Our Latest Experiments...

Ella got a butterfly house as a Christmas present from Sky, so we sent off for the caterpillars and got them in the mail a couple of weeks ago. We had fun watching them grow each day and then form their chrysalids, and over the past two days, we've been able to enjoy the butterflies. Watching those Painted Ladies fluttering around was fun for us, but torture for the cats, so today was release day.

Easter + Bluebonnets

Creative post title, I know. But I'm just happy to be getting a timely post on the blog at all. :) We had a lot going on this past weekend, but it still managed to be relatively relaxing. Maybe it was the beautiful weather that made it feel that way (or the fact that all three kids slept fell asleep in the car on the way home from the farm last night at 7 pm and slept until after 7 this morning). Either way, it was a weekend that left me feeling blessed with a fabulous family.

Now onto the part that you're really interested in, pics of the kiddos. I just realized when uploading these that I didn't get a single picture of Egan egg-hunting (was he just too fast? wearing his invisibility cloak? suffering from middle-child syndrome?) Whatever it was, sorry about that (especially to Egan), but do check out the photo of him in the bluebonnets below--I think it's my favorite of the flower pics.

:: Nico was more interested in eating the candy inside the eggs than hunting. After he found a couple on the porch, he had to be coaxed off to find more. Then he got distracted by the pond and pretty much skipped the Saturday egg hunt altogether. Good thing for him that we have a community Easter basket rule at our house. Good thing for me too. :) ::

:: Ella was the grand prize egg winner (and the one with the most eggs at all three hunts we participated in over the weekend, she keeps telling me). She's sweet, smart, and cute, but humble, she's not. ::

:: Nico trying to get Ella to explain to him why I put them in matching light-colored outfits and then wanted them to sit on the ground to take bluebonnet pictures (or maybe I'm confusing his thoughts with my own muddled ones). ::

:: Okay, here it is, probably my favorite pic of the day. Egan just has the sweetest, most wonderful smile. I see it and I think this can't be the same boy who smeared refried beans all over himself just so he could get a bath in the kitchen sink like Nico or tried to remove all the wallpaper border in his room in the middle of the night or used a black dry erase marker to decorate some plain white walls. That smile makes up for a lot of trouble-making. ::

:: I think it might be physically impossible to get three kids to sit still and take a posed photo, but two out of three isn't bad (well, one and a half if you take into account Ella's "I'm posing for a picture" crazy face). ::

:: This is actually the best of the three of them together, even with Nico not looking. Sometimes you just take what you can get. ::

:: Nico was too distracted by the flowers to sit still for pictures. He just wanted to pull the tops off of those luscious bluebonnets. ::

:: Ella thought picking them was a great idea too, until we told her she had to stop and that she couldn't take them home with her. ::

:: Another of my favorites showcasing the sweetness of Egan. ::

:: Two monsters meeting up at the watering hole. ::

:: Wow, four people sitting still and looking at the camera. And I said two out of three wasn't bad. Dijar is muy talented. ::

Planting Day

Ella got lots of gardening things at her birthday party last Saturday, and we spent this morning planting tomatoes, peppers, pansies, sunflowers, and pumpkins. The boys mostly enjoyed splashing in the water and throwing dirt. Nico was also a fan of eating the dirt. He was so convincing about its yumminess that Egan even tried it once. From the dirty look he gave N after he spit it out, I'd say he wasn't impressed. :)

Baby, it's cold outside!

But that doesn't keep the little ones in the house. Last weekend, we got out the giant slide that we bought before Ella's birthday last year. It's a little worse for wear after having been stored since summer, but still makes for lots of fun, especially when you have a dad like Dijar who doesn't mind throwing you over the top. Enjoy the pics of our good time.

:: These kids were absolutely flying over the top, and enjoying every minute of it. ::

:: Yes, this is little Nico, about to do a flip with full leg extension. He's prepping for the summer Olympics 2028. ::

:: These smiles kept pushing the "somebody's going to get hurt" thought out of my head. I still flinched a lot though. ::

:: Egan's hair is really growing out now. I've been trying to convince him to at least let me cut the front, but he's not interested so far, and I figure it's his hair. ::

:: Sharing the first dandelion of the year. ::

:: Cold but happy. ::

Playing in the sunshine

We took a trip to the park last week to enjoy the sunshine and the good kite-flying wind. The glowy sunlight made it a perfect occasion for pictures:

(Please ignore the crazy spacing...blogger is being a punk this morning.)

I know, I'm a slacker...

but it's been a busy month. Here's one picture to brighten your day--I know it made me laugh out loud. (This is Ella's Dora wig from a couple of Halloweens ago, btw.)

Your Cute Halloween Fix

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. These kiddos certainly did. We only trick-or-treated on our street, but still ended up with gobs of candy between Ella and Egan. Luckily they're not old enough yet to care too much about it, so they ate a few pieces and then we put it away in the pantry. Out of sight, out of mind. Enjoy the photos!

:: Egan the monkey, Nico the cow, and Ella, aka Fifi, the French poodle ::


:: Think this might be my favorite costume yet ::

:: A little blurry, but a lot cute ::

:: Love those ears, love those lashes, love that Nico ::

:: Egan wasn't at all interested in paparazzi this Halloween. He actually even took a swipe at the camera. I think maybe he went easy on us during those so-called "terrible twos" so he could really slam us throughout age 3. :) ::

:: Ella is the complete opposite in terms of taking photos--a total ham ::

:: Showing off the loot post-trick-or-treating ::