Tiny Dancer

I've mentioned this before, but from the time the ultrasound tech announced "girl!" I've been plotting the first dance recital.  I really hoped my girl would love dancing as much as I did.  (And if not, I'd get at least one recital out of her before I let her quit!)

Much to my delight, Brooke has loved dancing.  And last weekend, she put on a little bit of makeup, her little pink costume and danced in her very first recital.  Mama heaven. 

This is the portion of the blog where I should be posting pictures of Brooke's performance.  I took a billion pictures at the dress rehearsal.

And then I lost the camera card. 

It is GONE.  I've looked everywhere and am considering doing some major surgery on the couch to find it.  Hopefully it'll turn up soon.  :-( 

Anyway, the dance was really sweet.  I'll admit that I teared up a little watching Brooke dance.  She was just such a big girl, smiling and so confident in front of all of those people.  I was so proud of her and excited to be there watching her. 

Here we are after the recital.  The grandparents all came to watch. 

Such a sweet, happy day!

Strawberry Fields Forever

One of my favorite things to do with the kids is go to the local orchard and pick fruit.  Why?

Because...
Tractor rides?  Check.
Cheap?  Check.
Kids can run and scream?  Check.
Healthy foods?  That can also be converted into high-calorie desserts?  Check and check.

So when asked what I wanted to do for Mother's Day, I immediately asked to go pick strawberries.  And we did!

The kids had a blast.  Eli immediately cashed out in the baby carrier and didn't make a peep. 

Brooke had a great time picking and eating (mostly eating) the strawberries.  Soon she moved on to weed-picking.  Girlfriend loves her some flowers.

How many strawberries did Nate eat?  Let's just say the boy will never go hungry in a strawberry field.  I just love that big grin.

And...here are the strawberries!!  I picked exactly three because it was too hard to bend over with the little guy strapped to my chest. 

So now we have a gazillion strawberries. Some have stayed healthy berries, some have been dipped in chocolate, and some have been eaten over shortcake.  What can I say?  Mama likes her dessert.

Me and my three. 

One small favor, guys: Will you please, please stay little so we can do this every single year?  Please???

Happy Mother's Day!! :-)

Spring Showers and Random Pictures

I wonder how many times I've used the word "random" in my post titles? 

A lot, I bet.

It rained cats and dogs and hail this weekend.  During a break in between the storms we headed out to splash in some puddles. 

Puddles are cool when you're 2 and 4. And when you're allowed to jump in the puddles...well, that's "super-duper-oooooper cool!" as Brooke would say. Puddles are pretty fun when you're a 30-something mama with a camera, too.

Brooke went on a one-woman mission to rescue the worms stranded on the sidewalk.  She may be a girly-girl, but she'll get dirty when little slimy lives are at stake.  Ew.  



I got a weed bouquet from my best gal.

In other news, Eli is doing better.  That makes us all happy.

Especially him!

I would say Nate has fully adjusted to the new baby at this point.  It took a little while, but he's decided his little brother can stay.  He's also realized there's fun to be had, even when mama's too busy to play.

Seeing my failure, Brooke has taken on Nathan's potty training.  She drags him into the bathroom every time she goes and gives him a step-by-step demonstration.  She got him to sit on the potty, which is much better than the "I just have a diaper!!!!" response I get from him. 

Here's hoping!

Selective Memory

Things have been a little wild around the Baby Days household lately.

I'll take a breather from my usual selective memory blogging to tell you: It seems the little one has a case of reflux.  If you've ever had a baby with reflux, you know it's not conducive to blogging or photography.  (Or sleeping or speaking in complete sentences or leaving the house). 

Poor Eli just does not feel good.  And he's taking us all down with him.

But the good news is we've started Eli on some medicine and we think...we hope it's working.  I'm taking the time to blog and writing mostly in complete sentences.  That's a good sign. 

So let's get back to the selective memory blogging, shall we?

Here's Eli during a few precious moments of contentment. 

Little fingers and toes...that's what this mama will remember. :-)

Happy Easter!

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen!"   Luke 24: 1-6

Happy Easter from all of us!

Baby Pictures and Spring Stuff

Eli is already 5 weeks old. 

He smiled for the first time a few days ago, which is just about the best thing in the whole wide world.  I always feel like I've earned those first smiles.  Like the tiny little one is finally acknowledging the pain of birth, the up-all-nights, and the endless nursing, changing and bathing. 

Or maybe he just has gas. 

No matter.  Either way, it's cute.  And I have earned it.

Spring has totally sprung around here and I am thrilled!!  Even in my sleep deprived state, I had to stumble out into the yard to take a few pictures. Our resident gardener planted flowers with a little help from grandma.

Our little spring flowers are in full bloom.

Can't you just smell them??  Happy spring!

Settling In

Eli is 3 weeks old now.  :-)

He's starting to uncurl and wake up for us.  It's exciting to see him begin to become his own little person.

It's not quite as exciting to watch him become his own little person in the middle of the night.  We're really, really tired.  But this time we know, just like his littleness, this part is only temporary. 

Brooke can't get enough of the little guy. 

Here's the scene I walked in on the other day.  (Yes, little boy is rockin' the pink bouncer.)

And Nathan?

He's doing...better.  Man, it's hard to lose your status as baby of the family.