Memorial Day

OK, Derek and I are ready for the kids to go back to daycare now! I have a deep longing for the days when a long weekend meant time to rest.

Here is Charlotte drawing. She can draw a circle very well and they taught her to draw a ladybug at Doodlebugs. At least, she tells me it's a ladybug. She really does work at it.



I resorted to tickling Grace with my foot to get her to look at me with the camera. These were the result.

Friends

I only had a short time to take some pictures of my two friends, Cayden and Erin. I look forward to the opportunity to take more.

Erin is almost 18 months old. So much will and determination in such a small person makes me smile. She can hold her own with her big brother, too. And she is absolutely adorable.



Cayden is going to be 4 next month. He is an interesting and funny and very bright boy. Cayden knows the name and function of every kind of big construction equipment there is. He taught me a new one yesterday, that in classic absent-minded adult style I have already forgotten. I will have to ask him about it the next time I see him.

A few of Grace

These are Grace in the kitchen yesterday. Her shirt says "I Love Dad". This is very appropriate. Grace is just crazy for Derek. She brightens visibly whenever he comes in the room. Her hair has gotten longer, but it still sometimes sticks up on the sides like this. It makes us laugh (although maybe not her so much when she is 14). And yes, she is as soft and squishy as (I think) she looks in the first one. I just can't squeeze this kid enough.





I think Grace has perfected the baby version of the 'model stare'.

That elusive eye contact

I think the novelty of the big new camera has definitely worn off around here. I am back to having trouble getting my little test subjects to look at me.

A cute profile of Grace. I wish that her reflection stood out just a little bit more.


Two typical pictures of Charlotte...
exhibit A: the pout (do they even brush that kid's hair?)


exhibit B: the back of the head - she's quick!

Three from this weekend

One of each:) All taken with my new camera. Yeah!

Charlotte, who needs a haircut, on the bed with her guys. While she was watching tv I was editing a different picture of her on the computer. She noticed it and kept squealing "Look! Picture of me! Picture of me!" (note correct use of pronoun) So, she let me take a couple more.


Grace, peeking over the end of the bed to see what her big sister is doing.


Louisa, whose eyes match her jammies.

Louisa

Some recent pictures of my cute little niece. We took these pictures in the overalls because she outgrew them before she got to wear them. Derek calls these the little bumpkin shots.

more Louisa

Some out on our front porch.


This is the way we see Louisa often. It has that little ankle-biter feel to it.

I have lots of shots like this of both Charlotte and Grace at this age. They love reaching for the camera.

This one is several months old, but it is one of my favorites of her. I like the way she is clutching her teething biscuit. Kind of like a little mouse.

Kittens

Grandma and Grandpa Mohr came over yesterday and brought their mama cat and 5 little kittens to play. They were awfully cute.

...

I couldn't resist adding my favorite one of Grace from yesterday, too.

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

Since this is a new blog, I thought I go back and post some pictures from the last month or so, just to get caught up a little.

These two little girls are the Mother's Day present that I always dreamed of. They are a gift that I get to cherish every single day. They are great fun and make me laugh all the time (and drive me a bit crazy most days).

Grace in the backyard. Yes, she was eating the dirt. And she seemed to enjoy it, too.

Charlotte LOVES cake. She very excited to dig into this cupcake that Grandma brought her. A week later, she still remembered it. We saw a birthday cake somewhere and she said to me "Char eat brown cake. Mommy eat white cake!" (My cupcake had vanilla frosting).



Baby physics cracks me up. I love it when they bend over like this. They are so top heavy that they have to get their butt way back so they don't fall forward on their face. Here Grace has to have a firm grip on the next thing (in this case the ground) before she can let go of the railing. But she can still flash Mom with the camera a big smile. Do you think she will forgive me one day for posting a picture of her sitting on the potty on the Internet? How can I resist the little nose and those lips? And the socks; the socks kill me. More seriously, I love the light coming in from above and hitting the top of her head.

Mother's Day cont.

She's so predictable. Grace was playing in the kitchen and I went around the counter and crouched and waited. Soon, I heard the little pat, pat, pat of her crawling around to see where I went. These weren't taken on the same day, but I love them both and they seem to go together.

Charlotte playing on Louisa's bed. One of my absolute favorites of her.
Last two of Grace, crawling around in her room.

Thanks for looking!

Liza

Some recent favorites

Charlotte came home from Doodlebugs this week with her first pigtails. She was quite pleased with herself. She came in calling "Mommy! Haircut!" When I came to see she bent her chin down and pointed her little head up at me so I could see better. The little pout is the look that I got for continuing to take her picture instead of lifting over the gate so she could go and watch Dora. We see this particular look frequently. I am actually tickled to get a good shot of it.




Grace loves to climb the stairs. She is quick, too. I put her down on the landing and ran up the stairs ahead of her and grabbed my camera. I only got two frames before she reached me on the top step. This one was the first.