Itsy, Bitsy Spider with a Twist

Last night after Meghan went to bed and before Clara returned from a birthday party, Jack was sharing his latest activity from music class with us. I suspect he added his own unique flair to the song, but I'll let you decide.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (& Preceding Week)

Last Tuesday (3/12) it was 70 degrees here (a sharp contrast to today's high of 44 and tonight's low of 23!). So while I'm still in full on "winter meal mode", we switched it up a bit and had our black bean soup out on the deck. Before dinner Meghan plays in the treehouse. 

The only one who actually eats her rice and beans.

Big kids striking "thoughtful" poses.

On Wednesday after work there was tickle time with Daddy.

Meghan occasionally when she's not trying to swipe Nuks out of her crib, will grab her blanket and demand it to be draped on her like a shawl. It's totally cute for the three seconds it stays on her and then it's a disaster because she's screaming for it to be repositioned, rinse, and repeat.

While I was at Clara's performance on Thursday night, Jack was busy making music of his own.

Brec dropped Jack off at his new preschool for the first time on Friday because I was helping Clara's class with their St. Patrick's day party. He snapped this picture of Jack busy at his craft.

The pretty pictures that came home from school!

On Saturday we had amazing weather, so warm we allowed the kids to do "water buckets", always a  crowd favorite.

Sunday was St. Patrick's day! and Meghan turned 17 months old.

Clara was very excited for St. Paddy's day and wanted to have a parade, so she made a sign and glued sticks to the back of it. She and Meghan made a go of it in the backyard.

After the "parade" Clara ran inside and came out a few minutes later dressed in this ensemble. Her reason for the wardrobe change was "that St. Patrick's day is an Irish holiday, and Irish clothing has more patterns and textures like this jumper." Plus who can resist wearing Mommy's green knee socks.

We practiced drawing shamrocks, and these were her "first good shamrocks" as labeled by the artist herself.

Later that afternoon she managed to con Daddy into another weekend ice cream outing. She must have the luck o' the Irish!

17 Months Old So Let's Look Back at Meghan's Fifth Month

On St. Paddy's day yesterday Meghan turned 17 months old. It's hard to believe that in a mere month, she'll be a year and a half.  

It's also strange to think that last year at this time we were in the trenches. Somehow this draft got lost in the shuffle between Five Months Old for Meghan & Our Rockin' Saturday Night and was never posted last year. So in honor of Meghan turning 17 months old, let's look back over some moments of her fifth month. (Feb. 17 - March 16, 2012)

Being introduced to Felecity

Short sleeves in early March, last year was a warm spring!

Loving those feet.

Proud big sister.

Exersaucer on the deck.

A rare thumb-sucking picture for Meghan. At the time I think I hoped it was the beginning, but alas no such luck.

Back when my Adele addiction was in full swing, the kids (mainly Clara) singing, "Turning Tables" though you may not quite recognize it.

Look how high the crib is... awh. It's amazing how much they change in a year. I forget and then watching something like this really slams it home.

Clara's Kindergarten Concert

Thursday last week the kindergarteners presented "Read Me a Story" to their fellow school mates and friends and families. Two performances were held, one at 2 pm & one at 6 pm. Brec caught the matinee  while I attended the evening show. As you can see from the pictures and majority of the video, I was luckily enough to have a great seat in the first row, thanks to Christine saving me one. It was really fun to see the whole group in action. 

"Read Me a Story"

"Maybe I'm Small, But I Act Tall"

"I Can Do It If I Try"

"When I Try To Whistle"

March Happenings

Not too much happened during on the first week in March except trying to survive the plague that was plaguing us over here. Jack had fever off and on the early half of the week with a terrible cough and runny nose. Meghan also seems to have gotten the cough and runny nose but never a fever. This illness also seemed to completely zap Jack of his appetite and his energy which is only just now returning, although maybe the self-imposed starvation also effected his drive to get off the couch. 

And when he did get off the couch, he only made it as far as a pillow on his floor.

I turn around after getting my shoes on Wednesday afternoon to find this. The fun never stops.

Tickle time on the couch with Daddy after work Thursday evening.

Friday afternoon: Jack made it back to school, but that pretty much took it out of him. After remaining in my lap most of the time we were at the park after school, he fell asleep in the stroller on the ride home around 5 ish. I carried him in to his bed where he slept from then until 8:45 the next morning, waking once around 7:30 pm to go to the bathroom and get into PJ's.

Saturday the weather was really nice and we spent a lot of time outdoors. Meghan sporting her birthday outfit from Tatti & Carrie that fits her quite well now! Of course I couldn't get a close shot of her looking at me.

Resting after his morning exertions.

Sunday we took a morning walk to the park. On the way Clara found some really pretty wild flowers. We added one to her hair in order to look like a princess.

Resting on the slide (poor kid is still so tired).

Snuggling on my lap eating a banana snack.

Later on while Jack rested and Meghan napped, Clara & Daddy went on an ice cream adventure. Look at that sundae!

Sunday evening we went to Player's Retreat for dinner with Alison, Craig, & Co. Once again Jack barely touched his food, grilled cheese & fries! and huddled in his chair. Are you picking up a theme to this first week of March. For us sickness came in like a lion!

Though he did pause a moment to look cool in Daddy's glasses.

Weekend (Before Last)

So just when I thought I was caught up... but being only a week behind is a tad better than being an entire season behind, right?

Clara came down with a virus early in the week and stayed home from school on Tuesday and again on Thursday. Tuesday she coughed pretty much all day long, seemed better enough to go to school Wednesday, but was so exhausted from it that Thursday was another day at home to catch up on rest. We actually met Brec at a local park near his work for a picnic lunch.

Later I ventured on a neighborhood walk with all three kids, desperate to get out of the house after several days of sickness and rain. Here the kids had fun fishing.

Friday afternoon nap for Meghan. I checked on her and thought the pose was so cute that I needed to snap a picture. Who knows how long these naps will last, I'm just thankful each day when there's one more.

Speaking of dropping a nap early, scrolling through older pictures revealed this one of Skeet Jeeks at the same age. What a sweet pie.

Friday night brought a special treat to Raleigh, Memo & Nay-nay breezed through for dinner "on their way" to So Bo. As they were packing up to leave, suddenly their anti-aging creams that they've been spending all that money on for all these years really kicked in on high gear!

Saturday morning silliness. Whenever we forget to take down the ladder, guess who finds her way to the top bunk? Perfect opportunity for a photo-op but who can managed to take a picture of three looking at the camera at the same time!

Aftermath of a Sunday morning blanket fort explosion.

Jack wasn't feeling well beginning Saturday afternoon, so on Sunday I took the girls for a walk and we hit the old, faithful "hugie Mama rock". I realized it had a been awhile since I'd snapped a picture of Clara on it. 

Then once I saw the picture, it brought to mind an older one. Sure enough, almost two years to the day, clearly a warmer day in late winter, I found this one of Clara on the rock. Same crazy fashion sense two years later.

Fun with forward facing camera