Hugs and Bugs - Welcome Spring

So, I'm getting a little pressure from some people I won't name (um, Mama) to update the blog finally.  For the last couple of months, I kept taking photos, but I guess I didn't feel up to sharing them (or rather taking the time to upload them).  We had lots of sickness -- again -- with strep and croup. I'm so flippin' ready for sunshine.  Thank goodness Spring is here.


I know all you really care about are the photos, but here's what happened in Feb and March.  April will be a new entry -- soon I promise!


Oma and Opa visited with us for several weeks in March.  Mostly sunny but chilly days when they were here.  They spent oodles of time with the kiddos and as usual, helped out a lot with the house and garden.  It was a great treat to have a few date nights while they were here and Frank loved not having to cook every night.  They were amazed at how "big" the kids are even from a few months ago.


Of note:  Opa weeded and prepped the garden for this year's veggies.  Thanks Opa!  Oma cleaned the siding on our screen porch that we had on our "to do" list since the porch was finished in December.  Thanks Oma!  Getting ready for Spring.


Maddie invented a cool new game with/for them.  Buzzy Bee consists of Maddie chasing Opa in circles around our house.  Mason follows so far back that eventually, Opa and Maddie pass him and he thinks he's caught them.  It made for hilarious after-dinner theater.  Of course, Opa had barely put his fork down from dinner each night when Maddie asked him  to play Buzzy Bee with her.  Of course, he did not deny her. 


After Oma and Opa left for Germany, there were only a few days before Frank left for a conference in Denver.  Grandmama and Grandaddy came up to help with the kids for a few nights on their way to Charlotte.  They spent an entire day with them although I warned them!   Daddy mowed the grass, Mama cooked dinner.  Janet went to work.  And oh, it was picture day, and Ginger had a vet emergency, and while taking off time to get her to the vet, I ended up taking Mason to the Dr. for croup.  So we were all very happy to see Frank when he came back home!!  What can I say, when it rains, it pours.


Lately, we've been spending lots of time outdoors, scheduling indoor or outdoor playdates.  Soaking up the sunshine and planting our garden.  And I promise to post again within 60 days (wink).

Hugs -- they really love each other. I think Maddie has started to appreciate how mobile Mason is now.  She finally (sigh) has someone to chase other than me and Frank.

We bought a few new outdoor toys, and the sandbox is the most popular.  I think it is just big enough for the kids and every single one of their 20 plus beach toys!  

Mason loves to play ball and isn't really selective about what kind of ball.  Volleyball, wiffle ball, baseball.  They are all "abaaa" as he says.  

When Valentine's Day rolled around, I told Maddie she should sign her name -- to all 21 of the Valentine's cards to her classmates.  At first she was excited, then she got tired of it.  But after two signing sessions, the cards were finished and she had memorized the letters of her name.  (OK, I'm a bit proud of my pushiness here.)  A few more days of practice on the whiteboard, and she beamed with pride.  We were so, so proud of her and hugged her to pieces.  

Maddie  helping to cook No Pudge Brownies (really, that's what they are called).  She is wearing her then-new apron that I held as a reward for good behavior and then finally caved and gave to her in a Mommy moment of weakness.  Maybe the grim look on her face is because she thinks I might dump the High Fiber cereal into the No Pudge brownie mix.....hey, that's not a bad idea....

 

Family portrait.  Should we visit the dentist?????

First beautiful spring weekend meant picnic!!  Maddie, and it seems Mason too, loves picnics.  Smoked salmon, deli meats and cheeses, sweet peppers, apple slices and everyone's favorite -- salami!!

Pic-a-nic-a.

The next weekend, it was a bit windier when Grandmama and Grandaddy came to visit us and Oma and Opa.  Porch picnic time.  I'm so glad the kids love the porch, too.  We are really enjoying having a shady and covered place to eat and play.

Strawberry princess with her new German H&M dress on.

Decorating sugar cookies with Oma.  These cookies were amazingly good -- must have been all that love baked inside.  Maddie loves to help with eating -- er, I mean cooking sweets.

Both Grandmama and Oma get suckered into pushing the kids.  

Joking with Grandmama.  

Buzzy Bee in action.  Did I mention that the lead bee, and really all the bees, has to flutter his buzzy wings??  Opa was a great sport and I think he secretly misses the nightly buzzing.

At the Museum of Natural History in downtown Raleigh.  Maddie's third visit and my first.  She knew all the exhibits and showed me and Oma and Opa her favorites.  But she is way into dinosaurs, so we had to get a pic with this skeleton.  I don't think it's a T-Rex, but we pretend it is....she was a bit scared.

I love dinosaurs too and always have.  I think I'm saying something here like, "hey look at these huge teeth, good thing he's dead."  Or something equally calming to my four-year old.

Mason enjoyed toddling and checking out the beach scene.  I think at this age, he is just generally interested in seeing and doing new things, whatever or wherever they are.

Grandaddy with Mason

Crowns and Castles and Cake, Oh My!

On the 29th, we hosted a Princess Party for Maddie's birthday, and invited some of her friends. She was insanely excited about the party. The “princess” distinction was by request from the birthday girl.

The party decorations weren’t overly frilly and I wasn’t overly ambitious, but I had an idea for a “make a wand” craft that I’d been planning for a while. A week before her party, we thought we’d have a chance for a sunny day (gasp!) and we booked a bounce castle to be set up in the backyard. We told Maddie about the bounce castle only one day before her party when we were positive it would be great weather. She said something like, “oh, that will be so fun.”

On the day of her party, we also had a surprise visit from my Aunt Angie and Uncle Michael who happened to be in town. Although Maddie was seriously distracted and too energized to sit still or talk for more than a millisecond, Mason happily played with them while we set up for the guests. Thanks!!
Some of her friends came dressed in princess attire and we also had a Scooby-Doo and a caped crusader, er king. It was a lot of fun to see who would walk in the door next. Everyone had a choice of tiara or crown to wear for the party -- or as long as they kept it on their heads.

The kids were a great group and I think they even enjoyed the wand-making!

They started grabbing the glitter glue, so it was time for "hands on your head" while listening to the rest of the instructions!

While the wands dried, we herded everyone outside for bouncing and playing on the swing set.

Then it was cake time!

We assembled the kids on kiddie picnic tables and got them all sugared up!! I think I should mention that while we were getting the picnic tables set up, I handed one of the kids an entire bowl of M&Ms and said, “here y’all.” The bowl was empty about three minutes later!

Birthday girl insisted on blowing out all the candles by herself!

Kylie (Noah’s little sister) and Mason were right in the middle of all the other kids, although we have witnesses that say they spent some alone time in the tent set up in the living room. They are in the same room at daycare, so they are buddies.

Mason and Kylie closed down the cake table -- hehehe!

After cake, we managed to get everyone into the living room for Maddie to open her presents. I admit that I am not used to being ganged up on by kids, but that’s exactly what happened. Again, my Mom friends helped out and we got everyone seated on the floor. Phew!

Everyone wanted to see the birthday gifts -- the leotard must have been really interesting!

Maddie’s friends (er, their parents) sure knew what she liked. She got princess stuff, a toy dog, cupcake stickers and tutus, drawing sets and a princess mirror.

Thanks to the RuderSams for their help setting up. And to Robin and Amy for kid herding and craft supervision! What are friends for, right?

As the kids and their parents trickled out and it got dark, I had a genius idea.
Me: “Frank, is the bounce house still set up?”
Frank: “NO”
Me: “Can we blow it up?”
Frank: “I guess so."

Quick as winks, Amy, Robin and I were running outside in our socks and blowing up the bounce house. Hey, we only had 10 minutes until the guy came to take it home. We had to play fast!! We told the kids it was Moms only in the bounce house – no kids allowed. It was so fun and funny. I think we might have pulled some muscles and yes, I am a kid at heart, but that’s what birthday parties are for, right??

The Dads thought we were nutty and were able to hold the kids inside for about five minutes before the bounce house was invaded by wee ones.

Fast forward to 9:30 p.m. The house is quiet except for Maddie. It took her HOURS to go to sleep. You’d think she had a bowl of M&Ms or something!

Some random photos below.

Stella Dot and Maddie pre-party. Wait, where are the tiaras?? That explains these faces!

Mason loved the bounce house -- I don't think he was bonked but a few times (smile).

Wands drying while kids are playing.

Maddie and Noah chasing a runaway princess.

Stella Dot sneaking in some soccer practice.

Mason explains the virtues of juice boxes to Salem.
This was his first juice -- ever! He downed it like a pro.

My boy is such a ladies' man, but he's only got eyes for the cake.

Noah was quite the wand decorator. Maddie and I made him a crown to complete the look.

Royal buddies. Robin and I were having flashbacks to tent time during their first ever playdate in Sept. 2008.

The next day, we just relaxed. We went to our favorite park, Yates Mill Pond, and strolled in the sunshine. I think we all needed to throw a few rocks in the water and feel the leaves crunch under our feet! It was a great time.

My sweet pea. How did we make such a good-looking kid??

Frank and Mason shared some dude time.

All Maddie could talk about was throwing rocks in the water.
We finally found the perfect spot -- no turtles or ducks around!!

So glad they both love the outdoors like we do. It was the first time Mason walked this much at the park -- it's a loop around the pond. He loved keeping up with big sis.

Birthday and other happenings - Part One

We'd barely caught our breath from Christmas and there was Maddie's birthday staring us in the face. Even without her birthday happenings, this January was overwhelming with sick days and ice and snow. Since Christmas, we've weathered croup, strep throat times two and an ear infection. But there are always those who have it worse. Sickness just makes the winter seem even longer...

The post will mainly be photos and will be up to and including Maddie's actual birthday. Part Two will be photos of yesterday's party with her friends. As usual, she had three separate birthday events......busy gal!

Maddie sometimes wants to help with cleaning and folding clothes. Here she shows off an entire stack of washcloths she folded herself. She was really proud of herself!

Mason is now eating on the table with us instead of eating on his highchair tray. The first night we tried this, Maddie insisted that he sit right beside her -- I think we need a longer table!

Ah, snow and ice -- why must you make us homebound??

Mason displays his and Maddie's balloons from Red Robin.
Anyplace with balloons is their new favorite restaurant.

One night we had an amazing moon. It was so close to the horizon it looked like you could reach it.

So last weekend, Uncle David, Grandmama and Grandaddy visited, and so began the week long birthday festivities. We had an awesome day with them.

Uncle David brought Maddie a giant birthday cookie decorated with a crown and wand. Perfect! We ate a great lunch out and had cookie for dessert!!

Grandaddy gives Mason some rocking horse riding lessons on the horse he made for Maddie's first birthday. Mason loved it! If only his legs were a little longer...

Maddie opens the first of many presents -- a ViewMaster. Remember those? I loved mine and thought she would, too, so Grandmama and Grandaddy obliged. She calls the slides "movies."

Thanks Grandmama and Grandaddy!

Mason and Grandaddy playing with tissue paper.

While relaxing and watching what I'm certain was either Shrek or some Nick Jr. program, Mason used Frank as a lounger.

But after a while, Mason slid ALL the way down Frank's back until I guess he found a nice little "pillow" to rest his head on. So hilarious, I had to take a photo. Frank was oblivious to Mason's new position.
Fast forward to Maddie's actual birthday on Tuesday. We let her open one present the night before her birthday. And since we are savvy parents and it was bath night, we chose to give her the new Dora Mermaid doll. She loved it and wanted to take a bath with it right away. Smile!!

Frank made Maddie a special birthday breakfast of grits, eggs and sausage.
It was a fun weekday morning treat and she loved it!

Birthday night. Maddie gets leggings, a hat, an Olivia doll and some other stuff she wasn't wild about.
Like the Gotz doll I've been saving for her since she was a baby. Turns out, I should have kept saving it. It's like a German brand American Girl doll. She immediately dressed it in the pajamas she got with it, but hasn't picked it up since that night. I think this photo sums up how she feels about the doll. Go figure!

Quick, guess who is more disappointed in this photo. It's a draw.


Next post: Birthday party with friends -- wands and castles and crowns, oh my!!