Irises

The bearded irises Nanny sent finally bloomed this year. It's like having a little piece of Scituate in the desert. I am really excited about them because our summer trip always comes too late in the season to enjoy them in Nanny's garden, and because I usually end up killing anything I try to grow. They make me all the more anxious for summer to come. Six more weeks of school, but who's counting?

2/52

 

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, for a year"

 

Lili: with her rose

Audrey: safety first



Kateri: swinging in her nightgown while I hang the laundry, pumping high enough to kick the olive branch
Isaiah: still working on those top teeth

1/52

Joining in on this project:

 

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, for one year"

 

Maybe it will force me to:

a) keep up with the old blog

b)actually figure out how to use the old point and shoot

c) improve my photography skillz

 

There's nowhere to go but up, so here goes.

 

 

 

 

Lili: cutting out paper dolls for her little sister

Audrey: swinging a toy around and making faces to get Isaiah to laugh

Dakota Fanning Kateri: telling me a story on the couch

Isaiah: finally getting his chubby hands on a Spring Training baseball...is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

Spring Break, how I love you...

You were over too soon.

We spent the majority of the week outside in the beautiful weather; Isaiah sat on a blanket under the orange blossoms like Ferdinand while the girls played happily or read. Unfortunately, our little man came down with a nasty cold, which kept us home bound, so we decided to head up to Pine for a couple of nights so he could convalesce while the girls had a change of scenery.

And what beautiful scenery it was...

On one of our walks, I mentioned to Audrey that everything in bloom reminded me of Scituate in the springtime; irises and daffodils and narcissus and forsythia... so she took photo after photo to show to her Nanny. There were too many to post,

but you get the idea. As always, our time up north was quiet and relaxing, with plenty of time for Phase 10, Catan, and reading. 

Here's my little astronomer in her favorite spot, undaunted by the fact that there was not much to see during the daytime.

And my overly empathetic Audrey engrossed in Molly's trials and tribulations with furrowed brow.

 

 



Our trips to Pine usually offer quiet a few interesting animal sightings. This time, in addition to the dozen or so different species of spiders Dad was called in to smash (and the lizard we evicted from the girls' bed) there was this guy:

He kept circling the the house. Luke thinks he was waiting for someone to slip up and leave our scrumptious little Isaiah unattended on the deck:

Can you blame him?

Family times and busy days

Nanny and Isaiah

We've been pretty busy the last month or so with visitors.

Jon and Katie stopped in sans kiddos to snuggle with Isaiah and play "Lode of the Weengs" (as Kateri calls it with her speech impediment) in the backyard. We missed their little girls, but it was so fun...just like old times...

Aunt Katie is still a baby whisper

And Uncle Jon still loves squishing babies.

Grandpa has been in town for spring training, and we've gotten to spend some nice evenings with him (and Uncle Justin)

The days have been flying by, filled with homework and chores and our day-to-day routine. Nanny recently decided to share this video with me, a mothers' reflection about how fast and fleeting childhood is. It's called "The Gift of an Ordinary Day" and is it ever a tear-jerker, especially for someone like me who finds herself constantly wishing she could freeze time.
I was thinking about it last Friday.
The girls had a half day, and Luke had office work to do at home, so after we all sat down together for lunch I was laying in my bed with the windows open, nursing my dozing baby and listening to the three girls running around the backyard happily playing one of their hours-long make believe games on the grass. Everyone was home, everyone was healthy, everyone was content. It was an ordinary day, and it was heaven.

If only I could bottle them up, just as they are. Everyone just needs to stop growing so fast!

Isaiah's new trick

I guess it's about time we posted a video of number 4
izzy's new trick from Allison Speier on Vimeo.
Here he is trying to imitate Kateri sticking her tongue out...

Daddy love

Isaiah lights up when Luke comes home from work. He gives him this adoring smile and leans out of our arms towards him like he is trying to swim through the air to get to him. Maybe he is just happy to get a break from the smothering love of all the little mothers in his life. Either way it is pretty sweet.