The Story of Jesse's Life: Book Club

I went to book club last night. I left Oliver with Jesse at home, and took Alice with me so that Jesse could get some meaningful studying in. Two hours later, as I was packing up the baby preparing to head home, Jesse called me...

"Um...You have the baby, Right?"

Bird Calls

Oliver made a bird feeder at preschool today with peanut butter and bird seed. He came home and asked us to help him hang it outside somewhere for the birds to have a snack. 

Then he watched. 

After a while, when no birds were biting, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He threw the sliding glass door open and, at the top of his voice, called

"BIRDS! COME EAT YOUR BIRDSEED!"

He makes us so happy.

Motherhood: My Purpose

A mother's purpose is to care, prepare,

To nurture and to strengthen all her children. 

She teaches children to obey, to pray, 

To love and serve in the family.

(The Family is of God)

This Mother's Day, I'm grateful to all the women in my life who love my family, especially Oliver and Alice, and support me in fulfilling my duty as their mother. 

The Cutest Beetle

"Mom, let me show you the CUTEST beetle! He is my favorite. He is green and shiny and SO CUTE!"

May the Fourth

My sweet baby is four months old today.

Sweet Baby Alice is happy and playful. She laughs when you tickle her, which isn't hard to do as she is very ticklish everywhere. She has a smile for everyone, but extras for her brother.

You can tell that she especially loves Oliver because she'll put up with all sorts of poking, prodding, and squeezing from him, smiling and laughing all the while, but she yells if anyone else tries to get away with similar shenanigans. There is no doubt that he loves her back. He is constantly telling me how cute she is, talking about how much he loves her, and asking to snuggle her.

 I've taken to calling her Chatty Kathy because she rarely stops talking. She's very alert, and has rolled from tummy to back a total of four times. She now plays with toys, and she still has the craziest hair of any baby I know.

Tonight, I decided that it might be time for her to graduate to the real crib in Oliver's room. I didn't expect this transition to be so difficult...for me, that is. Alice is a champ. There I was putting children to bed and feeling all sad and anxious about the new change. I put Alice down in the crib, walked away to tuck Oliver in, and came back to find her sleeping like it was her job.

I, on the other hand, will probably be sleeping with the baby monitor on the pillow next to me because I'm a little bit crazy.

Party Animals

We took a trip to the National Zoo in D.C. 

Don't worry. We had a super great time. The weather was perfect. The animals were happy and active. Our friends were with us. It was splendid.

This was in remarkable contrast to the last time we went when it was 100 degrees outside and so humid that I felt like I was drowning. I was also nauseous, starving, winded, and tired the entire day because I was with child and my body hated me. I did not have good memories.

Zoo Highlights: 

the lion's roar

the tigers playing

the bird that looked like a mingochicken for half of a second

the elephant's bathroom business