Birthday Season- Erin is 4!!!

Birthday season for us begins in April and goes all the way through May. During that time, in the immediate family we celebrate birthdays for Matt, Gramma Beth, Eleanor, Erin, Dean, me, Nora, Caroline and Benjamin.... I hope I'm not leaving anyone out. This does not count the scores of friends who also have spring birthdays. 

We had the great fortune to be in Portland for both of Gramma Beth's birthday celebrations this year. The day of the family party was warm and bright and we basked outside in the sun. 

Matt was lucky enough to have a whole day off (yes, sense the sarcasm, I'm so sorry) and spent several hours on the train so he could be there celebrate with us. Love this guy.

Erin is fascinated by tree climbing lately. Our walks in the neighborhood are frequently interrupted by Erin asking "is that a good tree for me to climb?"Unfortunately there aren't that many trees around that meet our tree climbing needs, but Gramma has this geriatric Japanese Maple in her front yard that has been climbed at some time by everyone in the family. Erin loved it.

Nora showing off one of her classic faces. This kid is a total ham.

Muggy was in town for the party with Oscar. Oscar's been having some health problems lately with a lame back leg. Muggy is taking great care of him and he seems happy and not too bothered by being gimpy. His favorite part about being injured is the introduction of pill pockets to his daily routine. Gotta love that dog.

It was funny to watch Nora interact with Oscar. Erin grew up with both dogs constantly in her face, but given her lack of exposure, Nora is a little more wary. Oscar on the other hand, loved the little lady who drops lots of food on the floor. Apparently, Muggy is too neat an eater.

Today is Erin's 4th birthday (oh and Dean's birthday too). It's been a great day for Erin so far. Matt was able to make her pancakes this morning before he left for work. She got to take cupcakes to school for her friends. Grandma Jan made her macaroni and cheese for lunch and she's got a whole bunch of presents waiting for her. She got to choose the birthday meal (poor Dean's wishes are now a distant second). She asked for plain couscous. Hmm.. a little dull for a meal. So we ended up agreeing on chicken with olives and dates served over couscous. For dessert, she asked for a strawberry cake. Again, a little compromise ensued and we agreed on a chocolate cake with strawberries on top. I made the cake, but Erin helped with the frosting. Her favorite part, of course, was licking the beater. 

The finished product. Below is Erin enjoying singing to herself this afternoon. 

Nora is finally taking this walking thing a little more seriously. She'll take up to 6-8 steps, but still uses crawling as her speedy and preferred mode of mobility. 

Nora is getting better and better at communicating what she wants. She says "book" and "that" and sometimes "up." She also signs "more" and "all done." She also love to point and grunt or yell. She loves to pretend to make phone calls with my cell and pretends to dress herself with clothes from the laundry basket. She's finally attached to her blankie and likes to "love her blankie." She is also getting a little friendlier with people other than me and Matt and happier to spend time with folks other than me, even when I'm around. This is all good news.

Erin and Jan talked to Auntie Laura this afternoon on the computer. Laura and Tom gave Erin a bunch of birds, a skunk and a fox. Erin loves to play forest animals with whoever will join in. Watch out, Grampa just got sprayed by skunk Erin in the other room...

We sang Happy Birthday to Dean and Erin, but then Erin blew out all of the candles before Grandpa could even get a chance. 

Erin enjoyed opening the presents and got wonderful gifts. Her favorites included the ladybug that shines stars on the ceiling, a new board game we'll get to try out tonight and some magnetic ballerinas.

And then the birthday fairy visited. I meant it as a joke, but Erin now believes that there is a birthday fairy and that the fairy brought her a new big girl bike. Hard to argue to demand credit for the gift when she's so thrilled with the idea of a magical fairy bringing her a bike. 

In any case, the bike was a hit.

Now onto the next slug of birthdays...

Happy Birthday Gramma Beth

We headed to Portland this week to celebrate Gramma Beth's birthday. It was also Erin's Spring Break and we needed some company. We had a great time in Portland playing with Gramma and Ken, seeing cousins and just hanging out. Gramma has convinced Nora that walking isn't so bad and she's taking more steps. She's pretty good for 2-4 and even took 5 once. If she were so inclined, I think she could master this in a few days. 

Erin's still big into ballerinas and I can only draw in stick figures. These pictures are a small sampling of our collection of ballerina stick figures.

The other day after I finished our taxes and paying bills, Erin decided she wanted to "do information." She highlighted and stamped and stuffed things into envelopes for a long time. Don't be surprised if you get an envelope in the mail filled with junk from recycling. 

Erin was happy to help shovel food into Nora's mouth. 

Nora so proud of being a big girl on the ride-on giraffe.

Erin loves to help blow out the candles and open the presents.

Somehow Nora managed to get 2 forehead bruises and a bloody nose yesterday. Then she painted herself with broccoli and mashed potatoes. She's going for the poor street urchin look.

Duplex for Rent

We are looking for renters for our 2 bedroom duplex in Prospect Park in Minneapolis starting June 1. It's a great place and a fantastic neighborhood. Let us know if you know anyone who would be interested!

Pre-Easter

 We made it out to the Ballard Community Center this morning for an easter egg hunt. It wasn't so much of a hunt with all of the eggs and candy out in the middle of a field, but it was a fun kiddy free-for-all. Needless to say, Erin loved it and is now hyped up on all the sugar. 

It's a beautiful day here. It's almost 60 with not a cloud in the sky. You can see all of the mountains that surround us and everything looks bright and cheery. We took advantage of the weather and walked to the egg hunt this morning and played on the porch with sidewalk chalk when we got back. Nora kinda gets the idea of rubbing the chalk on the ground, but prefers to stick in her mouth.

This is Erin's snowman with a little snowman in it's tummy. 

I started a bicycle that was quickly taken over by the girls. 

Nora also likes to pull mercilessly at the plants. 

I think that Nora threw her first real toddler tantrum today. The orange was all gone and she was pissed. She threw her head back and kicked her legs for all her might for about 5 minutes before she calmed down. Funny girl. She knows what she wants. 

We're also all debating about Nora's first words. Matt thinks that she says "Dada," Natalia is convinced she says "este," and I think she says "up." Notice, however, that none of these are "mama." The only time "mama" comes out is because it's the sounds she makes when she blows spit bubbles. How fitting.

Color!

Despite the gray skies, I've been loving all of the color around the city. The grass is green, the trees are blooming, the flowers are bright. Something about spring has me craving more and more colors: Bright, vibrant, loud colors.

I found these shoes at REI and I love them. They're comfy and easy to slip on and off. Plus, the bright blue makes me happy every time I look at my feet!

I ran by the fabric store on the way to get Erin from school and picked out these great material for napkins. I needed a new project, and we manage to go through napkins like crazy around here.

Erin is starting swim lessons tonight. It was sort of a last minute decision when the dance class didn't work out. I hope goes well. This will be her first lesson in the pool without a parent.

And here's a cute picture of Nora for the road. 

Happy birthday Matt

Matt celebrated the big 34 yesterday and as always Erin was eager to help out... especially with the frosting. Daddy requested a carrot cake and so I checked out my standby carrot cake recipe. Unfortunately it calls for 4 eggs, so I went looking for a new option. I stumbled upon a great new carrot cake recipe that was nice and simple and turned out very yummy. Plus, anything tastes pretty good when coated in cream cheese frosting.

Matt is on a slightly less demanding rotation this month and was home before dinner to snuggle and play with the girls. Nora's been sick for the last few days and pretty somber, but she's thrilled whenever Matt gets home (despite her poker face in the photos).

Matt and his girls... so should I say Matt and little Matt and Nora.

Erin insisted on doing her Happy Birthday interpretive dance for Daddy.

Erin also picked out the candles for Dad and helped him blow out the candles and open all of his gifts. I was sitting across the table and notice a fine spray of spit when Erin blew, but the cake still tasted good. 

Happy birthday Matt. 

We are all so lucky to share our lives with you. We are proud of all of your hard work and look forward to what this year holds for us.

Happy Spring Day!

It's crazy how excited we got about a hazy, 62 degree day here, but we did. It feels like such a treat to see the sun and feel a small amount of warmth on our faces. We took full advantage of the day and walked to and from Erin's Spanish class, climbed a few trees, ate watermelon on the front steps, painted toenails and went for a very slow run/walk with Daddy.

Let the good times continue!