Til Winter's Gone Again

Greta Despises Tights (But Tolerated Them Well for Pictures)

Noah is Allowed on the Pool Table

A belated Happy Easter.  There was a very long and anticlimactic Easter basket hunt at home, the night before Easter because I had to work Sunday morning.  Then there was a very long and anticlimactic hunt for Easter eggs at Grandma's house with one kid and five adults.

I take back what I said about Noah getting the holiday thing.  He sort of gets it, but mostly he just gets that he's supposed to follow the grown-ups' cues.

"Look, Noah!  There's a BLUE egg!"

"Ooh!  BLUE!"

"Noah, where did the Easter Bunny hide your basket?"

(kid follows adult around the house, sticking head into refrigerator, looking puzzled at the empty bathtub, peeking behind doors until he is led straight to the hidden basket)

"Right there!"

Hip Hop

Here Fishy, Fishy

Noah and Greta had loads of fun today at the Como Park Conservatory & Zoo with Luisa and baby Isabella. There were fish, birds, snakes, poison dart frogs, trees, flowers, lunch, giraffes, buffalo, tigers, lions and polar bears.

Unfortunately, corralling three little ones left very little opportunity for photo taking.*

Noah Enjoys Koi

*(The kids were actually very well-behaved and we can't believe how lucky we were)

Holiday Superhero

Most years, Easter sneaks up on me. One day you're scraping ice off your windshield and the next you're buying a lily and eating a ham. Noah is almost two now. Big enough to get that there are times of year that he can expect things like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. For me, this means no more passive attitude toward holidays. There must be planning and preparation. I have never been the person who has their Christmas shopping done by mid-December. I'm lucky if I remember to wish happy birthdays within a week of the actual date. Playing Peter Cottontail has not been easy. My mom had to remind me to buy eggs to dye for Easter this year. Twice. I remembered the dye kit on my own. Choosing the right Easter baskets was painfully difficult, but finding the perfect hiding spots for them is going to be super fun.

Coloring the eggs turned out to be fun too. So much fun for Noah that we had to dye the raw eggs in the fridge when the hardboiled ones ran out. He only cracked a few. Next year, three dozen.

Winded

Greta hasn't seen the outdoors since before she could even hold her head up. So far, March weather isn't really her thing. She gasps trying to catch her breath in the wind and blinks at the bright sunlight.

Her rosy cheeks are pretty cute, though.

April showers will be here soon.

Groove On

Noah's picks for tot tunes and DVDs that don't make parents' ears bleed:

• Here Come the ABCs ~ They Might Be Giants. We all know Alphabet of Nations by heart.
  
• For The Kids ~ Various Artists. The Hoppity Song, featured above.
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom ~ Bill Martin, John Archambault. We loved the book first, but the video has some awesome bonus vintage cartoons.
• Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George ~ Jack Johnson. After the 700th time, my ears have started to bleed, just a little. But not enough to stop me from playing the movie for Noah while I'm trying to make dinner.
  
• Live in Brooklyn ~ Phish. This may have been Kevin's DVD first, but Noah can't get enough of the Curtain With.
• A Love Supreme ~ John Coltrane. The ultimate bedtime CD.