Easter!

 

We had a really lovely Easter this year.  We have tried to create some of our own family traditions related to this holiday.  We celebrate the religious reason for Easter, but we also incorporate eggs and a special Easter breakfast.  We don't do Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc around here.  We don't eat a lot of sweets around here, either so we have tried to avoid the candy-filled Easter Eggs.  Lila's second Easter (when she was about one), Cam snuck into her room Easter morning and had a big spread of beautiful cut fruits and flowers.  He set it up to look like her dolls were going to partake of it, too.  It was really cute.  So, we have stayed generally with that idea.  This year, we took the cut fruits and put them on... a sugar cookie crust with cream cheese icing.  I said we didn't eat "a lot" of sweets around here.  Give me a break.  =)

Easter Fruit Pizza

 We colored eggs this year and both the girls really enjoyed it.  Maggie kept saying "ta da!".  It was really cute.

Lila studiously coloring her eggs

Hunting Easter Eggs

Hard-boiled Chicky Face

I got this idea from a website that I don't remember.  Ooops.  It's a sliced hard-boiled egg with poppy seed eyes and a cheese beak.  I thought it turned out really cute.

 

Lastly, we finally got a family picture!  I really didn't realize it, but the only family picture in existence (I think) was a horrid church portrait where Lila is 2 and refusing to cooperate.  I wish I could find it to scan.  It really is a gem. Ha ha.  Anyway, this one turned out well.  Happy Easter.

Giddy up!

The weather has begun to warm up, which means it's good riding weather! Cam saddled up Bocephus, or "Bo" for short, in the round pen.  The girls each got a turn riding.  Lila and Cam have gone riding several times together.  They like to go to the Forestry in Harrison County and ride the trails. 

 

Lila normally rides on her saddle (the black one that sits behind Cam's), but Cam let her ride all by herself.  She was soooo proud of herself to be have complete control.

 

This was Maggie's very first time up on a horse and she also felt like pretty big stuff.  She really enjoyed being up there so tall.  

 

All three of my sweeties got up and rode around for a bit.

Bocephus, up close and personal.

Training Pants

Maggie is getting closer to being potty-savvy.  We cloth-diapered both girls successfully, but the past few months, I've had Maggie mostly in Pull-ups.  They are so much easier to deal with when she wants to use the potty.  However, they are pricey and terrible for the environment.  So, I decided to start her in training pants.  Or, "Big Dirl Panties" as she calls them.  I had a 4 or 5 pairs left over from Lila.  She was thrilled at the prospect.  The first day, she went through all that I had in about an hour.  When I had washed and dried them a couple days later, she was jumping-on-the-bed-happy to be able to wear them again.  "Me pee pee in them." she said solemnly while shaking her head "no".  (Interpretation- I won't pee pee in them.)  Everyday she wears them, she seems to do a little better, but I was still running out of panties quickly!  So, I broke down and bought some more.  They're not that easy to find AND they cost $8 for *3* pairs! Which, ok, is still a lot cheaper than pull-ups in the long haul, but that just seemed exorbitant.  So, I set out on a quest to make some.  I found a free pattern on-line.  I bought 2 yards of knit fabric from Hancock that was on sale for $4/yard.  And, Voila! "Big Dirl Panties"!

Now, looking back, I realized I could just use old t-shirts for the material.  But, it wouldn't be all cute and flowery.  I double-layered the pattern for extra absorbency and also added a piece of an old cloth diaper in the crotch.  I  expect the 2 yards to make  6 or so pairs.  I finished the waist with FOE (fold-over elastic) that I had on hand.  I would say I maybe used 1/3 yard on each pair.  I added a bow to make it easy to tell the front from the back with scrap ribbon.  I thought they turned out cute and Maggie is tickled pink and hopefully dry-pants bound!

Family Hikes

Last fall, we started a new family tradition of going on family hikes on Friday mornings.  Most of the time, our schedule is flexible enough that we can work this in.  Cam and I try to exercise through the week and this weekly arrangement had several benefits: it was an outing to look forward to, it met our need for physical activity, was quality family time, and hopefully instilled in the girls a love of the outdoors and the importance of physical activity.  Each of us wears one of the girls in an Ergo- which we freaking love.  It can still hold Lila pretty comfortably.  If you have children, I highly recommend one.  Or two.  We only had one for awhile.  Our sweet friends would let us borrow theirs every week until my Super-Awesome friend Rhonda actually gave us hers on permanent loan.  Squee!  I digress.  Anyway, we had let this tradition slip during the winter months, but have gotten back into the habit.  Here are some pictures I took on a recent hike to our 

Northern boundary at Old Glory. 

Lila is happy to be outside!

This is Bluebird, who also thoroughly enjoyed the hike.

A budding Artist

 

I just wanted to share this drawing of a peacock Lila made in January.  I was so impressed.  This was my first real inclination that she had a talent.  Since then, she has been drawing, coloring, and painting up a storm.  I'm not claiming we have a prodigy or anything, but I love to see her creating.  She gets creativity from both sides of the family, so I'm not surprised she would have an artsy flair. The down side to her prolific work is that it all has to *go* somewhere.  She is constantly drawing or coloring pictures for Cam or me.  This particular peacock I scanned to make sure it would be around.  But, Cam says we need to *have* them to hold them.  Ugh.  So, the ones I'm impressed with go into a file in the basement, while the coloring book pages have a lesser fate in "File 13".  Shhhh......

It was "bloomin'" gorgeous!

 I just had to share a few of the pics I took of the girls yesterday.  It was a gorgeous morning, with temps already in the 60's when we got out to the yard.  The girls were in heaven.  Hope your spring is going this happily!

Happy Birthday, Maggie!

My little monkey turned 2 yesterday! We had a fun party for her on Saturday at our house.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and unseasonably warm which meant we could move the party outside after the cake and gifts.  Maggie requested monkeys on her cake and of course Nana was up for the challenge.  She used the fabric from the girls' dresses to create a cute and, more importantly, delicious cake.  

Monkey cake!

I printed monkey masks on card stock and glued them to popsicle sticks as part of the goody bags.  I baked banana bread, served banana chips, and a tropical selection of fruit and dip.  

Is it a Maggie or a monkey?

After Lila got her pup for her birthday last month, Cam and I both felt like Maggie was feeling a little left out of the "big girl" feeling of having a living thing all her own.  So, we decided to get her some ducklings.  She got to pick them out at the feed store and has proudly claimed them "my duck-lings!" since then.


She also got quite a few outdoor toys and games which were really fun to try out in the beautiful weather.  We replaced the "baby" swing with a cool "Tire" swing that's really molded plastic.  But, I liked that both girls could ride together.  It was a big hit.

Don't know if you can tell or not, but the girls have matching dresses.  I scoured local stores for a cute monkey outfit for Mags and didn't find any I liked.  So, I made some.  I bought a plain t-shirt at Old Navy and cut it off for the bodice.  I had a pattern for the skirt part and followed that.  The length on both dresses was a little too short.  I put Mags in leggings and added a red tier to Lila's under the monkey fabric.  They looked cute and were both quite pleased with their matchy dresses. 

It doesn't seem like two years ago that we called our doula, midwife, grandparents and sister to say that Mags was on her way.  I look back on that day with very fond memories.  The two years since then has been full of challenges (who knew two kids could feel like twelve?), and joys ("I luv oo, Lila!").  But, we love our Maggie Moo and wouldn't trade her for the world. Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

*On a side note... all photos were taken by my awesome sister (in-law), Renata.