Jasper Louise

Awww! I love my sweet Jasper Louise.

Easter

The kids enjoyed hunting for eggs here at home.
And also at co-op.

Woah!

It's been almost 2 months since my last blog entry! Did you all think we fell off the face of the earth? Or maybe that I'd finally cracked under the pressure of my brood and was committed to a nearby mental hospital? Well, thankfully, that is not the case. You know the saying that goes something like "never look under the hood of a mechanic's car"? I think it can officially be rewritten as "never try to use a computer guy's wife's computer". *sigh* My computer has been broken since Easter. Yes, Easter. Granted, we have been very busy...but I think the bigger problem is that my work-weary husband didn't want to tackle my piecemeal laptop. At any rate, he is working on it as we speak! So maybe I'll be blogging regularly soon. At a minimum, I'm going to try to hit the highlights of the past two months....

First sleepover

On Wednesday, the kids had their friends Maya and Benjamin over for their first sleepover. I was amazed at how well everyone did! The boys played and watched Star Wars and were asleep by about 8:30! The girls were up much later, but they quietly talked and wrote stories in Avery's room. It was a roaring sucess!

The next morning, Avery, Maya, and Benja went to their first drama class. Avery was surprisingly shy! I'm hoping she warms up to it soon!

Nature Center

Last Monday we went with friends to the Austin Nature Center. The kids had a good time exploring and digging in the dino pit!

Taking a "dunce-nap"

Last week, Rhys got in some trouble and needed to sit in timeout. While in his 3 minute timeout, he actually fell asleep with his nose in the corner! (No, we don't make face the corner.) He turned his head around by the time I found the camera, and he slept like that, leaning on the couch, for about 45 minutes! Bill took one look at Rhys sleeping with his nose in the corner and proclaimed it Rhys's "dunce-nap" (spoken with a British accent, of course).

Wildflower Center

Today we went with some friends to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It was a much better time to go than last time! (We went before in January and everything was dead!) Avery and Colton brought their nature journals, and they were very serious about documenting as many flowers as possible. The flowers were gorgeous. I think the Texas wildflowers are my very favorite thing about living here. I love spring!

Vegetable garden

We got our veggie garden planted last weekend. We're growing spinach, squash, strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, and some herbs.

Avery & Maya

Our friends and their kids came over for dinner recently. We went to check on the girls, and discovered that they had gotten all comfy and were busy writing their books in Avery's bed! Those two are quite a pair -- their both unstoppable bookworms and budding writers.

Showteam performance

On Saturday, Avery had a Showteam performance at an elementary school carnival. At this one, they were all in their uniforms and they got to do their dance routine! The girls did great, despite the fact that it was very hot and the mats were burning their little feet! Avery was very excited and nervous. In fact, she couldn't sleep the night before. But she had fun once it started and can't wait to perform again!

It's a party!

On Sunday, we had a party for Griffin's first birthday. We had a teddy bear theme, and I made bear invitations and cupcakes, and Griffin wore his teddy bear pants. Griff seemed a little overwhelmed at his party, but he enjoyed himself by showing all of his admirers how he climbs all the shelves and tables in the house. He also liked his birthday cupcake, and made quite a mess with it. He got lots of great gifts too, which he has been playing with nonstop since his party!

Griffin's birthday

On Friday, Griffin's actual birthday, we gave him his present first thing in the morning. Rhys and Avery were very excited to give him his gift, and they helped him open it. Griff got a Thomas the Train ride-on toy. He loves it! He likes to push it and be pushed too. He also really likes that it plays music; he dances when he hears it. For lunch, I made his favorite meal: veggie hot dog and macaroni and cheese. I think he had a nice day, and I held it together for what is a very emotional day for me. :*( How is my baby already one?!!

One year ago today....

A little update...

As usual, I post nothing for weeks, then go on a posting spree. So, here's our most recent update....

Let's see...we spent a week or so recovering from our trip. Can anyone say LAUNDRY?? Other than that, we've been working in the yard a lot. We added a few flower beds in the back and got new sod to replace the grass that was torn up from the Bobcat during playscape construction. We also have our vegetable garden all set up -- we just have to add the plants! We hope to do that in the next couple of days....

We've also been hanging out a lot with friends. This week, we went on a spontaneous outing with some friends to the outlet stores in San Marcos. It was much more successful than you'd imagine, considering between the two families, we had six kids! (two 7 year olds, two 3 year olds, and two babies) I hadn't realized just how many of us there were until we went to eat at a restaurant and required a *huge* booth -- just because of all the kids! We have also been to a birthday party, book club, had a couple of playdates, and had some friends over for dinner. And I've been busy getting ready for Griffin's first birthday!

As far as homeschooling, we've been slow getting back in the swing of things. Avery has been reading a lot, especially biographies. She particularly enjoyed ones she read about Helen Keller and the gymnast Dominique Moceaneau. She also has been reading some books about Australia in preparation for our next World Explorers meeting, and as always, she's reading several novels at a time. Also, our yard and garden work was to get us prepared for our spring focus: gardening. The kids are very excited about the vegetable garden -- even Rhys! (Interesting, since he wouldn't touch a vegetable on his plate with a ten foot pole!)

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Last Saturday, Avery had her first Show Team performance. She got to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade down Congress Ave! It was a rainy day, so the crowd was thin, but Avery still loved performing. The group walked in rows, waving to the crowd and doing cartwheels and roundoffs. Rhys loved the fact that we walked along with the girls, and Griffin did ok too (he eventually fell asleep in the sling). Avery is very much looking forward to the next performance -- and we're all hoping her uniform will be in by then!

Take Apart Day

Today at co-op, we had Take Apart Day. The kids were each given screwdrivers, safety goggles, and an array of broken electronics and appliances to take apart. Avery worked with her friends Maya and Ben to take apart a DVD player. I was suprised at how much Avery was into it! They worked very intently to completely deconstruct the DVD player. Rhys watched them a little, then he and I worked together to take apart a cordless phone. Since we've been home, he's been carrying his tools around in his pockets...hopefully he doesn't get any big ideas and start taking apart our *working* appliances!

Monkey Man!

Griffin is on the move. His specialty is not horizontal motion, it's vertical. The boy is a climber! Yesterday I was folding laundry, and in the minute it took for me to fold two towels, he crawled into the bathroom and attempted to climb up on the bathroom counter! I found him on top of the toilet, with one foot on the tank, and one trying to get balanced on the toilet paper roll. Eeeeek! He also climbs on the train table every chance he gets and has also succeeded in climbing on the couch, the bookcase, and the end table. I have a feeling I'm going to get into very good shape just by chasing him!

Colonial Williamsburg and Washington DC

I'm a little late with this post, but better late than never, right?!

At the beginning of March, we went on vacation to Colonial Williamsburg and Washington DC. We had a fabulous time! The flights went much better than we expected, and Griffin was truly on his best behavior for the whole trip.

We all loved Williamsburg, but Avery found it particularly fascinating. We bought her a colonial dress right off the bat, complete with a sash and bonnet, so she could really feel like a colonial girl. We all loved seeing all the sights, but Griffin's favorite part was seeing some horses pulling a wagon (ruff, ruff!!). We were so lucky to have such beautiful weather in Williamsburg. It was in the low 70s and sunny -- perfect for us cold weather wimps!

We were less lucky with the weather in DC. It was C-O-L-D! And it was a little longer walk from our hotel to the metro than we expected. But, still, we had a great time. (I think the highlight of the entire trip for Rhys was the many forms of public transportation -- planes, trains, cab, AND bus!) We took the Tourmobile to see all the major sites, and we spent a lot of time at the Smithsonian museums. We went to the American History Museum, Air and Space Museum, Natural History Museum, Hirshorn Art Museum, and the National Gallery. We were lucky enough to be at the National Gallery during a Cezanne exhibit! That was great.

Griffin, 11 months

Griffin has been a busy boy! He got 4 teeth in the past week and learned two new words! In addition to Mama, ruff ruff, and meow, Griffin has started saying, "Biiiii" for Bill (so much for Dada!), and today he pointed at my eye and said, "eye". I was so suprised! As if that wasn't enough, he took a couple of steps! I'm not sure that he really meant to do it, because he seemed surprised when we made a fuss over him. But he'll definitely be walking soon! Why must babies grow so fast?!!

We all live in a....

Girl submarine, a girl submarine, a girl submarine!

--Yellow Submarine song lyrics, according to Rhys