Livin' the dream...

Kurt & I felt a bit of ambition this weekend and decided to venture up into the attic so we could rotate in some of the "on reserve" toys. We had all kinds of treasures up there and stayed up quite late into the night assembling trains, cars, houses. We were both pretty excited to see Maddie & Aidan's reaction to all of their "new" (hand-me-down) toys the following morning!

I thought for sure Aidan would be really into the trains or cars (I know, I'm stereotyping) - but surprise, surprise; he's in love with the Little People Dream House! He's absolutely adorable playing with it. It is so sweet watching my rough and tumble little boy gently place the Little People baby in it's bassinet and say "shhhh".

Maddie likes the Dream House too of course - though her favorite part is the double bed which she is convinced is a phone. She walks around the house with this bed up to hear ear saying "hello, hello??". So cute!

Our girl is growing up!

Looks like she's ready for school with her backpack!

hmmmm....apparently backpacks are not conducive to rolling!

Meanwhile Aidan finds new ways to enjoy his diaper basket:

It's never too early...

to put the kids to work!! They are obsessed with the vacuum and mop (I'm not complaining):

The vacuum is the preferred item - so "cleaning" usually ends up in a bit of a tussle:

Providence Children's Museum

We had a lovely family excursion this morning to the Providence Children's Museum. The kids had a BLAST!!!

There were bridges:

And tunnels:

And slides:

Potential boyfriends:

Costumes (he's a bear):

Snacktime:

Best of all....there was WATERWAYS:

Here's how we knew it was time to head home (she crouched in the corner and refused to get up):

Stay tuned for many more fabulous family adventures this summer!!

Stylin' Kids

After some back and forth on whether or not to grow out her bangs, we finally reached the decision to get Maddie a haircut. She was beginning to look like a shaggy dog AND refuses to keep hair clips in - SO...voila! Here she is in "the chair" at Stylin' Kids Salon:

She was very stoic during the entire process. She sat still and did not complain the entire time - in fact, the only time she made any noise at all was every 30 seconds when the dancing cow we were using to entertain her came to a stop.

Aidan was in for his fourth haircut. No pictures as that would just be cruel - he was more or less hysterical the entire time. Though it was an improvement over his third haircut where I had to hold his arms down and Kurt had to hold his head in place. Ahhhh, the trials and tribulations of parenthood....

Favorite Activities of Late...

Sitting improperly in our chairs:

And intentionally tipping them over so we crash to the ground:

Staring out the picture window in the living room and announcing "CAR" anytime one comes within 500 feet of the house (the poor neighbors are pretty much being stalked at this point):

Washing our own hands in the bathroom sink courtesy of our fancy new "onestepahead" step stools (notice Aidan taking advantage of the opportunity to break into the locked drawer):

And of course, dancing around in our princess dress to Sesame Street "Plantinum Classics" (sorry, not sure how to rotate the video):

Does it get any better than this???

'Tis the Season

For lawncare! The rain let up and we FINALLY had a chance to work on our yard. It was truly beginning to look like a jungle out there. After Buppy found a tick on Aidan's shirt, we realized it was time to kick it into high gear. We picked up an unfathomable amount of branches (hazard of living out in the woods), raked up sopping wet leaves, and Kurt mowed the lawn. Most of this was done during naptimes, but Daddy finished the mowing up Sunday morning and the kids were enthralled once they realized they could watch him from Maddie's crib. They spent a half hour or more watching him from the window. They would whine and cry each time he went into the woods to unload the grass cuttings. Nothing could stop the whining until Daddy came back into view. Can you tell they love their Daddy???

Here's a close up of Daddy in action with his super cool Michael Jacksonish lawn mowing boots!

And Mother's Day was splendid! We were able to spend time with both Mimi & Grandma and I received a very special present from Maddie & Aidan. It was a Vermont Teddy bear dressed up to be a stay at home Mom. It came with lots of "spa" accessories such as bubble bath and various lotions. Here's Maddie giving some love to the Mommy bear!

And Aidan's turn (for Aidan, love often means a good poke in the eye)!

Thanks to all those who made it such a Happy Mother's Day weekend!