Sunday, March 23, 2014

Put a Little Spring in Your Step!

Chase and our "Snowman" (or pile of snow with a smiley face)

An icy walk around the block

Valentine Day Flowers from Tim

Gabriel trying on Tim's shoes

Snow angels

Just retired this balloon yesterday and made Chase laugh by sucking in the remaining helium and talking funny




Gabe all bundled up
 Finally, spring is here! I’m hoping winter storms are a thing of the past this year. We definitely had our snow fix over the past few months. I took off from work a few days to enjoy snuggling at home indoors with the boys and to avoid having to drive on the icy roads. Tim took Chase sledding on one of the snow days and I made an attempt at building a snowman with Chase on another snow day. Both times, Chase had to be forced to come inside so he wouldn’t get too cold or frostbitten. On the other hand, Gabriel wasn’t a fan of the snow this year. He just fussed the entire time he was outside and looked like Randy from the movie “A Christmas Story.”


Needless to say, we’re looking forward to warmer days ahead of us. The boys and I have already spent countless hours outside on the warm days we had tucked in between the frigid ones. They both (Chase as the driver, of course) like to ride the Gater together around the yard and the neighbor’s swingset is still a big hit. If not playing outside, they’re big on watching cartoons: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Last Avatar Airbender, Peppa Pig, Popeye, and Scooby Doo. It can be a struggle to get Chase pried away from playing outside or watching TV long enough to do his homework, but he’s gotten better at it. He continues to do well in school, with just a little over two months left of K4.

Gabriel isn’t talking much yet, which surprises me since he has his older brother chattering nonstop. However, he’s gotten his motor skills mastered a bit too much. He’s a climber, runner, jumper, etc. His main speeds are on and off, but I thoroughly enjoy the rare times he still wants to snuggle in my lap. His hair is really sprouting and it’s just as blonde as it can be. I’m not sure how much he weighs, but he’s definitely a lot heavier since my last blog post. He’s outgrown 18-months and even some 24-months clothing. Fortunately, we have all of Chase’s hand-me-downs for him to wear. He has slowed down some with his eating (which is normal at this age) and has shown a few picky traits, but not to the extreme that Chase does.

In contrast, Chase is still my string bean and as picky as ever when it comes to food. I still keep hoping the day will come when he’ll venture out and try new foods, but until then, I’m thankful he’s healthy. I can’t believe he’ll be 5 years old in just a month! And, my baby isn’t a baby anymore as he’ll be turning 2! It looks like we’re in for another Chuck-E-Cheese’s birthday party (yay for the kids, but “aaaah” for the adults). Before then, we have Easter to celebrate. Just as I always do, I’ll leave you with positive thoughts and a Bible verse:

As flowers come in bloom this spring, look at their beauty and reflect on Matthew 6:28-29: “And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

“Hoppy” Easter! (corny, I know!)