Spring Has (Almost) Sprung

Funny Bunny and Silly Children

Today is the first (it was when I first started writing) third day of spring and it is cold.  Maybe not by northern standards, but since I am officially claiming North Carolina as my state, it's COLD.  This past Saturday, fortunately, we got a brief reprieve from the cooler weather.  What did our family do?  We packed the day as full of outings as possible because it is now clear the Groundhog lied.  Spring did not come early and we needed to come out of hibernation.  Our initial plans included a brief breakfast with the Easter Bunny and a hop on over to the Planetarium for Legopalooza, but we were having so much fun we added on to each event.

Easter Breakfast Art

In the morning we headed over to University Mall for Breakfast with the Easter Bunny.  Edmund and Evie both enjoyed having their pictures made with him.  Edmund also had fun coloring and doing a spring craft.  He was very proud of his finished works of art.  

While at breakfast, we were told there would be a magic show happening shortly on the opposite end of the mall.  After a short debate about whether or not to insert the show into the morning's plans, we decided to take the plunge.  It turned out to be quite the elaborate ordeal for a free show, and we were glad we stayed.  In case anyone is looking for a magician, his name was Jeff Jones, and he was fabulous with young kids.  At one point when the children were getting a little overeager to go toward the stage, he commanded them to "criss-cross applesauce."  Magically they all sat down.  This is a teacher's trick too, but I'd never seen it work so well before, so must be magic.  Edmund was very excited when mom was called up to the stage to help with a trick.  Evie was probably excited too, but the expression on her face was asking "what is going on here?"  At the end of the show the children were given adorable bunny bags with little magic tricks inside.  Edmund's bag included a whoopee cushion, and the "whoofee cushion" as he calls it, has been summoning much laughter around our house the past few days.

Lego Master at Work

Next it was off to Legopalooza.  At this event members of the North Carolina Lego Users Group create Lego structures over the course of the weekend.  Visitors can then "ooh and ahh" at the creations they come up with on the spot.  There were castle creations, a town, an amusement park type structure, and a scene from Ghost Busters.  The creations were really fun to see and it was amazing to see what could be done with Legos.  Edmund even tried his hand at making a few of his own Lego creations using the Legos provided for kids and kids at heart.  Steven and I realized that if we go to this event again next year we should go at the end of the weekend because the creations will be complete and even more awe inspireing.  Still it was amazing to see what the guys and gals of NC-LUG came up with.

What Pretty Flowers!

For a family with a 4 year old and an infant Legopalooza doesn't take long.  Edmund, and if you can believe it,  Evie don't have the patience required to build an elaborate structure yet, so we had time to kill before lunch.  As it was such a beautiful day we decided to wander around the Arboretum on UNC's campus.  I somehow always forget what a lovely spot it is to visit.  We got in a couple of springy pictures of the kids sitting among the flowers.  Others had the same idea, but they brought along a professional photographer, not an I-Phone.  Our stint here was short-lived because a hungry Edmund is a cranky Edmund.  Next time I'll have to remember to pack a picnic so we can enjoy this treasure of a place even longer.


 I'm glad we got to have such a fun family outing that included daddy.  Now that we know we'll be in North Carolina next year and that Steven will have a predictable schedule, we look forward to having more of these family outings.  For now we'll take what we can get, both in the weather and in the daddy departments.

The Start of Evie's Adventures

Evie Enjoying Music and Movement

I've decided it's time for some honesty about my life with two.  I sincerely want to keep up with this blog.  When Edmund was a baby I'd sometimes get in one post a day.  As he got older it got closer to once a week or two times a month.  Now with two kiddos I'm doing well to get in one post a month and I'm sure my small "readership" has dropped because of it.  But this blog is really more for me to document these fleeting years with my children than to become "blog of the year."  If I'm being honest, I could probably write a post every other day.  Evie takes a nap in the morning, but that's my time to get things done around the house.  Both kids generally take an afternoon nap and I could write then, but nap time has become sacred mommy rest time.  If I am going to make it until bedtime with my balls of energy I need nap time to zone out and recoup.

Chef Evie

It will come as no surprise to most of you that I love babies, so sometimes it makes me a little sad I won't have as much to show Evie about her early years as Edmund will.  Not to stereotype (well maybe a little), but Evie will probably be more interested in seeing her baby pictures than Edmund will.  Edmund's first few years were documented to death, between the blog, his baby book, and the massive portfolios I kept on him at the preschool.  Edmund has a plethora of movies featuring him and pictures galore.  This week I realized it had been almost a month since I took a picture of Evie.  I have a camera on my phone that is with me almost all the time, but I justify not taking it out because I'm afraid I'll miss a moment with her or because in reality by the time I actually get the camera out fussiness starts or the moment has passed.

Evie spends quite a bit of time in the car whilst we take Edmund to and from sports, lessons, and school.  However, now that she's older Evie and I are slowly finding activities to do together.  Recently Evie and I discovered the Southwest Branch of the Durham Public Library is a few minutes from Edmund's preschool, which makes it the perfect place for us to go right before morning nap.  This particular branch has something for children almost every day.  I can't say I'm deliberate in planning when we go.  Whatever happens to be occurring on the day we stumble in is what we attend (granted Evie fits the age range.)  Those who know me well will know stumbling into anything is not my style, but at least with library visits it's working for me.  So far Evie and I have attended several lapsit story times and music and movement classes.  Evie's still a little young to really "get" music and movement, but she loves the instruments, especially the egg shakers, and watching the older toddlers dance around.  To see the smile on her face you'd think the whole class was designed just for her. 

Delighting in Prepared Meal

With Evie's morning nap and Edmund's school schedule I think it will be a couple of months before Evie can do something more formal like Gymboree or Kindermusik.  I love my "big buddy E" to death, but I am also looking forward to the start of kindergarten so that Evie and I can have a little more mommy and Evie play time.  Many friends have told me it's hard to really get to know the second child, so I'm hoping that next year will be a time for me to get to know Evie's likes and dislikes and what makes her tick.  The start of our adventures is just around the corner.  And so my little Evie, you are just as loved as your big brother with or without the pictures to prove it.