Ten on Tuesday.

1. It is super important for me to get a picture with the birthday girl. I don't know that that happened last year with the newborn fog I was in! 2. The birthday girl at 6:37 = officially four years old.

3. Alla's guests of honor: Aunt Ronna and Grandma!

4. Perhaps the funniest part of the birthday party: after all the games were played, the cupcakes eaten, and the presents opened, Alla wanted to dress up in her new Fancy Nancy outfit. Somehow all the party guests were on board with this idea, and within moments they were upstairs in her room, slamming the door. I peeked a few minutes later and Alla had removed all her birthday clothes and was pulling on tights. Her friends (5 girls and 2 boys) were all helping get her ready for the big reveal. Fifteen minutes later they come out with her and shout "Ta Da!" It was so cute. I would post a picture of that, but Alla still had, uh, parts hanging out. But she was fancy, trust me.

5. More dress-up accessories!

6. Pretty much her standard reaction after opening each gift. She was just so excited. Ron said his favorite part of the day was just watching how excited she was, so loud and rambunctious and in charge.

7. Her very own banner, pink and red and stars. This one's a little more fragile. Thankfully Grandma and Daddy were there to help put it up!

8. Did I mention that Mother Nature forced us inside once again? Yep, 40s and rain on the party day. Maybe an outdoor party here is like a once every five years thing.

9. Took her for her four-year check up yesterday morning. She's 42 inches and 38 pounds.

10. I interviewed her this morning, adding more questions than last year, and can't wait to add her picture and put it in her scrapbook for posterity. Some answers have changed in a year, of course, but some are the same. Case in point: What are you really good at? Art, says my little artiste.

If anyone wants my Word-document kid questionnaire, send me an email and I'll get it to you. It's fun! I plan to continue it every year. One of these years she'll start filling it out herself, I suppose. Sigh.

She partied.

She's four now.

She told me at bedtime that she was so happy, about the whole birthday.

I'm so happy she's happy.

Four years ago.

I went to bed, in labor, thinking I might as well get some rest. My water had broken at 6:30 that morning, so I was on like hour fifteen of labor or something. Not bad labor. Until I went to sleep, of course.

36 hours from the time my water broke, I had a baby girl.

That baby girl is now sound asleep in her twin bed in the room she shares with her baby brother, who, of course, lies in her old crib.

It's all a little surreal, and I imagine becomes more so as the years go on.

That little girl, I hope will wake up to see what the Birthday Fairy has left and will have tons of wonderful little surprises tomorrow. I love that she doesn't really know what to expect. But she gets it, the Bigness of It.

I love you, Alla Rees. Happy Birthday, Big Girl.

Ten on Wednesday: The Birthday Girl.

1. My baby will be F-O-U-R on Sunday, so, love, this Ten is dedicated to you!
2. Four years ago, today (22 April) was her due date. She waited three more days, however, before she began inching her way into this world.
3. 34 hours and a cesarean section later, we had our first child, a beautiful baby girl weighing 9 pounds 5 ounces.
4. For her first birthday party, she gave out Rotavirus as a party favor. To pretty much every guest. Lovely.
5. She has always loved sugar snap peas, red peppers, and plain yogurt.
6. She is an artist. She does some sort of art every single day. She's incredibly creative.
7. She sounds out words and can spell a few, too.
8. She loves books. We generally have 20-30 library books at a time, and I love seeing this pre-reader time when she can sit down with a book, study the pictures, and figure out what the book is about.
9. She picks out her own clothes 99% of the time. Rarely does a day go by that she stays in that same outfit. There is usually some princess outfit at some point in the day.
10. That said, so far she's not really a girly-girl. Today she was out snake-hunting, and in a few weeks we'll be digging for worms. I love that about her.

Here's to four more days of three, babe!

13 months.

You have the craziest hair EVER.
This picture is just you - outside, with your walker, food in hand, a bright smile, and that hair going everywhere.
You sign: all done, wash hands (my boy!), light, dog, eat, thank you, more, book, shoes.
You discovered a love for the red wagon.
You love to sit at the stream and throw rocks in.
Still love rice cakes.
Don't like to try new foods.
Obsessed with beans - kidney and black.
Still taking two naps, around 10 am and around 2 pm.
Go to bed around 6:45pm and sleep til about 7am.
Still love your music toy and are pushing the buttons yourself.
Love waffles.
Taking 4-5 steps by yourself when I let go of your fingers.
Have the best laugh.
Always in trouble.
Happy.
Learning fast.

Revisiting the zoo.

This is what we looked like when we visited the zoo on Sunday. This is what we looked like when we visited the zoo on a Sunday three years ago.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. No need to be sad about the slew of season finalers heading our way. Hello June 7!

2. I'm pretty sure that my diastasis is permanent. Go ahead, click the link. I'll wait. Are you back? Yes, there is a whole in my abs. Nice. Thanks, Fish.

3. Finally took down Fisher's birthday banner. But we still have two balloons flying high. At this rate they'll be around for Alla's party, too!

4. You know the weather's warming up when I find grass in the bathroom. From both kids. Because the rule in our house is "Shoes off, Hands washed" and even the littlest one is learning it. We toss his shoes by the door and then go upstairs to wash hands. He starts smiling, clapping his hands together, which is what he does to the soap once it's in his little hands.

5. Fisher is standing on his own for long stretches of time.

6. Tomorrow we get the ball rolling on replacing some of these original windows. I think this summer I might actually be able to see out of the front window - fancy that!

7. I am getting so much sunshine lately; some days I've even felt sunburned!

8. Fisher may be getting all four first-year molars at once.

9. On Easter morning, Alla comes in our bedroom and says, There's quite a lot of Easter stuff down there, you know, with her hand on her hip. So cute. She had no idea what to expect, having no memory of last year (who am I kidding, none of us remember last year since Fisher was only 4 days old). It was all new to her and everything was wonderful.

10. Lastly, some Easter shares. The Easter bunny brought Alla this fun twirly skirt, so she thought she'd run right into her closet and pair it with some red knee-highs and the stripiest shirt she could find, and that would be just the right outfit for finding eggs.Alla was amazed at the little baby goats at the zoo. They especially liked our sweatshirts, and then would stand on their hind legs against us, which is when Alla made this face and told me the goat "banished up on me!"Fisher was slightly amused by the goats all around him. Slightly.I think this is right before they "banished up" on her. Hee hee.I love this. My hands full of my two kiddos.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Yes, I know it's Wednesday.

2. I'm sitting here folding clothes, blogging, printing out tonight's recipe, and watching the Oprah on motherhood.

3. I'm super excited to be back in cloth diapers. Well, not me personally, but you know what I mean.

4. I would really love to master the art of the paper crane and then hang them all over. They are so beautiful.

5. I'm on day three of a headache at the base of my skull. Is it wrong that I'm excited about the chiropractor appointment tomorrow?

6. We are in the 50s for the second day in a row!

7. I am loving the Apartment Therapy book. Such eye candy. I love my home, too, I love the idea of home, of it being a place that supports family and welcomes you and makes you want to stay. Our home is no large sprawling estate, but it is so home to us; we are continually putting our stamp on it, and it is continually embracing us.

8. We're planning to take the kiddos to the Minnesota Zoo on Sunday - no one goes to the zoo on Easter Sunday, right? It's the last day of the Farm Babies. Alla doesn't know we're going, but she's dying to see those wee ones.

9. Our local garden center had their spring open house this weekend, and a few little farm babies were there to be touched. Alla had a hard time containing herself, nearly choking the little chickies, so we're hoping for more restraint at the zoo.

10. Almost time to decorate Easter eggs...did you see the silk dyed eggs on Martha? OMG, so gorgeous. Too bad this family doesn't just have some old silk laying around!

Friday Five.

1. We all got hit by The Stomach Flu between Sunday and Wednesday. It was not pretty. We're still using disposable diapers. 'Nuff said.

2. The sun came out yesterday, the first day I can honestly say that every single one of us was well, and I heard the birds sing and I doubt I have ever been so happy to be outside breathing fresh air.

3. It's 45 today, it might get up to 50 the way things are going, and I've got the screens open, baby, time to let the breeze run through our winter home.

4. I have a stack of old Cooking Lights sitting here that really needs to be gone through. Like I really need more recipes to put in my "To Try" folder.

5. Kiddos, I love you in sickness and health. You, too, babe.