Happy 2nd Birthday to Cordelia!

we had a busy weekend celebrating Cordelia's 2nd birthday. family came to help celebrate. the weather was fantastic so we could hang out and eat outside... i can't complain about the beautiful early spring we have been enjoying this year. i feel like we've gotten to see the sun so much more than usual and it makes a huge difference to my state of mind! :)

flowers blooming everywhere...

Claire and Cordelia by Lake Monona

here's the birthday girl on her birthday!

and her cake - vanilla cake with caramel frosting. i'm eating a leftover slice even as i type this. :)

Hello, it's been ages!

it has been much too long... and i have really missed being here, but the time away has been good for me to consider what i'm doing with this space.  the time has been busy, busy, busy, and hard, hard, hard, but my girls are getting bigger, i am finding some room how to find myself again and wondering, who is this stranger? so, i hope you will join me once more as i ponder these questions and share some of my thoughts and photos.

we are enjoying this summer-like spring!! it feels so good to run barefoot in the grass!

Rainy Day

it rained all day today. so we spent the day drawing, doing puzzles, making paper dolls, futzing with the camera, and making soup. what do you like to do on rainy days?

Signs of spring, signs of change

we've had LOVELY weather for the past few days - almost all of the snow has melted and plants are sprouting everywhere. here are some signs that make me smile - our magnolia tree budding, the tulips shooting up, and our cherry trees budding:





unfortunately, we are going to be hit with lots of snow this weekend, but the warm sunshine has given me hope that summer is not too far away. :)

and as i see the signs of change, i'm anticipating the change coming to our family. the girls feel it too and have been showing it in different ways. we've had lots of meltdowns and difficulty handling transitions, but i also see signs of growth in the girls. Skye is definitely taking pride in becoming more independent, even in the kitchen - she often cooks eggs and makes pancakes on the weekends for breakfast. i'm so proud of her! and Claire is becoming more and more of a social butterfly. she would much rather go and play with her neighbourhood friends than tag along with me to Skye's ballet class or violin lesson. as i prepare for the arrival of this new baby, i see how quickly my girls are growing up. how will the addition of a third child change the dynamics of our family? that is the great mystery, something i'm curious to discover in the coming months, years.

Skye flipping pancakes

Do i dare hope...?

the past couple of days have been so beautiful, they have been enough to get me hoping again. yeah, the locals tell me there's bound to be more snow before winter's really over, but still, now that we can go out the door without looking like big fat marshmallows, i'm starting to itch for spring to really arrive.

while Skye was out on a playdate, i managed to take Claire to a park. it was such a treat!! she'd been asking about the park over the winter and i've always had to tell her, no, it's buried under the snow. we had a great time. here are some shots.




and of course, the warm weather brings out all the neighbours, so here's the neighbourhood gang. they were very busy playing some complicated game with teams and whatnot.

Snow in spring

just as i was thinking it'll soon be time to put the snow gear away, we get another snowfall. it is snowing all day long today. the sun did such great work melting it all away and now everything is covered once more! i am amazed at the winter's persistence, but i do hope this is the last of it. we were so excited to see a crocus blooming in front of our house, but we didn't get to enjoy it because a hungry bunny came by and ate it up! and now the second bloom that had come up is completely covered with snow.

we had a glorious spring-like day yesterday when the girls and i met some friends at the zoo. Claire was unbelievably happy and busy running around, pointing at all the animals and enjoying being outside. we could even sit outside for snack time! but alas, today is another wintry day, but we got a good taste of spring yesterday and we keep hoping we'll have more soon!