Richard Scarry Mobile

Today we were parked in a shopping center lot and this car pulled in next to us. I know it is a terrible picture but I only had my phone and was nursing Celia. It was that Texas Longhorn orange that I always hope the owner got at a steep discount. Anyhow, Micah started saying "sweet potato car" over and over a la Richard Scarry. He's not far off!

Adirondacks

Today we had to go to the hardware store and while we there the boys and I spotted these cute chairs. They each picked out a color then we came home and had an outdoor lunch. I think this will be a regular lunch spot for us because having no mess inside was pretty great.

Noah kept his lounge position nearly the entire time. I'd get a laugh every time I looked at him.
Then they started looking for ants and the focus on lunch was lost.

2 months old

I can't believe it but Celia is already two months old. Words cannot express how in love, love, love I am with this little girl.

She is growing like a champ:

13 lb. 7 oz (95%)

23" (75%) long

15 3/4" (80%) head circumference

Goldfish

I've been wanting to make homemade goldfish crackers since I saw a recipe on Smitten Kitchen. Today Noah and I whipped up a batch. They were really easy and are delish!

I had to take pictures with my phone but they are super cute.

Last Day

Noah's last day of preschool for the year was on Thursday. He colored a picture and wrote "thank you Noah" on it and I teared up when he gave it to his teacher. He was so proud of it and I couldn't help but think back to when he was a newborn. I told Shawn that we'd be taking to him to college before we knew it. Shawn thought that was pretty extreme and I guess he was right but my goodness are these days flying by. He really will be starting kindergarten in the blink of an eye. I'm so glad that at least we have another year of preschool.

Noah on the first day of preschool.

Noah on the last day. I think he looks older.

Noah and his best school buddy, Nate, enjoying ice cream floats.

Noah with Mrs. Schubloom. Bad photo but best preschool teacher ever. I am thrilled that he started his school experience with her.

Everything okay ma'am?

Yesterday morning I was upstairs nursing Celia and the boys were playing on our main floor. Then I heard an unfamiliar sound. I quickly went downstairs to see Noah on a stool looking for scissors in a cupboard, which is next to our house alarm system. I entered the code and the alarm stopped. Five minutes later ADT called and said the fire alarm had been set off and asked if everything was okay. I assured the woman that we were fine and that my 4 year old had accidentally set it off. I then got the boys back to their art projects and headed up to get dressed but as soon as I got upstairs there was a knock on the door. I looked out the window to see a fire truck in front of the house. Crap! I couldn't not answer the door so I picked up Celia and sheepishly opened the door in my pjs. SO embarrassed. I explained that everything was okay and he said they have to come and check regardless. He then told Noah it was alright and went back to his truck. I shut the door and the boys looked at the truck from the window. Then the firefighter headed back up to sidewalk with two fire hats in hand. As the truck drove off the guys waved and turned on the lights. Pretty exciting for the boys and not really the way to teach them to never do that again! :)

Road Trip

This afternoon we walked to our grocery store. Noah rode his bike while I pushed Micah and Celia in the stroller. It is about half a mile away and I was amazed how well it went getting there. It may have helped that I bribed them with the promise of lollipops.

Celia snoozed all the way there. Thanks to Tisha for the cute sunhat. She is looking very movie star baby in it.

The ride home was a little less perfect. Here's Micah throwing a fit in the back of the stroller. Oh, how I love the twos with Micah. Even walking past the fire station didn't cheer him up.

Hot

Here's what happens when it is 80 degrees and humid in Minnesota. Our bodies are not used to the heat (it snowed two weeks ago...twice) and my kids turn as rosy as can be.

Hot and sweaty headed.

Since they were also muddy I made them strip down before going straight to the bathtub. I have a feeling we are in for a dirty summer.

80 degrees

I didn't take any pictures but this morning was one of those really good ones. Celia, Micah and I picked Noah up from school and stayed at the playground for about an hour before sitting down to a picnic lunch. The weather is so perfect today and everyone was happy and relaxed. Delightful.

Then we got home and happy turned to exhausted, meltdowns ensued and I was reminded why the good feels so good. :)

Mother

Last night before going to bed I went into each of my kid's rooms like I do every night. I love seeing them so peaceful and feeling full of peace myself. It is my time to let anything frustrating from the day go and know that we have a fresh start tomorrow. Sometimes the groundhog day-ness of being a stay at home mom wears on me. Cleaning up the same things over and over and over, fighting the same battles day after day, what to make for dinner. I never expected to have such a range of emotions as a mother. Highest of highs and some pretty low lows. I think the strong feelings stem from loving them so much that I get passionate about all that they do and say, who they are. Mother's Day provides me with some time to think about just how lucky I am to be the mother to these sweet kids. Being their mother is my life's work and all said and done I couldn't ask for a more fantastic job.

Spring Soccer

Noah started soccer on Thursday night. He played last summer and I just can't get over how cute these little kids are out on the field. He says he scored a goal, I'm not sure if he did because I was chasing after Micah and trying to calm Celia who apparently is not a big soccer fan yet.

Can you tell he loves posing for pictures? Ha!

Fives after the game.

Most exciting part of the night - snacks.

Spring Program

Noah had a program at preschool last week. They also had one in the fall. He sang a little but spent most of the time standing on stage like a deer in headlights. Wow have things changed since then. He was doing all the actions with the songs and was one of the loudest singers. Shawn could hear him in the back row of the church. Woohoo for Noah. It was so darn cute. These school events make him seem so grown up. They give me that want to bawl my eyes out feeling.

Could these two be any more handsome? Love them!

Here's what Micah wore to the program.

Afternoon art

The boys were doing some drawing this afternoon and I thought they looked so cute sitting next to each other on the barstools.

A little black ink on the face never hurt anyone.

Here's how Noah felt about my picture taking.

Then of course our parrot had to get in on the action.

Tummy Time

Celia's tummy time coach

Smile

Celia has been smiling for a while now but I don't really count it until the full body smile comes, when the legs and arms are in on the action. This week we've had a lot of those. We like it!