March 15

Despite the forecasted high of 70 degrees today, we had to bundle up in coats and mittens for my MOPS group's Easter egg hunt this morning.

This pretty much summed up Daisy's attitude about the whole thing:

"Really? You just threw those eggs all over the ground, and now you want ME to pick them up? In THIS weather? While my nose is dripping this nasty yellow gunk? NO THANKS."

Poor girl decided she wanted to be held most of the time.

Meanwhile, we had a pretty good turnout. That's Caleb with his back to us in the navy blue coat and hood. He didn't really get the concept of sitting "with" the kids or "facing" the lady speaking. But at least he sat. I'm really hoping he learns these things in preschool, or he will be totally unprepared for kindergarten.

A couple of our moms were running late, so we sang some songs to waste time until they arrived. My friend Kris, feeling pressure to entertain the kids with an Easter-themed song, randomly came up with "If you're a bunny and you know it, clap your hands."

I'm pretty sure this is Caleb falling in love with her as she sang the song. He thought she was pretty spectacular.

Finally, time to gather eggs! It took Caleb a while, but he figured it out and had a lot of fun picking "special" eggs.

It took Daisy even longer to figure things out. She flat-out refused to gather any eggs until most of them had been collected. Then she was willing to try her hand at the egg collecting. 

Daisy's favorite part of the whole thing was her lamb basket, though. It was last year's Easter gift from Grandmother, and it is now Daisy's favorite thing ever.

Once the kids were done, I surreptitiously swapped out the eggs they had collected with ones I had prepared for them at home - candy-free ones, filled with stickers and Dollar Store trinkets that were actually more fun than candy.

And then Daisy pouted again. But honestly, I understand why. I caught her cold, and I am downright miserable. No wonder she's been so unpleasant lately! Poor girl.

March 14

We are seriously getting our use out of our Botanical Garden/Butterfly House membership! We went again this week (I think that marks three weeks in a row) with my friend Jen and her kids Caleb and Hannah. They had never been to the Butterfly House, so Caleb and Daisy were excited to show their friends their favorite parts.

We happened to be the first visitors this morning, and were treated to front-row seats of the daily butterfly-releasing. (One of the workers informed me that they intentionally have no host plants there, so the butterflies won't lay eggs. Instead, they bring in chrysalids from a butterfly farm and hatch them on premises, then release the newborn butterflies.)

"Releasing butterflies" sounds much more romantic than it actually was; because these guys were freshly hatched, they had never flown before. That meant they were hesitant to leave the box, and had to be unceremoniously dumped out. Kind of like the mama bird kicking her baby out of the nest?

Still, both Calebs were a little bit nervous. 

(Those blue blurs are the Blue Morpho butterflies falling out of their box.)

Eventually, they enjoyed the spectacle.

Hannah, however, was terrified, especially when one landed on one of the flowers on her boot. Apparently the butterflies are more apt to land on you right after they're released, because they're still novice fliers. Hannah was so traumatized that poor Jen had to carry her around for quite a while, despite the fact that carrying is a bit awkward with the 37-week-pregnant baby bump.

Eventually, Hannah recovered and Daisy was happy to take her by the hand and lead her along the paths. It was pretty much the sweetest thing I've seen this week.

Except that then the Calebs decided to hold hands and explore, too. And then my heart nearly exploded.

Sweet little girls. I'm so glad they're friends! (Also, Daisy is not actually that much smaller than Hannah - it's just a funny perspective.)

When we got too hot (they keep it at 85 degrees in there!) we came out and the kids did some jungle-themed puzzles.

This girl loves puzzles!

Then we played outside - despite the fact that it was windy, gray, and 37 degrees out - until Jen and kids had to leave. We headed home, where Daisy promptly began fussing. She didn't want lunch, she didn't want a nap (it was only 10:30, so I couldn't blame her), she just wanted to fuss. Poor girl has been running a temp of around 101.8 for the past day and a half, but I can't figure out what's wrong. Eventually Caleb, Daisy and I settled on the couch to snuggle - one on each side of me. Ten minutes later, Daisy was tucked under my arm and snoring away. Poor baby.

After I took her to her crib, Caleb discovered these butterfly wings that he made at our friend Mary's birthday party last year.

I love that nearly a year later, he's still delighted by them.

Then, Caleb demonstrated his newest skill: balancing on one foot. He wanted to make sure I got a picture of it.

That is one happy boy!

March 13

I watched Baby Andrew again today, and Caleb and Daisy were thrilled. THRILLED. They love that little boy.

Here's a prime example: Daisy was playing with the balloons left over from my birthday - a highly prized commodity in this household. But Andrew wanted one.

Where did she go?

To give one to Andrew.

Daisy and Andrew even had a conversation today. Daisy needed a new shirt, so she chose a polka-dotted onesie. After her nap, she excitedly ran out to find Andrew (whom she lovingly calls "Drew-Drew" now) in the kitchen. He saw her shirt and said, "Ball!"

Proudly, Daisy patted her shirt and said, "Yes! Polka-Dots! These polka-dots!" 

It's not much, but a  conversation between a nearly two-year-old and a nearly one-year-old is always precious.

Later, Caleb showed Andrew (whom he has nicknamed "Andrew-Cadandrew") his impressive long-line-drawing skills. 

The boy jumped right in and tried it himself. 

(No one had the heart to tell him that his marker was pointing backwards...)

After Andrew went home, Caleb practiced using my camera and we took some self-portraits. 

I look hideous and slightly misshapen in this one, but I love that my boy is pulling me in for a big kiss. What a sweetheart.

March 10

It rained today. All morning, and most of the afternoon.

Daisy was delighted at the chance to really break in her new rain boots. She (of course) insisted on wearing them to church, and happily splashed in puddles in the parking lot. By evening, it had stopped raining long enough for Chris to grill dinner out on our deck. This girl ran and splashed like a madwoman!

Those rain boots were worth every penny we spent on them at Goodwill.

Can you tell how much fun she was having?

And then Caleb came out. Daisy reserves this look of pure delight for her brother alone, and I love that!

March 9

Though this morning was rainy and gray, by the time Caleb and Daisy woke up from their afternoon naps it was sunny and in the mid-60s. We celebrated by heading out the the Botanical Garden, or "A-tanical Garden", as Caleb calls it. My dad gave us a membership for Christmas, but this was the first time this year that our schedule and the weather have cooperated for a visit.

Though I've taken the kids there fairly often during the past year, it's usually on a weekday morning. That means Chris doesn't get to go, and he doesn't get to see how excited and confident Caleb gets at the garden. Caleb loves the garden. However, today was a first for us: first visit without the stroller! Daisy alternated between enjoying her freedom and refusing to walk. But that's OK. Girl still has four more months before Baby #3 arrives and she's stuck walking, whether she likes it or not.

Oh, goodness. How sweet is this sassy little girl? Also, I'm not sure I will ever stop laughing about those sunglasses. They're just too funny!

Yeah. She knows she's cute.

See? Working on the walking instead of being carried! Chris started out with her on his back in the Ergo, but she saw how much fun Caleb was having running, and asked to get down.

Caleb was waiting for these sheep. He hasn't been to the garden in at least four months, if not longer, but he was talking about the sheep at the A'tanical Garden just last week.

Caleb's comments: 

Are these ears handles? 

(Well, I don't know if they're supposed to be, but they sure function that way!)

Why is this sheep bald? I'm putting some hair on this sheep.

 *scoops up mulch and places it carefully on the sheep's head*

Daisy could easily get on and off the little sheep, but she wasn't satisfied with it. She wanted to be on the big sheep.

Caleb and Daisy were both delighted by this kinetic sculpture. I love that in this picture, Daisy is fascinated by the sculpture and Caleb is fascinated by her.

My Daisy on the stone Daisy!

I don't think I ever posted this picture on the blog: 

My friend Amber took it when we visited the Garden almost exactly a year ago. Do you remember that? It's funny how much and how little changes in one year! Then, Amber was about 20 weeks pregnant with Gussie; now I'm nearly 23 weeks pregnant with this little one. Funny, isn't it?

Also funny? The Ergo is still seriously comfortable, even with a 22-month-old on my back and a 23-week baby in my belly. (Can you believe we're over halfway there?)

March 8

I've been a neglectful blogger this week, but I promise nothing is wrong. We've just been so busy that I haven't had a chance to take pictures!  Monday we visited the Butterfly House (again) with friends, Tuesday was my 22-week prenatal appointment (everything is great), Wednesday we played with Baby Andrew, Thursday was MOPS... and today Chris took the day off work so that I could go shopping for some new clothes. It was his birthday gift to me. 

But luckily, this afternoon was gorgeous, so after I was done shopping, we got in some outdoor time.

When Caleb wears this hoodie, he pretends that he is Moon Mater. (The link is to the 4-minute video of Moon Mater. It's Caleb's favorite, and I can't believe it's on the internet, in its entirety, for free!) The hood is his bubble-top helmet. He's pretty silly about it.

I picked up these sunglasses for Daisy while I was shopping today. They were too hilarious (and inexpensive) to pass up, and she loved them!

Have I mentioned Daisy's new rain boots? I don't think I have. Last week, we took a family trip to Goodwill to find a clock for Daisy's room. While we were searching, we stumbled across these brand-new Cars 2 rainboots. I knew Caleb would love them, but they were *gasp* size Toddler 3/4. Daisy's size. That never happens; at least, it never happens with rain boots. I found a darling pair of boots for her at Christmastime, but they were size 7/8, so they don't even come remotely close to staying on her feet.  So when I found these in her size, I snatched them up, regardless of the fact that they were "boy" shoes.

She loves them.

They are her new go-to shoes; in fact, on Sunday I put a cute little jumper and leggings on her, and told her to go get some shoes. She came into the kitchen carrying her rain boots, grinned at me, and said, "Here. These perfect!"

Love that girl!

(Side note: We've been on the GAPS diet for five months today. For the past two months, Daisy hasn't gained any weight; she's held steady at 19.8 pounds due to various colds and stomach bugs. But today I weighed her, and she has officially passed the twenty-pound mark! Daisy now weighs 20.4 pounds! When we started five months ago, she weighed 18.6 pounds. Not quite two pounds in five months doesn't sound like a lot, but we've fought for every single ounce. So yay, Daisy!)

March 2

We took the kids to the Butterfly House this morning for their March Morpho Madness - an influx of thousands of blue Morpho butterflies. Caleb was excited, but then grew apprehensive. He said, "I don't want the butterflies to bite me!" It took a lot of persuasion to convince him that butterflies don't bite or sting or harm in any way. Luckily, most of that persuading happened on the walk in to the Butterfly House, so he didn't have a major freak-out when we entered the butterfly area.

But that didn't mean he wasn't still terrified.

Luckily, once he saw the pond and waterfall, he was willing to walk on his own. This boy loves waterfalls!

Daisy was a bit harder to persuade. She prefers to be carried in public, anyway (I'm going to have to break her of that habit before this baby comes, or the baby will break it for her!), but when there are winged swoopy things involved, she definitely wants to be carried.

(Side note: Girl insisted on wearing her snow boots to the Butterfly House. There was a major meltdown when Chris even suggested other shoes.)

Progress! Sitting next to Daddy on a bench, but still holding his hand.

And then the butterflies attacked. 

Kidding. There was no attacking, but you wouldn't know it from the kids reactions. See the Blue Morpho flying in front of Chris? See how afraid Caleb is? He did grow less and less concerned the longer we stayed, though.

He was curious about the butterfly on the orange flower, and it obliged by staying put for a while so that he could inspect it.

But the butterfly stayed put for a suspiciously long while... it may have been so cooperative because it was deceased. But we're not picky butterfly watchers.

Neither Chris nor Daisy were aware of it, but one butterfly took a particular liking to Daisy's snow boots! Caleb and I thought it was pretty funny.

And then, a little butterfly decided that Chris' curls were a great place to rest.

Caleb and Daisy were delighted!

OK, maybe Daisy was a little suspicious. But that girl is suspicious about most things.

She's not suspicious about me, though!

My darlings.

After we left the butterfly area, there were still plenty of bugs to see. This bubble display of cockroaches was pretty exciting.

Even Daisy and Chris enjoyed it!

On another topic entirely: 

Tonight at dinner, we had this conversation with Caleb:

Chris: Caleb, do you know that I love your mommy very, very much?

Me: Someday you'll find a girl that you'll love as much as you love Mommy, and then you can marry her and you can snuggle and hold hands and cuddle.

Caleb: And have children!

We all laugh.

Caleb: Yes. I'll marry her and she'll be my princess. And I'll have a baby in my belly... a baby... I want my princess to have a baby in her belly just like Mommy's. And we'll call it Baby Donald Duck and my princess and I and Baby Donald Duck will all play in the snow. And Daisy can play with us!