fly a kite

Let's go fly a kite! We tried on one of the few nice afternoons. We had fun getting it up for little bits and chasing down the gusty wind that couldn't stick with one direction. The boys ran around until KC took to parking himself and pointing into the wind. Aiden ran like the wind trying to get the kite to stick with it. He'd probably still be out there trying to catch some gusts. I love this new owly googly eye kite.

hoppy easter

Here comes Peter Cottontail hopping down the bunny trail... Straight onto our chalkboard banner. Drawing all by Aiden with KC as chalk-picker-upper-helpful-guy.

jump

Can't beat the whee noise caused by the mall jump... Although the little brother whining to jump himself was a sad addition.

eggies

Many eggies were dipped, painted and serenaded... Now bring on the egg salad because eggs sung to by an almost two year old taste better, right?!

hibachi

The last time we hit hibachi I think KC was all cuddly and not quite old enough to know what fire is... Now he's old enough to be a little amazed and scared of the big flames. He's also old enough to be skeptical of the plastic food displays at the front especially when there are forks floating in midair. Aiden remembered our last trip quite well (when Uncle Woah got a fire burst accidently shot at him) and was a little timid. He was jazzed however to order his favorite salmon. We got the best chef who created the best onion choo choo/ volcano and even turned the rice into a giant Spongebob Squarepants. Thanks to my parents for spoiling us with lotsa eating out fun.

bye eggshell land

I met up with one of my friends and her family to say goodbye to eggshell land (since the creator passed away this year)... It was fun to visit a memory of my childhood with my kids - even though it was covered in snow. Thanks S fam for having us over to play!

sweet

We celebrated my friend's upcoming wedding with a shower at a cupcake shop - does it get any sweeter than decorating your own cupcakes?

showering

We showered Liz's Little Cutie with citrus treats and cheer. We had citrus trifle, clementine pie, and lemon ricotta cookies for breakfast the next day... A sign of a good party. My mom deserves a huge thanks for her attention to detail, her classic Liz quiz, and a menu full of citrus yum. Liz has great friends and it was fun to see so many familiar faces. I managed to keep my little grey knit suit a surprise (I want one my size) and my chevron quilt was ready in time - phew! I'm in love with the colorful quilt from my mom's cousin and the handmade screen printed sailboat for my sister's adult nautical nursery made by my sister's friend. I'm going to make sure he takes those to college ;)

making hunt history

I've asked around and very few folks remember an egg hunt in the snow (some sad hunt cancellation stories about pulling up in the car and having them hand you a bag of eggs through the car door window). So we made some history by attending the Willo-b egg hunt in the snow with many other hardy Ohioans who aren't scared away by a seemingly mild 40 degrees and dusting of wet snow (that had been around a while). It was funny to see the bright little eggs mostly sitting on top of the snow. Aiden got his strategy from Juju, Lizzie, and PopPop (while KC napped through the whole thing with J - smart kid stays out of the cold ;) Aiden really followed his plan and bolted straight to the back of the field where he had his free pick of the eggs without the mob of kids. The whole mob had the field cleared in about a minute. Aiden gathered 18 eggs full of candy and you-were-caught-being-good coins.

art

All sorts of art from Aiden meister:

nordiccool

The Kenne dy Center was hosting a bunch of exhibitions related to the Nordic countries. I was initially interested because I heard Legos were invented in Denmark, so they had a giant Lego play area which it turned out was surrounded by a bunch of iPads loaded with games created by Norwegians.  We parked at the Watergate so J and the boys got in a Nixon impression. When we first arrived at the entrance, there was a giant "ship" made out of shirts.  It was really something and impossible to capture on camera.  I think my favorite was the plywood house (another Nordic invention) because it made KC giddy.... although the wooden "moose" (actually elk) on the front lawn were fun too.  I'm fairly sure those boys could run on the upper terrace all day.

welcome spring

It's hard to believe that today is the first day of spring! Winter has been clinging to the mornings around here and there was even a little snow on the last days of winter. But from now on I hope it just gets better and better! More time for chalking in the driveway on the last day of winter...

bunny

We have two boys that love to see the easter bunny.  I think when you go bippity boppity boo at KC, he hears, "Lean in, and show us your tough guy stink face!"  We had many, many attempts to get a decent shot with what I think looks like a sad, arms crossed bunny.  I tried to get the bunny to put his arms around the boys but then everyone scrunched up and looked like they had double chins.  Then I tried to get KC to sit on the bunny's lap, but he just blocked the bunny's whole face....because my baby was suddenly replaced by this giant stink face toddler.  Aiden sat patiently waiting for his coloring book, which the bunny was holding under his gloves. KC eventually lost his patience and squirmed away to check out the bubbly brook set up.

McCuddles

Irish brunch with my favorite Irish friends and their cuddly baby! Most photos by leprechaun photog Aiden. Our brunch spot even had leprechaun holes in the wall - wah?!

leprechaun

The leprechaun showed up early at Aiden's school last week. He left a swirly house, leprechaun confetti shadows, a mess of inside shoes, a green toilet water, and green erasers all over the works. Aiden wasn't sure when he'd arrive at our house so he wanted to prepare a funhouse for him right away. It is a FedEx box leprechaun mansion with doors, windows, a hammock, and fluffy bed. The gold coins and green Lego chairs were waiting. He did show up last night because we found a super green toilet (mom, it's darker than school!), couch cushions thrown all over, and a crayon trail with all the green crayons collected near his house. He left his green sprinkle dust all over the puzzle letters spelling out Aiden. We also can't forget the green milk! We made sure to get in our green, so no pinches. Hope you have a Happy St. Paddys!

hunt

Lotsa shots from a fun afternoon chasing eggs around ... Video snips and stories later... Yay cousins!

friday

A tired, unnapped buddy that was extra excited to have his brother home from school today, (especially to visit the library and go to lunch) but a bit peeved when his brother left for his big kid playdate with friends. But he was happy to read Chicken Soup with Rice over and over again... You will hear his sleepy take on Friday here:

super pi

Super Pi says Happy 3.14!  Here he is getting ready for the day by gaining his super strength - through exercising and dancing of course!  Super Pi's sidekick followed right along and even after Super Pi went to school he wanted mommy to wear a super scarf with him ;)

superpi from LB on Vimeo.

all around

Patting and stomping all around town...

measuring

Someone's favorite game is borrowing mommy's tape measure and going around the house measuring everything. Careful recording required.

stink faces

Oh way back on a cool day in February, I had volunteered us to be "models" for a workshop with one of my all time favorite portrait photographers, Su san Strip ling at her Alexandria workshop.  So imagine my little crowd of cold noses pretending to pose in front of let's say about 30 cameras.  Well, I swear it was actually pretty peachy, and the angst that KC's stink face exhibits wasn't actually a major issue.  He was mostly happy to just run around by the pier in Old Town.  But here are the best portraits I've ever seen of Stink Face and his older brother Barricuda Smile...