The great outdoors

In our household, life took a huge turn toward normalcy in the last 2 weeks and I am enjoying it immensely.

Since we've finished our carpet project, we have been able to take the time to play outside in our backyard. One day we took out blankets and had a picnic for lunch. Kids loved it. On another day, we just played around our sandbox that we are yet to fill with sand. We also went into our little thicket of trees for a bit of exploration. Those few days have been heaven sent, enveloping us with the feel of Spring. Amidst the pleasantries, I took away a very important lesson from our backyard playing. WE NEED A FENCE! Guess who can disappear in the blink of an eye? Not a big secret. I should not be surprised by our son's quick little feet, but I still am at times. Hopefully, we will tackle the fence soon and will continue to enjoy beautiful Spring days in our back yard. At the present, we are just waiting out the rain.

My own exciting venture is the garden that I am planning. I have to continuously tell myself not to get carried away. I want to start on the small side, with vegetable that we love and use everyday, like tomatoes and cucumbers. I've made few additions to those and am waiting for the seedlings to sprout. The raised bed is still in the works, but it will be ready by April when we are ready to transplant. I can not wait to be able to walk outside and pick some peas and juicy cherry tomatoes for a light snack.

Tyler's expressions

Our little man says so many funny things each days, I want to attempt to capture them.

Tyler says "cutties" for scissors.

Today, we put a chef's outfit on Tyler and he exclaimed, " I am a maker".

He also loves his "thockow bow", a.k.a soccer ball.

By the way, as I am writing this entry, Lydia is going through our fancy dessert recipe book and picking out cakes and treats for her birthdays for the next decades. We are up to age 29, and she want a hot lime shortcake pudding for that birthday.

Favorite activities

 

Lydia has been into making cards for everyone. I have some colorful card stock paper that she loves to use for adorning her sweet notes. She can do it for hours, cutting out shapes and writing out ingredients of cake recipes. Lydia needs writing help because she can't always remember how to write out her letters, but she sure loves doing it.

Also, Lydia loves to play with boys these days (I should clarify---older boys). Chasing them is a total thrill. She threatens to kiss them, knowing full well that they will take off and she will get to chase them. I say to myself, "Boys? Already?"

Tyler's favorite game is being chased. This morning he was wearing only his diaper when he came up to me and said: "Come chase the naked". That of course, caused some chuckles in our family. We go to the gym on Fridays and that's where he really gets his fill of running and chasing. Huge open space, bouncy floors and a bunch of crazed kids, what more can you ask for?

A recollection from the past months

One day we were trying to convince Tyler to do something. His response to us sounded exactly like this " and...go away". I was trying so hard not to laugh, as I gave him a small lecture on how that's not a nice thing to say. It is still a mistery where this phrase came from, but I wanted to preserve it in writing, so we can tease Tyler about it when he grows up.