A Balloon at Safeway: The Inevitable Outcome

Today a very nice lady gave the kids balloons while we were at Safeway. They were very excited, and I was very wary: this never usually ends well. Lizzy FINALLY will let me tie the balloon string around her wrist, and there is a high likelihood the balloon will actually make it home. Peter......all bets are off. He won't tie it around his wrist and insists upon holding on to the string, which is great.....until he forgets and it flies away and the predictable panic and hysteria result. This exact scenario unfolded in produce, except a kindly produce man stepped in and was able to run and jump and just reach the balloon string and, like the hero he was, had it back to Peter! Success, you are so sweet, yet so fleeting! Barely two minutes later off flew the balloon in the meat area and, due to the higher ceilings, was out of reach, but still so frustratingly close, a total teaser, right beyond our grasp. Oh poor Peter, crying and reaching up for his balloon, not understanding why it wouldn't come down! This could have been the sad ending to our balloon saga, but because Peter is so lucky, and has such a very nice big sister, Lizzy stepped in right away and said, "Here Peter! You can hold on to part of my balloon! You can have this part of the string and we can share." And because Peter is so agreeable, and easily loves any suggestion his sister makes, he grabbed right on and was happy as could be the rest of the time. And as those two little ones meandered around, clutching onto their piece of the string, a single balloon bobbing between them, I was the only one that knew that on this day we won the balloon battle and kindness and generosity won out over the finicky fleetingness of balloons.

Grandma's Birthday!

It's always REALLY fun when we get to see all of our cousins and family at the same time, and in the same place- a rarity, for sure, so you know it must be for something important. And it was: our Grandma's Birthday! Our Grandma has had a long, tough year, battling lymphoma and recovering from a knee replacement, so we were all so thankful to celebrate not only her birthday, but her courage, her spirit, and her beautiful heart. Her greatest joy is to see her children and grandchildren all together (a joy I can totally understand because it's my favorite thing too). We met at a restaurant in Davis and had a big room all to ourselves, so the kids were in heaven. Everyone did great at lunch, laughing and playing together, and it was a very fun day. We even got to play at our cousins' house after, which is always the best. We love you Grandma, and we hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Playdate with Maddie and Jack

Our neighbors had an afternoon playdate in honor of their daddy's birthday. You can tell everyone is growing up, because all the kids had lots of fun playing together, and even the mommies and daddies got to enjoy themselves a little bit while the kids played. One of the favorite activities of the night: dress-up! Paige, Maddie, Lizzy, and Drew made a very beautiful (and handsome) crew, and paraded all around in their gorgeous get-ups. Peter saw what they were doing and pulled me into the house to help him put on a skirt and high heels. Here he is, in all his manly glory, playing in the kitchen in his skirt. Oh, his daddy must be so proud! I guess we'll let it go for a little while.....since he's also super in to cars, trains, and balls too;)

Team Cheer

Lizzy's soccer class has started up again. She had a great time dribbling the ball around and kicking it into the goal. At the end of every class, all the kids get together for a team cheer. Look carefully and you may spot an interloper- someone ran over to join the big kids, put his hand in with the others, and joined in on the cheer. Too cute!

Farmer's Market!

Our cousins were on Spring Break, so we decided it would be a perfect time to visit them and spend some time with our favorite people. Of course we had to hit our favorite spot- the most awesome farmer's market in the world! We made a "scooter parade," with Patrick as our leader, and rode all the way there. Much to Peter's chagrin, he wasn't quite ready for scootering, so he followed in his car. We had a great pizza dinner and listened to the live music. Patrick danced while the girls and Peter climbed on a nearby railing. We went to the bouncy houses, and were amazed that all the kids, even Peter, waited so patiently in line for their turns. After we played at the playground for a little while and went on the merry-go-round. I was nervous that Peter was a little small for it, but in typical fashion, he loved it, and held on very proudly. We hit the face painting station and Lizzy and Peter got hearts (yes, even Peter wanted to join in), Caroline got ballet shoes, and Patrick got the most hilarious mustache ever. We finished the night with ice cream cones and then scootered home. Whew! Who could imagine that so much fun could be squeezed into just a few hours, but the kids had a blast, and we can't wait to go again!

Look Who Came To Dinner!

Peter has been crabbing and fussing about getting in his high chair. He never wants to come to the table, and fusses and cries about sitting in his chair. Turns out he was trying to tell us something......he wanted to join us at the "big" table! I finally caught a clue and pulled out Lizzy's old booster seat- problem solved! Now Peter comes right to the table, and he loves being a part of all the action close up. His favorite new part of eating together.....doing lots of "cheers!" with our glasses. What a social guy!

Three's A Crowd

The other day Lizzy had her friend, Hazel, come over for a playdate after school. We were just able to squeeze in Hazel's booster seat between Lizzy and Peter, so I was able to take the kids home from school. I felt like such a "mom" because I've never driven anyone else's kids around before- it was so fun:) I loved hearing the chit-chat in the back seat between the girls- sharing about their brothers and sisters, giggling and being silly. Peter couldn't quite figure it out. He seemed confused and just kept pointing to Hazel and saying "Oh! Oh!" I think our next car may need to be a little bigger, so we can fit more friends inside:)