Learning Some New Tricks

Q: What could be better than a 70 degree afternoon in April, enjoying the sunshine on the patio at Nana & Bubs? A: besides having a baby in my arms, not belly, and a glass of wine in my hand, not much... but we're not quite there yet:)

So in the mean time, Lola and I got to enjoy a pretty wonderful afternoon of leisure, and it turned out that she learned a few new things too!

Learning how to use the hose to water the plants, and also how to fill up her watering can by herself. She loves to help in the yard, whether it's watering the plants, the patio, or the picnic table :)

Swinging with her babies (which she named Mary & Joseph) on the porch swing that Great Grandpa Carroll made for Great Grandma Lola.

 Checking out Bub's new ukulele. "Should we go downstairs and get my guitar, Bub?"

 Showing Lola how to hold the guitar. He bought this guitar for her when she was about two weeks old!

 Rock star in the making.

 Learning how to ride on her balance bike. Thanks for the encouragement, Bub, and great idea riding to Mary for a kiss, Nana!

 Only two wheels! Balancing on her own!

Bliss

Ever since Lola was born, I have always told her that she is my favorite girl, and my new best friend. Now that we are weeks away from having another little person in our family, in our everyday lives, I am just soaking up these moments that we have to spend with just her. In a short time, I will have another new best friend, but for now, I am loving these blissful moments with my favorite girl.

Every time I am ready to bake or cook in the kitchen, Lola now comes in and says,

 "I would love to help you, Mama!"

 Spring time: Finding worms in our compost. Lola watched it wiggle and then held it for awhile, examining it a little closer, and not afraid at all.

 A completely wonderful morning of cleaning, reading books, singing, dancing, & laughing at home. Caught this smile while having lunch together.

My recent interest in learning about Waldorf education brought me to buy a sheepskin for the new baby, but Lola has become very attached to it. She loves to sit on it and read books. Today, she spent the morning in just her undies, and loved taking breaks from helping me clean to lay on it; which were also wonderful opportunities for me to take breaks and kiss that sweet belly of hers :)

34 Weeks

My 34 Week Interview with Lola:

What's in my tummy? The baby.
Is it your baby or my baby? My baby.
Is the baby a boy or a girl? No, daddy is a boy. The baby is a baby.
It is a sister or a brother? The baby is my sister.
When will the baby come see us? Um, like Thursdays. We have preschool on Thursdays.
What are you going to do with the baby? I'm gonna swing with the baby! And jump with the baby on the grass!
What should we name the baby? Um, I don't know. A sister.
Will you love the baby? Yeah! I will.

Happy Easter!

Lola found new bubbles, a bottle for Lucy, and her very own garden tools in her Easter basket. She was most excited for the bottle, and had to feed her baby right away. After Easter Mass, we went to Nana & Bub's for brunch and egg hunting. Dan and Bub helped her find all the eggs.  

 Scouting out the next stop for eggs.

 Sorting out the goods with Mama Bear.

Blowing bubbles in the sunshine with baby Mary.

Grant Park Egg Hunt

Finally! Some spring sunshine! We decided to head over to Grant Park for their Egg Hunt this morning. We were amazed at how many people were there- around 500! They had a huge all ages hunt where we started, and Lola was totally overwhelmed, so we check out the 3-5 hunt, which was still pretty packed, and ended up in the 3 & under area where the moved just at Lola's pace :)

During the first hunt, Lola only wanted one egg. When She opened it and found candy inside, she was much more motivated to collect more eggs the second time around!

 We ran into our friend Miles, who helped collect eggs for Lola's basket.

A happy girl, enjoying the sunshine in her new shades.

Egg Coloring

Lola has been hunting for eggs around our house, has seen the Easter bunny downtown, and has been reading library books about spring. She has become so excited for spring, and it has been cold and rainy for weeks! One rainy afternoon this weekend, we dyed Easter eggs together. Lola called it "egg coloring".

 Watching the color tablets "sizzle".

 Carefully dropping in the eggs.

 One of the eggs dropped, so we peeled it and Lola didn't mind eating it at all!

Our beautiful eggs. The yellow one is Lola's favorite. She had to show it to Dan right when he got home.

Our Talented Two Year Old

This video can be viewed at http://swadkins.blogspot.com