How we spend the witching hour

On Monday afternoon, the weather was just beautiful and we had a little over an hour to kill before Daddy came home from work.  So we walked to Dunkin Donuts for a hazelnut coffee (I was in need of an energy boost!), stopped at the elementary school's playground just behind our house on the way home, chatted with our neighbors across the street, and spent a little time playing in the front yard.  I have missed this little routine!  Winter is so isolating.

Robbie introduces Ellie to his current favorite book, "The Little Red Caboose".  She likes it, almost as much as she likes her new snack... Gerber Star Puffs.  (Over the weekend she decided she liked chunky food, and now eats real pears, peaches, spaghetti, puffs, dried fruit pieces and plain Cheerios!  What a big girl.)

 

Robbie kept walking up the mulch and leaning on this tree while yelling directly at it "Mom and Dad?!   MOM AND DAD!". (A line from Madagascar.)  Sort of funny, definitely a little weird!  I don't think any of the neighbors noticed.

And then...

...what the 3 of us had been waiting for all day...

DADDY CAME HOME!

Both kids LOVE welcoming Rob home from work each day.  Sometimes Robbie tries to play it off and acts like he hasn't noticed Rob has arrived.  But he can never hold it in for long, and is soon following Rob around the house like a puppy on his heels.

Robbie is in heaven, pretending to drive Daddy's car.

Ellie discovers grass as she sits in the yard for the first time.

Trying out big brother's car... um, do we think she likes it?

And a new game... hiding behind the family room curtain!

Where's Ellie!?

Peek-a-boo!

The next morning, as I was getting the kids out of bed, I looked out the front window and saw this:

Oops!