•••fun with food•••

just a quick post to say we're all healthy and happy! we are thankful for our blessings!

•••a kiss and a band-aid•••

ellie brought this little guy in whose arm had broken off and said "this bear has an owie".

a few minutes later she came in with the bear and a band-aid.

she kissed him & held him the rest of the morning.

despite the faithful attempts of kisses and a trusty band-aid, i'm sorry to report that his little arm has not grown back, but she loves it all the same.

•••a place of love & beauty•••

olivia's first trip to salt lake city was great! she loved to see the beautiful temple!

we missed daddy & ellenore, but we did have a great time!!

this girl sure does love a good pose!

•••our star•••

liv's first experience "on the stage". the curtain rose and she was absolutely beaming!!! she has said from almost 2 years of age that she wants to be "cosette on the stage", this was a fun first step to getting there. she had a blast in this summer workshop and we were the doting parents!!!

she lights up our world everyday!!!

•••sunshine•••

she's already spouting off the "abc song" almost perfectly

telling me when she's "went poo-poo, mommy"

she says "sorry, livie" if she hits livie in the head (even if it was on purpose)

she talks just as non-stop as livie did/does

and she sings almost every song that livie or i do beautifully!

she's a pure delight! and we love her so much!

•••her bff•••

a best friend that lives across the street is irreplaceable.

seeing each other once a week at ballet is not nearly the same as playing together almost every day!

we miss you, halle!

•••a little splash of color•••

our afternoon was filled with this:

step 1: gathering rocks from a nearby riverbed & baking them at 350• for 20min

step 2: getting our crayons ready

step 3: being VERY careful & letting the colors speak for themselves

(not to mention the fingerpaints)

liv (and me) had so much fun with this this afternoon too. i love anything where i can add feet, antennae, eyes, and spots.

we had a great day!

•••our springtime•••

beautiful, fresh-cut roses from friends,

mixing homemade playdough & making funny faces with friends,

our garden growing,
and catepillars

makes our springtime perfect!

•••it's a jolly holiday with you•••

my heart longs for two extremely different places to finally settle our little family down...either a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere with a barn, animals, and a big garden in the back...someplace where i get to wear an apron all day and work the farm with my family, you know?

the other place is right smack-dad in the middle of the city, where museums, art, and music of all kinds are right around the corner, and our garden is in big pots on the balcony overlooking the city...

...for now, i'm just so grateful that we live in a place that has a little bit of both.

•••spring break•••

a few scary rides, a lot of fun ones, the ability to take our own food in, my mom chatting with some random people and finding out that they ate at our family's restaurant years ago (WOW!)

and the loss of a beloved jelly (shoe), made our trip to disneyland extra memorable!

her favorite princesses!

what a cutie huh?!!

my sociable mother, who'll talk to anybody and everybody about the restaurant! (isn't that amazing, though?)