Four Years

A few days ago, Kris was applying deodorant and Eden asked him what that stuff growing under his arms was.  So he explained about armpit hair.  Eden thought it over for moment and then responded, "Yeah?  I got something: Boobs!" Bangarang.

So that's Eden at 4.  Mostly sweet, often hilarious, and fairly confident that whatever she has is just as good as whatever you have.  (As a side note, I don't go around pulling down my shirt and announcing my goods...wherever she learned that, it wasn't me!) She's still a totally social creature; often her first response to getting or finding something good is to ask me if she can give some to her friends.  She still LOVES babies and is definitely Jude's second mama. Wild Kratts is her favorite TV show and she adores having long stories read to her.  Most of Eden's play is very imaginative these days, but she also loves to ride her bike and do gymnastics moves. And any day is a good day for a dance party.  

We did a homeschool preschool co-op this year, which saw Eden survive the burn and burnout of her first crush (fun while it lasted, Harrison, now give me that toy!), first brush with a mean girl (who told her she wasn't pretty), and first graduation.  She had a lot of fun with that, but will still tell me regularly that she doesn't want to go to kindergarten.  Good thing we've got one more year :)

I can't believe I've been a mama for four years.  It's been more wonderful than I ever imagined.  It is, in fact, my greatest adventure.  Lead on! 

Two Years of Benevolentish Tyranny

At two, Jude is a riot.  He's stubborn, opinionated, often irrational, fiercely independent, totally whiny, seriously clingy, entirely imperious.  So, yeah.  He's two.  The amazing part is that I love this little monster so much.  He gives the widest, sweetest smiles when he does the naughtiest things, and loves nothing more than to tease me.  He often chases me around shouting, "Pinchy bum!" and attempting to follow through.  He giggles like a maniac when he wrestles with Eden.  He shrieks with joy when Daddy comes home.  We're all putty in those small, Machiavellian hands.

After refusing to make much noise during the first year of his life, Jude's turning out to be a little smarty pants. He loves to be read to and usually repeats everything I say when we're reading.  He's already learned several letters of the alphabet and can often be heard "counting" things in imitation of Eden, reciting the numbers in order.  He's very observant and seems to pick things up pretty quickly. He loves to tell stories too, though his best efforts there involve shouting a few key words over and over again until we fill in the gaps for him.  Ask him to tell you the one about elk sometime; it's a real scream.

Jude is definitely an introvert and a mama's boy, but it's really fun to see him play with other kids once he's warmed up.  He's also a total daredevil, as long as he's in charge of the daring (e.g. he will hate it if you swing him around or drop him on the couch, but he has no problem climbing the tallest thing at the playground and jumping off of it).  He loves swimming, swinging, and Flinstoning it on a bike. 

We love this zany little dude and look forward to the third year of his reign :)

Birthday Bash

If you've been to one birthday party at my house, you've been to them all: backyard, water toys, friends, food, the end. Hallelujah for early summer birthdays! Nothing cute and fancy and super planned going on here.  Why?  Simplicity has worked so far, so I'm riding that train until her wheels fall off.  

This year, however, Eden was old enough to really know that her birthday was coming.  She had some very particular requests that shaped the party. She wanted water balloons to play with, a certain guest list, Barbies as gifts (oh, how I hoped she'd forget about that one!), and candy to give to her friends.  For months in advance, Eden fantasized about having a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, sprinkles, and a strawberry on top.  She did not eat the strawberry.

Jude got vanilla cupcakes for his offering, because 1) he doesn't care, 2) I love them, and 3) they don't stain things.

Jude fared alright with the cupcakes, but did not care for the party in general.  He spent the first two hours refusing to depart from his dad's lap.  Little introvert.  At least he had fun for the last few minutes :) Wait for it...

Yep, there it is!  He warmed up during the present opening and then enjoyed the last few minutes.

I've come to realize that you can either be the caterer and photographer, OR you can be the mama and enjoy the moment.  Hence, these are the only decent pictures I got. Dinner was a Mexican chopped salad, quesadillas, fresh fruit, and blueberry lemonade. There was a bounce castle.  And water balloons.  Eden chased around with all of her pals. We sang and blew out candles, etc. et al.  
  

Mostly we were just thrilled to have so many wonderful friends attend and celebrate our incredible TWO-year-old and his amazing FOUR-year-old sister.  I can't believe they're getting so big!

Sunset at the Bayou

Easter Dresses and Cousins

And on the 3rd Snow Day...SNOW!

Why Do I Change My Own Oil?

Because I can.

(And Ron Swanson would do it.)