The Crafts

This morning I sip my coffee (with extra half and half) while listening not to the sweet lullaby of robins enjoying spring but rather construction dudes jack hammering into pavement as our house gently shakes her old bones. A water main broke outside our house over the weekend and the neighborhood kids thoroughly enjoyed a babbling brook in the middle of town. It was a good weekend here. No, a great weekend. And how could you not have a fabulous time with weather in the 70's and sunny skies? Kate broke out the shorts...and a strange hat. Natalie finally bared her arms after six months of hiding them and CJ bared a whole lot more. We have some new neighbors next door and they are terrific. They have two boys and our big girls are thrilled to have friends to play with. They spent the weekend squirting box elder bugs with spray bottles which of course led to them squirting each other, soaking their clothes completely and laughing hysterically. If any of this is a sign of...

You know those moments in your kid's life that you are so very happy you caught on camera? Yeah, that is how I feel about CJ's preschool concert. Whether THE photo shows up at her high school graduation party or is simply tucked into a photo album, I will hold it near and dear. (You'll know what picture I'm talking about when you see it here...) Oh how I wish I could dive into those little 3 year old minds. I wonder what they thought standing on stage with hundreds of faces staring back at them. Were they happy to perform for everyone, were they thinking of ice cream, were they really wanting to pick their nose? I saw small moments of the CJ we know and love. Moments when she twirled and smiled but most of the time it was more shock and awe.  And of course THIS happened. I later showed CJ the photo of her lifting her dress on stage and she just said, "yep, that was at my concert." Obviously she holds no qualms about flashing the ...

Hold the phone. Natalie is six months old already? In the blink of an eye we went from two kids to three and now that third has been with us for half a year. Man are we lucky!! What a wonder this girl is. Natalie is calm, cool and so very laid back. Sure she prefers to be carried but she rarely says 'boo', sleeps like a champ, and just wants to be with her family. A day with mom, dad, big sisters and the cat is all she asks for. Natalie still only rolls from back to tummy but she will slowly spin her self in circles to get a 360 degree view of her surroundings. She has discovered the joys of pulling hair and clothing and occasionally the cat's fur. Two days after 'celebrating' her six month birthday Natalie desperately tried to pull the toothpaste from my hands while I was helping the big girls. I jokingly said, "No, Natalie. You don't have any teeth yet." Well what do ya know...later that day she sprouted two teeth. I think I may ...

I love to watch the transition people make from winter to spring. Suddenly we are bumping into neighbors long forgotten, car windows are lowered, stereos are blaring and sometimes pasty, white legs make their debut. Yesterday while playing outside I looked around and thought, "We did it! We survived another winter." Good triumphs evil, spring conquers winter...at least that is how I feel about it. I was finally able to pull back the covers on Natalie's car seat and she got her first real taste of the great outdoors. She is soaking it up in large doses, pretty much like the rest of us. Kate has ridden her bike around the block approximately 4,278 times and CJ got her first real bike (with training wheels) and is often found closely trailing Kate. New bubbles which were unintentionally dumped shortly after taking this photo. And of course they were dumped on the steps inside the house. But it is spring so I just smiled. I highly doubt this is proper soccer ...

I generally refrain from complaining, especially on this blog, but I really feel like I need to share today. Babies, and all kids really, go through so many phases. Once you hurdle phase A then phase B is waiting right around the corner. Right now, and I literally mean right now, Natalie isn't interested in napping despite her tired eyes. She has no choice but to adapt to everyone else's schedule so naps aren't all that consistent but I was always able to get her to sleep until recently. Matt can walk with her and she passes out, her Grandma talks to her and Natalie is counting sheep and I used to simply give her a snuggle, she'd coo and then lights out. Oh how easy it was. While she still seems willing to succumb to dreamland with everyone else she has decided that I am a total riot. To her I am a party and she ain't gonna miss a minute of this kegger. Well I've got news for you girl, I'm actually boring. There is nothing to see here now hit the hay. Nata...