Garden Rocks

Since the kids each got to pick a crop to plant and care for this season, we were looking for ways to help them remember where they each plant.  Painted garden rocks were such a fun way to get them excited about their garden plots!

Evelyn's carrots will be planted behind this beauty.

Elizabeth's pumpkins will be growing around this sparkling, bright bit of fun!

Carson's rock will be found among his cantaloupes.

I painted Cole's little rock.  When I saw this shape, I knew it was perfect for Cole's watermelons!

I picked out a couple other rocks.  Most of my garden will be tomatoes and beans, but I wanted something special for my broccoli, of which there are few.

I also planted some pansies and have a planter pot out front to put them in, and this rock just was perfect for until they bloom.

Cousin J also got to paint a rock, and she got to plant some tomatoes and peppers with her dad, so her rock will probably have a place.

After helping the grandkids, Grandma painted a pretty flower rock for Cousin L.

We can't wait for the weather to warm up so we can put our garden in the ground and keep track of it around our own personal markers!

Happy 6th Birthday, Elizabeth!

I can't believe my Lizzie-Kay is six already!

Grandma put her skills to work and did not only Lizzie's quilted pony cake, but cousin J's layered Minnie Mouse cake as well!  These two girls' birthdays are only 3 days (and three years) apart, so we had fun throwing them a joint birthday party!

Thinking about what to wish for...

And candle blown out!

Elizabeth adores My Little Pony and was thrilled to see two new ones on her cake!  In fact, she kept asking if she could take them before we even got to the singing/cake cutting part of the day.  She especially loves that these two are sparkly!

Another yummy crazy cake!  With there being two cakes, we were obliged to bring home 80% of Lizzie's cake and took over a week to finish it!

It was sweet to watch Lizzie 'feed' her new ponies and get excited about them!

Lizzie's well-child appointment is also over her spring break (mid April), so I don't have her growth at this time.

Things we love about Elizabeth Kay:

She is a smart, sensitive little kindergartener.

Even though her class gets 'rest', she nearly always falls asleep before bedtime, just tired out.

Her favorite movie is Frozen, to which she also knows all the music.

It finally seems like she's outgrown the way she always used to be accident-prone; we no longer see bruises or scrapes or sores that she doesn't remember.

She loves to do crafts, but gets frustrated because she's also a little perfectionist.

She loves pretend play!

Cole's 2nd Birthday Party

Why won't they stop growing up??

Grandma made a great cake, trying her hand at checker-board cakes!  It was green and yellow and perfect for my little two-year-old!

He was so anxious to get his hands in that cake; I felt bad for holding him back!

We all had to laugh when cousin J beat him to the punch and blew out his candle.  I have no doubt that he will learn from this experience and blow out someone else's candle in the future.

Happy Birthday Boy!

I gave him both cake and ice cream and he didn't see the need for the spoon - little cake in this hand, little ice cream in that hand and we're good to go!

He approved!

I'm glad Grandma took pictures of presents for me!  This was one Cole got from Grandma R a little while ago but we'd been hanging on to for an occasion.  He already loves having his own big kid church bag with his own special Sacrament meeting books and quiet things!

From us, Cole got some mega blocks.  His big present from Grandma and Grandpa B was a bulldozer and he LOVES it!  Naturally, his older siblings all love it, too, but Cole is good-natured enough to share.

Some of our current favorite Cole words right now are:

Run! (always while running)

milk

waya (water)

Eee-ba (Eve, from Wall-E, imitating Wall-E's speech, also Evie)

Gar-Gar (Carson)

Mom!

Dad!

Beeez! (please, nearly always said as he signs it)

canny? (candy)

ap-bole (apple)

ni-ni (goodnight)

Bye!

He-yo (hello)

sit

Ugah! (hug)

a-MEN! (frequently the last syllable is shouted, even after Sacrament prayers)

I love that Cole tries to bargain for his milk.  Not that he makes any concessions, but that I offer him water and he just says milk repeatedly until I give in or walk away - usually the latter.

Cole loves balls!  However, if no sphere is close at hand, he will cheerfully throw anything else he can get his hands on.

Cole's 2 year well-child isn't until our spring break, so I don't have those stats right now.

Treasure Chest

Four little treasure chests designed by my kids with the help of Grandma B.

I forgot to bring our paint smocks, but it worked out with Grandma's quick thinking and stash of garbage bags.  All the kids got a little 'smock' out of a quick-cut bag!  Once they were ready for the art, we adults supervised the painting of the boxes.

It was fun to see their different techniques!  Evelyn was very careful about what went onto her box, and things had to be thought out before painted.  Lizzie kept things simple with bold colors.  Carson painted multiple colors in one spot and watched them blend and drip.  Cole was all about the finger painting and made sure his whole palm got on nearly every surface of his box.

And Cousin J was perfectly content to mix colors on her styrofoam palette.

I skipped a step by forgetting to take pictures of them putting their jewels and stickers on, but here are the finished interiors.  Grandma brought out some black sticky felt  so the treasure chests would be more complete and useful!  After we got home and really let them dry, each of the kids put their own 'treasures' into their chests.  Evelyn put her jewelry, Lizzie put in a couple little ponies and a couple beads, Carson had his alligator and a car.  Cole likes to open and shut his so much that I'm never really sure what's inside it.

I love that, while I signed and dated the boys' treasure chests, the girls did their own.  It will be fun for them to look back and see how they wrote in 2nd grade and kindergarten!

Will Spring Ever Come?

Yesterday, the weather got up to a gorgeous 53 degrees!  The boys and I took complete advantage of it and took a walk near our house.  It was so warm, we didn't even bother to grab jackets or put on socks and boots!  In retrospect, the boots might have been a good idea, since the boys also wanted to run on the snow some.  But it was so pleasant not to worry about bundling up!

One of our neighbors is having someone come and cut branches off a tree in their yard.  Don't know if they're pruning or taking out the whole tree, but they're out there again today, sawing away.  It was fun to watch the boys locate the source of the noise, then be entranced watching branches fall every few minutes.

I caught sight of a bird of prey - really not sure if it was a hawk or a falcon - come to land in this birch down the street.  We walked until we were under it, and it just sat there looking back at us.  I thought it was pretty cool, though the boys didn't seem to get why I wanted to stare at the tree.

The boys had to turn around and watch a train rumble by.

We found a hill where melting snow-water was trickling to the bottom and watched it for a while.

The sawing workmen got Cole's attention some more, even when I thought he'd moved on.

Cole kept watching our shadows while we walked.  He wasn't afraid, like many toddlers are shown to be, it was just like he found it interesting.

We found some evidence that spring might come eventually - melting snow and grass!

The sky was so big and so blue.  I'm grateful for the beauty of the world around us and for the amazing things that can be seen in the changing seasons!

The boys beat me back to the front door and were frustrated that they're both too short to open the door from the outside.  It was fun to watch them try.

More Sledding AND Garden Prep!

We got to go over to Grandma and Grandpa B's house again!  We wanted to make sure the kids got to go sledding again before spring.  Cole was awake this time and he really enjoyed himself!

Evie and Lizzie wanted to go down the big hill a lot.  Sadly, they really don't get either 'steering' or 'bailing' so after 3-4 tree crashes, we relegated them to the little mound.

Just after this picture was taken, Lizzie sheered off a tree near the bottom and took out Jess, in the white hat before tipping completely over.  That's why we had to stop.

Just for reference, this is what that same hill/pond looked like just two weeks ago.  It's been slow, but spring really MUST be coming!

Evie took Cole down once - after that, Cole was far more content to wander around.  I've noticed before that he's not really fond of fast things/falling but this definitely made it more clear.

Evelyn demonstrated that we didn't even need the sleds!

Carson was off by himself, so I found him and asked what he was up to.  He said the was drawing in the snow.

Evie's last run was super long!

She even made it off the extra long snow run Grandpa made!

After sledding was done, we all headed inside.  We made cocoa and had a snack and let the kids run wild then got ready to plant some seeds.  Jess was very interested and so excited to help her daddy plant!  Judging by what they planted, they're going to have a great salsa garden - tomatoes, cilantro, sweet and jalapeno peppers.

Each of my kids gets to have their own 'plot' this year.  I'm not sure if they will be putting their things in the planters or in the ground with my tomatoes and other vegetables, but they will have their own responsibilities in the garden.  I let them pick what they wanted to plant, even if it's not going to be a super-successful plant.  Evelyn planted carrots, Lizzie planted pumpkins, Carson planted cantaloupe, and Cole planted watermelon.  I planted lots of tomatoes, some sweet and jalapeno peppers, broccoli and a few flowers.  I also have peas and green beans for after the weather warms up.  So excited!!