Backyard T-Ball Game

Calder's Birdhouse

Calder and Daddy took on a little birdhouse project together a few weekends ago.  Calder picked out the color (Fire Engine Red) and even did the painting himself.  I think it's the perfect addition to our backyard!

4/30 Update:  Tonight we discovered a little bird family living in Calder's birdhouse! :)

Gus & YiaYia's

While in Pittsburgh for the weekend, we stopped downtown at Gus & Yiayia's for a yummy iceball.  Dave used to come here when he was a kid!

On the North Side, since their Dad was a lad!

Springtime in Da Burgh

15 Months!

Tessa is 15 months old!  Here are just a few things that I want to remember about her at this age...

She absolutely LOVES being outside.  She can't get enough of it! 

Other things she loves:  lightswitches, big brother's toys, squeezing lotion onto her hands, strawberries, and cereal bars.   Oh, cereal bars.  The child could eat these all day long.  She loves to sneak over to the pantry, pull down an entire box and run off with it. 

Tessa adores music.  There's nothing cuter than watching her shake her little booty along with the music! 

She's starting to learn some of her body parts.  When I sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" she gets sooo excited and points to her head over and over. 

She's signing a lot more now and surprising us with new words verbally too.  "Coat" and "flower" are two recent new ones. 

She can throw a mean temper tantrum. 

She hates to have anything on her head. This is very sad for mommy who really wants to put pretty bows in her hair and fun little hats on her head.

3 1/2

I've been meaning to post about Calder reaching the great milestone of age 3 1/2 for quite some time (he hit that milestone about 2 months ago...)  Here's a glimpse of what life is like with a 3 1/2 year old:

Lots of talking.  Lots.  His little motor mouth never stops, but I don't mind.  I love hearing him spout out new words as if they've been in his vocabulary forever.  For example, my mouth almost dropped to the floor when I asked him a question recently, and he responded with "Certainly, Mommy." 

Lots of curiosity.  Not only does he talk non-stop -- much of what he's saying is question after question after question.  This is sometimes incredibly frustrating, since his questions don't always have an answer, or at least one that will satisfy him.  Other times, it's incredibly cute.  Dave was doing sit-ups in the living room one night and Calder walked in and said "What are you doing, Daddy?  Are you doing stretch-ups?"

Lots of bedtime drama.  Bedtime has never been an easy time for us.  He fights it almost every single night.  In the past several months, I'd say that the bedtime process has improved slightly...but the poor child just cannot go to sleep.  It's not uncommon for him to "lay" awake in bed for 2 hours past his bedtime.  We're actually starting to phase out naps, since bedtime is far worse on the days that he takes a nap.  On one recent night, I went in to check on him and he said "Mommy, every time I try to go to sleep, it takes too long."  and "Every time I try to sleep, my mouth makes a sound."

Lots of noise.  Little boys love to growl, roar, yell, and scream from morning til night.  Even 2 hours past bedtime.

Lots of silliness:

Lots of love.  Although he certainly has been testing us lately in various capacities ("I don't like you, Mommy.  Only Daddy."), he remains a truly sweet little boy.  Here's a conversation snippet from last week:

Calder: "I love you, Mommy"
Mommy:  "I love you, too."
Calder:  "I love you, even when you're grumpy."
Mommy:  "I love you even when you're grumpy."

Calder:  "If I don't love you, it makes you sad, right?"

Mommy:  "Yes, it sure does."
Calder:  "But not Daddy.  He doesn't get sad about that because he's a boy." 

First Popsicle

Little Girl's Best Friend

Tessa has loved Lucky from Day 1, but unfortunately the feeling has not been mutual.  Lucky is just not a fan of her grabby fingers and excited screeches.  But...the other day I managed to catch this sweet little moment between the two of them.  Perhaps a sign of Lucky's growing tolerance?  Or he realized that she's ok with sharing her cheese. 

Grandma and Me

I love this picture!  Look how perfectly they match. :)

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter!

 

Both kids did great with the Easter Bunny.  Calder ran up and hugged him and then quickly told him that he wanted a camera for Easter! I had my doubts about Tessa since she is very much a mommy's girl right now, but she was quite intrigued!

Just for kicks...remember our last encounter with this bunny? 

First Carousel Ride

We spent a beautiful spring day at a local park, where Tessa enjoyed her first carousel ride and and her second train ride (I think. It's so much harder to remember these things the second time around!)