Signs of Spring

The snow has melted, and thanks to a cleansing rainstorm, I feel like Spring. I have been admiring these "buds" on my neighbor's maple tree for days now and decided to take a closer look. I thought they were the leaves starting to come out, but now I'm not sure. Anyone know what these things are? No matter what they are, they are beautiful, and I love that every time I look out my window, I see evidence that the growth cycle is beginning again.

Wes Jordan Annual 5K race

Earlier this week, I vowed not to take any more pictures until the snow melted, but I had to break my commitment because---Today I ran my first 5k! We took the family up to University of Maine, along with Bridgette, Gary and Nora. Put the girls in strollers and went for it. It was actually really fun. My goal was to run the whole thing without stopping. I was so proud of myself for actually doing it! I left feeling very invigorated. When I got about 100 yards from the finish line, Brad, Gwen and Liv were by the side of the road cheering me on.(Even pushing the stroller, Brad beat me by 4 minutes) I really enjoyed the race, and forsee more races in my future. Especially since we won free movie tickets and a gift certificate to a local restaurant in the drawing afterward. As a side note, I also won a gift certificate to Borders this week in a drawing at the library. I guess my stars are aligned =0).

Gary, Bridgette and Nora just about to cross the finish line

Our seeds are sprouting!

Well, considering that I planted these seeds about 2 inches too deep in the soil, and my mom said they may not sprout, I was pleasantly surprised to see that our dill is taking off. According to the package, it is supposed to take 20+ days to germinate and this picture was taken after 9 days. What can I say. . . my seeds are overachievers.

One for me, One for youLiv loves to feed Gwen Applesauce. She usually takes a bite or two between each one she feeds Gwen. She actually does a good job and even uses the spoon to clean up any spills on Gwen's mouth, and then feeds it to her. What sweet girls I have! Notice the huge smile on Gwen's face as she looks at Liv.

April Showers??These are the pictures of Liv playing in the freshly fallen snow on our porch today. Yes today! This morning, I woke up to about 7 inches of snow, and at that point the snow was still going strong! I had heard it was supposed to snow, but I was expecting just a dusting. I was wrong. Being my first Spring in the NE, I was a little surprised to see a foot and a half of snow outside at noon time. Luckily, I actually find it rather funny. I've been in the best mood all day. I just kept saying "Happy Easter." And then laughing. Growing up, we used to collect flowers from our lawn to decorate the Easter eggs. This year, we are planning to just hide regular white hard boiled eggs to make the Easter egg hunt a little bit more tricky.

Our Green house

Liv and I decided to start some herb seeds in our mini indoor green house. I am excited to watch them grow, and taste the harvest of course! I love fresh herbs and just thinking about them makes me feel summery. . . We are going to have our first garden this year, and I can't wait. I hope it works!

Peanut butter

I know that we have already discussed the peanut butter phenomenon, but I just had to post this picture to show that I wasn't exaggerating.

Blasty Boughs

here we are collecting Blasty Boughs. I guess that is what Brad's grand mother called all of the branches that fell to the ground from the wind. I am not exactly sure how to spell "boughs." Boughs, as in the branch of a tree. My dictionary (Brad) is sleeping. I think "Blasty Boughs" is a cute little phrase. We had a fun time being outside.

Happy Birthday Brad

Brad's birthday is this coming week. To celebrate, we had a little weekend to ourselves. Brad's parents watched the girls over night. We went out for a nice dinner, then spent the night at camp (Brad's parent's cabin). We woke up in the morning and went on a great hike in the woods. We went back to camp and spent time reading and then drove into Elsworth, a cute little town between our house and the coast. We had a great time together. I was surprised that I missed the girls, but I really did. Here are pictures of Brad and I making a fort, during our walk in the woods.

Bark from a birch tree
Putting birch bark on the roof
Brad Inside
Have I ever mentioned that I love moss?...I love moss.
Happy Birthday Hubbie!!
More birthday to come...To be continued...
Here is Brad with his birthday cake. We had a little family party on Monday night. Mum, Dad, Bridgette, Gary and Grampy Roger came to help us celebrate.

Lion's Bath

Liv's new favorite activity is giving Lion a bath. It entertains her for what seems like hours. This usually consists of her pushing her stool up to the sink, soaping him all up, and then searching the kitchen for every different container she can find to rinse him off. This last picture is of her blowing bubbles in the "bath" water.

Liv's first "real" haircut

I have been contemplating cutting Liv's hair for a while, and today was the day. I love her hair, but her hair is nearly to her bum when it is wet, and that is just too long for a 2 1/2 year old. It was always getting in the way. So, I put her in front of a show and went at it. I didn't really want her to know that I was cutting it, for fear that she may decide to cut it herself. Since Liv was not in the mood to be photographed, I had to sneak my before and after shots. I think it is actually shorter than it looks in the "after" photo. I cut off about 3 inches, which may not seem like much to anyone else, but it sure seems like a lot to me!

Why I love mornings.

1. By some miracle. Both of my children are sleeping through the night. Ahhh, sleep.
2. When Liv wakes up in the morning, she goes to the top of the stairs, and announces that she has woken up and waits for me to tell her how much I missed her while she was sleeping. Then she wants to sit on my lap and cuddle up. . .My favorite!
3. I wake up to this face. Gwen wakes up thrilled to see me. She kicks her legs and squeals.
4. I get to watch Brad and Liv eat breakfast and read the newspaper together.
5. I get to eat oatmeal with honey and bananas. Yum!
6. I get to see Liv's crazy bed head.
7. I get to hear Liv say, "Mommy, you're pretty special."

Does it get any better than that?

Shots, Shots and more Shots

Gwen had a doctors appointment on Tuesday. She is a healthy girl. She actually weighed exactly the same amount as Liv did at her age (13 1/2 lbs.). She had to get 5 shots. As the nurse was giving them, she explained to me the science of getting so many shots onto such a little leg. It's more complicated than you would think. Naively, I scheduled my week as usual. I had an appointment to get my hair cut on Wednesday, I planned to go out to lunch with my mother-in-law, etc. etc. I guess I expected it to be like the many times I took Liv to get shots. Liv would scream in the moment, but then move on to a normal life once she calmed down. I have learned that Liv and Gwen are not the same, nor do they react the same to shots. Little Gwen has had an awful time of it. She was actually pretty good when the shots were actually given, but has since had a slow recovery. She fell asleep on the way home from the doctor's office (11:00) and slept all day long. She woke up smiling at 5:00, and as soon as I started to move her legs to change her diaper, she began pleading for more Tylenol. . . or should I say screaming for more Tylenol. I gave it to her and then fed her and she went to sleep for the night. The next morning she woke up at 10:00 screaming (usually she is all smiles), ate her bottle, screamed anytime I came close to her legs. Cried some more and then went back to sleep at 11:00. Woke up crying, ate, had some Tylenol. Went to sleep for the night. She has done nothing in 3 days except cry, eat, and sleep. I am so glad she has decided to sleep pain away, but I miss the little thing. I've hardly seen her and when I have seen her, she has been so uncomfortable its sad. Poor little girl. Well, needless to say, I didn't get my hair cut. Another week I guess.

My Big Helper

I am realizing more and more that Liv is growing up. Dare I say that she now qualifies as a "kid"? It is funny how I accidentally discover that she can do all sorts of things that I didn't know she could do. Like the other day when I was trying to entertain her while I emptied the dishwasher. I gave her the silverware to "play with" and she emptied them perfectly into the drawer! She even put the small spoons together and the big spoons together, etc. I guess it is time for chores! Lucky girl! The last pictures are of her helping me take down wallpaper. She actually had ripped off a hug piece and then said, "Mommy, can I rip it?" Since I had no choice at that point, I said, "Yes." She then proceeded to clear the whole wall of paper. I guess we'll be painting the bathroom soon.

Joy to the World

Liv was watching "Joy to the World"(a show about the birth of Christ) She ran to me with Dizzy and asked me to put him under her shirt. She then walked up to the TV screen and and tenderly said, "Oh, look Mom, blue Mary." I got a kick out of it. I love that she even stands like she is pregnant in this picture.

6 months old

Gwen is six months old now. She is discovering her limbs and her vocal chords. She likes to gurgle, and screach, and blow on the back of her hand. She has also discovered that if she sucks air in her lungs and tightens her throat it makes a cool noise. She will smile and laugh at anyone who passes by. She really likes to be thrown around and jostled. Look at that face. She's so cute I can hardly stand it!

Izzy, Dizzy, Dot and Cranky

Liv has developped a new love for her Dolly's. She walks around with them constantly. She goes to bed with them. She has even named them: Izzy, Dizzy, Dot and Cranky. Here she is with Cranky in the backpack and Izzy with the bonnet on. We all laugh about Cranky's name. Actually, I'm pretty sure he is her favorite. He really does look a little cranky.

Play Gym

Brad had Wednesday off, so we took advantage of the occasion and went to the play gym. The local rec center has a bunch of children's toys they set out in the gym for the kids to use. Here are the girls rolling around on little scooters.

Once there was a Snow Man

We had a great snow storm last weekend. We got about a foot of snow and then it was 40 degrees the next day. Here are Brad, Liv, Gwen, Nana and Pugga taking advantage of the perfect conditions, making a snow man. Much better than the "snow mounds" we made earlier in the season.

PeanutbutterAn interesting Phenomenon: Liv is typically a very clean eater. Lately, I haven't even had to wash her hands after she eats, but somehow, as soon as she has a peanut butter sandwich, the peanut butter ends up all over her face. I am definitely going to have to pay more attention next time. I think it would be quite entertaining.

Sisters

I love this picture. It is so fun to watch the girls interact these days. This week, Liv learned how to make Gwen Laugh. She gets Gwen going and pretty soon, Gwen is belly laughing. Sisterhood is a special bond. What Angels!

2 Car Family

Here is the new CRV. We love it!

The Aliens have landed!
I have had many requests for more explanation on these pictures. We went over to Bridgette and Gary's house and had a blast playing around with their Mac. They have this program called Photobooth. We laughed and laughed as we distorted our faces.

Well Rested

Oh, I feel so rested I can't even tell you how wonderful it feels to get a full nights sleep. Last night was the first night, since my pregnancy with Gwen, that I slept all the way through the night without waking up until morning!! YEAH! I had forgotten what it was like to feel so rested. Thank you Liv and Gwen. I feel like a new woman!

Happy Valentines Day

I have decided that Fondue is going to be our Valentine's Day tradition. We found a couple of awesome recipes and indulged. YUMMY!

As it usually happens with good food, no one left hungry.