Reasons to Celebrate

One thing I look forward to every year is the little cluster of celebrations that happens every spring.  Whether true reasons to celebrate (Kylee's birthday & Easter) or just fun reasons to wear green (St. Patrick's Day), special days are always more fun with kids.  You don't understand a bit of the whole "wearing green so as not to get pinched" thing, but you are starting to understand the idea of birthdays and you really got into he spirit of the egg hunt this year.  

Kylee's "Not a Party" Party.  I was still obsessing over the bright evenings.

Party Necessity

Kylee turned 13 this year.  Yes, a teenager.  One teenager just moved out of the house and another sister enters her teens.  It's kind of like a cruel joke.  This year, Kylee chose to take a friend to Disney instead of having a big birthday party.  Still, she requested a cupcake baking/decorating get-together with her two closest friends.  Since I had every intention of making some sort of cake for her anyway, this was a hard request to turn down.  There would be cupcakes, and I wouldn't have to bake or decorate anything?  Deal.  I tried my hardest to keep it a "non-party", in keeping with the rules, but there may have been stripey straws, neon plates & napkins, and a homemade backdrop involved.  Some habits are hard to break.

Cupcake Decorating Mini-Shindig

St. Patrick's Day came and went without much mention around here.  We made sure you were dressed in your greenest outfit, though.  We did embark on a shamrock hunt that morning.  I realize that you don't know or care what a shamrock is at this point, but you're always happy to join in some sort of hunt that requires combing through the dirt.  You took a pretty nasty tumble on the way home, and I ended up carrying you all the way back with blood literally running down your leg.  I'm sad to say that that was the most memorable part of the day!  You still have a little scar from the incident.

I love what qualified as shamrocks: dollarweed and more weeds.

Sweetest pigtails.  Worst lighting ever.

First bandaid.

And then there was Easter.  I was pretty sure that holiday would be a disaster because you came down with the nastiest cold just days before.  You were pathetically sick...the kind where you just laid on the ground next to me (and that literally never happens when you're healthy).  The first indication that things might turn out alright came the night I (finally) took out the Easter decorations an supplies.  You discovered them stashed in the dining room and rummaged through them quietly for quite a while.  I found you on the floor, surrounded by brightly colored plastic eggs and empty baskets.  And happy for the first time in two days.

How I found you.

Evidence that you were quite the sick kid.  This isn't even the worst picture...by far.

One of my favorite things about Easter is dying the eggs.  There's just something about a dozen little blank canvases, sitting there like a carton full of possibilities that turns me into a kid again.  We finally used some natural dyes this year, something I've been wanting to do for a while.  It was a fun science experiment for Sydney, and it made me feel a whole lot better about feeding those eggs to my family.  Plus, the results were quite amazing!  Of course, we also did some traditional colors, too, because an overnight wait for natural colors didn't impress your sisters in this world of instant gratification.  Honestly, you were pretty uninvolved in the dying process.  You were there, circling the table, hopeful for a chance to get your hands on them.  But the thought of breakable eggs and cups full of dye seemed like a recipe for disaster once a one year old entered the equation.  

Labeled, natural dyes.

Professionals.

Your only contribution: coloring on the furniture with the clear crayon.

Finished product: artificial dyed eggs.

Finished product: Natural dyes.

Another thing that I was excited about this Easter was the opportunity to let you join in the Easter egg hunt.  I knew you'd be old enough to hold your own, and what could be more perfect for you than an outdoor scavenger hunt?  We held a little trial run on Saturday with Sydney, so that by Easter morning you'd know what to do and she could just fill her basket.  Who knew that this would be the best egg hunt of the weekend?  Empty eggs and all!  You girls hunted and re-hid the eggs all day long.  By far, my best photos came from that day, too.  Because Easter Sunday was Meltdown-City...

And you were off!

You seemed to get the concept immediately.

Syd was a good sport.

Love your sister bond, even while on the hunt.

The inevitable spilled basket.

Found one!

Obligatory "ears" photo.

Sydney adding in an extra pair of bunny ears for good measure.

Honestly, if I'd known how cute these would be I would've paid more attention to the backdrop.

Ahhh, Easter Sunday...so the good: your dress, that I've been hoarding for months, was perfect.  So, so beautiful.  And as it turned out, all of your sisters dressed up a bit.  You all looked gorgeous.  However, you'd never know because I do not have one single "sister photo", "family photo"...nothing.  Not even just one where you all ended up in the same shot. And as if that wasn't bad enough, I honestly didn't even get any decent pictures that day.  You may have been egg-hunted out because after the first few (enthusiastic) minutes of hunting, you gave up.  You all did.  Monday morning I had to run outside and hunt down eggs  in my pj's like a maniac before the lawn crew showed up to mow.  Naps were late and short and chocolate was the food of choice.  I'm not blaming all of the chaos on chocolate or lack of sleep, but I am saying they were involved.  There were tears and messes, and I was kind of glad when it was bedtime.  But, hey, it happens.  We were all together, and I wouldn't trade that day for anything.

E.B. Wuz Here.

Digging in!

Happy messes.

Checking out the goods.

You went straight for the chocolate.  But the good stuff at least: Lindt!

You, running out back to start the official egg hunt...you looked like you were exiting the tunnel at a football game!

Huntress.

Bubbles were big with the Easter Bunny this year.  You all got some.  These were Kylee's giant ones.

It helps to be tall.

Sweetness.

My bunny.

Glowing bubbles from Sydney's basket.  Pretty cool.

So maybe next year will be a picture-perfect Easter.  Maybe we'll actually make it to a church service.  Maybe I'll have photographic evidence that you girls were together, and even that you love each other.  Maybe I'll cook a fabulous brunch and a giant Easter ham, and you girls will hunt for eggs happily all day and ask for vegetables as a snack.  Or maybe it'll be real life and that will still be perfect in its own way.  I do ask for just one picture of you girls though.  Just one.

Spring Breakin'

What is it about Spring Break that is so sweet?  I guess because the last "big" holiday we had was anything but restful, even with time off from school.  Spring Break is sandwiched neatly between the hectic holiday season and the sticky days of summer vacation.  Perfectly positioned to be a welcome reprieve from backpacks and packed lunches, but not so drawn out as to wear out its welcome.  It doesn't hurt that the weather is usually pretty stellar this time of year.  Any season that allows me to open the windows is okay by me.  (Full disclosure: not all of these pictures are from actual Spring Break.  I can't even remember when it was at this point.  But they are all Spring-Break-ish.)

"Painting the Music" (Thank you, Nuria!  http://theadventuresarchive.com/ )

The very picture of spring!

The weather couldn't make up its mind.

  

Showing your true colors.

Here's to longer days!

 We did finally get to the park for Sydney's "street performance", but I think she was a bit disappointed that she didn't actually raise any money.  To be fair, she didn't exactly have a sign or anything to indicate what she was up to.  Just an upside down hat and a guitar.  But she looked cute, and her intentions were good.  

Your indie-rocker sister.

She's got the melancholy, "girl with a guitar" thing down.

Alternating between blowing and eating the bubbles.

The best part: Just laying down in the shade together.

One last spin on the tire swing before we had to go.

Spring also signals the return of regular beach visits.  The combination of mild weather and the eventual dwindling down of the snowbirds makes it enjoyable once again.  I knew that even though your first sunset of the season was far your first beach experience, that it would feel that way since you couldn't possibly remember last year's visits.  And, in a  way, it was even better because this time you were fully aware of the uniqueness of your surroundings.  As I had anticipated, you were in awe of all of that sand and water.  It was as if you didn't know which you wanted to do more: dig your fingers and toes in the cool sand or run headfirst into the waves.  You chose a little of both, but ultimately the water won.  It was as if those waves were magnetic and you were hopelessly metallic.  The gulf is cold this time of year, but that didn't stop you from getting soaked up to your knees!

Your first "toes in the sand" moment in quite a while.

I think your face says it all.  You could get used to this.

Surveying the scene.

I love the light a setting sun casts on my babies.

Holding on tight.  Daddy, that is.  Not so much you.  You would've been in that water if he had let go.

Your "King of the World" moment.

Irresistible.

Dodging the waves.

 Another thing I'm loving about being your momma is watching you enjoy the outdoors.  There is something so very wild and free about your little spirit.  You are an explorer at heart, and I have no doubt that you could most likely survive on a deserted island, even now.  You scavenge and hunt and examine with the best of them.  I never tire of showing you ant mounds, bird's nests, spider webs, fragrant flowers, veiny leaves, interesting clouds and raindrops.  All of which are still new to you.  Even indoors, you insist on breaking boundaries and charting new territory.  Yesterday you learned to open doors.  (Great.)  Today, dad built a new bench to go by the front door.  It has a lower shelf for backpacks and lunchboxes, but you saw it as a climbing opportunity.  I suppose that since today is the day that you overcame your fear of the playground tunnels, you figured that tunneling through the new Ikea bench was the next logical step.  You got only a little bit stuck and clapped for yourself like you'd made a slam dunk once you were free.  It's hard not to be proud.  Watching you on the playground today was eye-opening.  We had the place to ourselves, and you were a big kid.  Like an official, full-blown kid.  You scaled the climby thing to the second story, rode down the slide with almost no help and- yes- mastered the tunnel.  Big kid.  Wild child.  My baby.

Nature Babe

Yeah, I see you.

Classic Finn face.

Your hair these days is so flippy and adorable...it's killing me.

Seriously, kid.  Can't take much more of this perfection.

Sprite.

Spring Break was capped off by a most amazing meet-up at the beach with a few of the incredible families we've met on Instagram.  I cannot put into words just how great it is to talk to these ladies daily in such an abstract way and then finally to meet in person, and get to actually see these little ones that I have been adoring from afar, and watch them do the same for my girls.  True, the weather could've cooperated a bit more; it was freezing and unbelievably windy!  But weather issues aside, standing side-by-side with these three girls and their families, watching our babies playing together, beats a "like", hands down, any day of the week!

Did I mention that it was breezy?

Circle of Moms

The lady in the jacket back there had the right idea.

Sheltering babies from the cold.

Your sister was the crazy kid in the bikini.

This happened immediately after she cried for 20 minutes about how cold she was.

 

Crazy and beautiful.

Where we set up camp and tried not to blow away.

Just about the only time you were out of my arms.

And then the tears came.  Time to go!

I feel summer knocking at the door already.  I can just picture your sweet, sweaty head.  I'm sure we'll be spending quite a bit more time indoors, but I'm excited to see you learn to love the pool again, run through a sprinkler, wade in a wading pool and play in the rain.  I'm enjoying every pleasant day that this spring wants to throw our way.  Without a doubt, you are in agreement.  My little free-spirited explorer.