the "outside" cart

Now for those of you who don't know my parents - they are what we lovingly refer to as pack rats. To add on to that, they are also pickers - you know, those people who pick things up off the side of the road. While begrudgingly I will admit that they often get some pretty neat finds, I somewhat groan when they tell me they found something just right for me. So when my mom called to tell me that she had found a toy kitchen, chairs, shopping cart and baskets for Gillian, I quickly reminded her that G already had a kitchen, one from Nana and Grumpa for Christmas. Thinking I had escaped anything else coming into my house, I was slightly shocked when at their next visit, in came the baskets and shopping cart. "But you don't have these" I was reminded. Well the shopping cart was pretty dirty, so I insisted it stay in the garage, until I had a chance to clean it off.

Then Gillian found it. We were getting ready to do some yard work and G just started pushing the cart down the sidewalk. Since our first stroll, it has become a daily exercise. We push that cart down to the end of the block at least once a day. She puts sticks, pinecones, and mulch in it. Currently it has 4 of her necklaces in it, which she stops to put on and then take off every 4 feet.

So, I have learned my lesson. No need to roll my eyes at things my parents pick out of the trash - they have good taste, and seem to know what my daughter likes. No other toy gets played with EVERY day, but that shopping cart does. Ugly, dirty, and old - Gillian loves it. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Spring has Sprung

Being a beautiful warm spring, my yard looks awesome. Now it helps that for the past month I've spent on average 5 hours a week working on it, but Gillian loves to be outside and I love gardening, so its worked out great for both of us. With my irises in full bloom (Granny don't these look great! Thanks for sharing!) I thought I would take some pictures of Gillian. Only problem was right before we headed out the door G grabbed her favorite party necklaces and refused to take them off. So between chewing on the beads and playing with the flowers - I got one picture that I love. Guess I'll just have to live with the necklaces!

Playgroup

I think I've mentioned before, but Gillian and I are part of such a great Playgroup with our church. It is so fun to get together with other moms, have adult conversation, and watch the little ones have tons of fun.

We have done several exciting things this spring. For Valentines Day we made cure Valentines for the Dads that the kids stamped. For Mardis Gras, I made a King Cake (my first one - so good!) and we had the kids decorate masks. Gillian loves anything to do with coloring, but was not so much a fan of me putting the mask on her. We made pine cone bird feeders with peanut butter for the coming of Spring. The kids had so much fun smearing peanut butter everywhere, then dunking it in seed. And it was pretty awesome to see birds using them too! Gillian loves animals. She's learning their names and sounds, but it's always fun to see them in real life. We often go to the Durham Museum of Life and Science, which has a huge collection of farm animals and native NC wildlife, but it's always a treat to watch them at home from your own porch. So far this Spring we have seen deer, rabbits, and birds - but there's always our neighbor's dog Ike, too.

When we're not up to special projects, the kids just have a great time being together. Owen has become one of Gillian's good friends. You can see them reading together and playing in G's cart. The playgroup has truly been one of my unexpected favorite parts of being at home this year.

Helper Baby

I have been blessed with a super helpful baby. She wants to be a part of whatever I'm doing generally, so she has gotten pretty good at helping to empty the dishwasher, mixing anything together for dinner, and throwing things away. She will even pick up her toys when you ask her to (most of the time). Sometimes her helping takes on its own ingenuity - when we went to Norfolk this past weekend she helped my mom garden by taking dirt from one pot and putting it in another pot - no directions needed. Never mind that neither pot was being worked on by my mom, G just wanted to help. So when Rusty decided to wash his car it was no surprise when the girl jumped right in. She loved it - helping dad, splashing in a bucket of water, playing with bubbles - what more could a girl ask for? I just hope this helpful streak continues!