I'm Done With Winter

Truly.  It is February 26th, and it is 15 degrees outside right now.  The thermometer is in the sun, so that's probably generous.  For a long time the question was, When will spring come.

The question is now Will spring ever come?

I know I'm not the only one; the weather is everyone's main topic of conversation these days, but geez, I am so sick of it!

Please come, Spring!

Um, Well, It Hasn't QUITE Been a Year

Yeah, so the title pretty much sums it up.  I haven't posted much lately.  I suppose I use Facebook so much to post what's going on around here that I forget how much fun it is to look back at pictures and stories in the blog, but it is nice so here you go.

 

I'm not going to try to bridge the gap between June 2013 and February 2014.  It's nearly a book...kindergarten, swim team, 2nd grade, failing soccer, losing Lex, finding Penny...so I'm just starting today.  February 24th, 2014.

 

Toby was being kind of a dweeb for the camera, so his picture doesn't get posted.  2nd grade boys can be that way.  I fear I will never have a decent picture of him again.  He loves to pose "goofy" for the camera though.  And he always wants me to take these elaborately construed videos which I don't understand at all.  Last week he passed swim level 3.  He's worked so hard this year at swim - I was determined that he should know how to swim before this summer, so he's been doing swim lessons twice a week almost all year.  He really seems to enjoy it - he's not the fish his sister is, but I'm glad he's having fun!  He starts Level 4 next week.  He really loves Cub Scouts too - he's a wolf this year, and should be getting his Wolf Badge soon.

Lucy is still in swim as well and gearing up for swim team preseason in April.  I can't believe it will start so soon!!  She's had a fantastic year in kindergarten, and reads at almost a second grade level already.  She's also doing well in math...if we can just get her pencil grip sorted out she will be flying along!  She and I have been reading the Little House on the Prairie Series...she LOVES it.  It is so much fun to share something that meant so much to me as a child with her.  I sort of thought she'd lose interest after the 3rd book or so, but we're up to These Happy Golden Years now.  I think most of it goes over her head, but just to absorb the language, the storytelling...and we love our 30-45 minutes of reading a night!

Jay is...well, Jay.  He will never be more, never less.  He may just be a stubborn as me, which is saying a lot.  I think Curtis thinks I'm getting what I deserve, finally.  I'm not sure how the child is as big as he is, considering how little he eats.  He absolutely refuses to eat healthy food.  And he gets no desserts until he eats his food.  He rarely gets dessert.  So how is he in the 75th percentile on weight?  He's off the chart on height.  He also refuses to talk.  Every once in a while he throws down a word as a sort of challenge to us - a, hey, I know how to talk I just CHOOSE NOT TO.  It is beyond frustrating.  I would just like him to talk to me instead of BABABABABABABAAAAA!  Someday he will talk.  And I will regret wishing he could. 

Penny is a love.  We're working on leash training her - she's going to be a big dog and needs to understand manners, but with the weather we've had precious few chances to work with her, so hopefully that will get better soon.  She's a love though, such a cuddly sweetheart.

Curtis is growing his beard - well, it's grown now, he's simply maintaining it.  I love it!  It's a winter thing; it will be gone as soon as he gets hot :) 

That's the update for now.  I'm going to try to keep on journaling here!

Happy Birthday Jay!

I can't believe it's been a year - my, how time flies!  My baby is a whole year old!

He had a wonderful day and he was so much fun to watch :)  Here's to many many more birthdays to come!

Oh, and a birthday video - http://youtu.be/BKyv25aw7wA

Full Swing into Summer

Mid June and this summer party is well under way!

Lucy's first swim meet was Thursday at Eaton.  She had a wonderful time despite some rather chilly weather.  She loved watching the other kids racing too!  Curtis was able to take her, as I took Toby to tennis then had praise team practice at church.  She competed in both freestyle and backstroke, and I'm so proud of her - to swim a full length of the pool at 5!  And to go off the diving blocks!  Way to go Lucy!

Yesterday Curtis caught my miserable summer cold (my voice is still odd, which stinks because I'm supposed to sing at church tomorrow!) and stayed home - I took the kids out of the house so he could get some quiet rest and we ended up at Aullwood!  We started at the Farm and visited the animals, then made the hike to the Center and had fun there too!

This was Jay's first ride in the backpack and he seemed to enjoy the ride.

Jay is still taking 2 steps at a time, then lunging forward.  He is fascinated by the idea though and practices all the time - his favorite game is walking between me and Curtis :)

Curtis is working the grill today to make some yummy bbq pork for tomorrow's Father's Day dinner - I cant wait!  Every time the back door opens, my mouth starts watering. 

The verge of Toddlerhood

Today was a big day for Jay!  I figured it was time to clean up that hair - sniff, I'll miss it, but I don't think he looks too big boyish with it, so I'm okay :)

 

He did cry a little and give the stylist the stink eye, but all was good in the end!

And then he decided that if he had a big boy haircut, he should do something with it (keep in mind, he's never stood for more than 15-20 seconds at a time, and rarely at that!)

Garden Updates

I took these photos over the weekend.  I wanted to compose a post about the wonders that is my garden.

But then this evening, as I was putting some chives out, Curtis came out on the porch.

"Where is the broccoli?" he asks.

??

!

I had 5 broccoli plants, one maturing, and 4 freshly replaces after being eaten to the ground twice already.  I thought I had fixed this problem with the addition of fencing around the entire bed.

Nope.

4 fresh young broccoli plants eaten to the ground.  There is nothing left.

And my big, leafy, healthy broccoli?  It doesn't have much in the way of leaves anymore.

We figure at this point it has to be a deer.  We know there are rabbits around, but there is no way a rabbit is getting into the garden without a trace at this point.  He would have mangled the fence to do it.

I'm dreaming of venison.  Broccoli fattened up venison.

11 Months

Ok, another 2 weeks on the monthly picture, but it is up before his birthday, so all is good.   Only 2 weeks left until the Big Day, I am in a bit of denial that my baby will be One!  Eek!  Where has the last year gone?

 

I also needed more photographic proof of all this Hair, because it's going to have to be trimmed.  Sigh, I just love it and all it's baby-craziness, but it's becoming rather unruly.  But I know how much older he's going to look and it makes me sad to say goodbye to crazy baby hair!

We managed to clean out the garage yesterday, so we are prepared in case of a rain out on birthday party day (we are planning on outside fun)...I'd love to get the bike tires aired up today so the kids and I can go for rides (Jay is close enough to ea year now that I think he can ride in the bike trailer and Lucy's baby helmet fits him).  I'm fighting a nasty summer cold, but we still might take the bikes for a quick spin around the neighborhood today.  The weather is lovely.  So far, we couldn't ask for a nicer June!