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!