Happy 5th Birthday Lucy!

Lucy has been counting down in anticipation of today for months.  Yesterday she spent the majority of the day telling me things like, "Mom, this is the last time you get to hold my hand as a four year old!" or, "Can you hardly believe this is the last time I get to eat lunch as a four year old?"  And at bedtime, "Mom, are you going to cry because this is the last time you get to tuck in your four year old?"  Needless to say, by the time I turned out the lights last night, Lucy was a bit anxious about not being a four year old anymore.  I could relate - after waiting for so long for an event to happen, when it actually does, it is a bit overwhelming.  This morning she was all smiles though as I think she realized being five feels just fine.  Here she is below for the token first of the morning birthday picture, the heading down the stairs birthday picture, and the pose in front of the presents birthday picture.

Will had to work this morning, so we had to wait until he came home at lunch time to open presents.  This is the first year he wasn't able to be there first thing in the morning so Lucy had to adjust to waiting to see what was under the wrapping paper.  She did pretty good, and we helped pass the time with her requested breakfast of waffles and bacon.

After breakfast she headed outside to give Charlie snuggles for the first time as a five year old.  Emma and I headed out shortly after to be with her but we all headed back inside not long after as it was super windy and chilly.  After we were back inside, I put my feet up and put on a DVD of Max and Ruby for the girls.  When the movie was over, we played Lucy's new game of Monopoly Junior from Grandma and Grandpa Hines.  It was the first time I'd played it since I was a kid, and let me just say, I had more fun this time than I ever did when I was younger.  It is the perfect game for Lucy and Emma as it is all about selling and buying tickets at various amusement park ticket booths.  Each time a money transaction occurred, they would hand each other or the banker (me) money by saying, "Here you go ma'am, that is four dollars."  Then the other one would hand back say, imaginary cotton candy or whatever else the ticket booth was selling.  It was a great way to pass the time while Lucy waited for Will to come home so she could open her presents, and also great that I could have my feet up!

Will was home by lunch time, and brought Lucy's lunch request from our favorite local sub shop.  While the food waited at the table, Lucy ripped through her presents.  Gift highlights included a butterfly garden so Lucy can raise her own butterflies, Calico Critters including twin bunny babies, a twin stroller, and her favorite, a car with a camper trailer.  She also received binoculars and several field guide books, a jump rope and chap stick.

After opening presents we enjoyed the lunch Will brought home and then some quiet time.  Emma and I took naps while Lucy quietly played with her new presents downstairs.  Will got some work done on the computer with multiple interruptions from Lucy as she discovered new features and details with her Calico Critter camper trailer set.  After quiet time we met with our friends at a local frozen yogurt bar and had a great time letting the kids run wild after the sugar hit them.

After we ruined our dinners, we headed to the store to let Lucy pick out her own chap stick (the flavor we bought her she didn't like) and then headed home for a hot dog dinner.  After dinner Lucy decorated personalized cupcakes for each of us.  In the below picture, Will's hand is pulling Lucy's hair back as it almost went into the flames in her excitement.

After Lucy told me that I get to tuck her in tonight for the first time as a five year old, I asked her what her favorite present was today.  She told me her new chap stick.  I like giving the girls milestones for each of their birthdays so they have something tangible to look forward to while growing up, and to also teach them the fine art of anticipation and patience.  Emma got to have her finger nails painted for the first time at the age of three, Lucy finally got to chew gum at four and now at five, she gets to use chap stick.  My darling girl was quite nervous to put the chap stick on for the first time, and as much as she really really really wanted to wear it, she didn't really care for the feel or the flavor of it.  I told her that perhaps she would get used to it, and to not wear it for now if she didn't like it.  She tucked the tubes in her jewelry box for the night so we shall see if she applies any chap stick tomorrow!

I am a little sentimental tonight, reflecting on the last five years with our first child we have been blessed to watch grow up on earth.  I was definitely not running on all cylinders today due to Violet's impending arrival and am bummed that I didn't get any pictures of Lucy playing with her new Calico Critters, as that is how she spent the majority of her day.  I am even more disappointed that we forgot to measure her height on our growth stick - a very important birthday tradition in our house.  Tomorrow we will remedy the growth chart and in the meantime, I am rubbing my belling and thanking Violet for allowing Lucy to not share her birthday with her sister.  I kept telling Violet that she will be glad of this fact in the following years as well.

Happy birthday to my sweet and sassy oldest daughter.  It has been a joy watching you grow into your personality and to view the world through your eyes - full of excitement and learning.  You have taught me way more than I could ever teach you, and I am a better person after spending the last five years with you.  Thank you for teaching me how to be a mom, and for your unconditional love!  I love you so much Lucy Anne Timmerman and am looking forward to experiencing the next year of life with my five year old!

Update: I forgot to take a picture of Lucy getting measured for the growth chart on her birthday!  Here she is below - she grew three and a half inches since her last birthday!

Happy Easter!

This year Easter was sandwiched in between Emma and Lucy's birthdays, making April 2014 the busiest month of the year for our family.  Adding to this festive and busy month is an extremely pregnant Chief of Holiday Magic Making, who is torn between wanting Violet safe in my arms, and not wanting to add another holiday that I am in charge of in the month of April!  Now that Easter is safely behind us, and only Lucy's birthday remaining on the April calendar, I am of the mindset that Violet can just come already!

This year for Easter I ensured that the bare necessities were covered and then let it unfold from there.  Here we are below dying Easter eggs the day before Easter.

The girls both slept through the night (in their own beds!) and even woke up AFTER Will and I on Easter morning.  I can't remember the last time that happened.  It was a great way to start what was to be a busy day.  Will dressed the girls in their Easter finery while I took a quick shower.  We wanted to get to the earliest Easter service so that I could avoid the crowds and not overheat in my extreme pregnant state.  This meant that every minute of our morning needed to move on schedule.  We went downstairs as a family and the girls started searching for their baskets while Will and I peeled some hard boiled eggs to dilute some of the sugar running through the kids veins before church.  Emma found her basket pretty fast, but Lucy had a harder time.  In the bottom left hand picture she was near tears until I started giving her clues and she eventually found it.  The bottom right hand picture is the aftermath of them going through their baskets.  The Easter bunny brought candy, Ballerina Calico Critters, and a really cool learning toy called Wikki Stiks.

We arrived at church with a half hour to spare - exactly on time to ensure a parking spot and a seat.  We found a seat up front and I even practiced my "Christianity with Boundaries" and kindly refused to have my kids sit on my lap to make room for late comers.  Sorry, but this mama needs her own seat and we did some serious time management to make that happen.  I did feel slightly guilty about this, and Will even gave me a look so I spent the rest of the service trying to show just how much Emma needed her own seat.  I have never seen so many Easter flowers in one spot, and the church smelled absolutely heavenly.  In the half hour before Mass started, I quietly read Easter books to the girls.

Lucy and Emma knew that there was going to be an Easter Egg hunt in our backyard after church, so Will and I definitely capitalized on this to get them through the Easter service as well-behaved as possible.

Charlie enjoyed participating in the Easter egg hunt as well, and even showed the girls where some of the eggs were hidden.  Wooden beads for necklaces filled the eggs this year.

The night before Easter I had made a Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast that went in the crock pot. When the Easter egg hunt was over, we heated up some ham and the heavenly French toast, complete with homemade blueberry syrup, was ready.  This is the extent of what I did to make Easter special this year, and it was perfect.  While we were getting breakfast on the table, we caught Emma filling up empty Easter eggs with the candy the Easter bunny had left Will and I.  By the time I caught her, there was nothing but a few jelly beans left.  Truly, this child is my daughter.

After a lovely Easter brunch, we all enjoyed some quiet time.  I fell into a deep sleep while the girls and Will did some reading.  It was a gorgeous day, so after our quiet time we relaxed outside while the girls played, and then headed over to Will's parents house.  We had a great time there and thanks to Will's Aunt Debbie, my craving for the family's once a year tradition of the Polish treat chrusciki (pronounced "Chris-Chick-E" and sometimes referred to as angel wings) was met and then some.  Here the girls are below doing some Easter crafts at Grandma and Grandpa T.'s.  They also enjoyed another egg hunt, played outside and even had Will's Uncle Bob make balloon animals for them.

It was a great Easter and a wonderful way to pass the time while being uncomfortably pregnant.  It is a blessing that April is so busy with happy holidays, as the time is going by much quicker than it would have otherwise.  It is exactly one week until Lucy's birthday and two more weeks until Violet's due date!  Come on little lady, let's go for the gold and add one more happy holiday to the month of April!

Wow Wee Emma is Three!

I'd say that Emma has been exhibiting the verbal, physical and emotional aptitude of a three year old for several months now.  Because of that I don't have too much of an adjustment to accept that my two year old is now three.  Like I've mentioned in an earlier post though, I am having difficulties coming to terms with the fact that soon she won't be the baby of the family.  She is so sweet and cuddly, but over the last several months has definitely been doing her part to prove to me that she is not only an independent person with opposite views on most things from me, but that she will no longer come at my beck and call for cuddles, kisses and hugs.  Don't get me wrong, she is still the most snuggly little girl I know, but it has to be on her terms now.  Here she is below, in clockwise from top left to bottom left - driving her ice cream truck, building towers as tall as her, hanging off of the counter, and showing off her love of accessories.  In the bottom left picture, Will clearly did her hair that morning as he doesn't put limits on accessories like I do.  He also doesn't pick up after the trail of hair accessories all day long like I do either.

Emma is still of the mindset that less is NOT more, and constantly battles me on what she is going to wear for the day - three tutus, three pig tails, three headbands, etc.  It'd be one thing if she kept all of the accessories on throughout the day, but she doesn't.  She doesn't even make it to the breakfast table without starting the trail of debris that follows her through the house and the rest of the day.  Here she is below wearing her robe and showing me how it twirls when she spins.  I guarantee minutes later that robe was strewn across the floor.

In the below picture you can see that she has already lost her leggings as well as her coat.  It was in the 30's when I caught her proudly riding around in a tutu and snow boots.

Emma's birthday dawned bright and early, as most holidays do in our house since the girls were born.  Emma hopped in our bed around 6:30 and asked me if it was her birthday yet.  She also asked me when we were going to wrap the presents together, not realizing that since it was HER birthday, she didn't get to help with the present wrapping!  Things took a turn for the worse suddenly and by the time we went downstairs - even with the enticement of opening presents - she was overcome by heartbreaking emotion.  Ahh, three.  Twos are nothing.  Threes.  Threes are where the drama is at.

Even sitting in front of her presents, it took her another five minutes of me whispering sweet nothings in her ear to calm down and compose herself enough to open presents.  As you can see below, once the tears stopped she opened up binoculars, some field guide books, a bug box, a new kitty bath towel, and lots of Calico Critter items - a rabbit family, a baby rabbit, a cottage, couch set, and beds.  Now she can play side by side with Lucy and her Calico Critter toys.

Here Emma is below holding daffodils, which were in bloom the day Emma was born and have become her official flower each year since.  Emma probably spent more time playing with her balloons than her presents, which is always a good reminder as to what a three year old appreciates.

Emma asked for cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs and sausage for her birthday breakfast.  She was in the early stages of recovering from a nasty stomach bug so barely ate anything, but was content to have her favorite things in front of her on her plate.

After breakfast we continued our tradition of reading the photo book I had made about the day she was born.  Emma wanted to read it to us this year, which was entertaining!

After the story about the day she was born, we measured Emma's yearly height on our growth stick.  She is just a tiny bit shorter than Lucy was on her third birthday, making up for lost time as on her second birthday she was a full inch shorter than Lucy was at the same milestone.

We had macaroni and cheese for lunch, another Emma request, and again, barely any food was eaten by Emma and Lucy didn't eat any of it.  Emma was still content to just have one of her favorite foods in front of her.  Both girls took naps, as they are still recovering from the stomach flu, and after naps convinced me that the sleep was enough to make them healthy enough to go out for ice cream at our local frozen yogurt bar.  Here they are below enjoying ice cream with me.  In the bottom right picture Emma was patting my stomach, making sure Violet was enjoying her ice cream too.  In the bottom left picture, the girls are enjoying some people watching with their treat.

I made Emma's cupcakes and icing in advance and froze it, not knowing what shape I would be in on Emma's birthday, so close to Violet's due date.   I was ever so grateful I had done this, as when we came home from ice cream, Lucy threw up everywhere.  By the time I cleaned up from that and got dinner started it felt like the day was slipping through my hands.  Here the girls are below on the sunny, spring like day I made the cupcakes and icing - licking the beaters on the front porch.  In the bottom picture they decorated the thawed cupcakes with sprinkles while Will and I finished making dinner.

Will went into work late this morning so that he was able to be a part of present opening, Emma's birthday breakfast and our Day You Were Born story as well as growth chart measuring.  He also had plenty of time for playing and snuggling since Emma got us all up so early this morning.  Emma loves Will so much, and my heart melts every time I see her climb into his arms for a snuggle.  She compares anything that is big to being, "Bigger than daddy!" i.e. semi trucks and houses.  She also describes any grown up male as a daddy instead of a man.  In the below left hand picture, Emma is giving Will a snuggle before he headed out for work.  Because of his later start, she was able to pick out a tie for him - she picked out the wildest one he owned of course, and Will received many comments all day long - the gift that just kept giving!

She also loves her big sister and had a really good day with little to no fighting which I definitely appreciated.  Lucy also did a wonderful job of helping us shine the spot light on Emma to make it a special day for her.  Last year Lucy had a really hard time with all of the focus being on Emma for the day.  It is amazing what a year and a stomach bug can do.

The day went by too fast in my opinion.  In between the birthday traditions, Emma played Legos, colored, played her favorite game Memory which she is really good at, and even found time to do tricks on the counter with Lucy and enjoy stories with Daddy.

To me, the age of three marks the transition of the rapid growth of the first three years of life to a more leveling out of childhood changes.  From here on out Emma's stories will be told as a part of the family blog post each month along with Lucy's.  I will miss the chance for me to reflect individually on Emma's growth and personality but am also looking forward to the congruence this will bring to our family's overall story.  Plus, little Violet is arriving just in time to have her own three years in the spotlight.

Happy birthday Emma!  You are the best daughter, little sister and now big sister that we could ask for and you are such an important part of our family!  We love you!

Getting Ready for Violet

This past week Violet reached the point in pregnancy that we lost Luke.  This significance has made me extra emotional and worried about my youngest daughter, and unfortunately, until Violet is safe and breathing in my arms, my anxiety is in a constant battle between worry and faith.  Fortunately, Violet is fairly predictable in her movements and seems to be on the same schedule as her older sisters.  She wakes up a little bit after Lucy and Emma each morning and gives me plenty of reassuring wiggles, kicks and squirms and also moves around whenever the girls are exhibiting lots of energy.  She has already shown me that she shares a love of all music from the movie Frozen, just like her older sisters, and will move around like crazy whenever "Let it Go" is being sung by Lucy and Emma.

Lucy and Emma are very loving towards Violet, and most stickers that they receive or pictures that they draw are given promptly to their baby sister.  My belly has become like a bulletin board of Big Sister Love.  Violet is also right at their lip level, and so receives multiple kisses throughout the day.  Lucy and Emma have been with me to every doctor appointment for Violet, and have been really well behaved and patient.  Will's work schedule has made it difficult for him to come to all of my appointments for Violet like he did for Lucy and Emma, but he has made it to a couple, thanks to snow days and school breaks.  In the bottom picture below the girls helped me be brave for a blood test for Violet.  I have a serious phobia of needles, so it was good for me to have the girls there to keep me distracted and to show them an example of me being brave.

I am having epic swelling with this pregnancy, and as a result my feet ache like crazy.  Will is good at many things, but foot rubs are not one of them.  I don't know if he is trying to do a horrible job on purpose so that I stop asking him for a foot massage, or if he just doesn't realize the strength in his own hands.  Either way, his foot massages feel like he is trying to break every bone in my foot.  In the below picture Lucy is giving Will a lesson on proper foot massage using doll house strollers for assistance.

In the beginning of this pregnancy with Violet I could only stomach Wendy's Junior Bacon Burgers (hold the cheese) and because we don't eat fast food in our family, I had to wait until Will was home to covertly go through the drive-thru kid-free and sit alone in the parking lot while devouring the heavenly food.  Sometimes Will would even pick it up for me on his way home from work if he was coming home after the girls were in bed.  Fortunately this phase was over by Christmas time.  I also had a short stint of craving meatballs, but that soon ended when the heartburn made consuming meatballs too uncomfortable.  A spin off from the meatball craving was several months of searching for a certain flavor of Italian Wedding Soup which involved me calling every day a list of about ten different Italian restaurants in the area to see what their soup of the day was.  I found a restaurant about a half hour from our house which made a delicious Italian Wedding soup once a week and then finally found a Coney Island right by our house that served it every. single. day.  After several weeks of having Will bring home pints at a time of the yummy soup it seemed I had finally satisfied that craving.  I've moved on to Philly cheesesteak sandwiches from a local sandwich shop (which ironically doesn't give me heartburn), as well as marshmallows in hot chocolate and s'mores, with the hot chocolate and s'mores merely providing a vehicle in which to eat the marshmallows.  Rice crispies and milk with fresh fruit have been a good snack no matter the time of day throughout most of my pregnancy and my latest craving is for fruit smoothies.  Here are the girls below helping me to make s'mores for an afternoon snack.  It is frustrating sometimes that I have to share my cravings or worse, delay them, because either they aren't healthy or it's just too expensive to have to purchase or make them for the girls too.  This is a newer problem for me, as when I was pregnant with Emma, Lucy was still taking naps and young enough to not notice if my breath smelled like, say, chocolate or bacon.  

Speaking of naps.  Most days Emma does not take naps, so I have had to get creative in how I manage to get rest time in for myself.  Let's just say resting is pretty much nonexistent unless the TV is involved.  This has been the most physically exhausting and challenging pregnancy yet and either I am feeling my age, my body has done this four times now and is worn out, or it is a trifecta of age, worn out body, and taking care of two kids under the age of five.  It is probably all of the above.  It also doesn't help that with Will's full work schedule and evening college classes that I am lacking the level of support he used to provide during my last three pregnancies as well.  Something has to give, and fortunately we are able to afford someone to come in and clean the house, and have also had to lessen our standards on healthy eating.

I have high hopes of getting back in the kitchen on a more serious level once our life has adjusted to little Violet's arrival, but in the meantime have utilized various weekends to make some meals in bulk and stash them in the freezer for our transition.  Stuffed Green Pepper soup, pumpkin pies, chicken pot pies, Italian meatballs, beef chimichangas and a variety of muffins are currently chilling in our downstairs freezer.  I do miss all of the pancakes and waffles I used to have the energy to make for breakfast, as well as the various desserts I used to make as nothing quite compares to my own baked goods.  In the meantime, eating baking chocolate chips straight from the bag and an occasional grocery store baked good has had to suffice.

Violet is arriving into a family well-versed in little girls and as a result, needs very little in the form of material possessions to make her debut.  I still want to make things special just for her though, and made a french memory board to hang in her bedroom just like I did when I was pregnant with Lucy and Emma.  The girls helped me pick out the fabric and buttons which also made this project special for their baby sister.

This past week we moved Emma out of the nursery and into Lucy's room.  Here is Will below setting up the crib for Violet.  I can't tell you how excited I was the day we prepared Violet's room - it made her arrival very real and definitely ignited the nesting hormones in me.

Below is Violet's room, ready to go.  We kept the same paint color and decor as Emma had, with lacey butterfly valance curtains and varying shades of purple butterflies on the walls.  This was definitely a perk of having another baby the same gender as her older sister.  Not that I don't mind decorating, but I loved Emma's room and am happy to be able to continue to use it!

Perhaps my favorite perk of having another girl though, is the fact that I get to relive the memories I have attached to all of the adorable baby clothes from Lucy and Emma.  I have so much sentimental attachment to their outgrown clothes that I feel very blessed to be able to see another child grow up wearing them.  Seriously, this is my favorite perk of all.  I kept with our tradition of buying Violet a brand new outfit to come home from the hospital in, and Lucy and Emma helped me pick it out.  Unfortunately, the three of us couldn't narrow it down, so we bought three outfits with the added security of at least one outfit being able to handle any sort of weather early May in Michigan might bring.

It is amazing all of the clothes we have passed down from Lucy and Emma, and my nesting hormones were in overdrive as I sorted, washed and folded all of the tiny little outfits.  I cannot wait until Violet adds her own personality to the memories I have attached to these sweet little outfits.

Last on our list of things to get done before Violet's arrival was to find a car seat combination that would fit in our five person car.  One would think that a five person car should obviously fit five people.  The truth is that most five person cars fit only two car seats max and it took some very creative detective work for us to be able to find a solution to having three kids in car seats in one back seat.  Lucy is big enough now to sit in a booster seat which is good, as they are generally smaller than full car seats.  The problem then became that the other two car seats were so tight together that she couldn't reach her hands between the car seats to get to the buckle.  Our uncle gave us the money saving tip of getting seat belt extenders from the dealership, which solved that problem.  Next, we got two car seats that are the thinnest models made, and they fit without an inch to spare.  I'm relieved that we don't have to go buy a new car to fit our kids safely into a vehicle, however I really feel like these car seat companies need to get it together and do a better job making streamlined car seats!

When Will took the old car seats out of the car to put the new combo in, we realized with some shock that our car was absolutely filthy.  Our car was so dirty that removing one car seat and setting it on the driveway let loose what had to of been at least a full box of stale cheerios, cheesy bunny crackers, raisins, broken crayons and God knows what else.  After making statements like, "Who lives like this?!?" and "Have our kids eaten any of the snacks we have given them?" it occurred to us that the last time we really vacuumed out the car was right before Emma was born!  I guess the only incentive we have to clean out the car is bringing home a precious, vulnerable newborn.  Either way, our car is now shiny and clean, Violet's car seat is snugly in place and we are looking forward to bringing our third daughter home with us!

Everything is ready for our sweet Violet short of buying a box of newborn diapers and packing a bag for the hospital.  I have been compiling a list on my phone of all of the things I am excited about doing again in the newborn phase with Violet to help outweigh my negative, fear-ridden thoughts with positive, happy thoughts.  Many well-meaning people keep pointing out that she will be here before I know it, and a month will go by so fast, but unless you have lost a baby, there is no way for me to describe enough for you to understand what it is like to be the only person on the planet who can ultimately tell if Violet is okay in my belly or not.  It is nerve wracking and this last month of pregnancy takes as long as the first eight months in my opinion.  Once you experience tragedy, you know all too well that you are NOT immune to it.  For me, there is no denying that something bad could happen, and I feel like I have already tempted fate too many times by having two healthy baby girls on earth.  How can I expect fate to let me have a third?  Because of this, I feel like each subsequent pregnancy after losing Luke has gotten harder, not easier, as I try to convince myself that the other shoe doesn't have to drop.  Luke, Lucy, Emma and Violet are definitely the greatest learning experiences I have ever had in patience, faith and ultimately letting go.  I am so very blessed and grateful to have my three girls on earth and I am praying to God every moment of the day and night to keep Violet safe so that she arrives healthy into my awaiting arms.  Violet, you are loved so much and we cannot wait until we can cover you in kisses, feel your warmth as we hold you in our arms, whisper in your ear sweet baby talk, drink in the fresh, newborn scent of you and gaze upon your beautiful face.

March Matinees

Our creative juices were definitely flowing in March, perhaps inspired by the smell of spring in the air, the sound of birds chirping in the trees and the sun shining a little bit longer.  Also inspiring was the Maple Syrup class we took this past month.  The flowing sap is a sure sign that spring is on it's way in Michigan!

Next winter we are hoping to try our hand at tapping some of our own trees.  In the meantime we have been inspired by the class as well as friends of ours who are tapping their own backyard trees.  More creative inspiration was to be had at two different theater performances we attended.  At the beginning of the month we went to a play in downtown Detroit based off of the popular children's book Going on a Bear Hunt.  We read it so many times in the weeks leading up to the play that Lucy and Emma can recite the entire book by memory.  The play was really well done, however Emma was not happy about the life-size bear at the end!

I found some really great journal sketch books for kids at our local craft store this past month and have been inspired to make journals with the girls.  Every time we do something the girls deem out of the ordinary, we write about it and color pictures of it in our journal.  It provided the perfect place for our play tickets and we are all super excited about this ongoing project.  I keep the journals in a safe place between entries so that they are viewed as something special and I ensure a more structured approach to them.  Here they are below proudly displaying their journal entries from the performance we went to at our local community theater called Playing By Air.  Another great show, with nothing scary this time.  Emma would have preferred the lights to have been on in the theater for the show, but was still entertained by the juggling, dancing and music.

This past month was full of library fun, and the girls attended their regular weekly Science Story Time, as well as a Fancy Nancy party that they got dressed up for and a special workshop called "For the Birds" where they made various things for the birds from popcorn, grape and apple strings to bagels, grease and seeds as well as cheerios on pipe cleaner bent into hearts.  A more appropriate name for the workshop would have been "For the Squirrels" as that is who benefited from the treats once they were hung up in our yard.

The girls costumes arrived for their dance class this past month as well.  They are super excited that the outfits came with matching bear ballerinas.  One of the many reasons I love the studio they are taking their dance class at, is that their end of year performance will be just for the parents in their regular classroom, instead of on a stage with an audience full of strangers.  At this age, I think this will make for a much more comfortable experience.

We stayed healthy almost the entire month of March, and were able to spend time with family and friends.  In the top left picture Lucy and Emma are making an Aunt Jane sandwich.  In the bottom left picture, the girls are having a tea party with their cousin Ellen and another friend.

Last month we bought a birthday present for a friend that Lucy wanted so badly for herself.  She spent the next month saving up her money and finally was able to buy it.  Emma also saved up some money and the two of them bought the much coveted Barbie Hair Dye Kit as well as a Barbie outfit, respectively.  They were very proud to bring their little purses to the store and pay the cashier for their hard earned toys.  They had even more fun dying their Barbies hair when we got home.

At the beginning of March I started getting antsy about taking down all of the winter art projects and paper snowflakes we had hanging around the house.  I bided my time, and we added some green St. Patrick's day crafts to the winter mix.  On St. Patrick's Day we made and decorated cupcakes.

On March 21, we celebrated the first day of spring by removing all traces of winter crafts and making a beautiful spring collage to decorate our now bare walls and windows.

We also made a family spring craft project that took several evenings but was well worth the multiple steps.  I had found an egg carton flower wreath on Pinterest that looked like something the entire family could participate in with our various skill levels.  First we cut up the egg cartons into flower and leaf shapes.

Then we took several evenings to paint the flowers and leaves in various colors.  One night was reds, purples and pinks, another night reds and oranges, and another night green.

The wreath turned out great, and it was such a nice experience to show the girls the various steps that need to go into a more elaborate project, especially since all ages of the family were able to add their own talents to it.  

After reviewing all of the pictures from this past month, it is amazing to me that we had the time and energy to do anything else!  I think I viewed March as my last hurrah before I become too pregnant to do anything but put my swollen feet up and count down the days until Violet is here.  By the end of March I definitely started slowing down.  Below are pictures of the girls making their own fun while I rested on the couch - one is of Emma who thought it was hilarious when she made a "Balloon Butt" on Lucy.  Will also tackled various home improvement projects around the house, including the task of unclogging our shower drain with what Will thinks was a build up of his body lint.  As much as I find this explanation of the clog hilarious, once the clog was out, it did look like that was what was clogging it!  Lucy was fascinated by the treasure that came up from the drain but I think Emma was a bit disgusted, based on her expression in the below bottom right hand picture.  The left inset picture is of a recipe for Valentine's Day that I finally made in March with the sole motivation of getting the random and strange ingredients off of my counter and for Will to stop teasing me for buying the strange and random ingredients in the first place.

For as much time and money as I spent on the "healthy" Valentine's Gummi Hearts, they really weren't that good and I had a lot of extra white filling which was made from grass fed gelatin and coconut milk.  I poured the left over white stuff into silicone gingerbread molds from Christmas and the entertainment value it provided when I fed them to the chickens almost made the trouble worth it.  Pinterest - sometimes the projects are a success, and sometimes they are an utter fail.  Thankfully my chickens joints should be feeling good after they ingested all those tiny gelatin gingerbread men.  Run, run as fast as you can little gingerbread men!

I only have two pictures of Charlie this month, to prove to Will that my kids rank higher than our outdoor cat.  The below left hand inset picture I texted to my cousin who made me the Blessed Mother Statue that Charlie loves to hide behind.  My cousin texted back that Charlie is attending his own version of "Catechism."  The bigger picture below is of Lucy calling for Charlie from an open window, and him appearing from nowhere.  It is very helpful that he comes when he is called, as we prefer to have him locked safe in our garage each night.

Oops, looks like there are actually three Charlie pictures.  But it shouldn't count against me if Lucy is holding him, right?  Right.  In the below picture the girls are enjoying Spring time in Michigan.  In the top left picture the girls are "patching pot holes" in our driveway.  In the top right hand picture Lucy is showing me a patch of grass that she found by our asparagus bed that we haven't seen since early December.  By her levels of excitement, you would have thought she had found buried treasure.  In the below right hand picture Emma is splashing in a puddle next to a snowbank that is taller than her.  Ahh, now that is Pure Michigan.

We are still adjusting to proper social decorum when outside.  It has been months since we were able to play outside in durations long enough to get on each other's nerves.  In the months that have been spent mostly inside, the girls have taken their sisterly fighting to new and more heightened levels of screams and retaliation.  This is an adjustment now that we are outside and the neighbors can hear us.  After an afternoon of fighting and screaming I had enough and went inside and locked the door.  Here they are below, crying at the top of their lungs to come in.  Don't worry, I let them in - eventually.  Once they publicly hugged each other and stopped screaming.  God bless our neighbors and the coming warm months.

 In fact, God bless me.  The other day I was sitting on the floor helping Emma with something when Will took it upon himself to pluck two white hairs off the top of my head, with no warning to me.  Lucy capitalized on this, took the two white hairs from Will, put them up to her face and said, "Look mom!  Cat whiskers!"  I think I will name the whiskers Lucy and Emma.

The white hairs have definitely come at a price, however my girls make it up to me in snuggles, hugs, kisses and laughter.

I will end this post with pictures of the happy side of our family and a reminder to myself that in about a month I will have another set of chubby cheeks to kiss and snuggle as the ups and downs of life with THREE little girls continues to fill our house and heart with shrieks of joy, pain and everything in between!