Our backyard right now.

Again, the kids were running through the sprinkler 5 days ago.

March pics - William

A couple weekends ago, we had an incredibly busy Saturday with a Monkey Joe's playgroup in the morning, a Magic House birthday party in the afternoon, and tennis lessons in the early evening - all while Carl was on-call. Whew! Some pictures from the Magic House are below.

Carl started what is probably the worst rotation in Pathology. Granted, it pales in comparison to other specialties, but it's still pretty rough. This also came at a time when Carl somehow re-injured his back in a major way, and I have been sick with a cold combined with all-day nausea (and of course throwing up) and complete exhaustion from the pregnancy. The perfect storm. But we have been managing. Big thanks to both Ingrid & Ryan and my mom & dad who have taken the kids on various days which has been immensely helpful. And, Lily has a girls' weekend with Aunt Angela starting tomorrow. Lily started packing for this weekend on Wednesday and has talked about it every day since she found out about it. Needless to say, she's a little excited.

While Lily attended the birthday party, I got to hang out with William at the Magic House. He loves exploring and figuring out how things work. I very much have visions of him taking apart our phones and such in the future - inquiring minds want to know!

This recipe clearly called for a double-boiler.

Oh captain, my captain

At 17 months, William still is not being close to being able to give up the two naps per day. Any time I try to skip the morning nap (which is very, very rarely), this happens. He is not one for falling asleep in the car (unlike his sister who still falls asleep every time we take a drive in the afternoon), but he drifts off quickly when he sits still for a moment at home. Even though I appreciate the quiet time these naps allow (like right now), it makes it very difficult to ever get together with friends. His awake time is from about 7:30-10:00 am, 12-3 pm, and 5-7:00 pm. The first and last times are not convenient for going out, and most people we know have children who take naps from 1-3. Since his need for sleep is far more important than my need to get together with others, we will just have to remain isolated a little bit longer.

Looking so big in the play structure

March pics - Lily

Lily at the construction-themed birthday party

On one Monday after dance/gymnastics class, Lily and I had to go out to get some meds for Carl for his back. This is the outfit she chose: leotard and tights with red socks, boots, coat, and Carl's tie around her forehead, hanging down her back. Stay classy, St. Louis.

This past Monday, it was so hot that we actually turned the sprinkler on. After playing for just a short period of time outside, they were so sweaty that it was definitely merited. Today (4 days later), there is snow on the ground.

Lily discovered a parachute that I purchased last year tucked away in the closet. She and William have been having a good time with it ever since. On this particular day, she used it as a hotel.

Lily decided to make her own ice cream one day. She is forever wanting to create recipes in the kitchen. This one was entirely her design. It involved shaking milk, cream and ice together and then freezing. Upon tasting, she decided that it needed something more so she added a strawberry topping but still was not entirely satisfied. For her next attempt at this recipe, she has decided that the ice cream itself needs more flavor. I think we will revisit this later and brainstorm together about what additional things she can add to make it taste better.

Even Lily gets tuckered out after a long day.

Guess who's going to have a baby?

We are, we are!!

St. Patrick's Day

Lily's decked out and ready for school

William and I met my mom for a little lunch, and then I got to shop kid-free while William got to ride the carousel and go on the kiddie train with Grandma.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, our menu for the week featured a different green vegetable every night. This was from our artichoke night (which were streamed and served with basil-butter dipping sauce - yummy)! The week before we did a week of pie dishes (spaghetti pie, shepherd's pie, sweet potato pie...) in honor of Pi Day (March 14th). Can you tell that I've been searching new depths to overcome the onerous task of planning the dinner menu every week?

Lily's mama shamrock and baby shamrock

Dancing

This video gives a fairly good representation of Lily and William's play right now. William loves to imitate Lily, William gets over-loved (or in this case, over-spun), and then William decides that he may be better off on his own. However, he usually can't resist coming back for more.

Lily's growing up!

I fear this is just the beginning...

I promised Lily when she was two (when she first asked) that she could get her ears pierced when she was five. I thought that she would want to do it on the day she turned five, but surprisingly, she didn't seem as interested in it as she had been in the past. She has talked about it on and off over the past few months, but in true Lily style, she woke up today and declared that she was ready to get her ears pierced. We had a lot to do today so I told her to think about it throughout the day. When William woke up from his afternoon nap at 4:40, she was still committed to the idea. So, we packed up and headed to the mall. I had prepped her for the pain so she knew what was coming. She shed some tears for about 5 minutes after the piercing but then was just ecstatic about her new earrings. (By the way, she chose October's birthstone in honor of her baby brother - she is such a sweetie.) Daddy joined us at the mall just minutes after the deed was done, and then we all enjoyed dinner at St. Louis Bread Company.

SO, SO proud of her new earrings

Around the house with William

William helps with the laundry

Fun with forts