Spring Catch-Up, Part 1

Are you curious what we've been up to these last few months? I'd be happy to fill you in, although fair warning - it's going to be a bit disjointed (but the pictures are well worth it, right?).

  

Like many of you, our spring began late - as in, two months late (maybe more?). We definitely noticed that Madeline was getting stir-crazy from being stuck inside for over 7 months straight. Yes, this is Minnesota, but it was just ridiculous!

Here's what APRIL looked like: 

  

(Start 'em young, right?)

(She just decided to lay down! Strange child...)

Madeline's defiant streak showed up in spades this spring, although I couldn't definitively say if it was due to the weather or just being two and a half years old. We tried numerous "projects" at home to stay entertained, including "pretend cooking."  It's pretty simple: I put various things into a muffin tin (e.g. uncooked pinto beans, dried corn, flour, etc.), give her a bowl to mix, and she takes over from there!

She makes an absolute mess, both on her table, her clothes, and the kitchen floor, but it does give me 45 minutes (or more!) to get something done in the kitchen, so it's often worth the clean-up.

And sometimes, well... sometimes "pretend" just won't do. She helps to make "cheesy noodles" quite often these days.

 (Grammie, thanks again for the apron! She loooooves wearing it.)

Roughly once a month we go "visit preschool" - that is, we go to the place she'll attend preschool in the fall and play there for about an hour and a half. Her favorite thing to do there has always been painting, so we invested in some kid-friendly painting supplies. She could do this all day, everyday, as you can imagine.

 

 ...And sometimes it gets just a TAD messy.

As you can see in the "Sisters" video from a little while back, the girls have started to "play" together, which is wonderful to see. Their relationship is still in its infancy, of course, but I always have to stop what I'm doing and just watch in awe anytime they interact or "play" together.

(This picture is from a few months ago, but still sweet! We didn't tell Madeline to "read" to Olivia - she just did this one day!)

Madeline is combing Olivia's hair. Though she was gentle, Olivia wasn't too sure about it...

We found a great indoor play-area not too far from home. It has tunnels, climbing steps, slides - it's even big enough for adults to wander through with small kids (unless you are also holding a baby, in which case you just watch and cheer from below). What more could Madeline ask for!