March 9

Yesterday, Chris' mom called to see if she could come see the kiddos. My quick-thinking husband replied, "Yes! Would you like to babysit so we can go on a date?"

What a good man I have.

What a good mother-in-law I have, that she was willing to go along with it!

So right after the kids went down for naps, Chris and I headed out to go... roller skating.

We had intended to go to a new wine bar nearby, but they were closed on Sundays. So roller skating it was!

We had SO. MUCH. FUN!

Meanwhile, the children did not nap. I think they knew Grandmother and Sally were there, and didn't want to miss a moment of fun. Lily had a poopy diaper, and Caleb conned them into letting him watch Star Wars. Fun was had by all.

We got home, and we read some Bible stories.

This girl is getting so much closer to being mobile! See how that leg on the left is out straight, instead of bent? She's started wiggling while seated, and can even turn herself around! I can't wait until she's on the move!

 

Goodness, they adore their Grandmother! Look at the expression on Daisy's face, and how Caleb is sitting rightnexttoher, hoping she'll stroke his hair next. It's too sweet.

Then the kids introduced Sally and Grandmother to Zingo. They had a blast!

After Sally and Gayle left, Chris took the kids outside to play while I made dinner.

Swings!

Look at how happy they are!

I love springtime!

I love Daylight Savings Time!

I love afternoon dates with my husband!

March 8

I spent almost all day running errands; Chris spent almost all day with the kids.

In the midst of all of our busy-ness, I caught this moment:

Chris was dangling a yo-yo in front of Lily, and she was trying to catch it.

She thought it was the funniest. Thing. Ever.

And she caught it!

If those pictures aren't cute enough for you, here's a video of it:

Yes, Chris bonked her in the face in the beginning. I love that you can see her trying to decide if she's going to cry or not. Then she decides that she's having way too much fun to cry.

Later, before I went off on another round of grocery shopping, I caught Lily and Tigerlily together. Tigerlily hates the big kids, but she seems to be really warming toward Lily!

There she is, peeking around a corner!

"Hey Dad! Do you see this? DO YOU SEE THIS?!?!?!"

I think her first word will be "Cat".

Look at her little hand going. I helped her pet Tigerlily a few times, then set her down to take these photos. She wants so desperately to touch the cat, but since she's not mobile and the cat is wise, she can't get close enough to touch her. 

I think that's some pretty good incentive to start moving!

March 7

When I saw that it was supposed to be sunny and in the 50s today, I knew we needed to get out of the house. After such a long, dreary, sick winter, we could all use some sunshine. Caleb and Daisy were delighted when I suggested that we visit the Botanical Garden this morning. I was delighted when my friend Amber (who lives nearby) made a last-minute decision to join us. Fun was had by all.

We arrived right after the garden opened, when it was still a little bit chilly. After much debate, Amber's girls left their coats in the car. But as we explored, they got cold. Amber rigged up some headscarves for them out of my ring sling for Mary,

And her scarf for Catherine. 

I almost cropped that photo of Catherine in closer so that her piercing blue eyes really stood out, but her sweatshirt was too funny to crop out.

As usual, we paid a visit to the sheep.

Right now there are just enough sheep for each child. I don't know what we'll do when Lily is big enough to ride a sheep, too. I suppose the kids will have to start sharing sheep.

(This evening, Caleb proudly declared to Chris, "Daddy! I rode the ram today!"

After we rode the sheep, we moved on to the raccoons. 

Michael sees you!

Caleb named this raccoon "Strawberry Looloo".

Daisy named her raccoon "Rackie the Raccoon who loves all Raccoons."

I think she remembered their friend Goatie the Goat who loves all Goats.

Goodness. I'm not sure who's cuter, but Daisy definitely has better cheekbones!

Mary helped Gus ride a raccoon,

And Catherine helped Lily.

As we were leaving, we decided to take a peek at the orchid show. Caleb begged and pleaded to use my big camera, but since I have promised never to drop my lens again, I initially refused. I offered him my iPhone, but like me, he wasn't satisfied with his images. Finally, I relented and let him use my big camera.  So I present to you the Orchid Show, from a Preschooler's Perspective:

I thought it was impressive that he thought to take a picture of the colorful flags hanging from the ceiling. When we were outside, those flags were at his eye level. He saw them and said, "OH! Can we go there?" Funny boy.

Sweet Lily stayed awake the whole time, finally falling asleep on the way home after being awake for six hours. After a long nap, she was ready to play!

She is one happy baby!

Don't you just want to kiss her?

I'm not sure if she was happier about the sunshine, or about getting to play with Brother's toys. I suppose it really doesn't matter!

March 6

Fantastic news: the UPS man returned my camera lens to me today! After being repaired, it is as good as new. You can't tell I ever dropped it! Now I just have to ensure that I never drop it again.

My first picture with my refurbished lens:

*sigh*

I love that lens. It was worth every penny to repair it.

We had a busy day, with MOPS and preschool all morning, and naps all afternoon, so that was the extent of my picture-taking today. After dinner, though, I sat down on the couch to feed Lily, and she was being so goofy that Chris got the camera out and snapped these photos:

While she nursed, she kept putting her foot or her hand on my mouth, then giggling. Funny baby!

This is what a really happy baby looks like.

Today at MOPS I was reminded how lucky I am that Lily is so sweet and cheerful 95% of the time. I've gotten so used to her easy disposition that I often take it for granted. But really? This child is such a blessing and a gift. She's a delight!

Don't mind all those gray hairs. I'm still trying to figure out how to go gray gracefully without dousing my hair in nasty chemicals every six weeks. Instead, focus on the darling baby and the fact that I am finally able to wear one of my favorite pre-baby shirts again.  Hooray for that!

She's so sweet!

March 5

Welcome to another episode of "Poorly Lit Photos with Carrie"!

Ok, they're not all bad. But here are some poorly lit photos that aren't nearly as cute as the situation was.

 Lily had just woken up, and I brought her into the kitchen. Caleb and Daisy followed behind us, both crawling on all fours. They were pretending to be dogs. Lily was fascinated, so I set her down to interact with her brother and sister.

She was trying to pet Caleb. Daisy was woofing.

Can you tell how delighted Lily is?

Don't get distracted by Daisy's insane hair. Look at funny Lily, cracking up as Caleb barks at her. I'm not sure how I ever managed with just one child - it's so much work to entertain a baby! Caleb and Daisy make my life so much easier in that regard.

Goodness. You can see how much he loves her. And she is so happy!

Of course, crazy-haired Daisy didn't want to be left out of the pictures.

What's that on her arm? It's the bag the newspaper comes in. I have no idea what she was doing, but it made perfect sense to her.

Much later, while the big kids were napping: 

"Seriously, Mom. This is so boring. You are so boring. Where are my brother and sister?"

She resorted to gnawing on fabric. Poor baby.

But I did discover this! She can stand and play at her table now! She's still too young to pull up to standing, but if I place her there she can stay put for quite a while. What a big girl she is!

And even later, Caleb and Daisy came into Lily's room with me to get her up from her nap. I folded laundry, and we discovered Lily's new trick:

Caleb is saying a line from one of his Star Wars books, "(crazy noise) Anakin Skywalker yelled out to the dark side", and when he says "yelled", Lily yells. It was really funny. They did it over and over and over and over again, and Lily yelled about fifty percent of the time. Is it a coincidence, or is she a prodigy? We all know what I think!

Then it was time to make dinner, and I tried putting Lily in her bouncer in the kitchen. She was totally uninterested, and wasn't happy until I put her up on my back.

(I took this picture yesterday, but it looked just like this today.)

After two days in a row of wearing Lily during dinner prep, I've realized: she's curious! She wants to know what I'm doing! When I peel the paper off an onion, she wiggles and cranes her neck so that she can find the source of the sound. She loves watching me chop and dice and saute and fill water cups. And me? I love having an appreciative audience!

March 4

We had a full day, with preschool, a trip to the library, playing outside in the sunshine and melting snow, and swimming at the Y with a surprise visit from my parents.

But this is the only picture from today worth sharing:

I know - she's a little bit crazy-eyed. But still. That sweet smile gets me every time!

March 3

Chris had to visit some properties for work today; they just happened to be six hours away. He left at 6 this morning and got home at 8 this evening, so it ended up being a very long day for both of us. I realize that for some moms, long days like ours today are no big deal. But I'm one of the lucky ones who has a husband who works banker's hours and loves to be with his kids, so when Chris isn't around, I notice it.

Luckily, we had a very good day.

When Lily woke up, I got her dressed and fed her bananas. She was only mildly interested in the bananas.

When I realized she was only playing and not eating, I cleaned her up and put her on the floor. Then, sweet Miss Lily looked at me, looked at her hand, and signed "milk". 

They say that now is a good time to introduce sign language to babies, but that they aren't capable of actually signing until closer to 10 or 11 months. Not my baby, though. She's clearly a prodigy, and already signing at not quite seven and a half months old!

Once Lily went down for her nap, I decided that the kids and I should make a modified version of these cookies for lunch. We were about to start baking when I realized that the kids had no aprons. Luckily, my wonderful mother-in-law has given me all kinds of lovely tea towels that are just the right size for aprons for my children. Caleb and Daisy each picked their favorite towel, I grabbed some ribbon, and after five minutes at my sewing machine, they each had their own apron.

I'm not sure you can tell from this photo, but Caleb loved his Eiffel Tower apron. It was a bit long, so I folded it up so that it had a little pocket, in which he tucked one of his cars. Daisy didn't want to be photographed, but she chose an apron with a bird on it.

My mom came over to watch the kids eat cookies, which broke up our morning nicely. After naps, the loneliest part of the day came around: dinner without Daddy. Eventually, I got my camera out so that I'd have something to do while I waited for my slow-poke eaters to finish their dinner. 

(Who am I kidding? They came nowhere near finishing their dinner. Amber, I envy you and your turkey leg-eating daughters!)

Lily wasn't lonely; she was too busy smearing food all over the place.

This cracks me up! Caleb is a master winker.

Then he wanted to pretend that he didn't want his picture taken and wanted me to take a picture of him pretending to not want his picture taken. Are you confused yet? I still am.

This is Daisy's "no pictures!" face.

I swear we brushed her hair today.

I'm not sure if she looks cute, or if she looks like a middle-aged homeless man.

Let's go with cute.