April 2013 – Breaking Out of our Winter Coats
April 1st, we received a package from Aunt Jill for the kids for Easter. She is amazing! Nina got a cool activity pad! See this image larger.
Ian got some Legos! See this image larger.
And look at this Easter card! Nina loved it! See this image larger.
April 3rd, and you know, you’d think this would be an unusual sight at our house, but, yeah no. See this image larger.
April 4th, and Ian is out on his bike for the first time this spring! See this image larger.
Plus he got to try out an “outside toy” that has been dormant since Christmas! See this image larger.
Stomp-rocket go!!! (Blue in this picture, upper left) For whatever reason, I almost always managed to catch the rocket in mid-air when taking a shot of Ian doing this. Must be mad video game skills and a slight delay as the air pushed the rocket up! See this image larger.
Seth kitty. Sometimes I think he’s part compass. See this image larger.
That night at one of our favorite pizza joints, the one Nina refers to as “the pizza store” or “the other pizza store” and mistakenly as “Panera.” It is actually called Marinades. I’m trying to remember if this is the time that the kids were so crazy we actually walked out of the restaurant and ate at home instead. I would recommend that to any parent. That incident was referred to many times in a “start behaving or we’ll just go home again” kind of way. See this image larger.
April 7th, this plant that Melissa has had for God knows how long suddenly bloomed this year. It was really pretty! We look forward to the next time it blooms, at which time Melissa and I will also be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. See this image larger.
Don’t let that cute little smile fool you, she… actually I changed my mind, just let her cute little smile fool you. 😉 See this image larger.
At Cinco De Mayo again… I love my girls. See this image larger.
April 12th, to support a good cause, we went to a hockey game, assuming that the kids would mostly tolerate it like good sports. We were wrong but not like you’d think. Ian tolerated it just fine. Nina LOVED it. She wanted to go back again and was upset that we left a little early. For months afterwards she talked about the hockey game, and the scary mascots walking around… particularly the eagle. See this image larger.
April 14th, this is Ian’s first shower, believe it or not. It’s been baths all the way since birth! I passed on advice to my son that my father gave to me about making an “O” with your lips and pointing your head down. I was probably around Ian’s age at that time. See this image larger.
Being the brave little girl that she is, Nina tried too! See this image larger.
Although she didn’t appreciate the camera, I guess! See this image larger.
April 21st, this is Josef, a robot from the point-and-click adventure game Machinarium, a game whose path to success Lilly Looking Through would try to mimic, and ultimately not follow. See this image larger.
This is probably Ian’s second-favorite stuffed animal. See this image larger.
April 26th, Chef Nina in her chef outfit and not much else! See this image larger.
She looks like an experienced rider. See this image larger.
So does this little boy; still on training wheels for this year, but who knows how much longer? See this image larger.
Mommy keeps them extra safe. See this image larger.
Building geniuses show off for Gramma Sue, who arrived in town for a spring visit! See this image larger.
April 26th, and I probably shouldn’t be taking pictures in the Panera bathroom, for security reasons… however, this picture is one of those amazing ones to me. If you look at that pirate smile, with his slightly tousled hair, and squinty eyes of sheer joy… I can see into the past through that face – my toddler chasing after a play car piloted by a moose, and I can see into the future as this adorable little lad becomes a handsome young man. See this image larger.
April 27th, helping Mommy whip up some pancakes! See this image larger.
The kids engineer some pretty cool lightsabers! Ian even built a two-bladed like Darth Maul’s. Very nice. See this image larger.
Grandma Sue shows Ian a cool game she plays on her laptop! See this image larger.
Ian and Daddy get a little gaming time in. See this image larger.
Grandma Sue took this shot of Daddy getting Ian off of the bus. See this image larger.
Grandma Sue hanging out with the kids in the front yard… oh man that sunshine! See this image larger.
Daddy and his little girl! 🙂 See this image larger.
Grandma Sue playing with the kids in the sunroom… the kids showing some Lilly Looking Through respect! See this image larger.
Sunny smiles! See this image larger.
Alternate angle! See this image larger.
Burn up that energy! See this image larger.
Ian’s wearing a Minecraft shirt here, if you’re wondering. And you’ll probably always see gritting teeth on the kids going west on our street… a little uphill, lol. See this image larger.
Yay, time for a quick treat! It is always a treat to have Grandma Sue over! See this image larger.
