April 14

My mom called me at 7:30 this morning, when I was (miraculously) still in bed. She wanted to know what I wanted from Starbucks, because she was on her way over. She also brought donuts for the kids, and while the children delightedly gobbled down their treats, Mom helped me put together a last-minute plan for a family Easter celebration - tomorrow. Yikes.

Mom left, and the kids and I headed over to my friend Jill's house for a play date.

Jill and I are secretly hoping that Caleb and Naomi will one day get married, but something tells me that Naomi will have suitors lined up at her door. Caleb will need to be on his A-game!

We headed home in time for naps, except someone decided he didn't want to nap.

It is a good thing this child is so cute, because I really needed him to take a nap today. I had last-minute Easter planning to do! The rule in my house is that if you decide to wake up early from a nap, you don't get special treatment. I will go about my business as if you were napping, so you had better figure out how to entertain yourself.

Eli found the stirrer from the morning's Starbucks, and decided it was a knife. He ran around the house "chopping" people, declaring that he was the "Knifey-chopper". It was hilarious! You know I took a video.

While Eli entertained himself, Daisy and I began work on this cake.

She still needs a lot of supervision, but Daisy is a very eager helper!

Yes, she wears fancy new dresses to bake cakes. Don't you?

While we were finishing up, I heard Lily waking up in her room. Sometimes she wakes up from naps well, and other times she wakes up screaming. Today was a screaming day, and she continued to scream until I was finished with Daisy and went into her. I knew what I was getting into, though, so I brought my wrap back with me. We emerged looking like this: 

She was happy as a clam on my back! It's interesting how now that she's nearly four, babywearing meets different needs for her. Now, it fulfills her need for closeness and comfort and smooth transitions. I'm thankful I have this tool in my arsenal!