Strawberry Fields Forever

Or so it seemed - we picked a ton of berries today, and Owen and Charlie ate at least as many!

Lego-licious Birthday

Charlie turned 5 today, and we celebrated at home with a Lego party. The weather was beautiful, so Evan built an amazing ramp for the kids to race Lego cars, with Series 4 minifigures as the drivers.

Five and fabulous


Owen helps unwrap presents


A new Lego backpack, just in time for school


Lego marshmallow pops - props to Amy from Living Locurto


Lego bunting


Charlie works on his minifigure art


Checking out the minifigures


Let the Lego races begin


The cake - complete with Star Wars minifigures and Lego candles




Owen takes down his cake with gusto


Pinata time!


After some minor technical difficulties, Evan helped the candy make its escape


More Lego loot to end the day

Bunny Love

Ah, delicious chocolate Easter bunnies. How do we love thee?






One messy, happy customer . . .


. . . who went right into the bath

March for Babies

Today we did the March of Dimes March for Babies in honor of Abby & Colin. This year children who were born early wore shirts saying "I'm a March of Dimes Miracle" - Charlie saw these at the registration table, and said, "Look mama - miracle!" So we were Miracles among miracles.

Fueling up for the big walk


Ready to walk


Sunscreen hair art




At the finish line

Visit from the Easter Bunny

We have a bunny that likes to camp out in our yard in the springtime. Every time Charlie saw the bunny over the past few weeks, he would yell "EASTER BUNNY!" at full volume. When the magic bunny made his appearance on Easter morning, the boys were not disappointed.

Owen checks out his new bunny book


The hunt begins
















Later that morning we had brunch guests and another egg hunt


After a brief scuffle over the who got what chair, Carlos and Owen were happy to rest their laurels in the sun

My Two Sons

The boys have been keeping us on our toes lately. Charlie is officially registered for kindergarten, and is looking forward to summer camp at the Y. We've been working on reading, and he can sound out and recognize a few words. The other day I asked him to sound out the word "Frank" and what came out was of the expletive deleted persuasion. He's also been flexing his math muscles - he's been quizzing us on multiplication, and has started multiplying small numbers himself. He's been quantifying everything, including how much he loves us: "Guess how much I love you, mama? Infinity plus an infinity number of infinities!"

He is also obsessed with Star Wars, despite the fact that he hasn't seen any of the movies. We've been getting Star Wars books from the library, and between that and his preschool friends, he's got pretty much the whole story down. He's got his sights set on Boba Fett's Lego ship, and is already counting down the days until his birthday.

Icing, or a new goth look?


The new Carmen Miranda


Star tracks


Owen is running at full tilt, and has figured out how to open cabinet doors and drawers. He is also becoming quite the climber, and is so pleased with his accomplishments. He's still a little iffy on vegetables, and would happily live off fruit, cheese and bread. "Ball" was his first word, and everything spherical is a ball, which explains how a lime went missing from the fruit bowl and became a projectile.

What kid doesn't love the raspberry thimble?




Practicing with his Easter basket


With all of his new-found mobility and communication has come increasing independence and the classic toddler tantrums. But it's all worth it for the accompanying social development, by which I mean hugs and kisses. That boy can give a hug like nobody's business. Last Friday our friends came over to decorate Easter eggs, and it's not an understatement to say Owen and Eleanor made out the whole time. It was totally adorable watching them love on each other.

Incoming . . .


Target acquired

When Charlie Grows Up . . .

I have some pictures I need to post, but had to type these up before I forgot about them.

Evan was giving the boys a bath the other night and he had the following conversation with Charlie:

C: What are you doing, dad?
E: Well, the garbage is overflowing so I need to take it out.
C: When I am a parent, I will not take out the garbage. [Pause] My wife will do that.
E: Oh, really? What are you going to do for her?
C: I will make her good food that she would like to eat. And wash the dishes. But I will not take out the garbage.

I was listening to this from the other room and was in near hysterics. Should Charlie get married, this conversation will be my toast. Hopefully he and his fiance will have gone over the finer points of their domestic life before the big day.

Then tonight:

A: Charlie, you are getting way too big. It's making me a little sad!
C: But why, mama?
A: Well, because in some ways you're still my baby.
C: But mama, I have to grow up. So I can save the world!

Seriously?!?! I love this kid.