Fun in the Sun!

We have been LOVING the sunshine this past week. All day long, Charlie goes to the back door and chants, "Out! Out! Out!" I think the boost in vitamin D is doing us all some good!

Helping (and I use that word very loosely!) Jeff wash his car.

Playing in the water!

Using an umbrella in the sprinkler. Makes perfect sense to me!

Waterslide!

Making a mess with the sand table. Isn't Charlie so cute in his new hat?!

Mmmm...ice cream! We walked to our local ice cream shop for a special treat. Grace chose vanilla with chocolate chips. She's a classy girl with classic tastes. =)

Where's Grace?

Grace's naptime has always held some mystery. Will she sleep? What kind of crazy outfit will she be wearing when she's done "napping"? How many words a minute will she be speaking as she describes all the imaginary things that have happened in her room over the past hour? Will anything else be broken today?

Lately, there has been a new mystery. Where will I find her?

Perhaps cozied up on the floor.

Or maybe nestled into her closet with all her stuffed animals including her giant "baa-baa" chair.

Or my favorite, still riding her horse, Mocha, in her sleep. It's as if she fell off then decided to just go ahead and go to sleep. Notice in the second picture how her leg is caught in the strap of Mocha's harness. That had to be uncomfortable.

Charlie's First Haircut

I've been very hesitant about getting Charlie's hair cut. Little boys always look so much older once their hair has been trimmed, but it was definitely time. People were going to start calling him "Shaggy" pretty soon. And my sister said he was starting to grow a rat tail. That's never a good sign. =)
Grace spent the afternoon with Jeff's parents, so it was the perfect time to take him in. Despite the recommendation of two friends in the neighborhood to head to Supercuts up the street, I went all the way to Crossroads to a place that "specializes" in kids' cuts. I'm a sucker for those truck/car/tractor seats. And I really wanted his first experience to be a good one. He had a great time driving his tractor and watching Elmo on the TV. He laughed and smiled the whole time, even when she used the clippers around his ears and neck.

Getting started

Almost done...just trimming around the ears

The finished (so much older!!!) look

Monkey See, Monkey Do

This is pretty much the way things go around here:

"Charlie, don't stick you finger in your nose. That's gross."

Ha-ha! Hee! Hee! That was funny!

(Please note: This is the one and only picture in existence of both my children smiling and looking at the camera without a finger in their nose.)

"Gracie, that goes for you too!"

Please welcome...

We've added a new blogger to the family. You can now find the insightful musings of a three year old at gracesvoice.blogspot.com. Every single word comes straight from her mouth. I promise. Trust me, you can't make this stuff up. =)

Omnipotent

Grace: I liked watching Backyardigans at Grandma and Boppo's. Why don't we ever watch that at our house?

Me: We don't get that show on our tv.

Grace: Hmmm...maybe God doesn't know I like that show.

(Me: And God, if that's how it works, I'd really like the Food Network, too!)

Three or Thirteen?

My baby girl is growing up too fast.

She can play computer games all be her "yelf". She can use the mouse effortless, which just amazes me. She even knows how to navigate back to my google homepage when she's done. She basically knows how to do more on a computer than I did when I graduated from high school.

Last week I heard the phone ring while I was in Charlie's room. I came out several minutes later to see Grace talking into the phone. This isn't that strange because she often pretends to call people. Then I heard a voice talking back to her in the phone. It was her Auntie Kate. Grace had answered the phone, explained that I was in taking care of Charlie, and carried on a conversation about our plans for the day. Thank goodness it was Kate. A telemarketer could have gotten quite an earful!

Grace's Grammy sent her an email last week about a hummingbird that had visited her. Grace wanted to email her back, so I typed what she wrote:

I love Grammy. Be my friend and you'll be glad. I love you. I have curlers in my hair because I did my hair, and I wanted curlers in my hair. I love you. Thank you. Is it a little one (bird) or a big one?

Grace has suddenly become particularly adamant about the outfits she wears. Don't be surprised when you see us walking to the park in a dress, snow hat, rain boots, and sunglasses. I guess she likes to be prepared for our crazy spring weather.

Three is fun. I hope thirteen is too! (A mom can dream, right?!?)