This one.

I can't get enough.

the little things

Lately we've been...

making blueberry muffins in pretty paper cups (hello, spring!)...

keeping odd hours...

(keeping daddy awake!)

having individual dates with mommy... 

Ellie accompanied me on a trip to the nail salon and got a complimentary pedicure to match mommy's, customized with polka dots... 

(she sort of loved it. oops. i probably could've waited a decade to start this.)

finding new things to ride in at different grocery stores...

entertaining ourselves in the tupperware drawer...

experiencing several mornings without water (unexpectedly) when a pipe burst in our neighbor's front yard/driveway...

we didn't bathe that morning but we had fun watching all the city trucks bust up concrete and fix the pipe!...

getting creative with shopping carts (again) when feisty moods take over and everybody needs a little space...

growing peas...

having picnic lunches at the arboretum...

inadvertently shattering pyrex dishes by broiling asparagus in them (never again!)...

enjoying the first moments up from naptime on Mima's lap...

dressing up a lot...

playing find-the-baby among the mess of toys and costumes in the playroom...

helping out with the laundry that mommy procrastinates...

finding our confidence bit by bit each day (in the form of free standing!)...

while still appreciating the security of remaining close to the ground...

reading superhero books as close to Mima as we can get...

and trying to appreciate the little things.

I found a few more stragglers in iPhoto that never made it up on the blog. I think most of these are from early April. 

My friend Kristen came over with her sweet 3 month old, Natalie. Her precious dad had just passed away. We had lunch, and when we moved to the family room to talk, I watched my older 2 sneak a big bag of chips off of the kitchen counter. They scurried to the living room, out of sight, to consume the chips. So Kristen and I caught up for the next hour or so in peace as my kids ate chips. Not the worst thing in the world to let happen. My living room couches were covered in crumbs, but it was worth it.

As I snapped a few pictures before Kristen and Natalie left, my kids were in various stages of undress and the house was nice and messy.  

Always the sign of a good time!

We had a birthday dinner for my brother and Rob at my mom and dad's house. Somehow the only pictures I ended up with were of Aunt Kels with the kids.

Just another day, eating a popsicle.

Ah, yes. The day she raided my purse, stole my gum, and tried chewing it. 

One of those unseasonably warm days we had - what's better than sidewalk chalk and watermelon!?

On the second day of having the flu, I was feeling desperate. I piled the kids in the car to drive through the Arboretum with a coffee, but when we got close, it started to make a funny noise, the check engine light came on, and I knew I was due for an oil change and service anyways. So we passed the arboretum and made our way to the Honda dealership instead. I was only mildly prepared for the 3 hour wait in the sparsely furnished kids' waiting area, and all 4 of us were over it by the time they called our name and gave us back our fixed van!

Cereal and milk while mommy takes a shower. 

Robbie finished a Batman puzzle with my mom, and while she was letting me sleep off the flu upstairs she texted me this picture.