Random Events

Writing takes time and time is not something you have with a 2 year old and a 4 year old.  Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here are some random pictures of the family over the last couple of months.  Add your own captions.  The best captions submitted via comments or Sivitz@gmail.com win a prize.  Not a good prize, but a prize nonetheless.

Easter in the basement

Easter just isn't the same when it's gray and drizzly outside. Fortunately it doesn't matter to the kids whether the eggs are hidden outside or in the basement. Claire was all about the egg hunt this year, keeping up with her older cousin Alex like a pro. Tyler was content finding one egg at a time, emptying the contents right then and there, and scarfing down the candy before anybody could confiscate it.

I wasn't too camera-happy, so you're just going to have to make do with these:

 

Claire "helped" frost the chocolate cake we made for dessert:

 

 

After eating so much candy, the kids were a sheer pleasure to be around, of course.

 

Happy easter to all of you!

Happy Birthday Tyler!

Tyler is a big two year-old now! We hosted a small Thomas the Tank Engine themed party at our house yesterday in his honor. Brian attempted to dress up as Sir Topham Hatt for the occasion, but he really just confused everyone. Tyler's cousin, Alex, asked me "Why is Uncle Brian dressed up as Abraham Lincoln?" I agreed with him that Brian can pull off an excellent Lincoln.

We cooked up a huge pot of spaghetti for everyone to enjoy. Tyler had worked up an appetite running and jumping and screaming with his friends.

 

The little guy blew out his "2" candle and dug into his cupcake so fast I barely had time to get the paper off.

Claire told me I had done a good job with the decorations. She was very helpful, particularly with helping her brother open his presents.

Brian ditched the Sir Topham Hatt costume after a while, just so he could get down and have some REAL fun.

Tyler received his first outdoor grill from his cousins! He helped his father assemble it. He used his new yellow power drill like a pro.

 

I suppose I should now lament the fact that my baby is already 2 years old. Seriously though, he is just as cute and smiley as he was at 2 months old! I am excited to see what our little man has in store for us in his third year.



TV Mounting

Having kids Brian doesn't get a chance to work on home improvement projects much anymore.  However, this past weekend he was able to squeeze in mounting our TV to the wall.... which required reinforcing the metal frame.  Below you can see the project from start to end and even see Brian goofing around a bit:

 

Fancy fingers

Yesterday I noticed Claire had used a purple Crayola marker to color her finger nails. Apparently she was trying to copy her girlfriends at school! I figured it was finally time for the little lady to get her nails officially painted.

Brian took her to Home Depot today (she goes with him almost every weekend) and she showed everybody her fancy nails. She is so proud!

Claire is 4!



A lot has happened since my last post. Instead of trying to fill you in, I'm just going to pretend that I was in a time warp and that my last post was yesterday. Our latest big event was Claire's 4th birthday party last weekend. Here's our birthday girl at her special butterfly-themed party at Robinson Nature Center:

 



 

We were awfully lucky that a friend volunteered to do face painting at the party.



The kids decorated butterfly wings to take home with them.

 

 

Everybody got to wear monarch butterfly wings and "fly" around the nature center.

There was a naturalist-led program to teach the kids about a caterpillar's metamorphosis.

 

And of course we had to have a butterfly cake!

 

 

 

Claire was concerned by her proximity to the candles.

 

 

And of course little bro was there, to help devour cupcakes.

Claire is so proud to be a big 4 year old. That doesn't mean she has any idea what it means though. The other day I overheard her telling someone that Tyler was 14 years old, and that he was her little brother. I need to ask her how old I am.  It might work out in my favor!

Cylburn Arboretum

The kids and I spent a gorgeous morning at the arboretum in Baltimore last week. How can you not love fall? Everywhere we go the streets are lined with red and orange foliage. It's my favorite season for sure!