Mother's Day at Our House

Steve and the kids surprised Alina with a balloon, cards, flowers, chocolates and a book (the new Sookie Stackhouse). Throughout the day, Steve cooked three great meals, pleasing everyone, including a pregnant (and hungry) Alina who is about 19 weeks now.

Here's the chef with his lovely assistant.

Here's our newly-picky-eater:

Conversation from dinner:
Alina: "Elliott, do you want some green beans?"
Elliott: "EWWWWW. Yuck."
Alina: "What do you mean 'yuck'? I've seen you eat green beans."
Elliott: "I can only eat them one time. If I eat them again, I will be sick."
Alina: "How do you know?"
Elliott: "I can only eat green beans one time. After that, they make me sick."

????? Elliott might end up a lawyer one day. Or the chief negotiator of million dollar business deals. He proves his bargaining skills every day!

We recently bought Elliott a "balance bike" which is a regular bike, with no training wheels and no pedals. To move, Elliott pushes with his feet and glides. Elliott has mastered this bike and can coast down the driveway and navigate turns with ease. Steve took the kids to the praire reserve for a long walk and bike ride. Alina stayed home and enjoyed a little weekend peace and quiet as part of her Mother's Day.

Elliott riding his bike is a sight to behold! Our neighbors and strangers at the bike trails marvel at his skill. It won't be long before these balance bikes are commonplace but for now they are still a little bit unusual. (photos forthcoming in the future...)

Later, we all did some family yard work together. The kids love digging in the dirt, watering flowers and helping with whatever task is on deck.

After dinner, Steve tried snapping photos of Alina with the kids. Rosemary was happy to pose.

Elliott doesn't seem to want to pose for the camera anymore. We had to bribe him with a piece of chocolate. Which kind of worked. Except for the smiling nicely part.

We tried posing with "hands on the table" but forgot to mention - tongues inside the mouth????


The kids have truly been a joy this Spring. They are both playful and full of giggles and interesting observations. We are looking forward to a fun summer.