Strolling

Since springing forward, it's light a lot later into the evening.  That means we can go for walks after dinner.  I recently bought a second doll stroller.  Now the girls can push a stroller around the block together. Haps decided to take the sidewalk chalk for a walk.



Charlotte opted for a stuffed animal, a barbie, and two My Little Ponies.

Les Artistes

The snow has melted and it's time for one of Charlotte's favorite activities, coloring with sidewalk chalk. Charlotte is a very talented artist.  Lately, she draws a lot of Princesses.  This is Elsa with a flower in her hair:

Haps mostly draws lines, crawls through the lines, and occasionally puts the chalk in her mouth.

Overheard, Exhibit L

The Truth Hurts

Charlotte was "helping" me mow the lawn today.  Mowing is presently a ridiculous process right now with our reel mower and winter turning right into  to two weeks of rain.  Until this afternoon, there was a two hour window to mow the lawn during non-work hours over the past two weeks.  That was Monday when I had a meeting that ran until 5 p.m.  So the grass continued to grow at a rapid rate and over the past two days dandelions have taken off as well and are growing like, well, a weed.

It was comical as Charlotte was struggling to push her toy lawn mower through our bluegrass thicket as much as I was.  At one point she dropped her mower and started picking dandelions.

"Look at all the flowers.  Daddy growed them."

Indeed, sadly, I should take the blame for this one.  I can take a hint Charlotte.  Weed and feed is on the to do list, in 25 days, when the 40 days and 40 nights of rain finally comes to a close. 

Spring Wonderland

I don't know what is more tiresome in Minnesota: the endless winter or the endless whining about the endless winter.  To be totally honest, I have done my share of complaining but at some point you just have to acknowledge that this is how my wife's state operates and deal with it.  I made my deal with this state years ago and have moved on.  I allow myself one major public complaint a year.  I used mine earlier this winter during a run with Nathan but I can't remember the context beyond that I knew I was burning my rant on one person at 5 a.m. who may or may not be listening to my rambling.

Or, you could be like Charlotte and think this weather is awesome.  We went to the zoo today and her eyes were half open on the drive home, she was that tired.  But once we hit the backyard, she perked up instantly.  She was having so much fun playing in the ice and sleet that I let her stay out there for 15 to 20 minutes, playing, before putting her to bed for her nap.  Charlotte certainly has her moments.  Below is a snippet of how to embrace whatever is in front of you.

Conversation With Emily #1209374126

Me (coming upstairs to go to bed, referencing the weather): Something wicked this way comes.

Emily (already in bed, having no context for this statement, other than me walking up stairs to the bedroom): What, are you super gassy or something?

As an aside, we presently have heavy wind, freezing rain, snow, and thunder all at once.  Spring is the most overrated season.  It is either still winter, or muddy and wet.  People only celebrate because it sucks less than another month of extreme winter.  That is a stupid reason to like a season.  I actually like winter better than spring.  

Art Imitates Life

Charlotte enjoyed the "grocery store" today at the Children's Museum.  Emily noticed that Charlotte's shopping cart was filled almost entirely with fruit.  Of the items in her cart, 90% were fruit.  It is probably not a coincidence that when ask Charlotte what she wants to eat, 90% of the time she will name some kind of fruit, or just go to the fridge and get out three different kinds of fruit and put them on the counter and ask you to cut it all up for her.

The More Things Change...

...the more things stay the same.

Here is Charlotte a year ago during Sprin Break, at the Children's Museum in Kansas (on our drive to San Antonio), about to fall asleep at the water table.

And here she is today, during Spring Break, at the Children's Museum in St. Paul, about to fall asleep at the water table.

Waiting and Hiding

Yesterday afternoon I told Charlotte that Emily was coming home and Charlotte said she wanted to go outside to wait.  We spent a good chunk of yesterday outside soaking up the advent of spring.

During this particular sortie to the backyard, she walked around and played with the dog and then kicked snow for a bit before then sitting on the steps singing to herself for a long time.  I was making dinner, watching from the kitchen. Eventually I got a chance to go out to talk to her while the sauce simmered on the stove.

The camera froze up in a few spots early on so it skips around two or three times, but it's more annoying than anything else.  We talk about singing, Emily coming home, and then Charlotte decides she wants to hide around the corner like she saw Pancho doing.