Little Frog

Here's a clip of Evan reciting his favorite song from music class - about a little frog that gets put in the bathtub. We had a great time in class with our friends, but we've decided to move the kids onto other fun stuff. Music was just not active enough for our nearly 2.5 yr. olds - so, back to gym class! It was fun when he was younger, but he's getting so much more out of it now - and mom is really enjoying about the only activity that truly wears him out!

It IS March Madness!

Toddler hiking that includes playing with sticks and looking for tadpoles - and trying not to fall off of bridges into the water in the process:

Sharing ice cream with mom after lunch on the patio:

I'm 31 weeks along now - AH! And Evan's got a new ride for those long hikes, since mom's carrying the "other one". This week, Evan thinks we should either name her "Agua", or "Evan-again" - taking a poll, feel free to vote!:

And of course, it's tourney time, one of the best times of the year! While Nat & mom watched the nail-biting MSU game, Evan played in the hose with dad. So much for thinking we'd be snowshoeing a lot this winter!

March?

As much as we love this awesome weather, we desperately need some snow around here! Evan's been having a great time exploring outside during hikes and walks in the park. I'm so thankful that we had all of last summer to really take advantage of hiking together when he was a little older and while we still could, he's too big for me to carry any distance comfortably now and there won't be any hiking with just me & 2 kids - it's a summer we'll never forget! I'm going to start leading Toddler Hikes for our group, and then back to leading some Baby Hikes once Evan starts preschool in the fall and I have a couple of free hours with just the baby.

He's gone from being slightly physically timid to having hardly any fear, he'll jump off of anything and is obsessed with skateboarding. Yesterday after our hike he spent some time "riding" with the help of dad, sooo cute. He's also fully into the "I can do it!" stage, which is great to watch, and just means we need to allow some extra time to get moving. That seminar we went to was really a great help to us - he's been SO much better this week, and our days are much more enjoyable without the frustrations we were both experiencing before! I'm pretty amazed at what a difference there's been with just a little more consistency and immediacy on our part.

He's started telling us that he "has a baby" in his belly, too, which is hilarious. It must be such a crazy concept for a 2 yr. old to grasp - he keeps asking to see his baby sister, and comes up with some really funny names for her. He's been feeling her kick when he has enough patience to stay still for more than 5 seconds, but he's much better at just talking to her. I can't believe how fast it's approaching!

Bye Bye Grandma!

After we dropped Grandma off today, Evan fake cried in the car and said, "I never get to see Grandma!". Awww...

We had a great week together, got out for some hiking & a fun dinner out, and doing our usual stuff with friends. I think it was fun for mom to see Evan interacting with the other kids now that they're all so much more into playing WITH each other, rather than the parallel play. We were both sad to see her go today.

Pete and I went to a seminar with a bunch of other couples on this parenting style we've been trying to use...trying being the key word here. I would say we haven't been extremely consistent, and it was really helpful to learn from the source (the father & son that developed it). We're excited for all of the "opportunities" to implement our new skills! It was also fun just to get out for a whole day of adult time.

I'm now in my final trimester, and still feeling pretty good and energetic. I've been getting lots of exercise with my wonderfully athletic and motivated friends - these girls are so inspiring, and keep me healthier than I would be on my own (thanks!!). It's pretty fun to come up with new ways every week to get in a workout AND let the kids get their playing in. We're looking forward to a great week playing in the sunshine & even more warm weather!