A little preview

Matt Wade, can you relate?

The things kids say

This morning Lola woke up at 5 a.m. ready to start her day. Whaaaat?! I don't think so. So I laid in bed with her until 6:00, and by then she was begging for milk and Peppa Pig. By 8 a.m. she was rubbing her eyes...

Me: "See how tired you are? You got up too early."
Lola: "I'm not tired, Mom. I'm just rubbing my eyes because there was something in them." (And those were her exact words.)

Yesterday I picked Lola up from school and stopped to get gas on the way home. I sat in the driver's seat and left the door open while the car was filling up. A couple minutes passed...

Lola: "Mom. WHY are we just SITTING here in the car?" (I realize typing it out doesn't have the some effect as hearing her say this... so I capitalized the words she really emphasized. And imagine it spoken in a sassy, annoyed tone that would more likely come out of a teenager, not a 2.5-year-old.)

And since when am I "mom" and not "mama" or "mommy"? What's next - she'll be asking to borrow the car? Oy.

Now this

Picked by Lola and Daddy less than a week after the snow. Ah, spring.

Snow

Finally, some snow. No one told me that becoming a parent would allow me to feel like a kid again. Every new experience for Lola brings to the surface an old tucked-away memory for me. And watching it snow - really snow - last week was no exception. This is Lola's third winter, and this was the first real snow she had ever seen... the first time she ever built a snowman... the first time she went sledding... the first time she caught a snowflake on her tongue. I'll admit I'm not a fan of the white stuff. And I'm desperately seeking warmer weather these days. But this was the perfect snow: six inches of fluff one day - gone the next.

Just beginning to fall:

The next morning: 

A hearty breakfast before braving the cold:

"Do I really need all these layers, Mom?"

Frosty Girl:

Snow bunnies:

p.s. I know I'm waaaaay behind here, but I've recently discovered instagram, and I love it. I've had the app for quite some time and just never used it. Makes taking pictures with my phone even greater. :)

Sledding

Happy Easter week!

Gearing up for the Easter bunny!

Finn Henry is 4 months old

Well, if you want to get nit-picky, he's actually about 4.5 months now, but Finn just had his 4-month checkup this week, and he is growing like a weed. He's following his growth curve - he's in the same percentiles for height and weight as he was at 2 months (big boy! see stats below). He can roll over both ways, but he doesn't do it very often. He is easy going, and he smiles ALL the time. He recently started grabbing toys (and faces), and he puts everything in his mouth... including his thumb! This is so funny to me. I giggle every time I see him do it. Lola never sucked her thumb, but this guy really likes it. He can soothe and put himself to sleep with it, which is wonderful. But our nurse and pediatrician both casually mentioned it is a hard habit to break. Sigh. For now, though, whatever works!

26 inches (90th percentile)

15 lbs, 12 oz (75th percentile)

FH

My sleeping buddy last night when the other two sickies went to bed.

Now he has a runny nose. Thank goodness for this.

Don't forget to wear green

It's 9:00 Saturday night, and my family is all in bed. I'm exhausted and should join them, but I'm enjoying the quiet. Lola has had some, er, tummy troubles the past couple of days. Then suddenly this afternoon Matt got sick. Like really sick. Like, I-think-he-has-the-flu sick. Yuck. I've been meaning to write a proper update on what we've been up to, but right now I can only muster a "happy St. Patty's day eve!" Hope you have some yummy food and fun, green activities planned for tomorrow. When I mentioned to Lola at bedtime that we have to wear green tomorrow or we might get pinched she looked horrified. I forget she's only 2.5, and the thought of someone pinching her for wearing the wrong color is probably a little bit incomprehensible. Oops. Nighty-night, all.

Finger Painting 101

Lesson 1: Take a "before" picture

Lesson 2: Wear pig tails...

Lesson 3: ...and a yellow polka dot bikini

 Lesson 4: Get dirty

Lesson 5: Red + yellow + blue + green = brown

Lesson 6: Use washable paint for easy cleanup.

This is seriously the "after" picture. Spotless!

Note: This happened on a rainy/icy/snowy day in February.

We were bored and remembered our friend, Regan, doing this.

Thanks for the idea, buddy. Brilliant!

(solo) dance party!

Shot this on the way to the airport. She was feelin' it!

If you build it, they will knock it down

(little) girls just want to have fun!

Oh, what fun!

A few pics of our beach house buddies...

From left: Regan, Lola and (cousins) Chaney and Keaton

Gabe is such a good sport:

Bubbles!

Auntie Jess catching waves with Regan and Lola:

Weenie roast!

More waves:

A little post-sunset dance:

Best buds: 

Beach bums

We're baaaaaack!

In case you're wondering, we've been gone since the beginning of the month.

Is it seriously already March 10?

We spent a week+ in Anna Maria Island with two other families.

(More on the whole crew later.)

We stayed in the most incredible beach house.

(That we all plan to replicate here in Missouri and live in someday.)

It was a little chilly, but that didn't stop us!

Enjoy this sneak peek:

(This is the house!)