March 22

The only thing better than a playdate with beloved friends? A playdate with beloved friends who come bearing 5-pound bags of salt, and Easter gifts for the kiddos.

Catherine and Mary made Easter gifts for Caleb and Daisy, which were a delightful surprise. They made these confetti egg poppers, as well as bracelets and paper snowflakes for each child. Caleb and Daisy were so excited, and Caleb was even more thrilled when he found this biplane in his bag. You see, this biplane belongs to Michael. It has long been Caleb's favorite toy to play with when we visit Amber and her kids; in fact, when I told Caleb that they were coming over today, his first question was, "Will Michael bring his biplane?"

When Caleb pulled that biplane out of his bag, I thought it must be a terrible mistake. Michael must have accidentally put the plane in the bag, and now Caleb would think it was a gift for him... but I was wrong. Amber has started a Lenten tradition with her children wherein they each choose one of their small toys to give to a friend. Michael chose to give his biplane to Caleb, and now Caleb is the happiest child on earth. What a blessing!

Meanwhile, Daisy learned some fashion tricks from Mary. One of Mary's favorite looks is the skirt-as-a-headdress look. Somehow, Daisy figured this out on her own and tried it out today. 

It was a struggle at first,

But she was quite pleased with the end result.

Much later, after naptime, Daisy helped me make dinner. 

She grabbed those bell peppers by the stems and shook them like maracas!

I will take a helper like this any day, even if she is taking up valuable counter space.

(Side note: I hate the fact that our mustard-colored countertops and cream backsplash make every kitchen photo look yellow!)

But I love my sweet, sweet girl!