Picture Dump

April 26th is WAY too late for our patio to look like this. Notice that we were already ready for spring with the patio set taken out of the garage and the water barrel set up to collect the spring rains (not snow melt) We had actually already had dinner outside on 2 beautiful evenings before this picture was taken:

Grandma Ann recently came to visit us. We had a really great time. She and Laura seemed to really click and I loved having my own mom around. Here are two of the pictures. I didn't remember to take pictures near as often as I would have liked. The first one looks staged, but they really were having that much fun.

And the weather that week was really gorgeous. The snow in the top picture didn't come until after Mom's visit, thankfully.

Here's Laura going for a ride on her "Hummer" from Aunt Rosemary:

And Jim is starting Laura early on learning to wash the car. Sounds like a good plan to me! She actually did pretty well with the spray wand. Check out the cool gardening gloves from Aunt Kim.

Laura and Jim looking ready for a nap.

Oh, and the other day at a restaurant, Laura leaned on my shoulder and said "I love my mommy". What a great moment.

aack! she's growing up

Here's a picture from our nightly routine: bath, brushing teeth (the whole family), potty break (not necessarily the whole family), put on pajamas, say goodnight to Dad, snuggle in the chair with a stuffed animal and Grandma M's blanket, and then to bed. And the order of the blankets in bed is ALWAYS Grandma M's blanket, Uncle Bob's blanket, then Mrs. P's blanket.And we can finally fashion real ponytails that will stay in all day. The only problem is, they make her look so darn old!

Saya and Jin

Yesterday, Laura and I hosted some new friends. There was a Japanese lady in my last ECFE class that is only living here for a few months. I remember how hard it was to just be alone all the time in the Philippines, so I invited her over for lunch and a playdate. She brought another one of her friends who also has a 2 year old to translate. I was very nervous, but it turned out to be great! We had a lot of fun and it was very comfortable. Oh, and the kids had fun too! The girl's name is Saya and the boy's name is Jin. I found out that they do have a Japanese speaking playgroup that they go to once a week, so I was really glad to hear she has made other friends here that she can communicate with.

Easter and Laura's Birthday

Laura had a great birthday week. Kim was here the week before and the Jim's parents came on Friday to celebrate her birthday and Easter. And then we spent Sunday evening with the Mortons at Barb and Mike's house. Wow! Lots of family and we enjoyed it all. And I cooked a ham for the first time!

Here are some pictures from the their visit. Laura received a playhouse and a little car to drive. She loves all her presents. I can't wait for spring so we can get some of these toys out of the house and into the yard soon!

The whole family spent about 45 minutes playing with playdoh! Check it out:

A family picture Easter morning:

Papa and Laura building towers out of little jelly boxes at Perkins:

And our little Easter bunny, birthday girl (my mom says that they won't fall on the same day again for 120 years!)

Winter...Again!

Yesterday, it was 50, sunny and you could see all the grass. Here's what it looks like this morning:

Its still coming down fast in huge flakes and the wind is blowing like crazy. So much for spring!

Laura's pre-birthday

Because Kim visited the weekend before Laura's birthday, we have been opening presents for a full week. Here are the pictures so far and some videos. Jim's parents are coming tomorrow, so we'll have their pictures up soon, too.


Laura with her first round of gifts. Check out my fancy wrapping job! Sheets and towels. Kim's gifts are in the pretty bags.

Laura's new kitchen with play food and utensils and Aunt Kim watching. She has really enjoyed playing with this. It keeps her very well occupied while I'm cooking!










Laura and Aunt Kim coloring Easter eggs. We only cracked 2! And I guess I should admit that the one that was really cracked badly was actually my fault.










Here are 2 videos of Laura with her new piano and 1 video of Laura and I making pizza dough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nts_b-boIU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_EuXEKQjYA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe4o6S-3RXU

Cheese making!!

I made cheese tonight!!! I know it sounds crazy, but after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, I was really excited about making cheese. Jim got me a cheese making kit for my birthday and I tried it out tonight. It didn't curd exactly like it was supposed too, but after I worked with it a little, it turned out beautifully! I can't believe how easy it was! It took 30 minutes to make 3/4 of a pound of mozzarella. The kit will make up to 40 pounds, so I have lots of tries left. It also makes ricotta, but I really like mozzarella better, so we'll see if I ever do the ricotta.

Happy Birthday and ABCs

Here's a video of Laura's latest singing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a61M72earmA

And 2 pictures from my birthday. I had a great day. Jim left early and brought back breakfast. Laura and I went to storytime and then she went home with a friend so Jim and I could have lunch alone. Then Laura and I took naps and I relaxed with a book. We had pizza for dinner and Jim brought home some birthday treats. I almost forgot that I had a major failure trying to bake my own cake last night. Jim's replacements tasted much better and were much prettier!

Another booger story

I don't know why the stories I write about are always booger stories, but here's another one:

Tonight, Laura and I were snuggling before she went to bed and I touched her hair and felt something stuck in it. I asked what it was and tried to get it out. She said "Its a booger. A booger from my nose. Mommy, sing a song about boogers in noses." I laughed so hard and then sang a little song about boogers in noses.

A few new pictures

Here are few new pictures of the family.