if he starts whining about something we usually tell him that he'll need to do "x" before kindergarten will let him in.  The pressure seems to be working in our favor.  
• Charlie's current favorite song is "Uptown Funk" and he starts singing it at least 3 times a day.  Do you know what word is difficult to pronounce when you're Charlie?  Funk.  Do you have any guesses what his mispronunciation sounds like?  Yup.  I've encouraged him to use other words in place of "funk" but he wants to stay true to the lyrics.  In the meantime, I've requested that he keep the song to the confines of our car and house.  Let's keep it clean at daycare...for the kids.
• Finally, Charlie and I went to church last week and during the homily the priest mentioned something about Jesus dying.  Charlie's jaw dropped and he couldn't help but exclaim in louder-than-necessary-for-church-volume "what?!  Jesus is dead?  Is Jesus dead with Copper?"  I'm frankly not sure where Copper is spending his eternity but I'm certain that he is thrilled that Charlie believes Copper and Jesus are kicking it side-by-side.

February - you were good to us.  March - let's do this!