We Love this Weather

We've had some gorgeous weather lately. The kids have been spending more time outside.

 They like to jump.

 

 

 

 

Samuel loves playing with water. I like taking the kids outside to play during springtime because they'll play with water for a long time, and I can relax and enjoy the nice days.

Samuel got his hair trimmed soon after taking this picture. I love his long hair, but we trim it when it starts getting in his eyes and bothering him. He has the rest of his life to look like a man so I'm in no rush to chop off his beautiful locks.

I think Jorge likes the springtime because it's the best weather for washing his car. And the kids wanted to help out, too.

 

I'm trying to enjoy every minute of spring because the summer gets so ridiculously hot that we spend most of our time inside. And we'll have the new baby so we'll probably be home a lot. Just when things start to get a little easier, another one joins the mix and we start all over . . .

Cuteness

Major cuteness overload with these two.

They can make a game out of anything. Here, they're scooting all over the floor, and cracking up about it.

Playing bingo. Their favorite part is picking up the bingo markers with the magnet after each round. Samuel's old enough to play some games now, and he really likes this bingo game with pictures and can focus for awhile.

Do I even need to say anything here?

 Good morning, cutie!

He's been so sweet with his bears. He's picking up on how nurturing Elena is with her dolls. He rubs his bear, tells it that it's okay, and lately he's kept it swaddled. I have to fix the pillowcase he's using as a baby blanket for it a few times a day. 

Fun times with Daddy. I can't remember what they were laughing about. Notice how serious Elena is on the side, focused on her artwork. 

She's still not paying attention to them.

Samuel showing his muscles.

This is what happens when Jorge tries to stretch his back. They find him and harass him. So he had to play horsie for half an hour. I'm not sure that his back felt better at the end of it.

Elena hung on like a little monkey.

Samuel plays so rough, he's definitely a boy. It's a big change from the delicate, calm grace that Elena has.

Here Elena's cuddling with Skippy, a puppet that's passed around her class at a church group on Wednesday nights. This is her week with him. We take him places and take photos, then I have to print them out and put them in a little notebook with captions for her to share when she goes back. It's a big deal for the kids that get him.

She's a little artist. She came home from school and said that she just had to paint a tree. Then, of course, she painted several pictures after that.

I put a hummingbird feeder outside and I love watching them come by. Samuel loves it, too. He'll yell, "Hummingbird drinking nectar!"

Things have been pretty good around here. The pregnancy's going by quickly and we're excited to meet our new little cutie. I love feeling her move, and she's definitely squirmy in there. Elena prays for the baby at night and it just melts my heart.

Things have been a little busier because Jorge started taking on some private practice clients. It's going really well. He's on several insurance boards now and rents an office not too far from home. He's a hard worker and takes good care of our family. And the kids adore him. And he's just awesome.

Creative Kids

Here is a picture of the kids hard at play. Usually, they're playing together. Samuel loves his big sister. Multiple times a day I hear, "Come on, Sister!" He seeks her out, and she does the same with him.

Mr. Potato Head

Watercolors. Samuel loves painting and he's able to sit and focus for a long time. We went through a lot of paper in one day. They had so much fun.

I do "learning time" with Elena. This is from when we worked on her lowercase letters.

Easter Eggs

The kids dyed Easter eggs. This is the first time I've seen these no-spill dyeing cups. They were pretty cool, and Samuel was able to shake them and everything, with only a few drops escaping. 

This is the first time we've dyed eggs that weren't real, hard-boiled eggs. I liked not having to worry about them cracking, but the colors didn't come out as bright. I was okay with that, though. And we didn't have a huge excess of hard-boiled eggs after, either. I bought some to dye, and a set of chalkboard eggs, which the kids really liked.

This is from the egg hunt in the backyard. The kids each had to find their big egg to get a prize (a chocolate bunny). Of course they both found them.