Celebrating spring!

Friday we celebrated the first day of spring by having a pool party in the bathtub! Seth picked out Amelia's new suit: We also bought a new suit for Seth, but it was too big, so he had to wear his old one:

They had a blast!

"Are they yours?"

That has to be the most annoying question on the planet. Yes, not-so-sweet old lady at the grocery store. Yes, redneck Bojangles employee. I have the scar to prove it, and I came home with the same kids I met in the operating room. Twice in the span of thirty minutes yesterday I was asked this. I used to get asked it all the time when Seth was a baby, but lately I've only been asked where they get their blond hair from (which is a better question in my mind).

In last month's issue of Parenting, there was an article written by two parents, one who adopted a child from South America, one whose child is biracial, about their experiences with this same question. I wanted to write in and say I can understand how frustrating it must be for them, because it annoys the heck out of me.

leprechaun shenanigans

I guess the leprechauns stopped by our house on their way to the preschool. Seth woke up to find every book in his room standing on end... ...and his chair on top of the table!

Seth tells us there were footprints around the preschool, and the leprechauns came three times and messed up their classroom...the worst was when they found the kitchen set knocked over! They sent the leprechauns back to Ireland and locked the classroom door. Problem solved. Except now whenever Seth finds something out of place, he thinks the leprechauns did it. No Seth, Mommy is just lazy and didn't put (insert item here) away yet.

Here are my two kiddos in green...and my, how you've grown in the past year...

Amelia got beaucoups de compliments on her outfit yesterday at the gym and running errands. You know this is a loaner from Blair, I wouldn't know how to pick out something with bows!

mid-March misc.

Here are a few more pictures from our trip to Kings Mountain:

What I found in Seth's backpack this week:This is the preschool's latest fundraiser. They turn the kids' artwork into a magnet you could buy for $5. And who's not going to buy their child's marker and tissue paper caterpillar scene?

Just like Super Sudsy Bubblestein...

One of the first Jack's Big Music Show episodes we ever DVR'd for Seth was the one where Mel (the dog) was digging up trombones and needed a bath. Super Sudsy Bubblestein (Cheryl Hines) came to give him a bath, and they all played trombones at the end. Maybe that is why Seth was so interested in his daddy's old trombone in Kings Mountain this weekend. So interested, in fact, that it now has a home in our basement:

And so you can hear for yourselves:

Elise's baby shower

Saturday Marie, Mary (Elise's BFF), and I threw a baby shower for Elise. We had so much fun! (or at least I did) Here is the diaper cake I made (notice the sheep on top...Elise loves sheep, Chad does not...): The cake Mary ordered:

The little guy is going to have a St. Louis Cardinals themed nursery:

His cousins are jealous that his basketball has Rufus on it, because theirs all have boring ol' Raymond Felton on them...

Diaper bag that is manly enough for Chad to carry:

Elise has the cutest little belly, and hopefully she will keep sending pictures of it (hint hint) because we probably won't see her again until the little guy makes his grand entrance. Then Charleston, here we come!

we share so well

We're even sharing our misery! Amelia started showing signs of a stomach bug Sunday, and it has run its course through the entire family. I was the second one down, so luckily I was on the mend before the boys started getting sick. There has been a lot of washing and cleaning going on tonight. I haven't even been really watching the DWTS premiere! But on to more pleasant things...We had a fairly quiet week last week after all the craziness of the week before.

Seth was coloring while Amelia was having snack, she gave it a whirl...
Playing peekaboo with daddy at the playground Saturday.

Lots of outside time! The weather has been beautiful. It's hard to believe there was snow on the ground Tuesday.

Seth brought a whole assortment of toys out to play with (by the way, Amelia doesn't like hats like her brother does).

Playing chase in the front yard...Amelia crawls in slow motion in the grass, it's hilarious!

Seth helped us outside doing yardwork during Amelia's naps this weekend. So far we've transitioned smoothly to the time change, fingers crossed that we trick Amelia into sleeping a little bit later.

Amelia @ 1

Amelia was in a very smiley mood for her pictures Sunday. Here's a sample:

Tuesday she had her 1 year check-up. Seth had to come with us because preschool was cancelled, and the office was running way behind. The kids were squirrelly, and I couldn't blame them. Amelia was 18 lbs 13 oz, and 29.5 inches long. I weighed her twice (and zeroed the scale myself the second time...yes, I know it's bad that I didn't trust the nurse) because it's unbelievable to me that she weighs almost a pound less than Seth did at that age. She's only half an inch shorter, she just looks like she's got so much more to her than Seth did (I don't mean that in a bad way, Amelia!). She got a good report card and was rewarded with four shots. Her big brother yelled at the nurse during the second one, saying "Hey! One is enough!", which I thought was pretty darn sweet. Then we had to go across the plaza to get labwork drawn, and Amelia added a band-aid on her middle finger to match the two on her thighs. Seth got a sticker at one place and a piece of candy at the other. Again, freeloader!

Amelia is slowly starting to sleep later in the morning (and by later I mean usually after 6am but before 6:30). She developed a love of popsicles when she was sick last week. She is drinking whole milk, which she's kind of mad at me about. She's not walking yet, but has started letting go when cruising, so I'm sure it won't be long. She loves to give kisses and hugs, especially to her daddy. She has started playing with shape sorters and stackers, which her brother is more than happy to help her with. She loves to read books, and whenever she sees a blond boy she says it is her bubba. So cute!

Snow in March? In NC?

It rained all weekend. And then it stopped. And then, lo and behold, the local weatherpeople were right and it started to snow. Here are my three kids watching the first flakes fall around 7pm Sunday, March 1st:We woke up Monday, March 2nd, to 4-5 inches of snow. By 8am we were out sledding in the driveway. It was 24 degrees, so Amelia didn't stay out too long. We don't own any sleds, so we were resourceful and used pool floats. They worked great! (But I do think I will buy the next plastic sled I see and stick it in the back room.)

This was a good place to plop Amelia down:

Our backyard:

Who loved the snow the most?

Colette the dog!

The roads haven't been bad at all (for NC, that is), but school has been cancelled the past two days and is on a two-hour delay tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the 60s this weekend, gotta love NC springs!

Amelia's 1st birthday party

Saturday was Amelia's first birthday. We had a heck of a party. Friday I baked a cake and cupcakes...the birthday girls had their own special cupcakes:And the cake (the party had a cupcake theme):Amelia loved watching everyone sing, she was very tentative at first with the cupcake......and not too messy, she didn't even need an immediate bath afterwards! The birthday girl DEMANDED a juice box, and she did an awesome job using a straw for the first time.

The birthday girls spent a lot of time playing together...

Amelia thinks her biggest cousin, Evan, is hilarious!

Grandma took wheelie for a couple laps, and Amelia decided to join her, it was hilarious!

We had a good crowd, and the kids were too wound up to take naps after the party, so the kids and I crashed hard Saturday night...Seth slept almost 12 hours, Amelia over 10, and nine for me!

while the boy's away...

...the rest of the family will do nothing exciting.

I'm sure you've missed us (ha ha) since I haven't had a chance to blog this week. Amelia had the crud, and I actually took her to the doctor Monday afternoon. Nathan was on antibiotics by midweek. We stayed really busy, and it was madness from Thursday through Saturday. After preschool on Thursday, we drove down to Concord Mills and met Lisa and Michael. A long time ago, Lisa offered to keep Seth for two days so 1) he could get some alone time with his aunt and uncle, and 2) I could do some party prep with only one little helper. Although we all wondered how he'd do, Seth had a great trip. We missed him, but stayed very busy. (And I must say Amelia loved having both of us to herself for a little while.) After a quick loop around the mall (because I may as well shop while I'm there, right?), we headed home. Nathan went to the Wake game and I started cleaning up the house after Amelia went to bed. Friday morning I did all the baking and finished cleaning, and then I had to head into work. Not exactly ideal, but it was the only way between our family calendar, the baby-sitter's schedule, and work's needs that I could get my hours in. We were up before 7 am on Saturday putting the finishing touches on Amelia's party, and Seth rolled in just in time to get the party started. It really was a win-win situation. Here are some pictures from our boring/busy week:

This is for my dad...like mother, like daughter: Thursday Seth's class had a late Mardi Gras/circus day, and he came home with this crazy mask:

The one-eyed penguin Seth brought home Monday. It lives on our fridge and Amelia says, "sat?" (what's that?) every time she sees it. (As well as every time she sees a balloon, window, or light.)

Here are a couple pictures of Seth's trip, courtesy of Auntie Lisa. Seth can talk Michael into anything, including riding in the backseat with him.

Friday morning they visited the Riverbanks Zoo. Seth rode on the carousel...twice. Lisa says it was because the gorilla was stationary and they didn't realise it before the ride started, but I'm pretty sure Seth was working the system...

he loves me, he loves me not...

This conversation took place last night during the Wake game...S=Seth, M=Mommy:

S: Mommy, you are not a match.
M: Not a match?
S: Your hair is not a match to us. I need a new mommy.

Well, that's the abbreviated version, but you get the idea.

So I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he seemed really serious about it and I had to leave the room before my feelings got really hurt. Although I have started to consider highlights, I really don't think I'll ever be able to pull off sandy blonde. Nathan gave him a stern talking-to and told him that he loved me and I was staying and that if Seth didn't like it that he would be the one to leave. Which got me a half-hearted apology.

But now today? Today he LOVES me. And it's not just when he wants a snack. Ah, my little Gemini....

Who wears the pants...

...and who wears the hair bows...

Nathan was changing clothes after work on Wednesday and Seth came out of our closet wearing a (clean) pair of khakis...we love how it makes it look like Nathan wears really big pants. Add that day's work shirt and it makes for a whole lot of silliness at our house!

We had our first parent-teacher conference yesterday. Seth is doing satisfactory in most areas, and the "needs improvement" and "excellent" areas balance each other out. Surprisingly, he scored excellent in sentence structure, manners, and vocabulary recognition...the boy who one year ago was barely putting three words together. Since he has a summer birthday, we're trying to decide what is best for him next year...what I always thought he'd do and what he ends up doing may be two completely different things. That's life for you!