Random Ducks

Yesterday I came home from grocery shopping to discover three ducks hanging out in our front yard. I thought that was incredibly random, but Parker had fun tossing some bread to them. ("Okay, ducks, we be right back!" he called before shutting the door to get the bread.)I liked his little wave here. Kenzie was a little jealous they came while she was gone at kindergarten, but they did show up again later. I don't know why they like our yard, but it's kind of fun.

Annual Aquarium Visit

Yesterday we headed to the "Inquarium" (as Kenzie calls it) for our yearly view of the Nemo fishies and other aquatic life. (That's what it comes down to, after all - either it's "Nemo" or its not)

Every year I try to get a picture in this boat, too. My kids are pretty used to me by now, though.

The new penguin exhibit was actually pretty neat. Usually if I've seen penguins at the zoo, they're all in a cluster standing by their door waiting to be fed. These ones actually swam around and were fun to watch.

The kiddos and Grandma Susan

Parker loved the water in the stingray pool, but he didn't want to touch one. Kenzie thought about it until she got close, and then she declared, "I changed my mind!" and backed far away from the area.

My tired little guy barely made it down the street before falling asleep, drooling and still holding his new stuffed alligator. A fun day, and very tiring for all of us!

Gizmo

Grandma Susan is in town for her Spring Break, and has brought along her ugly little dog, Gizmo. Of course, the kids think he's awesome and had a great time running around the yard with him this evening.

The key word being running!

I thought this one was cute. A couple of happy little kids and a worn-out dog. (It did work the other way around, too, though. Not a peep out of either kiddo once we put them down for bedtime!)

Not Much Has Changed

Here we have Parker and Daddy, June 2008.

And here's today. Parker told me he was tired, but since it was 4:30 I told him it was too late for a nap. He took his blanket downstairs and asked Daddy to "nuggle" him (snuggle). Really, how can you refuse that?

Happy St. Patty's Day

Kenzie came back from kindergarten with this larger-than-life "Leprechaun Hat" (I had to take a step backwards to get it all in the photo even!). She was rather disappointed that the leprechaun traps set in the classroom didn't actually catch the sneaky little fellas, though.

After school, I planned on having the kids make Irish soda bread with me. I heard giggling but it took me a minute to find them - they had camped out in the bathroom closet and were playing in there with the door shut. I thought it was sweet, so I let them be and they played happily for a half hour or so. (Of course, then the novelty wore off, and I remembered why the bathroom is not a play zone - I discovered they were sword-fighting with the plunger! So disgusting.)

After a thorough hand-washing session, we proceeded to make our yearly green bread.

I divided the dough in half and enjoyed the comparisons - Kenzie had worked her dough so much it was a sticky mess. Parker had barely done anything so his was a dry, floury ball. I put them together and we had some decent bread. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

8 Months

Let me first preface this post with the statement, "I do not care for pregnancy pictures of myself." This is no exception, but for posterity's sake I figured I should have Chris take at least one.

I am 32 weeks, and already getting very anxious to be done! Baby Girl is already very curious and/or feisty, based on the kicking and poking I feel constantly. She also gets very riled up when she hears Parker and Kenzie being noisy. It's going to be interesting...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Remember when Valentine's Day was so exciting? Kenzie is at that stage, and she had a great time decorating this little foam mailbox for all her Valentines.

Then this morning I gave the kiddos their presents. (They don't need to know the word "clearance" yet, just that they were happy). Kenzie has been asking for a Valentine's bear, too, so I was very happy that one had been sitting in the closet all year. It has little hearts all over it, and Kenzie studied it for a second and remarked, "It's like the chicken pox, except it's Love Pox!"

I also loved that Kenzie couldn't be bothered to take off her coat or backpack first, no, she needed to empty her mailbox and go through the loot! Parker was right there, too, and helped himself to more than a few little pieces of candy (most were willingly shared). Happy Valentine's Day!