March (second half)

Well, we can definitely say that March was an eventful month. :) And this is just the half of it!

Chilling like/with Daddy at Gramma Mabel's house. While we were saddened by her passing, spending time with family and preparing for the funeral definitely felt like a celebration of her life. :) Lots of good memories.

George and Mattaya.

(Although she'll tell you that her name is "man with the lellow hat".)

Twirling.

We all wore green for St. Patrick's Day.

Mattaya has a good daddy who often gives her shoulder rides. In an effort to be a good daddy to George, she gives George shoulder rides. :)

Home brew.

A friend of Matt's brews his own beer. Matt enjoyed a sampling with Micah who was totally legal by then! ;)

Prepping frosting for Micah's cake.

Makenna was all about it!

(Yes, the party was a little late, but Micah has a weirdo work schedule. And it just so happened that the funeral fell on the same day as the party. Busy, busy.)

Mattaya was a huge fan of the fluffy white frosting as well!

You can never have too much help in the kitchen, right? ;)

Rice Krispies.

My strange little daughters think that a pile of dry Rice Krispies is SUPER.

Some days Mattaya gets really busy coloring (especially if she's pretending to be working on her journal like Sid the Science Kid).

If Makenna hears anyone working on the computer, she is THERE.

(I think we're ordering pizza for the party...)

"I've gotcha where I wantcha, and now I'm gonna eatcha."

(Gramma Julie made a run to the cookie store.)

Her poor bunny had no eyes! But he tasted fabulous. :)

Finished product--Mmm!

"Moka" and his cake

Moka with his cake and gun.

(In case you didn't see the previous post, Micah had to be 21 to buy a gun. So the arrival of the gun was a very big deal, and he had brought it over to show Matt.)

Party time!

Each of the guys brought a different beer for him to sample (hence, the toddler glasses...I suppose we can pretend they are shot glasses). I don't remember which one he actually chose to drink...

Friends

(from bottom and going clockwise)

Karisa, Nicole & Jason, Jake, Jason & Kassidy, Angela & Josh, Micah...and Matt was taking the picture.

One of Grandma Mabel's roses. So pretty.

First day of big girl swim lessons!

Mattaya loves to swim, but this has proven to be kind of tough. Mom and Dad aren't in the class with her...teachers she doesn't know...classmates she doesn't know...and lots of being asked to do things she either hasn't learned or doesn't feel comfortable with. We've concluded that we'll work on the skills at home then enroll her in this class again later.

Oh, Makenna--seriously. This child yanks off her socks and shoes then pulls up her pant legs on EVERY trip to town! (although I will say a month later this is not as frequent a problem as it was)

Oh my.

Mattaya got this all set up herself, and Matt came around the corner just has she was climbing up to stand on the stool. Yikes. The reason for this endeavor? Read on...

Dory.

The plastic tub fish is named Dory. Mattaya was trying to reach Dory out of the stand lamp. Why was Dory IN the stand lamp? Because Mattaya had been playing basketball, of course. "Whaaaat?" you say? Let me clarify: Dory = basketball, Stand lamp = hoop

Sometimes having an imagination is a little risky...

Getting ready to make some cupcakes for Cousin Benton who turned ONE!

Mattaya actually did some independent frosting. And well!

Makenna really wanted to help. We let her shake the sprinkles until we needed them. :)

Maple Sausage, Squash and Bell Pepper Packets

New recipe = WINNER!

Sometimes I just wish to see into Mattaya's brain. This was a Sunday. I went into her room to get her up, and she immediately insisted on putting on this denim skirt. Now--put it on right over her pajamas! And if she was wearing a skirt, then of course the tiger would need one too, right?

Cousins!

We celebrated Luke's and Benton's birthdays at the same time since they are one week apart. In this picture you can see that he was not at all impressed with my phenomenal idea of wrapping his gift in aluminum foil and then in wrapping paper. (I didn't want him to be able to read the title of the book through the paper! And it was important that I not mess this up since it was his gift from Becca who was being super sneaky about getting this book he REALLY wanted.)

"Wait a minute! Hold the phone. WHAT is in this bag?"

Sporting a hat from Auntie Karisa

He wore his birthday sticker on his back...to avoid destroying/eating it.

And then it was cupcake time!

Exploring this sweet treat

Hmmm, sticky.

He really did enjoy it. Ate it and made a royal mess of it in true first-birthday fashion.

Of course when you're 3 and it's birthday time, you think you should have a candle too, right? Uncle Luke was nice enough to humor her.

Luke's birthday dessert: cheesecake swirl brownies as requested :)

Rub-a-dub-dub three cousins in a tub!

The camera ham smile!

This I love.

Silent reading. Peaceful coexistence. A photo without a fight. Beautiful; just beautiful.

We were getting ready to make some jigglers, and Mattaya suddenly picked up the pan, put it over her face, and said, "Mommy--I'm Buzz Lightyear. I come to your planet in peace."

Making some thank-you notes for gifts received from Grampa Dave & Gramma Julie and Uncle Larry & Auntie Cindy.

(Makenna mostly likes to remove all the caps of the markers and call it good.)

I think this might have been a snow day. For whatever reason, Daddy was home, and we were stuck inside. We let the girls get all dressed up...

Mattaya the Bumblebee

(mask is just a tad big) ;)

And Makenna the Ladybug

Then we had a little tea party (with "hot" chocolate) with our little bugs!

The ladybug thought it was fantastic. :)

This picture is mostly for our beloved Miss Valerie (and a little for Micah), who loves the table underneath the tablecloth but knows it wouldn't look so beautiful were it not for the protective cloth.

With the leaf...

Without the leaf.

The flash really doesn't do the color justice.

Grocery shopping girls

Sisters in hats

(they pretty much can't help but smile when they have these hats on!)

Mattaya thought this was hilarious--to drag the pottychair out to the playroom and pretend to "go" on it. Whatever, Goofy Girl!

Makenna was SO proud when she put the glasses on all by herself (yes, upside down) and came to find us in the dining room.

Trying on some new sparkly sneakers.

Checking out her new sneakers, not sparkly but still cute!

These girls love stories!

"Gramma" Deb sent some Kool-Aid Fizz treats for the girls.

Matt and Micah tried them first (the girls were in bed). They had gone to great pains to get step-by-step pictures of the process, but I'm sparing you all that. ;)

And then the next day it was Mattaya's turn for Kool-Aid fun. She dropped the tablet in and watched it fizz.

Tasting it was the best part. :)

"You want me to DRINK this?"

Mmmm!

Mattaya: "Mommy, take a picture of me."

Mommy: "Why? What are you doing?"

Mattaya: "Just chilling."

Playing house in the tent with George.

Ice cream factory!

This day she woke up from nap insisting she needed to have a picnic. See what I mean? I never wake up thinking about picnics. What makes her think of that?

Cutie

Mattaya still loves to play doctor. This was shortly after Makenna's 18-month well-child exam. The day after that appointment we had gone to the library where she picked out a book about Blue's Clues going to the doctor. On the page where the doctor was looking in Blue's ear, she very intently asked what was in there EVERY.TIME. Since her curiosity seemed never to be satisfied, I answered her in a very literal, detailed way. The one term she grabbed ahold of was "eardrum". So when Matt read the book to her, she commented that the doctor was looking at Blue's eardrum. Matt asked her, "Oh, do you have an eardrum, too?" Her reply: "No, I have just earCYMBALS." :)

lub-dub, lub-dub

Mattaya has really loved the hymn "Holy Holy Holy" (not sure why) so we sing it every night before family devotions. It may not be recognizable to any onlooker since the girls are playing and singing it... ;)

Holding and shushing George

Like Daddy, like daughters. :)

Mattaya vacuums like Daddy.

Makenna is quality assurance, just like Daddy!

Writing in her journal.

Mmmmmmm, smoothie time!

Mattaya liked it.

Daddy was a big fan.

Makenna was all.about.it.

Drying her pink nails.

Mommy's toenail improvement efforts are a family affair.

Meet my husband the TECH Sergeant!

The result of a black jellybean.

Edison (yes, the vinegar jug) is still on the scene. Here he's got his bib on and is patiently waiting to be served breakfast.

This water jug is in the garage, on the side where Mattaya gets out of the van. One day Mattaya suddenly realized it was there: "Mommy, is that Edison's bruvvah?" (brother) I affirmed with a quick "yep yep" as I rushed her past, hoping to avoid a hoarding-of-all-empty-jugs-to-name-and-enjoy habit. I so love Mattaya...and her imagination that never ceases to mystify me. :)