And suddenly six weeks have gone by. I didn’t set out to give up the blog but between work and girls and laundry and a million other things that take up the day I have to really *decide* to blog. So here’s me deciding. I think the biggest challenge lately is I really have no time to myself during the day. When I am home with the girls, Cate watches an episode of Sesame Street or Yo Gabba Gabba in the morning but Jane doesn’t really like to watch TV. I can unload the dishwasher or do laundry with her around but sitting down and concentrating enough to write? Not happening. And in the afternoons, when Jane is asleep, Cate isn’t always sufficiently occupied for me to write. We usually read or work on little projects together. But today is a beautiful day and Cate took the Calico Critters on a fieldtrip outside to the swingset. I can see her from the window and she looks like she’s having fun.

So the last six weeks.

We went to Richland for the weekend and had a lovely time. The girls love to play at the little park near my parent’s house and Telfer and I love to go out to Prosser for lunch with my parents. Wine O’Clock is so good. Cate and I made spiced madeleine’s with a cream cheese frosting. She dipped almost all the cookies in the frosting and then we had our cousins over on the first day of Spring for madeleines, hot chocolate and tea. Jane habitually drops babies into the toilet. The baby has to go potty and one things leads to another and in they go. I couldn’t resist taking a photo this time.

Telfer and I went snowshoeing at Mt. Rainier for the first time. It was so much fun. We accidentally did an advanced trail for our first time but didn’t have too much trouble. Seven miles or so later, we were both tired and hungry in the best possible way. It was a gorgeous, sunny day at Mt. Rainier. Grammy picked up the girls from preschool so we didn’t have to rush back. I will say that gearing up for a snowshoeing day was quite the process. I own absolutely no outdoor clothes (what, you can’t wear lululemon workout pants and a jacket, really?) so Telfer had to help me out. We resembled this Portlandia sketch. Self-awareness?

Judah James McMullan has entered the world and is a beautiful baby boy. It’s so bizarre. He looks like Alyssa’s other babies but like a boy. He cries like a boy. His hands and feet are boyish. It’s amazing! Liz and Cate and I took a trip to Prineville to meet Judah when we was three weeks old. It was a short trip but such a sweet and valuable time.

And then Easter. On Saturday we had a fun little egg hunt with cousins at Grammy & Papa’s house. The girls (+ Reuben) were so fun to watch. Notice the little egg project above. Cate and I had so much fun putting together this $5 kit from Target. Our animal eggs turned out so cute. Cate is amazingly good at detailed little things. Resurrection Sunday was absolutely beautiful. We had a lovely brunch at our house after church with Chris and Mendy and Nana and Luke and Sherry and Maresa and Kelsey and our crew of children. Afterwards we went across the street and let the kids run and play. It was beyond gorgeous.

And that concludes the last six weeks!

peguin drop caps, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

I went to ALA a couple of weeks ago and spied this new set of Penguin Classics – called Dropped Caps – and I fell completely, totally in love. They are so, so beautiful.  There will be 26 hardcover editions out eventually, one for each letter in the alphabet. The first six are out now and I bought E (Middlemarch by George Eliot) at ALA. I am now collecting them and have the other five. Obviously.

sweet cate, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Cate had so much fun preparing for Valentine’s Day at her preschool this year. She wrote her name on more than 20 Valentines and then successfully threaded pencils through tiny paper slots. Pretty good for a four-year-old. She loves a project…

considerably less helpful, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

This one was considerably less helpful when it came to Valentine preparation. I tried to give her little jobs but she tried to sabotage Cate’s work area at every possible moment, grabbing the Valentines, running off, biting erasers off the top of the pencils, etc. It’s tough to be two. More like it’s tough to have a two-year-old sister.

funny bush in our neighborhood, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

This bush is directly across the street from the girls’ future elementary school and also on our regular walk-henry-in-the-afternoon-route and I look forward to seeing it every time we walk by. I know it’s not cool to leave your Christmas decorations up all year but sometimes shiny and unexpected is well, beautiful.

cate borrowed my camera to take a few pictures: highlights, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Cate took this picture with my phone. She no longer needs a nap most days but we have her take a rest time in our guest room. Yesterday, the Calico Critters were going on a field trip and it was very involved. I was reading on the sofa in the living room and half-listening to Cate in involved play. Pretty sweet.

daddy and cate at casa mia, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Another good week. About once a month we go to Casa Mia for dinner after work and preschool on Tuesday nights. It’s a good tradition. Our kids learn how to eat in a restaurant that’s not fast food but not fancy either AND we don’t have to cook spaghetti. I hate making spaghetti at home. Isn’t that kind of weird? It dirties so many pans and doesn’t taste that great to me. But the girls love. I realize I am not normal.

two is enough for me, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Telfer took this last night – right after a rousing game of Bird Bingo. Jane is making a lot of progress on the potty training. I will spare you most of the details but for a week or so I thought she might have a pull-up in first grade. Telfer is home all weekend and we are just hanging out, getting ready to go to the gym. It’s bright and clear and beautiful here today. You can sense Spring might indeed be around the corner on a day like today. I am reading Arcadia by Lauren Groff and I think it’s amazing. Just for the record.

reading together, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Cate woke me at 6:30 this morning by whispering/yelling in my ear “MOM, can I have a playdate today? Can Gresham come over? Can those girls from life group come over? Can my cousins come over?” Ah! So Gresham is coming over here in a bit. We have already played ballet, babies and bird bingo all before 9:00 AM. We might need Gresham to keep things moving.

I feel like everyone I know is sick. Last night we had a baby shower for Sherry and Malachai at Mendy’s house and a big chunk of the invited group ended up sick and couldn’t come. I don’t think Sherry will like any of the pictures I took so I won’t post them. It was a good night though. In other news, Cate had her first ear infection this week. I think Jane has one too. Pink medicine for everyone! So far, Telfer and I have escaped.

, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

In book news, Telfer got me this book for Christmas and I finally read it this week: The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories (volume 2). It’s so sweet and fun. A perfect gift. I loved this story. Sad music makes me happy too. I went to ALA midwinter last Saturday just to the exhibits and picked up a bunch of free books. I saw Julie Morstad at the Simply Read Books booth and she signed her new book, How To, for the girls. That was probably the best part of going to ALA. That and the librarian watching. Seriously fabulous people-watching opportunities.