5 months

Eliza turned 5 months on April 30th!  

She's at the age where it's best to see her in person...so you can get her in focus - she's SO wiggly!

Still a toothless grin, though she's gnawing on everything like there's no tomorrow!

And, reaching for everything - eeks, not the camera!

Weekending

We had a gorgeous weekend with lots of time to spent digging in the dirt - woohoo!  

We are trying to redeem our very neglected back yard.  

Meredith's sweet friends joined us on Saturday afternoon for outside play - digging in the dirt for "rock potatoes" and finding worms. :)

There's a big one!

Amari and Meredith share a love for bags - filling them up and toting them around.

Happy Bag Ladies!

Snacks in the late afternoon sunshine.

On Sunday we had a visit from sweet 6-month old Emmie 

and her delightful parents, Adam and Jenny.

Let's all cry together now!  (Eliza somehow missed the cue!)

Spring meal

Recently we jumped for a small outdoor table on craiglist for our back patio.  We are envisioning many spring/summer/autumn evenings spent here - hurrah!

Here are photos from our first outdoor dinner this year!

 Celtic sea salt is our new love.  Eat it with/in everything - you must. 

This girlie absolutely LOVES being outside.  YAY!

 And...she thinks the world of her big sister. :)

Family Photos

 While Jonny, Bria and their girls visited us two weekends ago, they were able to snap some photos of us during our neighborhood walk.  Horrah for family photos!

Riding on Daddy's shoulders is a scary business, according to Meredith.  

Somehow putting her hands over Erik's eyes seemed to be the most secure position!

 I was finally able to talk her into putting her hands further up on his head
...she's still not too sure about it. 

And, we made it!

Singing with Leah

Eliza's laugh!

We are having a lot of fun these days getting Eliza to laugh.
Meredith's favorite technique is to hop and jump for her! :)

Eliza

This little one is munching on most everything these days!  

Matchy-matchy :)

 I made matching skirts (bubble skirts) for Lila and Mer's birthday this year. :)  

It is SO fun to make them matchy-matchy clothes!  

Bria contributed the adorable birdie tees and bright leggings to complete their outfits.

 We took dozens of photos endeavoring to get one where they are both smiling sweetly.  

As you can see...it's nearly impossible!  What silly girls we have. :)

early spring days

These photos are from a few weeks ago...enjoying the park on a Saturday as a family. :) 

sister swing time!

Mer is becoming a pro at the big kid swings!

Meredith is 3! (April 5th)

Meredith is now a big THREE year old now! :)

As you well know, she is bursting with personality - expressions, giggles, pretend play and... lots of talking and talking

She is a wonderful big sister - just ask Eliza, she thinks Mer is THE BEST!

Meredith has always had a silly streak (yes, I take complete responsibility).  

Lately she's been making up her own jokes too - Soo funny!

We had a 'Little Bear' themed birthday party for her. :)  

The Little Bear books are a big favorite around here.

I made each of the little guests a cloth party hat to decorate as our craft time.  Very fun! 

And, of course the much-anticipated and requested - "cake with PINK frosting"  :)  It was a hit!