Art Show

Chad, Blake and I attended the Children's Garden Art Show last night. It was so fun. Blake was beyond excited to show us his creations and I think it was fun for him to have a night out with just mom and dad. Each of the classes performed a dance and then we got to check out all of the art projects.

Blake getting ready for the "seaweed dance".

Our class quilt which will be sold at the upcoming auction. Evidently they sell for thousands...so I thought I'd take a picture :) B's square is second from the right on the bottom row.
The Children's Garden is all about "building a community". The other moms in Blake's class and the teachers, some who have never met Alison, Brian or Georgia, have been so supportive of me this year. They are always checking in to see how things are going and one mom even organized a blood drive in Georgia's honor. When it came time to do our class quilt we had one extra space. One of the moms made this square for Georgia, it says "in our thoughts" and "in our hearts". Pretty amazing bunch of ladies!

Blake's fantastic artwork!! This one is called "Road to the Dots".


His red velvet cupcake may have been the highlight!

Love love love these two!

Best Playdate Ever

Alison and Georgia came by today to drop off some Easter goodies for Blake and Lauren. They stayed and played for awhile and it was almost as if life were normal. We hand sanitized everyone (multiple times) and let the kids play a little. Lauren was thrilled to see Georgia and I think Georgia was thrilled to see Blake :) I could have cried it was so great to have our kids together being kids. I never got a good picture of them all together but here are a few from our afternoon. (Blake isn't pictured...he was busy riding his bike with his ski helmet on while dodging the girls and their walkers.)

Think she's happy to be up and around? She is making this face in every single picture I have of her walking :)

Happy "School" Birthday

At the Children's Garden, if your birthday doesn't fall within the school year you can choose another date to celebrate your big day. Blake's half birthday was some one's real birthday...so we ended up celebrating his "school" birthday today. I have to admit, after a full week of questioning and trying to explain what was going on I wasn't sure it was worth the effort. But today Blake's celebration was really special, plus we ate our weight in cupcakes getting the treats ready for his friends!

"Blake is 4" banner On the mantel inside the class room there is a picture of my mom along with some of the Children's Garden teachers.
Singing the birthday song
The arrival of "Parsley" was quite a big deal.

Hitting the birthday drum FOUR times.

Blowing out his candle in the birthday chair.

She's Up!

Today Lauren took her first steps. She took three steps toward me and when I turned her around she took a couple more toward Blake. I called Chad and Blake gave him the big news. Lauren even saved a few more steps to show off to her Dad. Crawling is still her mode of transportation for now, but she's on her way!

Children's Garden Easter Egg Hunt

Blake's school had their annual Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Blake liked the egg hunt and the snacks, but he wanted nothing to do with the Easter bunny. I think I'd better start working on him for next year's Santa photo.

Montana "Winter" 2011

We just returned from a really great trip to Whitefish. It has been impossible for any of us to go too far away from Georgia over the last six months. Now that she is home and making progress we thought we'd spend some time much needed time with Grammy and Grandpa in Montana. Last year the plan was for Blake to spend a week or so there and take some ski lessons. Blake talked about it all winter and we made to Whitefish in time for the last weekend of ski season. We had great food, weather was beautiful and it was really nice to see my parents and be able to spend some time together. Lauren got to know Grammy and Grandpa a bit more and Blake ate up all of the attention. Lauren on her first airplane ride, she slept on Chad's shoulder the whole way.....

.....just kidding! Miss party pants was a great passenger.

Heading over his first ski jump!

For the last weekend of skiing at Whitefish Mountain they do something called "pond skimming". Basically wild and crazy (and drunk) skiers and snowboarders ski down the hill and try to make it over the "pond" to the other side all while wearing crazy costumes.

Thanks Grammy & Grandpa - can't wait to do it again this summer!

Happy 11 Months

Eleven months? How could this be?? Lauren your personality is really starting to shine and you are so much fun to be around. You are SUCH a happy girl, you even smile when you are close to tears. You smile and laugh with your mouth wide open, as if everything is just a riot. You started Little Gym this past month and you seem to love it. I loved the look on your face on the first day, as if to say "what? people come in my size? they aren't ALL four year old sized people?!" I continue to try and get you to eat enough to put some meat on that little body of yours, you are a tiny little thing! You like bacon (so we know you're a Pittman :) and you've been eating lots of Greek yogurt. I'm hoping it's helping but you are always on the move. Blake and I've started talking about your birthday next month, he plans to get you a white walkie talkie, a tea set and a bra! (I have no idea where he comes up with this stuff!) We love you so much, happy 11 months!

Watching Daddy

Lauren is just tall enough to peek out the window. She was very entertained watching her dad mowing the lawn today. At dinner time Chad was at the bbq and she did the same thing, standing at the window banging on it to get his attention and giggling the whole time. This girl loves her daddy! And yes, we were pretending it was summer out today. Nothing like mowing the lawn and a bbq in 50 degree weather.

So Grown Up

Lauren is showing off her new teeth and her new duds. Thank you Ella, we love Joe's boutique :)

Sports Class/Toddler Time

Here are a few moments from Blake's soccer class. They do two weeks of practice, then a game, then two weeks of baseball practice, then a game, then on to basketball. Lauren, although not quite a toddler, likes to hang out at "toddler time" just across the ropes from sports class. It's perfect, everyone is worn out by the end! The warm up:

a little soccer practice

Lauren at toddler time - still sideways (anyone out there know how to fix this??)

One rainy week...

It has been one soggy week around here. I feel like we've been in doors all week, hanging out in Lauren's new favorite spot in our house...the stairs (I think the stairs even beat her brother's room at this point). Lauren figured out how to properly go down the stairs - she still attempts them head first, but we're making progress. Blake is getting sick of the rain too. We've had a few attitude "issues" this week. At one point I told Blake I his behavior was "getting old". He was thrilled... "I'm getting old!!". At least he's always good for a laugh. Here is a little video of Lauren's latest talent...I couldn't figure out how to turn it!