Part Two!

The weather was disappointing for most of our visit, so when the sun DID shine, we spent as much time outside as possible.


Nana and I joked that whenever she took a picture of Alaina or was IN a picture with Alaina, my little gal looked as angry as she could!


Anthony's parents are starting to breed Yorkies and they have a little boy Yorkie named Winston. He is something like four pounds and absolutely tiny. Connor loves him and chased him around the house yelling, "WINDON! WINDON!"


Alaina acted like her diaper was bothering her, so we let her have some fresh air. Of course, what we do for one has to be done for the other. Papa took them for a run around the yard, which is no small task considering that combined, my kids weigh over sixty pounds!


It was nice to have free time to play with my camera! A girl can't ask for much more than time away from real life to enjoy family and fun!

We are back!

We are home from our Colorado trip with lots of great memories and a three year old who has whined, "Do bat!" (Go back) since we pulled out of Nana and Papa's driveway. I took LOTS of photos, so it will probably take a bit to get them all up, plus I'll space 'em out so as not to overwhelm you! :)

We left Thursday afternoon after Anthony completed his trigonometry final. We were expecting an easy spring drive, but were surprised with whiteout conditions for the last three hours of the drive! Wyoming isn't the most visually interesting state to drive through, but at least the windmills spice up the scenery every now and then!


Alaina was so beat on Saturday after not getting to bed until 3 AM Friday night. She fell asleep on me and stayed that way for hours. I was supposed to be socializing at this point, but my baby hasn't slept on me like that for over a year, and I just sat on the sofa soaking it all up. The picture of social grace? No. Worth it? Completely.


We miss you, D-Ray! We all hope to see you soon!


Connor and Alaina lived on this countertop for the entirety of our visit. Here Connor is setting up his equipment for his next big shoot. :)


It may have taken two years, but Alaina finally warmed up to her Papa! She spent plenty of time sitting in his lap and giving him kisses!

We will be in Colorado in two, count 'em, TWO days! My parents wanted to give Connor his birthday present before we go. What could it be?!



"Bound-Aids"! We all laughed at the absurdity of receiving band-aids for your birthday, but my parents obviously know the way to his heart! He couldn't have been happier!


He's been doing this ever since, much to the chagrin of Daddy. Anthony doesn't love the little pieces of plastic-y paper strewn about the house.

These spring dandelions have not lost their appeal!



My boy. I can't believe he'll be three in six days. He was making faces at me today and I clearly saw my little one-year-old bug in there somewhere. He's such a big boy with a (very strong) will of his own. One consolation, however, is that he wants to be a baby when he grows up. :)

(Do you see me in his eye? My head is right in his pupil, I'm wearing a pink sweater, and my camera strap is handing down in front of me.)

I like to post warm-weather-feel-good photos when the weather leaves a bit to be desired. The other day we took a little walk around the neighborhood.


This photo makes me laugh. I don't think little boys have the correct wiring to inherently know how to sniff flowers, letting the aroma waft gently into your face. Instead, when I told Connor to sniff the flowers, he sniffed as if he expected them to stink.

Just then, our neighbor who drives a school bus came out and told us that he had parked his bus around the corner and that we were welcome to go play in it. You might have well offered Connor his weight in candy. He was so excited!





Today I gave Alaina her first haircut. I've been avoiding this day for so long. Anyone who's met Alaina in the past three months can attest to her hair always being in her face, despite my efforts to keep it back. She looks so cute, but way too grown up for my tastes.


Then we went on another walk, hunting dandelions this time. I had forgotten how awesome dandelions are when you're little. The fond memories of your own childhood that resurface when you are raising kids are an incredible facet of parenting. My dad used to pay me a nickel for every dandelion that I picked, and I thought I was the richest woman in the world with my bag of little yellow flowers.



Maybe Alaina did, too.


The problem with teaching two-year-olds to pick flowers is the fact that they don't discriminate. I was taking a photo of Connor when Alaina ran up to show me her handful of Granda and Grandpa's tulips. Sorry, guys.



This is our street. It's beautiful all year long.



:)

I Heart Faces "Smiles" Entry

Rain rain, go away!

Waiting for warmth!

It is cold and snowy here today, so I needed a little bit of warmth. Tuesday was my sister's birthday, so we went to visit in the evening. We sat on their deck in the beautiful weather, enjoying pizza and ice cream cones. Such a great night. :)