Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

The Magic House had an early celebration today for the birthday of one Theodor Seuss Geisel. We didn't stay very long, but in the time we were there, Lily got to make a hat, meet THE Cat in the Hat, and attend their storytime. Once again, nicely done, Magic House.

William Oscar

Oh William. I don't know if it is because William is the second child, or I'm older, or William is just...busier, but keeping up with this child is just exhausting. In the time that it took me to answer the phone this morning, William dumped out the entire box of cornflakes in the pantry. We have tried to move things to a higher shelf, but he is so tall, that he can reach 3 of the shelves, and we need to use them. He can also open doors, so shutting the door is just a temporary deterrent. We really never used a lot of baby-proofing things with Lily, but I may just have to give in when it comes to William. His destructive ways made me think that maybe I need to offer more structured activities for him. So, I tried a few today. However, with a five minute attention span, the activities were short-lived. I'll keep trying to find constructive ways for him to channel his energy, and in the meantime, just thank my lucky stars that I still have 2 nap times to recharge.

Condoned messiness with shaving cream? Okay!

Big sister gets in on the action. And, yes, William did try to taste the shaving cream. This is one of those things that I think is best learned by doing. He only tasted it once and clearly was not impressed. Although, honestly I wondered if he would like it since he seems to be SO fond of dog food.

Later we tried playdough. In this picture, he had already been watching big sister for a while and so was trying to use the animal cut-out with the playdough.

By far, William's favorite activity was the mini-sensory table that I made for him. We used a tub with dry pinto beans, a couple containers and a shovel. He was super-excited about it.

Mischievous and cute

Lone Elk Park and Bird Sanctuary

Yesterday we actually had a weekend day with no scheduled plans! We decided to take a drive through Lone Elk Park, less than 10 minutes from our house. This was Carl's first time there, and I think he really liked it. Even William seemed excited to see the big animals.

The elk came to the road so we could get an up-close view. The bison were a little further off so we didn't get a good picture of them. Unfortunately the white-tailed deer were not to be seen yesterday. I guess we'll just have to go back soon to see if we can catch a glimpse of them.

We also stopped in the Bird Sanctuary while we were there. I don't know why we haven't gone there before. It was a nice experience, and the kids got to see a lot of neat birds.

Red-tailed hawk

William getting a good look at a chicken

Lily's identification of animal skins, footprints, and skulls was quite impressive

Great horned owl

Buzzard

Just because you're out roughing it in nature doesn't mean that you can't still be glamorous.

One of the eagles

A woodpecker

Everybody loves a day spent with daddy!

Pictures from the week

More warm sunny days = more outdoor playtime. Hooray!!

Mr. Mischief

We registered Lily for kindergarten on Tuesday! So very exciting. Lily's good friend from class was there and gave Lily her very first love letter! It says "I love u Lily. I lke to plae with you and {heart}." Lily drew a butterfly for him in return.

Some days you just have to admit that you are not in control. William dumped out the Cheerios for a shared feast between him and Terra.

Last night we had a girls night out (all girls from high school) and celebrated our friend Ali's birthday. It was so much fun!

Today we went to another rockin' park. (William and I also went to a different park on Wednesday when Lily was in school, but I didn't take any pictures that day.)

William was way into this teeter-totter, even if it was a little too big for him.

Just hangin' out

Lily and Andrew make sweet music together

William also enjoyed going for a spin on this twirly seat, but I had to spin it since he doesn't have enough weight yet to make it go on its own.

The girls (and William) loved this saucer swing.

Whee!!!

Lily with gal pals Kate and Anna, and the little brothers Andrew and William. (Kate's younger sister and brother were not interested in taking a picture.)

Yay for days spent at the park!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today we went to the new playground at daddy's work. It is fantastic, and no one is ever on it so we get it all to ourselves!

Dr. Daddy stealing a moment with his little Valentines. Carl did not have a lot of time to see us, but Lily just had to hand-deliver a chocolate heart to her daddy on Valentine's Day. She's such a sweetie.

Our Valentine's Day lunch: heart-shaped grilled cheese and strawberries.

Lily's Valentine's gift basket. After we were finished reading her new Valentine's book tonight, Lily told me that Valentine's Day is her favorite "season". She went on about the cards and the candy and the bouquets of flowers. Then she stopped and said that it's not about the cards and candy though.....it's about love - letting your friends and family know that you love them so, so much. Then she gave me a very over-dramatic hug. Even though she is a complete ham, I still love it!

I caught the tail-end of William laughing while Lily shook the bridge running back and forth. In the beginning, he was laughing so hard that he could barely catch his breath. These playtimes are so much fun to watch.

Even Sunnier Sunday!

We are so, so thankful for the gorgeous weather over the past couple of days. Our little family headed out to the park today along with just about every other family in our town. I've never seen the park so crowded! I think both parents and kids alike were just itching to get out. Other than the melting snow and ice on the ground, you would have thought we skipped ahead to May. Yay for sunny days!!

William did great on this rope bridge, going across it on his own several times. Like his sister, he is not afraid or hesitant to try new things.

William loves to watch the big kids. He spent almost the entire time trying to get to the big kid equipment.

William is looking like such a big boy lately. He's definitely left babyhood behind and entered the land of toddlers. He also loves slides!

William attempted this rope ladder. He didn't make it to the top, but it was a solid first attempt.

Of course, Lily is always right there to "protect" her little brother. Despite William's protests, I don't think he really minds so much.

Mom, look over there....AND STOP TAKING PICTURES OF US! :)

Sunny Saturday

Today was a beautiful (and busy) day. We started off with a Valentine card-making party. Lily got to see her BFF there which she was really excited about since we don't make it to as many WUMCHA events with William's nap schedule right now.

Lily then got to go ice-skating with Aunt Ingrid. While Lily hit the ice, Carl and I took William on a walk around the block. The weather was so, so nice, and William loved getting out.

While we were walking, William accidentally slipped on a bit of snow. He didn't fall, but he thought it was so funny. After that, he had to make sure to step on every chunk of snow he could find.

Happy, happy boy

After the walk, William rode the bike while Carl and I shoveled the driveway. When he wasn't riding the bike, he would pick up pieces of snow and throw them to the side, just as Carl and I were doing with the shovels. Such a sweet helper!

William and his ride

Valentine's Day Party

Since Lily only goes to school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, she had her Valentine's Day Party at school yesterday. As you can see below, William feels right at home in her classroom. All the kids, parents and even grandparents know William; I think he has officially become their class mascot.

William had one thing on his mind during snack time - taking Lily's food. Luckily, Lily is super-sweet about it and is always willing to share. In this first series of pictures you can see William gradually taking over Lily's spot at the table. First, standing next to Lily...

...then sitting on Lily...

...then Lily standing next to William...

...and finally William has taken over Lily's place and gabs it up with the other students. William is very determined when it comes to getting what he wants.


Making Valentine's cards

Lily with one of her friends from school. This little boy's mother told me that he reported that Lily was his girlfriend in the first week of school. Oh, the tangled web of love in the preschool world.

A group shot requested by the kids. After I took the picture, they each had to inspect the playback picture on the camera to ensure that it was okay. Definitely a generation very comfortable in their digital world.

After some games, the teacher read a book that the kids created. It was a book all about what the kids love. Most kids said that they loved their mom or dad, Lily said that she loved...porcupines.

William, once again, feeling right at home in the middle of things.

Today Lily went to a Disney performance (a birthday present from Aunt Angela) which was really a Disney-themed kids' magic show. It was really neat and a nice alternative to the musicals and ice-skating shows. (Thanks to Aunt Ingrid for watching William while Lily and I had a girls' afternoon together.) Lily got a Disney princess doll as a souvenir after the show. When we got home, Lily wanted to watch t.v. (Babar, her current favorite). I suggested that she play with her new doll instead. But she clearly wanted to watch the t.v. show, and so reasoned, "If I could just watch Babar with some lemonade, then maybe I would have the strength to play with my new doll." But of course, completely sound reasoning.