March 25

Today was - and the next week will be - very, very busy. Hopefully I can keep my act together and not let our household devolve into chaos. That would be bad.

When we got home from church today, Caleb asked to go for a bike ride. Daisy had fallen asleep in the car, I was getting ready to make lunch, so how could Chris say no?

My boys love their bicycle contraption!

(By the way - Miss Daisy turns one year old in just over a month! That means she's nearly old enough to wear a helmet and ride on a bicycle, too. That means we're now in the market for a bicycle trailer so that Chris can ride with both kids at once. I'm hoping one of you clever readers has some suggestions in this area?)

The boys looped back just to wave at me. Aren't they sweet?

After naps, we had a wonderful visitor - GREAT Aunt Maggie! 

Caleb was still napping when Maggie arrived, and he isn't the most pleasant person when he first wakes from a nap. It took the gift of a little yellow schoolbus and some book-reading to remind him how much he loves her.

And somehow I forgot to take pictures of Daisy today. Here are a few of her eating dinner: 

It was teriyaki beef stir fry with brown rice. Yum.

Dinner on the deck always means food tastes extra-delicious, except for tonight because the scent of a nearby lilac tree kept interfering with the taste of my dinner.

Clapping her hands. I always appreciate a good round of applause after dinner - it makes all of my effort worth it!

March 24

We accomplished very little today, but it was a great day. Yay for Saturdays!

Emily and Max came over for pancakes and playground this morning.

Caleb officially adores Mimi. I think he falls in love with every blonde who will push him in a swing.

Max is cast-free, but Caleb keeps worrying about his broken arm. It's pretty sweet.

Daisy wasn't into swinging today. Instead, she ate mulch.

"Hey, Ma! Look at me!"

And then she pulled up onto the horse. She's desperate to play like the big boys do!

Yay, Daisy!

She's still not pulling up to standing, but she's doing a lot more than Caleb was at this age.

Speaking of Caleb... 

The mailman (actually, it was a femaleman) brought him a new hat today. I got Daisy a big, floppy hat for our Derby Day birthday party, and Caleb kept swiping it and wearing it. So I ordered him a derby hat of his own.  I'm sure you remember how much he loves hats!

He was pretty excited about it!

Daisy couldn't let her brother be the only stylish one, so she rocked her oversized, floral shades.

Can you tell that she thinks she's pretty hot stuff?

March 23

Long naps always make for a great day, even if I am not one of the nappers.

Also, long naps are even better if, after two hours of napping, a certain little boy stumbles groggily out of his room, then asks to snuggle on the couch. And if that certain boy's mama happens to be engrossed in a book and can snuggle him while continuing to read that book, things are even better. Better yet is if, while the above is happening, that little boy's baby sister is also in the middle of a long nap. And if it happens to thunderstorm while all of the above occurs?  Then it is truly a Good Day.

Also on this Good Day?

Caleb watched the video of James Taylor and Carly Simon singing "Devoted to You" eight times.

Please ignore the mess and notice that Caleb is sitting at the computer, watching the video, and "playing" along on his guitar.

Also, we went to Costco (or "Cos-ta-co", as Caleb says) and found a rug for Daisy's room. 

She seems to approve.

Rolling around on its soft, plush, fluffy goodness.

"Brother, can you believe this awesome new rug? Now my room is almost finished!"

She's right. I put more stuff on the wall yesterday, hung a lantern, a shelf, and a frame, and now the room is nearly finished. Hooray! It will be the only "finished" room in the house, but that's ok.

March 22

OK, am I the only one who gets all gushy when she sees pictures like this?

This silly girl melts my heart. Those big brown eyes, that silly dimpled smile, those two little toothies... She gets me every time.

What a sweetie!

(psst. Does she remind you of me at all?)

Ok, she's a little bit cuter.

Daisy was so funny this afternoon. Caleb and I were sitting on the couch, playing, while Daisy scooted around. Suddenly, the girl disappeared into the kitchen. Caleb and I called, "Daaaiiiisy! Where arrrrre you?" For a while we got no response, just a rustling noise in the kitchen. We waited patiently.

After one more "Daaaaiiiisy! Where arrrrre you?", we saw this: 

Our little girl, grinning from ear to ear, scooted out of the kitchen. In her hand, a bowl full of yogurt melts. I guess the diaper bag was within her reach, so she had been rifling through it. She found her favorite snack and decided it was snack time.

Can you tell from her posture and expression how pleased she is with herself?

She even started chewing on the bowl.

She spent quite a while scooting into the kitchen and back - I think she really enjoyed the "Daisy, where are you?" game. And then I rewarded her resourcefulness by letting her eat the snack. What a funny girl!

Also, can I just tell you? Our boy has been doing great with the potty training. He's a champ! I was about to declare him officially potty trained, but then today...

Right after I took these photos, Caleb and Daisy were both snacking. But Daisy kept getting into Caleb's food, and he wasn't feeling the sharing thing. So I took Daisy into the other room and left Caleb to eat his cheerios and raisins in peace on the floor. A few minutes later, I went in to check on him, and found him still sitting on the floor, surrounded by a puddle. At first I thought his water had spilled, but no. He just peed all over the floor. No "Mommy, Mommy! I need to use the potty!" No warning. He didn't even bother to stand up to try to make it to the potty. And after his accident, no "Mommy! I had an ax-tident!" Nothing. He just sat in his urine and calmly continued eating his snack until I happened upon him.

Really?

REALLY?!?!

*sigh* 

Also, hardwood floors? Not as potty-proof as you would think. If you get to the mess right away, no big deal. But if it gets a chance to soak into the wood, it bleaches it out like nobody's business. Guess we'll have to refinish these floors after all.

But hey. There's always tomorrow!

March 21

Today was a photographic fail for me.

We had a lovely morning with Amber D., who is due to birth her first baby any day now. I remembered to pack the stroller for our walk through the park. I remembered to pack sandwiches for all of us. I even remembered to pack the fresh pineapple (trying everything to entice that sweet baby boy out!). But I forgot my camera.

It turns out the walk in a park was great for the kids - they were asleep in their car seats minutes after leaving Amber - but terrible for my allergies. And Daisy has *another* cold. Seriously, I'm about ready to put this girl in a bubble to keep her from getting sick. So we were both miserable, and I didn't take any pictures until this evening. This is all you're getting today:

This was one of the few happy moments this evening, when she wasn't fussing or dripping with snot.

Now excuse me while I sneeze a few hundred times and blow my raw, red nose repeatedly. Curse you, premature spring!

March 20

This sunshine and balminess has to stop sometime, doesn't it? Doesn't matter, though. We're enjoying it while we have it. Hooray for spending almost all day, every day outside!

Except for this morning. While Daisy napped, Caleb and I ate cinnamon rolls, drank peanut butter-banana-kefir smoothies, and generally puttered around the house. He even let me play on the computer while he lounged on the couch!

He's totally into this doggy blanket from GREAT Aunt Mag. Technically it belongs to Daisy, but neither child seems to realize that at this point. Caleb carried it around all morning, asked me to give it kisses, informed me that its name was "Cat" and it liked to eat cinny rolls...

Then he climbed up on the couch and asked me to cover him up. I used the ever-so-vivid blanket crocheted by Chris' grandma. So in this photo, Caleb is covered with gifts from two ladies who love him a lot.

Later, outside time! 

My girl, playing with her feet.

Yay for summer on the first day of spring!

March 19

Daisy wore five outfits today.

She got each one dirty and/or wet with all of her scooting around outside and drinking water to cool off. By the time outfit number five was wet and dirty (with blue marker somehow?) I just didn't care anymore.

But somehow, I only managed to take a picture of her in this first outfit.

I bought that top at a garage sale when she was itty bitty - not even a month old? I love it. It even has coordinating ruffled bloomers that are so stinking cute. But there is no way I'm letting my little scooter scoot around in those darling things and ruin them. So leggings it was.

Caleb ate an apple as a snack. I went inside to - go figure - change Daisy's outfit, and when I came back, the apple was completely gone. 

"Caleb, where is your apple?"

"In the trunk!"

Well, it sure is! I thought it was a pretty clever idea. Speaking of... I need to go retrieve that apple core from his trunk!

Caleb is into doing funny things when he's unsupervised. I left him in the living room while I put Daisy down for her nap. I came back to find this:

He was reading National Geographic, listening to music, and almost asleep. Thank goodness Daisy's nap didn't take any longer, or we could have had a serious accident on our hands! Then I went to make him lunch. It took me five minutes to put his lunch together. When it was ready, I went into the living room and found this:

Out cold.

He napped for over two hours there! Thankfully, he kept his underwear dry. I was a little panicked at the thought of a sleeping accident on the couch. That would have been tragic. Luckily, we had no tragedies today! Only sunshine and breezes and frozen custard. Hooray!

March 18

We spent the majority of our day getting rid of our big, ugly old mailbox.

Hallelujah!

My man. He's a mailbox-replacing master.

My girl. She loves to watch Daddy replace mailboxes. 

Kidding. She loves to wave at every car that drives by.

My boy. He's picking up rocks to throw in a puddle.

See his leg? It's eczema-free now. Why? Probiotics, baby. It's amazing.

This kid may throw tantrums, but I am seriously in love with him.

I'm also in love with the fact that he's wearing a muscle shirt and shorts - in March.

Daisy, playing contentedly with a bottle while Daddy and the neighbor work on the mailbox. Our across-the-street neighbor is a blessing straight from God. Really. Before we found this house, I spent over a year praying for our neighbors and community. Terry (whose face is hidden behind the mailbox, much like Wilson on Home Improvement. Remember him?) is Exhibit A that God answers prayers.

March 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We wore our green, and had a busy, fun day. Breakfast at Steak n Shake (yum), yardwork, a family trip to Lowe's (spent way too much, but on things we need), lunch on the patio, thunderstorms, naps, a trip to the mall, playtime outside, and a dance party before bedtime. It was just the way I like my Saturdays - a perfect mix of productivity and play. However, not enough pictures. I only got these:

Splashing in the puddles after our trip to the mall. It was a torrential downpour when we left the mall, so Chris and I got totally soaked. Imagine us running through the parking lot, pushing the BOB, laughing as we ran. It was great. Thanks the the BOB, the kids stayed mostly dry. I guess Caleb thought he missed out, so he was eager to splash when we got home.

Throwing rocks into the puddles.

A nice, big splash.

Then he said, "Oh! These shoes are all wet. I need some new ones!" 

This girl adores her Daddy!

I'm pretty sure he likes her, too.

I was able to persuade Caleb that rain boots were a good substitute for dry shoes.

More splashing. Yay for playing in the rain!

March 16

Today was a stormy/sunshiny day, and we had nothing planned. Nothing at all. It was glorious.

During Caleb's nap, Daisy and I sat on the front porch and watched the rain. I was wishing for a porch swing, but Daisy didn't seem to mind the concrete.

This dancer pose is actually her scooting pose. Poor girl - the calf on her front leg definitely has a big rug burn on it from all of the scooting.

Daisy's favorite part about being outside was watching the cars drive by. 

She got excited and waved at every single one.

Not even kidding.

"HI, RANDOM STRANGER!"

A gloomy day, yes, 

But also a springy day. I love this time of year, when all of the trees start to look mossy because of their little green buds! Plus, my allergies haven't kicked in yet.

The UPS truck came by this afternoon with a few goodies for us. (Our free trial of Amazon Prime runs out in a few days, so we had to make the most of it!)

Caleb got a Caleb-sized rake. It is my full intent to put him to work raking up all those nasty sweetgum balls in our yard.

Daisy didn't get anything, but I don't think she knows that. I'm pretty sure she thought the empty boxes and packaging were her present.

My little helper! 

(Who, by the way, wore underwear for his nap and stayed dry! Woo hoo!)