Sweet cousin Addie celebrated her second birthday this weekend with a party she shared with her new baby sister Arabella. I realized I didn't get any pictures of the new baby - I was too busy holding her!
Addie was the belle of the ball and so much fun to play with.
Em had a great time and got to know her cousin even more. It was a gorgeous day, full of sun, happiness and cake.
While I was off my foot last week I did a (cough) bit of online shopping for . . . . fabric. It might seem odd to buy fabric online but I had just as much fun looking at 4x4 inch images on the computer rather than running my hands through bolts upon bolts in a store. I have a new sewing machine and we've been eyeing each other warily - will I be able to figure it out? Will the tension be screwed up? Despite the silly 70's barbie flower on it, I have high hopes.
All of the fabric is for clothes for Little Miss. I've got my eye on making some twirly skirts with this set
and this set.
I had to get this piece from the new Jay McCarroll line - Project Runway god. This will be a pillowcase dress.
And who could resist Olivia fabric? Maybe a dress or smocky top.
E was in the school science fair this week. He and his dad had been looking forward to it for weeks. His project was called "How Much Does This Weigh?" - said with a dramatic echo. E took pictures of things around the house - a pizza, books, his baby sister, etc. He predicted how much each item would weigh and then found the true weight. He practiced explaining his experiment several times - and the judge turned out to be his teacher's husband - who was very gentle with his questions.
A lot of kids from E's class participated. Here he is with his buddy Bayard who showed about different liquids have different weights. Another classmate tested to see if you get more banana strings if you peeled the banana from the bottom than the top. Answer - yes!
We had a family dinner last night with our Manilla-residing cousins. More time with Addie and her parents and grandparents . . . Em wasn't quite so jealous at this playdate and the girls bonded over their mutal love of Mara the cat.
Addie heard about an accident Em had while bouncing on the ottoman and warned Em a couple of times to not fall off again. Addie is so very sweet and happy. The girls are nearly the same size, wear the same shoe size and are in love with their papas. I am so excited to see them continue to grow up together and be international penpals.
I spent the past couple of days hosting author Jon Scieszka at the library. You'll know him from The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Stinky Cheeseman. It was such a treat to have him in town - meeting nearly 2,000 kids and parents. He's a total doll and very funny. At the end of hosting authors and illustrators, I usually want to fall into a hot bath and go to bed but he was such a joy, I am ready to charge right back into work and put more energy into my projects. Read Jon, read him frequently!
E had his first school dance. He was ready to party and celebrate spring with his friends. We cramped his style a bit by attending but it was a family dance so lots of little brothers and sisters were around too.
We had a great time - and in true kindergarten fashion, we ended the night with a trip to the playground for some jungle gym time. Below is a video of E in the hopping contest (this deejay knew how to get little kids moving).
I finally downloaded the pictures from Easter. We had a lovely day of some home celebration and some big family celebration. I don't think Emme knew exactly why she was picking up eggs but she was determined to keep up with her brother. Both kids loved all of their presents and the time they got to spend with cousins
We were SO SO SO excited to finally get to see Cousin Addie! Born just two weeks before Em, she's visiting with her mama from Manila while waiting for her new baby sister to be born. I read Addie's blog daily and feel like I know her so well! She has the most charming way of saying, "Yes." I think I got her to say it two dozen times! She is outgoing and very personable - just how I imagined her in her pictures!
But Sara got some great photos of when Em had more of a smile than a scowl on her face :) Both girls as in love with Mara the cat so they bonded a bit through her. I can't wait to get together again and hear that charming, "Yes!".
E tore into the box minutes after it arrived from UPS - the annual Easter box from Nana and Jonesie - filled with presents and treats. Even the parents each got a carmel eggs. E loves his chocolate bunny and Em loves her new Charlie and Lola books.
Em is moving right into the true toddler phase - we don't have to watch her every minute she is moving, she is adding new words all of the time and showing interest in big kid things. She seems to understand nearly everything we say to her and hates to be told no if it involves being held. She can take no when it comes to Otter Pops for breakfast but if you tell her you can't carry her while you make dinner, watch out for the waterworks. Lately I've just found so much delight in her. I love the way her hair curls around her head, her sweet puppy breath in the morning, the way she tidies up and closes every door she walks by and of course, her self-initiated hugs and pats. When I was pregnant with her, I was so worried I wouldn't be able to love her as much as I love E and everyone reassured me I would. I find that I love her in a different way - totally unexpected way. She is just our delight and ball of light. I love you Em!
E has made a really good friend in kindergarten. To quote the great Bill Murry in Meatballs, "If you make one good friend a summer, then you're doing pretty well." I would say the same is true for a school year.
Anyway, the boys are really into the same things and feed off each other's imaginations. They loved surprising me this weekend with a ninja kungfu show - and of course, they felt shirtless was the most authentic way to go. I have to admit, I pulled the mom card right after the show was done and convinced them the didn't want to catch cold since they both had a birthday party to attend the next day. Sensible ninjas they are.
You have to love opening day for Little League. Hundreds of kids in their brand new uniforms, all jumping around with excitement - and this year's day featured . . . . wait for it . . . . sun! An unheard of accompaniment in Oregon.
E is very proud of his dad being his team's coach. And Emme wants to be in the thick of all the boy action. I am loving all of the cool moms on the team this year - lots of game chatting potential!
Below is a video of their team running the bases and getting high fives from the rest of the player. So fun.
E and I got the first set of peas planted as well as some leek starts. 
I've never tried growing leeks before but had the most delicious 
We just returned from a great trip to San Diego for spring break. We hit it all - Legoland, Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, La Jolla, Birch Aquarium and lots of beach time. It was wonderful to spend a week with just the four of us. We had lots of time to hang out, talk, read books, sleep and play. The place we stayed was amazing - Crystal Pier Cottages in Pacific Beach. I loved sleeping over the ocean - the pier would rock every so often and we had a private deck with lots of room for eating our meals outside. We spent lots of time peering down through the floorboards to watch the ocean below us. The weather was a lovely 68-70 every day. sigh. I miss it already.
We celebrated early with a family party on Sunday night. We had our Irish fortunes told by a curling shamrock, old-fashioned boiled dinner, and crazy, sweaty boys playing and screaming on every floor of the house. We all got our Irish on for a night.
We have spring fever and lucked out with our first after-school and after-work weeknight with some outside play time. We broke into the playhouse (and found out the underside of the chalkboard didn't appreciate being left in a semi-wet former garden shed and developed some mold). Balls were thrown, golf club hockey was played and crocus were stamped on.
Here is a closer view of the successful granny square scarf that I just finished for Nana. I am already hot on the next one and am in love with how it turned out. The top picture is the scarf artfully draped around the neck and the bottom picture features it tied. There is definitely a front and back side to the scarf so I prefer it draped.
Jonesie was the special guest star in E's class this week. He talked about growing up on a farm and about all of the animals that live out in the country at their place now. The kids were most interested in the owls that they are currently studying and liked the bear stories. E was very proud to get to introduce everyone to his Jonesie but while making the introduction to the class he told them, "This is my Jonesie but you should call him Bob."
My camera seems to be permanently ill so I haven't been blogging much this month. I borrowed Jonesie's and took some pictures of our family beach trip.
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