Bits & Pieces :: End of April

Blogging is not as much fun as it used to be for me for many reasons I'd rather not get into here, but I still like using it as a photo sharing spot for those long-distance friends and fam who check in every once in a while to see the kids.

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Here's the April wrap-up...

**Discovering the first flowers blooming is a spring tradition from the time Evan could walk.  We love the appearance of color after a long white winter.  This year we were lucky enough to see the crocuses, snowdrops, AND the snow glories!

They grow wild in the front yard of a rental unit on our street, so that means we can pick them and no one notices.  We had little vases with flowers for over a week as each new flower popped up and Chloe scooped up a tiny bouquet.




**We had a peaceful visit with Gramma just before Easter.  Chloe showed off stacks of her artwork and they both displayed tons of clay creations for her to admire and be astounded by.  It was a sweet time together just hanging out even if it was wintry outside!




**Easter was pretty uneventful (as usual) for us.  The kids hunted for baskets and some eggs that had little micro-machine cars hidden inside.  Their main thrill was the new flashlights that have legs like a bug!

 We got Chloe a refill pack for her window cling maker set so she's been painting to her heart's content and all but drained a few of the bottles already.  Snakes and birds mostly.  I need to get some pictures.....

Flashlight!

They were so excited about the tiny cars!  They each ate a few treats and then we got ready for church, but since Chloe is anti-fancy (like her mama) we didn't even bother to take pictures of our nice outfits.  We're boring like that.  I didn't make traditional Easter dinner either.  We did end up having a lovely night with friends doing an outdoor egg hunt in the gorgeous weather, but I didn't take pictures of that either.... I am so not good at this blogging thing anymore.




**We often tell our kids how blessed they are to have each other for specific reasons, and recently I was talking to Chloe about Evan in this way.  He's tender to you, he shares all his stuff, he laughs at your jokes.  He's pretty great, and you may even be best friends your whole life.  She said, "No Mom, he's not my best friend.  He's my best, best friend."



**On this day, our walk was a wash-out as it started to pour about a block away from home (and our blocks are long!)  So spring has just started and we've already walked in the rain :-)

**Bedtime tuck-ins and cuddles are still a major part of our daily routine together and something I would never trade for anything.  There are so many nights it feels like a chore, and I'm too tired, too anything to lay down and giggle and talk, but the pay-off is oh, so worth it.  We never really know when they'll declare themselves too old for such things so we savor, savor, savor.  And though I can't share my sweet children's secrets, I can summarize in this way: we have most of our real love moments right there in that room, at that time, in that way.  What a treasure!



**Our cats make us laugh so often.  Roy likes to climb the deck poles up to the pergola and watch the birds.  One day we went out and this was him looking down at us right over the doorway!

**The backyard is still a swamp most days but is drying out.  The kids come in with new sore muscles almost daily.  It's that season of the back door swinging open and closed all day as they run in and out gathering supplies or changing clothes or sharing stories about what exactly they're doing out there.

**Chloe still has a huge space in her mouth waiting for a top tooth to break through.  It fell out way back in November!  She has lost six teeth so far and is so glad none are loose right now.  She really dislikes the whole process.

**There are just hints of buds starting on everything and the shadows on the ground are so pretty. 

 **I started reading Mary Poppins to the kids recently and it's such a good book.  Chloe is a bit young for it still and decided to just let Evan listen alone.  We also just finished the three Pippi books and laughed hilariously through them all.

 **Chloe's bike-riding is still excellent considering she's a little long-legged for this size bike.  We're debating whether to buy a new one this year or next.  Hm...

**Evan spends 9/10ths of his indoor time wearing his dad's slippers and walking on stilts all through the house.  He is eye-to-eye with me which is really strange.  He likes to just lean back on the counter and sit, since he's that tall.  He's getting really fast on them.  Also I find them in the bathroom propped behind the door sometimes when he forgets and leaves them there.

**Chloe and Evan both like to off-road their bikes more than just ride on the sidewalks.  Evan wouldn't be Evan without riding his bike over the roots.

**Reuniting with the neighbor kids this spring has been invigorating.  The kids love being able to chase and play tag again, breathing air that doesn't burn your lungs or freeze your nostril hairs.  Chloe has more confidence this year (being the smallest and youngest by 3 years) and will be "IT" and leave home base for more than 3 seconds.  All the kids are proud of her :-)

**Evan started making Star Wars vehicles out of clay this month and has since built up quite a collection.  And to think, he used to say he wasn't good at this stuff.

He and Chloe are so sweet and encouraging to each other while they play, complimenting each other, admiring good ideas.  I think Chloe's words have really helped Evan bloom.

**Chloe started making hermit crabs out of clay and then moved on to all the accessories for a little crab set-up too!   She made a food dish and a few climbing logs, extra shells and a hiding hut, just like our real crabs.

Everything is microscopically, mind-boggling-ly tiny and perfect.

** Over the winter Evan made a Jeep out of cardboard, remember this?  It is so awesome that he is 10 and builds Jeeps and plays with tiny beanie kittens :-)

We got some new boxes which inspired another day-long building session for this super large truck!  They're great but where on earth am I supposed to keep these things??

**The kids still have gobs of pipe cleaners and piles of creations that they play with.  Their favorite things to make are insects, hermit crabs and snakes. 

**One of my most favorite things about how the kids play is that they play anywhere, no matter if they have privacy or not.  So, when they decide to set up on the kitchen floor while I'm chopping veggies or washing dishes, I get to listen to their awesome "games" as they call them.  This Action Figures and Horses game is ongoing. 

The horses now have light sabers.... made of pipe cleaners, and every vehicle of Evan's has ended up with a flashlight of some kind strapped to it.  Even as I type the pegasus stallion has just flown into the basement with a blue light saber strapped to his foreleg.  Evan follows with Luke-3 driving a technic lego thing with wheels.  They searched for something in the couch then took off up the stairs again.  I wish I could transcribe the chatter because I can never seem to recall it when they're done.

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