Playing in the Rain

This week we had a truly a nature-filled day. 




We started with a walk in the cool of the morning, cooled off with a swim in the heat of the day, and then enjoyed a splash-fest in a thunderstorm! 



In fact, the thunder began while we were still swimming, and the goggle lines hadn't fully faded from their faces when they began splashing in the rain. 




Elliot was not a fan of the thunder.  Nobody was, actually -- but Elliot is our ear-plugger. 



If he gets a little scared, the hands go over the ears right away.  Oliver did it for the first time the other day in a public restroom.  It was so cute.  I thought he was too young, but I guess not. 



"Watch me jump, mom!"





Oliver took a little spill in the puddle and got mud all over him.  Oops.



Elliot has turned into a screaming terrorist everyday at about 1pm.  It is absolutely miserable. 



This has to be what people meant when they (whoever they is) coined the term, "terrible twos".  It is truly just awful. 



It lasts until he's allowed up from his "rest time..." or sometimes just a bit longer.  Sometimes all day.  I am hoping that whatever has rocked his world soon settles down inside him and allows him to be a little more emotionally steady. 



He must feel like he's on a roller coaster.  It sure seems that way from the outside.  He vacilates between giving sweet kisses and saying I love you to looking us full in the face and screaming that he wanted to (fill in the blank here).  It's so draining.  I hope 3 is better.


Oliver has been much more communicative, which has been helpful. 


 He is still our little screech-owl and still screams shrilly sometimes when he is unhappy or wants attention. 
 

But he is eager to sign, if he can, to get what he wants. 
 

And if I ask him--for example--"What?  Do you want a drink?"  He'll immediately sign please.  That is a huge improvement.     



Lucy and I are plugging away at reading. 
 

She enjoys her little reading lessons, though I'm struggling to find a time to do them, now that Elliot made nap time more difficult.



I love her freckles.



"Mommy, now me!  Lemme see my boo eyes!" (said Elliot)



 Guess we need to get Oliver some rain boots. 



Although he did fine, barefoot with no rain coat.  It was actually in the 80's... so not cold, at all. 


 But we still enjoyed some hot cocoa after coming in and getting bathed, dried off, and dressed.

April Showers...

We've enjoyed a cool spring with just a few rainstorms scattered here and there.



The most recent one was much anticipated and turned out to be a little disappointing.



But it was nice not getting as much hail (and hail damage) as was predicted.



After the storm passed, we took a family walk around the neighborhood, and I got to play with the lens I was renting -- a 105mm/2.8 lens with excellent optics and macro capabilities.  It was such fun.



And Lucy and Elliot loved looking for roly polies.  Lucy doesn't pronounce "l" at all.  So she says, "rowee poyees" -- and it's SO cute.




Look!  Another rowee poyee!!  And another rowee poyee!!
 

Elliot was equally, if not more, excited about all their little six-legged friends on the sidewalk. He loves bugs.

 It was such a nice walk.

Transition

 

I guess when you are raising kids maybe it always feel like they are in a state of transition.  Right now definitely feels like one.  



Lucy vacillates constantly between insisting that she is a "little bitty baby Lucy" and a "big girl" -- on her way to getting "bigger, bigger, bigger, biggest." 



I can see the internal conflict -- wanting to be little, cooed over, taken care of... and also wanting to be the big sister, capable, thoughtful. 



Yesterday she politely but emphatically asked that she be allowed to sit in Elliot's high chair at breakfast, because she was a "little bitty baby Lucy" -- but then she delighted in breaking apart her bacon into little tiny pieces and sharing them with Elliot (in the extra booster seat).  Her bacon.  A most beloved culinary delight usually guarded tightly and consumed quickly. 



"Silly gross" is a phrase we've been hearing a lot lately.  As in--I licked your nose!!  That's silly gross.  Lucy loves this "game"--if you can call it that.



Lucy definitely understands there is a baby in mommy's tummy -- and she can tell you that the baby is coming in the summer.  And that we don't know if it's a boy or a girl.  It's very different this time around.  When I was pregnant with Elliot, Lucy was still a baby herself.  She wasn't even 18 months when he was born.  She was, I'm sorry to say, completely taken by surprise by the new arrival of her brother.  But this time, she can't wait to hold her new sibling!  It's exciting to see her looking forward to baby #3.  She lays her head on my belly in the evenings and says, "Goodnight, baby!  I'll see you in the summer!"



Elliot is everyday more a little boy and less a little baby.  He is so affectionate and cuddly, though.  I hope that doesn't change any time soon.  He loves giving sweet kisses -- to stuffed animals, to Lucy, to our friends, to Daniel's and my legs while we're cooking in the kitchen in the evenings.  And to my computer. 
 

I can't tell you how many lip marks I've rubbed off my computer screen.  There is always a cute baby or friend's child showing on my computer screen (or photos of the kids), and he never misses an opportunity to share a kiss. 



Spring has arrived, and the last few signs of winter are quickly disappearing. 





I love this time of year.  I love the storms and the cooler weather, and the mystery of exactly what kind of weather the day will bring.  In August there is no mystery. 



Ten more weeks till baby #3.  Eight more weeks till my medical re-certification exam (PANRE).  Procrastination time is over. 



It's a relief (I hate procrastinating) and also terrifying.  The 5 hour exam will not be enjoyable to take, but I'm guessing that at 38 weeks pregnant I'll be ready to get it over with. 



I finally have begun a small amount of experimentation with macro photography. 
 

I know almost nothing about it, but I realized this morning how enjoyable it is to get really close and be really still -- it's drastically different from photographing two moving toddlers, and I'd like to get better at it.