Strawberry Picking

Strawberry season came and went so fast this year. We went 2-3 times a week from beginning to the end of the season. I think cool days and tons of rain ended the season earlier than expected. (boo) We found out just yesterday that the fields are pretty much closed. Only one farm that we could find still has You-Pick strawberries, and they are only expected to be able to be picked until Friday. We chose this field to pick from most days since they don't spray chemicals or pesticides on their plants.

Charis didn't eat nearly as many this year. She was more concerned with finding ladybugs (which were there in multitudes) and giving them our freshly picked berries. She was convinced that's what they wanted to eat. :)

Atalie could be found doing one of two things: tripping or eating. She ate the berries stem and all.

Can't wait 'til blueberry picking time!

A little April recap, since I'm totally behind in every aspect of life these days.

Let's see...

Charis fell and busted her mouth open, warranting a trip to the ER (her first). No stitches were given, thankfully. I was pretty sure she'd get a few, considering the amount of well, hanging flesh. Sorry...no pretty way to describe that. She was such a trooper. She let the doctor, nurse, and PA all look around in her mouth without any tears or fuss.

Then Easter Sunday we went to the zoo with Brian's family. The girls had a great time!

We had our first beach play time of the year. This was Atalie's first year actually noticing that we were somewhere fun. :) Last year she mostly just sat there and attempted to eat sand.

Strawberries are in season! We went picking. The nice people at the farm told us the kids can eat whatever they wanted, so Atalie took that literally....stem, leaves, and all.

And Charis and I did some baking, as usual. :)

More pics to come...hopefully sooner than later.

Easter 2010

My mom made the girls Easter bonnets! Charis pretty much wanted to wear hers everywhere and Atalie, uh...pretty much didn't. Keeping it on her head longer than 10 seconds was pretty difficult. But getting a picture in it? Barely
.
Not too happy about the dirt and grass on her feet.

Charis's glazed over smile...

We headed off to church, enjoyed service and worshiping, and then home for lunch. Then we met Brian's family at the zoo. It was perfect weather! Zoo pictures to come...

Atalie is learning to feed herself, so many times after lunch time...well, she needs a good scrub down.

Charis got her first haircut! It was barely an inch but it made all the difference.

Atalie is enjoying dress up, and Charis is enjoying dressing her.

And as you can see, Atalie is developing quite the personality. :)

Pretty Pretty Princess

Charis's new favorite? Princesses. Snow White, Ariel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle... I've been Snow White, Ariel's daddy, Cinderella's "bossy sisters", every prince, and each dwarf almost every day. She sings princess songs when she goes to bed, when she wakes up, and pretty much every other second of the day. Cinderella was the first movie she ever watched and she was enchanted. It's neat to see her imagination go wild, though I'm not so keen on being called Anastasia or Step Mommy. :)

Happy Birthday Major!!

Major's 6th birthday was on Valentine's day. The girls and I decided to bake him a cake and celebrate! Charis even sang him a little Happy Birthday to Him song. :) As all great mothers do, I put the cake pan on the floor and let my little munchkins dig in. And yes, Major got a piece too. That's the only reason the cake was vanilla instead of chocolate.

Happy birthday, you big ol' sweet dog!

Funny funny...

Charis cracks me up almost daily...sometimes multiple times. Here's a little sample of what's coming out of her mouth these days.

• Clutching her toys close to her chest: "I'm using my boobies to help me carry the toys"
• After telling Charis we were having mashed potatoes with dinner, she said, "I don't like mashed potatoes. In the name of Jesus, I don't like mashed potatoes.
• We're driving, and she's grunting in the backseat. When I asked what she was doing, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I'm just trying to grow bigger like Daddy."
• I hear her in the other room, counting. When I asked what she was counting... "I'm just counting my bones."
• She came out of her room and I was doing pilates. "What's this called?" I told her it was pilates, a kind of exercise. After trying it with me, she exclaimed, "I can do exercise. I like this tuh-potties (pilates)."
• She walked into the living room and yelled out, "Atalie! My goodness gracious! It is too messy!"

I love toddler talk. So much fun.