April and May

Birthday Boy! Our sweet blue-eyed boy is one! William being completely oblivious to the magnitude of the occasion made it through the day in his normal, pleasant, mellow way until it was cake time. Then, after a few tentative dabs with his forefinger, he dug in with a gusto. Before . . .

Ready for the big W . . .

After!

Birthday bliss!

I love Mother's Day!! This year I was speaking to a friend who said she hates the holiday because it reminds her of all her weaknesses and shortcomings as a mother. Since I all too diligently remind myself of mine every other day of the year, I look forward to a reprieve from such feelings on Mother's Day. Aside from spending time with my family and enjoying being pampered for the day, for me it is all about the tenderly homemade, eagerly-presented little Mother's Day momentos from my little chicks that I slip into my scrapbook and save forever. I remember the first one I ever received when Emily was three and brought home an egg carton corsage from preschool -- how proudly I wore it to church that Sunday! And this year, little Jane gave me this lovely green ("Since green is your favorite color, Mommy!") tissue paper corsage. I loved it and loved spending the morning with Jane at her preschool's Mother's Day Tea!

Can I say how much I love this girl?! Jane got ahold of the camera and snapped this shot of Emily cleaning the kitchen. And she was cleaning it as a surprise. Emily is so wonderfully capable and willing to help out around the house. I can usually count on her to tackle an assignment right away and do it well and quickly. She often rallies the girls (who tend to be a little more sluggish in the cleaning department, although they have many other stellar qualities, of course :)) and gets them involved by making it fun.

Trouble . . .

And more trouble!

William is a BUSY boy these days! Quiet, but deadly (to the cleanliness of the house, that is). He is insatiably curious about what is in every cabinet and behind every door. He always wants to be exploring. He's also so very boy (very different from girl, I'm discovering). He loves throwing things, and batting things with his hands, and loves balls. I guess I can't necessarily plan on a future with him sitting still at the table for an hour coloring quietly in his coloring book. His favorite person in the world is Daddy! Even if I am holding him when Mark is in the room, he starts to cry and leans forward to clutch Daddy as if there was no joy in life without him. Mark, of course, can't get enough of this and they are big-time buddies. I am especially grateful for this bond when William happens to wake up in the middle of the night and I can nudge Mark and mumble, "You know he really wants you . . ."

Bathtime -- Will loves it and will just sit and splash and splash and splash.

Church Easter egg hunt.

No one was out and about on our street, the mosquitoes were swarming (Will was attacked 14 times in the space of the three mintutes it took us to snap these) -- so I didn't make it into the family Easter photo, but we had to get one of Mark sporting his new seersucker suit (he's been wanting one for years).