Big Baby's Birthday

Apparently today was Big Baby's birthday. So Caroline made a birthday cake out of crushed crackers and cereal and put it on top of a box with a fake candle in it. Then we all had to sing "Happy Birthday" to Big Baby. Caroline was pleased.

Ripsticking and scootering

I took the kids out of the house while we got new windows installed. Peder is really skilled with his "ripstick" abilities. Caroline loves scooting around on her scooter. Even Murray went with us.

One of the games Caroline wanted to play was "the running game". She said "Mommy, let's play running, and you stay there!" Now that's the kind of game I like to play!

Look Mom, I'm a Turtle!

Neighborhood Friends

The little boy from next door came over this evening while the kids were out playing. I just love the look on his face as he tries to take a turn with the car. Caroline looked at him like "What's your problem?"

Having Fun

How much fun can one person have with packing peanuts??

Caroline at Playground

Mark was out of town this week, so mom and I took the kids to the playground. They had fun but both got sick (allergies, etc.) later in the week. Bad air outside? They always seen to get sick in April for some reason. My mother made this collage. Love Caroline's hair...

Drinking and Driving

Big Baby looks scared. Well, she always looks that way.

LEGO Builders

Peder and Caroline were building with old LEGOS (circa 1974) that my brother used to play with as a kid. Some of the pieces were brittle and broke, but Peder still was able to build a very cool airplane and truck. LEGOs are a great classic toy!

New Sandbox

Our neighbors generously gave us a toy sandbox and slide for Caroline. I think Peder had a ladybug sandbox (this one is a turtle) that I had gotten from a garage sale. We gave it away long ago. Now Peder is enjoying Caroline's sandbox just as much as she is. I forgot how messy sand can be, though!

Playing Outside

While Peder and Mark practiced soccer with some friends from school, Caroline and I enjoyed the weather in the backyard. Our little green-cheeked conure, Katie, came outside with us too. Caroline LOVES being outside. I was trying to clean off some of the chairs (the stuff falling off the trees is horrible) and Caroline wanted to help, as usual. The only problem is that she likes to clean off something with a sponge, then washes it out with water but puts the sponge in her mouth. Yuck!

We're enjoying perfect spring weather (high 70s), but we could do without the allergies. We are all suffering.

Bubbles at Bathtime

Caroline LOVES bubbles while sitting in her bathtub. I usually blow the bubbles because, after all I am a speech therapist, and everyone knows that SLPs are GREAT at blowing bubbles. It's the first item in our bag of tricks. Anyway, tonight Daddy blew the bubbles and Caroline was quite satisfied. I give Daddy an 8 if I had to rank him, with a 10 being perfect at bubble blowing. I didn't see any monster size bubbles and she really likes those big ones. He will need to practice to keep her happy.

Caroline also HATES having her hair washed. (Peder did too) So, I've found that she's somewhat distracted when I pretend that the duckies and whales need to be washed too. I put shampoo on them and give her a little washcloth. She talks away while she washes them. There's still drama when we wash her hair but she gets over it quicker.

Piano with my Pals

Peder is taking piano lessons right now and Caroline always wants to "pay" with him. She's usually gated off from our front room which has the piano so it's always a treat for her to sit on the bench. She was pretending to play with her stuffed animal friends. Froggie had trouble staying awake, I think.

I love...

...to watch Peder and Caroline have fun together.

Peder March 2003

I couldn't resist looking back at old pictures of Peder when he first used the same easel. As you can see, he was working so hard and seriously that he had to remove his shirt to get the job done. It's hard work being a toddler! Peder was almost exactly the same age as Caroline (22 months) is now.

Coloring Away at the Easel

We got this easel from IKEA when Peder was about 3 years old and he used it A LOT! We recently took it out for Caroline. Mark noticed that she was getting frustrated because she was using the side that didn't have a tray on it to hold crayons. Well, that just wouldn't do for Mark to have his daughter inconvenienced by such a thing. So, he attached a little bucket for her crayons. He's thinking of putting another one on the other side of the easel. You never can have too many crayons!