One of Anna's gifts from Craig--two "baby bottles" for her doll. She was thrilled. 

Pete took Anna to the zoo on her birthday. She told me her favorite animal was the crocodile. She kept telling me, "We didn't see any camels." 

A birthday kiss. 

Painting with the sidewalk paint--a birthday gift. 

The birthday crown a little worse for the wear. 

Aaah yes, the flower cookies. Those of you who know me well would not be AT ALL surprised to learn that about 15 minutes before I had to go to work yesterday, I was not only still not dressed in work clothes but was sitting on the floor with the kids attaching M&Ms to the centers of flower cookies for Anna's day care birthday treat. You would similarly not be surprised to find that Craig was forking in (yes, literally using a fork) way more icing than he was actually using on the cookies. And let me tell you, a 3 1/2 year-old has no qualms about licking a fork and putting it back into the icing that the M&Ms were being dipped into. "Craig," I said, "stop eating so much icing. You're going to make yourself sick." To which Anna responded, "Aaaaaachoooo," sending a delicate misty rain all over the flowers. Yum. And as I was running (once again the word "literally" comes into play here) out the door for work, Craig was holding his tummy saying, "Mommy, I'm already feeling kind of ill." I don't even know who taught him the word, "ill," but he looked so forlorn and comical that I had to stop and hug him for the 23rd time.

Pete actually managed to convince the kids that they could both play with the music toy. 

 

Last week we had our first "picnic" outside. That little picnic table has been the greatest present. Anna is eating one of probably 43 pieces of cantaloupe. Craig is wearing the knit shorts that he absolutely insists on wearing. Nevermind that he has a drawer filled with jean shorts, khaki shorts, etc. Sigh! We went to buy Craig sandals yesterday and he desperately wanted some that light up when he walks. At first I really wasn't crazy about the idea, but the more I thought about it, what do I care if his shoes light up when he walks? Although there may be some danger that his shoes will flash in some sort of significant pattern, and we'll be hypnotized by the flashing lights...and maybe in our hypnotic trance the kids will convince us to do something crazy, like make a sandbox in the living room or buy a puppy. Hmmm...I'm sure I have the receipt for those sandals around here somewhere.

Anna with her doll in her "nest." I don't know why, but both kids are completely enamored of nests, cocoons, and other cozy places. They favorite pastime lately seems to be hiding out under blankets, pillows, Anna's crib, the couch in the living room, and the card table covered with a blanket. Looks like it's time to put their tent back up!

Do Dragons Eat Pot Roast?

Pete made pot roast, blue cheese mashed potatoes, and carrots for Mother's Day yesterday! Anna ate more pot roast than most of the adults! Later the kids were asking me if we could eat dessert yet, and I was teasing Anna, "Why do you want to eat dessert? Dessert isn't pot roast!" To which she replied hopefully, "Yes, it is!"

This morning on the way to day care we were listening to Craig's song request, "Puff the Magic Dragon," and here was our conversation:
Craig: What do dragons eat?
Me: I don't know. I've never seen a dragon. Maybe they eat something pretend. Or, I bet it's something magical. Don't you think?
Craig: Hmmm. I think maybe it's like clams....Well...it's really hard to explain to you because I have never really seen it before, but I think it's something really gooey." So his mission for the day was to ask his teachers and his friends what they think dragons eat.

The end of a nice Mother's Day. Mom snuggles Anna before bed. 

This crazy striped raspberry ice cream dessert I made. 

The chef of the day smiles at the camera. 

Building stuff (and knocking it down) with Great Grandma. 

Craig tackles Uncle Dave. 

Anna laughs with Grandma Halliday. 

The kids help me open one of my Mother's Day presents--a very pretty scrapbook. Anna had told me the secret the day before when I had come home from work for lunch:
Me: Did you have a nice morning?
Anna: Yes, we buyed you a scrapbook.
Me: Shh! Don't tell me about my present.
Anna: Waaaaaaaah!

Great Grandma Lewis gave Craig and Anna a very cool thing--it's a planter with three tubes. It came with seeds and soil so they can watch a carrot, an onion, and a radish grow. We planted them on Thursday and by Sunday there were radishes sprouting already!  

Birthdays, Bikes, Baseball and Good Beats

The kids are excited because they were invited to their first birthday party--for Craig's little friend, Abby--yes, the "Abby, Abby, Abby!" of his toddler days. Even now it's always about Abby: "Abby and me dug up dinosaur bones today," or "Abby and me ran and ran and ran and then fell down laughing." I work with Abby's aunt who came over to tell me at the library last week that Abby's mom had just called her from a cell phone while they were on their way to their weekend vacation. Abby was sitting in the back seat sniffling, "I really miss Craig." And to give you a picture of Abby, Abby, Abby, she's a feisty little adorable bundle of energy, and to sum up Craig and Abby as friends, "Mom, me and Abby, we're both chatterboxes!" Yes, yes you are.

Speaking of Craig as chatterbox, Pete said he turned on the Tiger game last night and heard about a million questions from Craig, "Where's the umpire? Why do they have a catcher? Why doesn't the batter just catch the ball?" and from Anna, "Dad, can we watch Good Beats?" That's Anna-speak for "Good Eats." She much prefers shows with real people to cartoons. She'll tolerate Dora but will play through most kids shows, preferring to sit and watch the "Builders" (This Old House") or "Good Beats." Craig, on the other hand, will watch any moving picture on a screen.

Their taste in books is different, too. Craig will listen to you read just about anything. I swear you could read the kid a dictionary, and as long as he was allowed to ask questions along the way, he'd listen. Anna is still pretty picky about books. She has many that she loves, but if they get too wordy, she will either try to shut the book or (more likely) just get down and play right in the middle. Craig's favorite books right now are mostly about dinosaurs, but many nights we end up reading a Rosemary Wells book about a cat named Yoko who takes sushi to school and everyone makes fun of her. Of course it's all resolved in the end, when Timothy the hungry raccoon tries the sushi, and they become BEST friends. Anna loves "Pete's a Pizza," and one that we just checked out of the library called, "We've All Got Bellybuttons!"

And below are photos of the kids with their bikes.