Happy Birthday Daddy!

The post is a little late, but the sentiment is the same. Libby loved making cupcakes for her dad, and I managed to pull it off despite the fact that baking is definitely not my thing. But, as it turns out, I can do cupcakes! Happy birthday darling. We love you so much!

Easter

We spent Easter with my family, and were surprised to see Jayden missing two teeth when we got there. Libby's sure she'll lose hers this week too.
Dying eggs with Juju and the boys.


We woke up Easter morning and Libby was ready to hunt for eggs. So sitting patiently through church and brunch was a stretch, to say the least. Finally, time for eggs!
Libby was afraid of the bunny last year and told me that this year she was going to give him a big hug. When she spotted him, she set down her basket and was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. It was actually comical. Like a celebrity sighting. She never took her eyes off of him, and was so focused she didn't even say a word. She just put down her basket and walked to him all trance-like. I thought she was so brave. One second after I took this picture the Easter Bunny waved at her. She erupted in blood curdling screams of terror, stomping her feet and shrieking for me. I was relieved she didn't pee her pants, because she was THAT terrified. Needless to say, the bunny got no hugs from my girls this year. There's always next year.....
Ready...
It's always good to be home, and the activity of choice this morning was dress up. I opted to post this picture instead of the one of them wearing only capes and underwear.

Harsh Words

I was helping Libby into her pajamas tonight and my little angel, standing nose to nose with me says, "Mom, You're old."

I bent her over my knee, tickled her until she couldn't breathe and informed her that she was facing serious trouble if she didn't take it back. This is how the rest of the conversation went:

"Who's older, me or Daddy?"

"You."

"How old am I?"

"Seventeen."

"How old is Daddy?"

"Eighty nine."

Alrighty then. My seventeen year old self isn't going to lose sleep over this one. I must say though, Shane looks good for eighty nine.

April Fools

I'm going to start by saying I thought today would be the perfect day to announce that a vasectomy isn't immediately effective and we're expecting our third child. But, I didn't want to be responsible for the panic that might ensue thereafter. Also, I'd like those who are providing childcare for us next fall to stick around. I talked to my friend Melissa who gave that very news in a voice mail to her husband, and I've not yet heard the outcome. Melissa, call me. I'm dying to know.

So, instead of pulling a prank on you, turns out I'm the fool. And my kids are in charge of this circus. Here's how it went down:

If you're squeamish about poop, stop reading here. Peyton loves the potty. She likes the lid. She likes to flush. She likes to touch the seat and then put her hands in her (cringe) mouth. She uses it for climbing, and she's learning to use it for it's intended use. Last night after Libby used it, Peyton insisted on her turn. I removed her diaper to find she'd already pooped. Tricky, but not impossible. I set her on the pot and immediately squatted on the floor to roll up her diaper. Apparently, the fact that she'd already pooped changed the (ahem) trajectory of things. I turned to look at her just as she "pushed out a pee". Everything happened so fast, but I know I screamed, because when the pee hit me in the face my mouth was open. Yep, open. My scream must've sent her into a panic because she came flying off the potty like it had set her little buns on fire. I'm pretty sure I caught her mid air because we managed to avoid any further mess. I did however, spend the next five minutes spitting into the garbage can.

Then, today while the girls were riding their bikes outside I found (in the garage) a sippy cup. It must've had juice in it, because it was full of sugar ants. Most were dead, though a few were still fighting for their lives. Gross. I set it on a shelf, but realized if I left it there I'd likely forget to bring it inside to wash (and sterilize) it.

{Note to self: Next time, throw it away right when you find it.}

So I moved it to a spot where I'd see it when I walked back inside, and continued sweeping out the garage. I turned to put the broom away just in time to watch Peyton take a drink. From the sippy cup. The one with the ants. Some dead and some still alive. Blech! We went inside and I had her guzzle some water to dilute any liquid that may have gone down. Now, Libby has developed a phobia of ants. She imagines they're crawling everywhere and she could barely walk on the floors in the house today. When I asked her if she wanted to have a rest in our bed and watch t.v. she asked, "Are there ants in your bed?" Sigh.

I'm happy to say we ended better than we started. We topped off the day with dinner from Toshi's Ramen and ate with chop sticks.

Grandpa Time

This I couldn't resist. Look at the tubby little toes.

We had lots of family here last week. My mom came on Tuesday. My dad and Margie came for a conference on the weekend and Julane and the boys were here for a different conference. Julane, Margie and the boys left on Sunday and Libby was happy to have grandpa all to herself.

Hide-n-seek.... Um, dad? We can totally see you.

An after bath snuggle....
Sunday afternoon I loaded Peyton in the car in an attempt to get her to stop crying about, well everything. Libby watched t.v. for a bit and then climbed up on my dad's lap for a snuggle. She slept like this for at least two hours.

Making the Most of the Rain

We had a busy week full of family and the house is very quiet today. Wouldn't you know it's raining? I've decided to quit my griping and make the most of it by getting out of the house.

We put on our boots, and didn't have to go any farther than our driveway to find puddles.


Going for it....
Pure joy...

For the Birds...

We've been watching (like hawks...no, like owls) this website for a week now. It's a real time web cam that's inside a barn owl box in San Marcos, California. The girls love it, and you'd never be able to see it in live action another way. When we started watching, only one egg had hatched and there were four more eggs. Now, all but one (I think) have hatched. If you can't see the babies, she's probably sitting on top of them. It's a 24 hour camera, but it's a little clearer during the day. Check it out here. Thanks Rachel, for the link.

Update: Now my mom's got us watching a bald eagle nest on Catalina Island. Very cool.