Spring Is For Splashing!

We have had a lot of rain over the past couple days. It has rained so much that the small city park near us was completely flooded!

While I slept today, Sam said there was torrential rains. When I got up, I could see that the backyard was flooded.

I have to give credit where credit is due – my wife is the “fun” parent. I really don’t think that I would have been the one to say, “Let’s put on your rainboots and go jump in the puddles!” to the kids. She did! Ella lit up! She couldn’t wait to get outside. Andrew was just as excited.

So we all went out and the two of them jumped and splashed! It was really fun to watch.

It was 70 degrees with a slight breeze and the kids loved every minute of it! The smiles and laughter were worth every ounce of mud they brought back in the house!

Andrew was walking by out and you could hear the water sloshing in his boots. Both kids had a cup or more of water in each boot, so the boots came off.

They had a blast jumping and splashing. Oh, to be a kid again!

The wind started to pick up a bit and the sun went away, so it was time to come inside. Neither kid wanted to come in! Despite the chattering teeth, they still wanted to play in the puddles. Sam had gone in and started a bath for them. There was some major coaxing by me and they finally (and sadly) walked inside.

I wish I had gotten a picture of them when they came in. Two wet kids, with mud in the hair, and noses! The warm bath cleaned them up and wonderful memories made – all thanks to Sam’s playful suggestion!

She’s a “Threenager”

Yesterday, Ella celebrated her 3rd birthday. It was a pretty busy day!

She woke up and had a breakfast picnic. Her choice of breakfast food? A grilled cheese sandwich!

After I got home from a dentist appointment (that I should have cancelled), we piled in the car and we took a trip up to the Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum in Saginaw. We have a membership there and the kids always have a blast!

They have a water area like the Sloan Museum, but its a bit smaller. The kids still love to play there. They also have slides, a fake doctor and dentist office, a barn, lots of fake cars, and other neat science-type stuff.

The thing behind Ella is a wall of marbles. Both kids love it.

Not sure Andrew knew what this mirror was all about.

One of many cars the kids can play on. One of them sits next to a bank drive thru teller!

These floating balls are always fun to watch.

We went home and Ella got to pick what she wanted for lunch. We got dinosaur chicken nuggets and French fries and again, had a picnic before nap time. I think she was too excited about her birthday to nap, so her and I played out in the living room.

She is all about Disney Princesses, so we decorated in that theme.

She even had a princess cake!

Big brother Dante’ came over to have dinner (Pizza) and cake with us. Dimitri was not feeling well, so he stayed home. We all sang “Happy Birthday” and she made her wish and blew out the candles.

One of her presents was nail polish. Each bottle had a different Disney princess on it. The color of the polish matched the dress color of the princess. Well, we just HAD to have a spa day …

Mommy got her nails painted all one color. Daddy, on the other hand, got a different color for each nail!!

Dante’ left before he had to sit in the chair!

It was certainly a fun day for her and for us!

You may recall that we had some 3rd birthday pictures done. They came out so good! Beth, our photographer, always seems to catch the best pictures, even when the subject (Ella) won’t sit still!

This is the dress that Ella picked out for her pictures. This is one of my favorites!

She wanted a picture in her “Belle” dress, which is the dress that she wore for Halloween when her and Andrew went out as Beauty and the Beast. She also had to have her Tiana stuffy that my brother sent her in the picture.

She LOVES these rain boots, and they really do go well with this dress. I love the look on her face in this picture. Probably our favorite picture from the session is just amazing. Beth asked Ella to jump up and down like she was splashing in puddles with her boots ….

This is PURE Ella! What a capture!!

While I still cannot believe she is three years old, I am glad to have a platform like this blog to write things down so that she can look back at them and read them in the future. She has provided us with three years of amazing memories!!

Happy Birthday, Ella!!!

Weekend Wrap Up

What a crazy weekend! As much as I hate not getting a lot of sleep, I have to admit that some of the funniest stories I write about are due to lack of sleep. Take Saturday for example:

We needed groceries and a few things, so Sam went to the store. On her way home, she texted me, “On my way. I have Easter things. Like bubbles and chocolate, so watch it unloading.” So when she got home, I go out to start unloading the van. She sent Ella outside because she has been cooped up inside. The first thing she sees is two books that Sam bought. She looks up and me as says, “Go inside and read books?”

So she walks in with the books. Sam looks at me like, “what the hell?” I told her she spotted them and wanted to come inside and read them. Sam told me that she was going to put them in her Easter basket. I had no idea.

A few days ago, Sam mentioned getting some rain boots for Ella so she could splash around outside. There was a pair in the back of the van and when I walked in I said, “Looks like mommy bought some rain boots” as I held them up. Sam shoots me another look and says, “Those were for Easter, too!” “Easter things” to me are chocolate, candies, etc… I had no idea the boots or books were Easter things.

Needless to say, she has worn her rain boots almost every day since!

The day became even more uncomfortable when I had to have a talk with my middle son. It was one of those “Dad/Teen” talks that made us both squirm as we talked. I remember my dad and I having a similar talk when I was about his age. It had to happen, I just wish I had been a little more prepared for it.

Andrew had his first taste of real food this weekend. Carrots to start. I was really surprised at how well he did. With each day, he gets better and better at eating. I loved seeing the “this stuff is so much better than the stuff in the bottle you keep giving me” smile!

Even though it hasn’t been that long since Ella was in the high chair, I had already forgotten just how messy feeding the baby can be!

At one point this weekend, Sam just happened to have both kids on her lap. I snapped this one and I just love it.

Monday morning, Ella walks over to me as I am sitting in the living room. “Daddy needs socks,” she says. Then she proceeds to put one of AJ’s socks on my foot and walks away. “You did it, Daddy!” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at how it looked!

Andrew has been getting up earlier than Ella the past week or so. Him and I were already out in the living room playing on the floor when I saw that she was awake in the monitor. So I went to go get her. As I brought her out to the living room and she says, “Play with Bubby (that’s what she calls him)?” So I put her down and she went over to his toy box and dumped it out. She sat down and started playing with him. It was truly a heartwarming moment!

Looking ahead

You may recall a while back that my buddy, Max, wrote a couple “guest” blogs for me. His topic was the Beatles. I have said to him numerous times that I want to write a Beatles-themed blog, but just haven’t had the chance to really think about what to write. There are so many things I could do.

Well, Max and I are taking part in some musically themed blogs with our friend Dave. He will offer a topic and we (and a few other bloggers) will be writing on those things. For the first topic – he chose the Beatles. He has a specific angle he is shooting for, but he is also giving us a bit of freedom within that theme. So I am sitting her scratching my head on just how to tackle it. That should be posting within the next week, so hopefully I have something ready by then….

Thanks for reading!