My little pretties

They say that you should never compare your children. Each child is unique, has their own interests and talents, and develops according to their own timeline. Well, sorry "they". I cannot resist the urge to compare the kids, and they will probably be forever burdened with their mom comparing their physical attributes, actions, behavior, language, milestones, and any other aspect of development you can think of. And if that make me the evil witch mom, so be it. But, my favorite thing to compare is pictures of them from around the same age with the same clothes, using the same toys, etc. It is a trip down memory lane that I happily travel. It never ceases to amaze me that the days can sometimes feel so long while the years seem to fly by. And in all this time spent together, I feel confident that the comparisons between siblings are mild offenses compared to the numerous other things I've done that will surely land them in therapy one day.

Lily in the exersaucer - around 6 months

William in the exersaucer - around 5 months

Emilia in the exersaucer - 4 months

William in the exersaucer just this morning. Geesh.

Lily wearing white hat - 3 months

Emilia wearing white hat - 4 months

Lily with giraffe - almost 2

William with giraffe - 2 yrs. 4 months

Lily with elephant - almost 2

William with elephant - 2 yrs. 4 months

William in the swing today

Emilia in the swing today!

The road that leads to home

I love capturing everyday moments with the kids. The moments that reveal the sweetness of childhood days. The love between siblings and among family. No, it's not always so harmonious in our house, and often these moments are sandwiched between hitting, pushing, pulling, taking toys, stealing food, and the like. But, maybe because of this very fact, I want to freeze time and soak in these times of pure perfection (that is, if you ignore the dishes that need to be done and the dinner that has yet to be started).

Lily and William waiting for daddy to come home.

The drive home is a beautiful thing when you understand the drive to be home.

Weekend warriors

Memaw with her youngest grandchild

Memaw came into town last weekend, and the kids enjoyed a day at the zoo highlighted by Mardi Gras celebrations including mask-making, face painting and dancing followed by a night of gaming at Chuck E. Cheese. What could be better, really? Thanks for a great visit, Memaw!

Did he really just say that?

Oh yes he did.

Love, love, love

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Snow day!

Well, snow afternoon may be more accurate than snow day. William, Emilia and I went to a fun WUMCHA Valentine's party this morning, and when I returned home, there was a message on the phone that Lily was getting out of school 2 hours early. Yay for an unexpected afternoon together!

Tackle time

More choo choo!

We met Carl for lunch at his work on Friday. William was mesmerized by the lights in the fountain in the lobby.

Carl took William to the bridge between Barnes and Children's Hospital where they have a running choo-choo train! William was in love!!

An up-close shot of the train. I love that they have iconic St. Louis establishments set up around the train track. I had to get a picture of the Ted Drewes building of course!

We happened to run into one of the therapy dogs for Children's Hospital. We even got her trading card! Between the train and the dogs, I think William would like to go to work with his daddy every day.

We decided to take William (and Emilia) on the Metro train so that he could ride on an actual train.

Here it comes - all aboard!!

We took the train to Union Station which was just 2 stops down the track. There, we got lunch and then rode the train back to Barnes. William thought this was about the coolest day ever.

That is, until he got to go to the Train Expo at the Convention Center with Grandma the very next day. Mom said that the place was filled with trains, and boys (young and old) were in heaven. I just love this conductor's hat that my mom got for him - so cute.