Happy Memorial Day weekend

Spring

Open house at Bubbaloo Farm. Kate and Kim check out the brand new calf. What a cute little guy.

A Sunday afternoon picnic on the neighbor's front lawn.

No pictures, please!

Pigeon party

Kate wanted a hot dog party for her birthday. And who can think of a hot dog party without thinking of this guy?

So we made it a pigeon party!

Kate helped make the cake...

and clean up, too.

Molly made a sign for the front door.

And many more for inside the house.

Then we all got the crayons out.

Party time!

Kate liked her new beach gear very much.

Accessories, too.

Checking Grandpa's phone.

Cake time.

Post-hot dog-party crash.

A birthday in pictures

Kate wanted to start the day by looking at videos of herself as a baby.

We gave her control over our morning activities. She wanted to go get candy. Then she changed her mind to donuts. So we went for a walk...

to Dunkin Donuts. There was a bit of a scene at the end but, hey, that's 3! We'll skip over some tantrums and ugliness ...

and end up here. She had a good nap and came down in a great mood dressed like this. Those are old tap shoes on her feet and bags full of who-knows-what.

It was a lovely sunny day so we opened up the sand box.

Finally Daddy came home from work. Time for presents!

Special delivery from VT!!!

We had just a few minutes to play outside. This is Kate with our next door neighbor. Now Kate's part of the scooter gang, too.

Instead of getting ready for bed at the usual time, we went to Molly's school for an ice cream social/open house.

Kate wanted her coat on backwards on the way home. Silly 3-year-old!

Happy birthday 3-year-old!!!!

A very origami snow storm

Reporting live from day 2 of snow storm confinement. Sweatpants? Yes. Toys and unfolded laundry everywhere? Yes. Ears now deaf to the sound of two girls making each other screech? Yes.

Fortunately we're snowed in with and ample supply of origami paper. I'm not sure who made more of this folded paper blizzard here on the desk, Molly or Jim, but I think it helped everybody keep their sanity yesterday.

Molly folds a paper crane. She's wearing her very own fashion creation. I call it the No-Sew Flannel Disney Princess Gown.

Pigtails!!!

100th day

Happy 100th day of school! What, haven't you been counting? Teachers and kids do that now. Today there's a party!!! Kate and I are even going to make an appearance (I'm volunteering and Kate promises she'll be a good helper).

Molly had a 100th day homework page last night that asked, among other things, whether she's 100 inches tall and if not, how tall is she? This led us to discover that, according to the marks on the wall, she's grown 3 inches since the last time we measured! I'm not sure when that was, but we haven't lived here even a year. Wow!

Yodel-ah-hee-hoo!

Ta-dah!! So many school projects sent home this month.

Kate's portrait of Molly.

In other big kid news, Molly has been going out to the bus stop by herself for the past few weeks. This is a wonderful development, particularly for me because I just give her a hug at the door. No bundling up, no standing in the cold, no bundling up Kate or leaving her cranky in the house while we wait for the bus. Just a kid getting a free ride to school. 

It almost makes up for all the "Down Down Baby" and "Don't drink whiskey, I know karate, I'll punch you in the body" rhymes she has picked up on that bus. For a month or two her bus friends in the afternoon (when the big, bad 1st and 2nd graders are in the mix) have been trading. It's really amazing how they've developed a mini economy around things like fishtail bracelets, bits of dollhouse furniture, balloons and plastic jewelry. I really wish they would give out a list of the kids on the bus with contact info the way they do for her classroom. I'd really like to be in touch with other parents about these sorts of things.

Love this Valentine's Day card...

Meanwhile, we just got Kate all signed up for preschool in the fall. Coincidentally we were in the church that shares the kid rooms with her preschool and she stayed with the volunteers playing in the rooms during the service, no separation issues at all. Woo hoo! Also, our neighbor Ellie across the street is going to the same school on the same days. It's going to be lovely fall, I think.