How Sweet

This morning we dropped off lunch to Daron who had neglected to take it again (he has been under a load of stress). He gave the kids hugs and kisses and then went back into the building.

Esther sighed and said in her nicest voice:

"He's such a sweet dad."

Birthday Videos

Listen carefully to Esther's wish.

Here, Esther opens a card from her Great Grandparents and "reads" it to us. So sweet! You can hear Nathan in the background demanding a present for himself. "Mine, mine, mine!" He sounds like the seagulls in Finding Nemo.

I love how she gets so excited over things! She was as thrilled to open the cards as she was to open the presents.

Nathan quieted down as soon as he saw the baby. He was as excited as Esther about it!

Four Years Old Today

I can't believe my little girl is four. I'll never forget the instant connection we made as she was first put into my arms. She stared at me with wide open eyes and seemed to say, "Hey, you're my Mom!" She has always been so full of life and energy; it's sometimes hard to keep up with her. But I love her antics, her imagination which nearly rivals my own, her ability to make friends, her funny way of talking, and the loving/not so loving relationship she has with her brother.

We went to a puppet show this morning with her cousins and aunt and then we ate lunch at La Madeleine. This afternoon she helped me make her cake (chocolate, of course) and we had a tea party for dinner.

Here are some pictures of her party.

Olive You!

Bubbles

I don't know that the kids actually blew many bubbles and what few they managed to get blew away quickly in the high winds. But they sure had fun doing it. We hit somewhere in the mid-70s again today and it was beautiful outside! Just wanted to share some of the pictures I took that turned out pretty cute.

Burgers

We had some delicious burgers last Saturday and I am finally getting around to posting a picture of them. Daron added some spices to the meat before grilling, then grilled red onion and avocado for the top. I think the onions would have been better sauteed with some nice seasoning to get all tender, but this wasn't too bad. We topped each burger with Riscky's BBQ sauce and some Oaxaca (Mexican) cheese. Very yum.

Polly Esther?

Today we spent quite a bit of time at Bassett Furniture, in hopes of narrowing down what couch we wanted so we can save up for it. Esther, as is her habit, quickly made friends with the sales lady. We could hardly get a word in edgewise while Esther talked her ear off!

By the time we left there, Esther was laughing and chatting with all of the workers. It took quite some time to get her and Nathan to finish their goodbyes to all their new friends!

The cutest part of our visit was when we were discussing the different fabrics, mainly the durability of polyester, and suddenly Esther pipes up:

Mommy, how about you call me PolyEsther?

Yeah, kid. Let's do that.

Easter / Spring Decor

The weather is starting to warm up. It looks like we'll be in the 60s all this week. Goodbye Texas winter - you actually acted somewhat normal this year!

The Spring decor officially came out today. Here's a peek at what I've done. Esther was very decided about where to put certain things. And she and Nathan had a blast playing with all the plastic eggs while I was putting things up. For quite some time, they opened them, shut them, switched the tops and bottoms, filled them, and carried them around in the baskets. I love it when they play contentedly together.

Without further ado... And I apologize for the poor light as I took them in the evening.

Grama's Clothes?

I told Esther the story of Little Red Riding Hood tonight. It was the G rated version where no one gets eaten or killed.

"...And so the handsome Prince chased off the big bad wolf with his big sword. And everyone lives happily ever after. The end."

Esther reflected for a moment. Then she asked, "What happened to Grama's clothes?"