The Rainbow Party.

A great thing about having your actual birthday on a Monday is that your party is the day before, so you essentially get two days of celebration.

First up, the party, which was oh-so-tame this year for some reason. They painted, they danced, they pinned the gold in the pot at the end of the rainbow. They ate rainbow crudites and pizza.

And then, the cake! I love her face. It's her wow-this-is-for-me-face. Yes, sweetheart, it's for you. Happy Birthday!The cake was really just for effect - But it was good! In all of its wheat-free, dairy-free glory, thankyouverymuch.The highlight was the pinata, which was a first for her, and though it was a little chilly we were still able to hang it in the tree and let the kids have at it. And they did!They all made this face! Must be the pinata face or something!I think she had a happy day!

Now she's five.

Happy Birthday, Al-Bal. We love you!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Love, Mommy, Daddy, and Fish

Happy Monday!

Hope your Monday is super! I know one little girl who can't believe she has to wait until next Monday for her birthday!

4:00.

I find it nearly impossible to resist the cuteness that is those precious minutes when I wake him up from nap. Both kids have been this way - no matter what time I put them down, be it 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, they always require waking at 4:00. For some reason, that's my magic time. In order for them to be in bed between 7:30 and 8pm, they need to be up by four. But the cuteness that I find at four o'clock is just something else. It's sweet, quiet, warm. I almost want to get in that (tiny) bed with him.

It takes him awhile, just as it took her awhile. And in that time where he's just waking up, he's extra warm and snuggly (unless he wakes up grumpy), and gives me extra loves. I know this nap time won't last forever (hopefully quiet time is here to stay, though!), so I'm careful to treasure it while it's here, both the during part and the after part.

Spring in Minnesota.

Minnesota is not a place where people take spring for granted. We wait for it. We earn it. We watch for it. And this year it's come early.

It's funny how we forget what it looks like. I know this lilac bush will have delicious smelling flowers for a short time, but I'd forgotten that green leaves shoot out of these woody branches, so wintery-looking you can't imagine they're actually still alive. And these gorgeous green shoots will be daylilies, I think yellow. And I will tell Alla not to pick them, please don't pick them honey because once you do, they're just gone and they're all the flower we've got out here. But she'll pick them anyway and I'll bring them inside and put them in water, and they'll last just a little while.

But what I'd really forgotten about is our tree. That big tree of Maple Monday fame. How it goes from being a big old bunch of withered branches with fall's dead leaves still hanging on, to an actual shade-giving tree. So I've been watching it. I noticed the poofy balls shooting from it a couple weeks ago, and then green sprouts came from those. And now, wonder of wonders, baby leaves. Only they're quickly growing up, and, as Alla said just this morning, are really 'big kid leaves,' not babies.

I hope you're noticing and enjoying spring in your neck of the woods!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I know it's spring all around the country, but we are actually having spring here. Meaning no snow in sight, grass is greening, flowers and trees (aaaaaaa-chooooooooooooo!) are blooming, and the air is warm.

2. Pushing the kids (31 pounds + 45 pounds) in the double jogger never gets easier. In fact, it seems to get harder with each run. What, are they gaining weight everyday? Ok, probably, but not measurably, right? Right?

3. We started taping Parenthood several weeks ago when it started, and now we have like six hours of it recorded. After one episode, I am loving it! So happy that I have five more hours to watch.

4. Fisher's favorite new library book: Dinotrux.

5. Alla was smitten with Millie Waits for the Mail today, and Fisher kept saying, 'See Mih-weee!'

6. Yesterday Alla made up a new dinosaur, drew a picture of it and ran to show me her 'jiganoteasaurus.' I was very impressed that she remembered its very long name at dinner for Daddy.

7. Fisher's favorite time of day is when Daddy comes home: Daddy home! Daddy home! Drive Daddy's car! Daddy gum!

8. We leave this weekend for a long-overdue trip to see Ron's family. The kids are so excited to see Grandma, talking about how they'll hug her and tell her I Love You. I have a feeling they won't want to come back home.

9. Except that when we get back it will be days away from Alla's fifth birthday. Five is big. Major. She looks five. 10. Took Fisher to the allergist today for his annual there to see, as Fisher says, how it's goin'. After a skin test showed very positive results for the wheat allergy, his doctor decided it wouldn't be safe at this point to do a food challenge for wheat. So, we wait another year and then re-assess while continuing to avoid wheat.

Tractor.

Really, there's no better title. He calls it Tractor, he calls it Kubota, and I think he thinks he's really riding a Fisher-sized tractor. He's been riding it since yesterday, with a stop for a battery re-charge. He asked about it as early as breakfast. He was actually motivated to get out of his jammies in order to log some extra yards on the tractor.

Easter tradition.

I don't know if two years in a row makes it a tradition, but since we've kind of set it up that way for years to come (and renewed our zoo membership), we'll say that it does. Pretty sure Alla's favorite part was having our friends join us for the outing! Alla and Carter (R) and Canton (L) are best of friends.

After Fisher kissed this goat he said, "I wub goats!"

But, let's be honest, his most favorite part was the tractor ride to and from the farm area, and a close second will probably be the tractor just sitting outside of a barn for him to 'drive.'

Baby pigs just a few days old!

Until next year, my little hen. Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Our wee ones had a blast hunting for eggs in their jammies. I loved watching Big Sister scout them out from inside the house, then get everyone fired up to go out and find them. I loved witnessing her not steal them from her little brother, but run to one and then hand it over (in the end he had more because of her generosity). I loved how quickly Fisher caught on, how he'd put his basket down and run to an egg, dump one in, run to another one, repeat. The whole day was a lot for them - eggs, zoo, nap/quiet time, play outside, dinner, bath. It ended with near meltdowns. But I'm choosing to focus on the quiet fun of this morning. And maybe next year we should just hunt for eggs all day!

Friday Favorites.

Thought I'd share five favorites from California. This one was important to get. All three grandkids with Nana + Pappi. Fisher's excavator made it into the shot. That was the first thing he noticed about it, too!

And then there's the next two I really had to have. I don't remember the last picture taken of my brother and I with our Mom, but I love these. I wish we had the opportunity to take one like this on a regular basis, but then maybe because we don't, it makes these so special. On any given day, I look around and see my children and my husband, my community, my city, my friends, and feel connected to them in a way that says, This is where I belong. But when I look at these pictures I am reminded of where I came from. I look at my mother and my brother and see how they hold pieces of me that aren't here everyday, and that makes me feel such joy. I don't have a home to go back to, a childhood home that houses familiar objects and decades of memories. But I have a brand new photograph that brings all of those things right back to me in an instant.

Bunches and bunches of California.

Did you know that California is literally a wonderland of diggers? I mean they are just a-building every which way, and Fisher could not be happier that there were diggers around the corner from Uncle John and Aunt Jenn. I think he'd like to move there, just for the diggers.

He also liked the surprise birthday celebration.
It's hard to not enjoy watching your food-allergic diabetic child enjoy a perfectly safe birthday cuppycake.

It's also hard not to enjoy your little brother's birthday gifts. Vroom-vroom!

I didn't even try not to be jealous of the gorgeous white spring blooms. Wow.

The best part of a visit that involves other children is always bathing with them. Well at least to my daughter, not necessarily to my nephew.

Who is, by the way, SO cute.
And I can't get away from these photographs. Such lovely afternoon light.