Closing time

I hate that song, but the line "every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end" comes to mind. Thursday was Alex's last day of school at Montessori. He was there for three years, first in the early preschool program, before he turned three, then the 3-6 morning class for two years. He's had friends who have been in his class all three years!





Now it is onto the "big" school, St. Francis of Assisi, where he will be with kindergarteners through eighth graders. It will be a new step and new beginning for our not-so-little guy!

Mother's little helper

I got to put my Mother's Day present, a pastry torch, to use yesterday on some unsuspecting creme brûlée (ok, iPhone automatically did the French stuff with brûlée, for the record)!

Tastes pretty good...

Giving it a try...

Loving it!

Odds and ends

Running into the Weinermobile on the south side



finishing up spring flag football



trip to the zoo with some Montesori mates (Greer enjoyed it too)



Cool scorpion tattoo


Fun in the sandbox

Miss G's Rules:

Tables are for climbing, and crayons are for eating!

Keep truckin'

Too cute...

Little lady

Greer had her one year photos taken by Cristi at Lemon Tree Photography. She did a fantastic job as always!

Today is the day!

We celebrated on Saturday, but Miss G's actual first birthday is today!

She's in full-on toddler mode, walking around, talking, laughing, playing with a big smile and infectious laugh.

What a wonderful, fun year it has been! She brings us so much joy everyday!

Happy Birthday, Greer!

Yo shorty, it's your birthday!

We celebrated G's birthday yesterday with a small party. Because it will most likely be the only time I get to decide the theme, I went with a preppy, pink and green feel. I had lots of fun planning it, and everyone had a good time!







Yikes...still can't believe she's a year old!







Food...







Plates...







Cake!







Closer view of cake! A preppy party needs a certain logoed alligator on it!







Drinks!







Pink lemonade for the kids...







...Lime margaritas for the big kids!







Trying out her new playhouse











It seems to taste good...let's take a closer look







Digging in...







Oh yeah!







Loving it!







More presents and playtime...











What's that you say? I have black frosting snot dripping from my nose?







Proud big brother (he enjoyed the playhouse too!)

Somebunnies

Happy Easter!

Like a boss...

Carrying large objects...


Playing with balloons...


Sleeping in her highchair...


Playing in the yard!

Foam Carpentry

I can't believe I'm typing this, but my son and I did a CRAFT project this afternoon! We put together this little "fun foam" house for Easter.



Working hard...



Check it out!




Oh, and this one is starting to take after Mom and her purses...

Alexanderland

Every kid should have his own little place, a kid castle, if you will. This past weekend, Alex and Dad got his treehouse spruced up for the spring.



First we got the swings and bars set up...



Then Dad rigged up a rain gauge so I could see how much rain we get...



We put up my Jolly Roger flag...but there is more inside!



I can check the temperature on a hot day...



Flip on my lights when it starts to get dark and I still want to play for a little longer...



Keep an eye out for Chip in his yard with my telescope...



Check out what's going on in our yard with my periscope



And have storage for my swords and spears...