{marvelous-ish march}

March feels like a blur. It's like I blinked, and it was over!  Rick was gone most of the month, traveling all over the world--Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Brazil, and Uruguay.  He would be here for week or so, and then be gone again, so we were mostly on our own--really the last six of the last eight weeks. We missed him, and are so glad he's back home for awhile!

Regular life goes on...homework, piano, ballet, violin, sports, church, and a million other things, and just busy as usual.  Our house still hasn't moved forward yet--the lot is closing FINALLY this week (after three months), and we're hoping to break ground the first week of May. New York has so many rules and regulations that it drags everything out, plus every party has to have an attorney, which just complicates the whole process. We are feeling very anxious, and can't wait to get started!

Snippets from the month..

After our feet and feet of snow finally melted, and we thought it was time for spring, more came.  The kids still love it though!

Caroline got new dishes and grocery items for her birthday, and she LOVES them. Rick even braved the storage unit and went and found the kitchen set so she could have it too. What a great dad!

The apartment we're living in just went up for sale.  Our lease ends May 31st, which means we could be homeless for a few months before the house is finished.  We already have a showing today, so I'm back to keeping the house ready to show at all times.  It's very different in a tiny apartment!

I love this age, where cleaning is fun! Henry spent 30 minutes cleaning the bathroom mirror, countertops, and cabinets and did a great job!

Everyone missed Rick, and they all grab time with him whenever they can.

She's quite the little mommy to her baby! Everyday she changes her diaper, then takes her to the potty. :)

We had a Connect Four showdown for Family Night this week. Jack was the MVP--he had a killer strategy that took out just about everyone!

It was Kate's turn for a date with Mom or Dad, and last Saturday we spent the day together. We shopped at the outlets, found her a cute necklace and some new shoes, then went to dinner at PF Chang's.  We both love Chinese food, but as a family we never have it because most everyone else hates it.  It was a perfectly lovely day with my perfectly lovely girl.

At the doctor's office, for her well check...we're all trying to stay entertained! P.S. She's 90th percentile for height, and 50th for weight.  Tall and skinny, just like the rest of them!

We discovered a new weekly playgroup at a local church, and it even serves lunch...for free!  I love being able to take them to play and eat, then come home for naps and quiet time! They love it too--

Jack is the most patient, loving brother.  He's so good with Miss Caroline!

The boys are playing baseball this season, and Kate's playing softball. We're gearing up for a lot of games and practices!

We ran into Chuck E. Cheese at the library, and the kids were thrilled, even though the youngest three have never been there, and the girls only twice.  And that's probably not going to change anytime soon. :)

My girl. She loves bows, the bigger the better!

We did have one unfortunate incident in March, which is the reason for my marvelous-ish label.  Miss Caroline was once again admitted to the hospital, after a five month hiatus.  If it had to happen, it was the best timing possible--it happened in the six days Rick was in between international trips.  I was worried the whole time he was gone that something would happen while he was overseas. It would take him at least a couple of days to get home, and trying to be with a baby in the hospital and figure out places for my other kids to go--it just would have been really hard. Thankfully, that did not happen.

The movie Cinderella came out this month, and my girls couldn't wait to see it--neither could I! It didn't disappoint--it was a wonderful movie, and we had a great girls' day out!

March.  In a nutshell.

{birthday girl}

Somebody is TWO!!!!  I might just be writing this through a few tears, because honestly, it's just going too fast. She's my baby, and I'm trying my hardest to enjoy every moment, but I feel like I'm not keeping up.

Caroline is the absolute light of our lives, and adored by every member of the family.  She pretty much gets whatever she wants, which is kind of cute now, but it's not going to be so cute very soon.  We're working on that.  :)

She didn't say much for a long time, but all of a sudden she's decided that it's her time.  Words are just tumbling out of her mouth, new ones every single day, and I love her little pronunciations.  She's extremely independent, even more than what I remember my other kids to be.  Since turning the ripe old age of two, she refuses to sit in her highchair and has to sit on a stool like the big kids. She is also refusing her sippy cup, and requests a regular kids' cup. She likes to put on her own shoes, comb her own hair---pretty much anything she does, she likes to do herself.  "ME", she says.  For the most part, we comply--independence is good, except for when it's not.  :) She LOVES books, and always has to have one in her bed when she's going to sleep. If it's dark, she'll say "eye, eye", which means she wants the light on to read for awhile.  She reads them too herself, talking out loud and turning the pages--most of it is mumbling, but I can't wait to hear what she's really saying! Can I tell you that this girl likes to eat?  She is constantly in the kitchen, asking for a "nack" (snack).  Green apples, goldfish crackers, string cheese, raisins, blackberries, and raspberries are some of her favorites.  I feel like I'm feeding her all.day.long.

Like all of my kids, she's a great sleeper--still naps, goes to bed around 7:30pm, and wakes up 12 hours later.  She plays hard, sleeps hard, and is an absolute doll.  She makes life fun, and we can't imagine our lives without her!! We love you, baby girl!!!

{a warm day and the buffalo zoo}

It was a  little bit of a springtime miracle.  The kids had no school one day last week, and the weather graciously cooperated with us. It was a gorgeous 58 degrees outside, and so we decided to break free and get outside to enjoy the beautiful weather, since we new it wouldn't last too long.

There was still a lot of snow on the ground so that eliminated a lot of the possibilities, and most places were still closed for the winter...except the zoo! Emma was feeling sick, so she stayed home with Ryan, and the rest of us packed up and took off.

Many of the animals weren't out, and some of the zoo was closed off, but the sidewalks were clear, and it let us enjoy the sun and blue sky.  Something excited had just happened though--there were two  brand new baby giraffes, just three weeks old!  The kids were absolutely mesmerized by them, and we stayed to watch them for at least 30 minutes--and they could have stayed longer.  They were pretty amazed that a baby giraffe is already 6 feet tall!

After we left the zoo, I took them to Friendly's to eat a late lunch out.  We had heard about it a lot, especially from friends that had grown up in upstate NY, and we decided we had to give it a try. It's basically the east's version of Denny's--pretty regular food, but the shakes are awesome.  They also have two sizes of kids' meals, a small and a large, which comes in handy with Henry.  :)

It was a great day--and just SO nice to be outside and get a little taste of spring.  It has since snowed again, and the temps are back down, but it has helped get us through a little bit longer until spring decided to stay around for awhile!

{fabulous february}

If I could just use one word to sum up February, it would be COLD.  As in the coldest month EVER on record for this area.  It was colder than Mars, and colder than the Arctic, right here in good ol' Clarence, New York.  We had weeks of negative temperatures, mostly hovering at -20 or below, getting as old as -40 several times.  We missed school for the first time because of the cold, and if it hadn't been for winter break right in the middle of the month, we would have missed even more school.  It was the kind of cold that actually hurts when you breathe, and stings your skin, so needless to say, we stayed in as much as possible.

We did have Valentine's Day and a few other fun things that I've already posted about, so here are the rest of the pictures from the month!

Poor Jack.  He got this stuck on his head, and it took him hours to let me take it off. We had to oil his ears, but we got it off!  (And I didn't take this picture, for the record, Ryan did!)

This is -28--I wish I would have gotten pictures of the coldest day.

Despite the cold, there were a few days that were warm enough to go outside and run.  This is a path near our house that I run on in the winter, because it's plowed.  

The kids love snow ice cream. It's always a big hit!

We baked a lot this month.  I still managed to lose weight--it took A LOT of willpower!

I snapped this picture one morning as we were leaving to take the boys to preschool.  It was SO cold, and our truck was having a hard time starting because of it.  Our little apartment has no garage, and it was quite the winter to have to go without one.  I will never take it for granted again!

This little girl loves books so much.  It makes my heart happy.  

This has to be one of my favorite pictures ever.  I had rehearsal at a friend's house, and two of the other girls that came also had little ones.  The boys were at preschool, so I only had Caroline, but she was having a hard time staying occupied while we practiced.  My friend also happens to be the bishop's wife, and he was home from work that day.  It got really quiet all of a sudden, and when I peeked around the corner, this is what I found.  He was holding all of them, and keeping them entertained and happy.  Seriously, SO cute.

Our library has a Lego Club every month, and all of the kids LOVE to go.  They have thousands and thousands of legos, and they set them out on big tables for all the kids to play and build with.  Some of the youth from the town's youth bureau come and play with them, and it's something they look forward to all month.  They even get to put their creations on display in the library, and they are very excited about "being famous".

Every day I hear the words "jump" come out of Caroline's mouth. It means she has every intention of taking all the pillows off of the couch and putting them in the middle of the floor, then jumping off the couch into the middle of them.  The boys are all for it, and they do it for hours.  These kids...they're definitely helping me with my OCD tendencies.  :)

Miss Caroline loves bows, and she loves to pick out her own-then put them on. This is one of her favorites.  Mine too.

Peanut butter is another favorite.  Not mine. (At least to clean up!)

Rick got home from one of his trips, picked up his car from the airport, and realized that one of his tires was flat. He went back the next day with his Jack to change the tire.  He had Jack are buddies--where dad is, Jack is!

Caroline is on medications every day to hopefully prevent and lessen any trips to the hospital.  Sometimes it's easier to have your baby get the medication first.