nutella popsicles

we made nutella popsicles.  bananas + nutella in blender and then freeze.  delicious. although the kids were complaining that the popsicle molds were "too cold to hold".  seriously?!  it's a popsicle. 

easter baskets

 the easter bunny did not disappoint again this year.  big hits in the baskets....bandaids (yes, bandaids) and underwear.  who needs chocolate bunnies and jellybeans.  of course we had a few of those things too....but the easter bunny knows that grandmas and grandpas are great at sending the kids home with buckets full of candy.  :)  easter baskets were just the start of a busy easter sunday.  greta was sweet enough to keep reminding us that, "easter's not just about bunnies and candy". 

dyeing eggs

 papa always gets to head up the task of dyeing easter eggs.  i love how they look, but to be honest i don't have the patience for the dyeing.  with the most patient papa on the planet, these kids have the perfect partner for this job. 

good friday

we enjoyed Good Friday with our friends the Nawroths.  First, we had them over for a playdate and easter egg lunch.  Janet and I filled plastic eggs with lunch food (cheese, crackers, fruit, nuts, etc) and then hid the eggs for the kids to find.  it was super fun!  the kids really enjoyed finding their lunch and thought it was hilarious that they were eating out of eggs (or from a big pile on the table) rather than a plate.  later in the day, we met up with the Nawroths again at Holy Cross Church in Mt Adams for their Good Friday fish fry.  this has become a tradition for our families the past few years (we took greta and ella when they were just 5/6 months old and have gone every year since) and i hope it continues each year!

does this make my face look fat?

otto thought he'd try on our "earmuffs" in anticipation for all the live music shows we'll see in austin for sxsw.

cake smash

grandpa had some words of wisdom for selma. probably something about the sugar myth.  :)

happy birthday selma nadine!

love my grandma joan!

"i wonder what this card says?"

selma trying to "hug" her baby doll while it's still in the package

 our selmie girl turned one!!  her birthday is on 2/25 but we celebrated the weekend before so that no one had to miss out on the fun.  i can't believe our girl is one!  we had a great party at the clubhouse and celebrated our sweet selmie sue. 

cousins

 greta and ellie at selma's birthday party.  these cousins are 11 months apart, about as different as two kids could be, and the best of friends.  i grew up with my cousins as my closest playmates and i'm glad these girls have each other. 

how did we get so lucky?

making valentines

greta worked hard making valentines for each of her classmates.  she and otto also enjoyed looking through the bag of valentines from school friends that greta brought home.  they did this again and again (and again and again). 

how otto "plays"

anyone else's kids do this?  the laying out....the lining up....
i mean, look at the post it notes, even. 
love our otto boy.

selma says "no"

here is a video from a little while ago of when selma first learned to shake her head "no". this was (and still is) so hilarious. it truly went on for minutes. she would shake her head no, the kids (and i) would erupt in laughter, she would smile and laugh. it would get quiet and then she would start all over. she was LOVING that greta and otto were laughing at her and paying so much attention to her.

her head shaking isn't quite so crazy-sideways anymore. and she can also shake her head yes, which she does emphatically.

what else can she say, you ask? she says hi, bye, mama, papa, greta, otto, more (and signs it too). she also yells (a loud "aaaaahhhhh") whenever greta and otto take something from her. actually, she yells it sometimes if she THINKS they might be thinking about taking something from her.

who dey!

speaking of teeny tiny greta, here's an old video of her singing the bengals fight song. this never gets old.

20 years!

in case you haven't seen it. the video that joe COMPLETELY surprised me with for the 20 year anniversary of our first date. that's right folks. we've been together for more than half our lives. here's to many more.....

be sure your sound is on for not only the sweet vocal stylings of "mr big", but so you don't miss the short video clip of teeny tiny greta.

been a while.....

wow, st nick's day is our last post? can you say slackers? so much has happened since mid-december.....hopefully with joe out of town i can get around to blogging a bit. posts to come include greta's first dance recital, the rest of christmas, selma crawling, and other various adventures. but check out this picture of the kids giving each other kisses. yes, they really do love each other!!

blackberries

somebody likes blackberries as much as her brother does.  and too bad mommy really loved that shirt.

sisters who color together.....

storytime

it's great having a big sister who can read!

zoom zoom zoom

papa brought home some of his old hot wheels tracks.  talk about fun!

headbands

a drawer full of headbands?  i can't think of a better post-bath activity, can you?!

popsicles in the winter?

 with such a mild winter this year, we went to a park in the afternoon and played.  without coats.  and then we came home and had some yogurt popsicles in our new popsicle molds.  what's going on, mother nature?