Esther's birthday cake pt two

Esther's birthday cake

It's April. And We're Ready for Spring!

Here's some of what these crazy, adorable, lovable kids have been up to lately.

we had the stomach flu. this sweet little boy was puking all. day. long.

despite the puke, he managed to have some fun that day. we made a car out of a box and paper plates. (this was, obviously, before mommy got sick.)

he's "flying to space. with salad and coffee."

if it weren't for the ugly compost buckets, this would be a great picture. :)

cute from the back, too!

thanks Aunt Saray and Uncle John for the pilot jacket!

he's trying to fly. can you tell?

this was her first real attempt to stand up on something. the salad spinner was an interesting choice. don't worry, I stayed close by!

check out that lunge!

letter art! this one is mommy. and I'm holding flowers. (the magnet in my "arm" has flowers on it.)

Our Last Visit With Great Grandpa Bob

"Grandpa Bob was a good man."

Caedmon didn't know Grandpa Bob very well, but he knew enough to say that.

We had the honor of visiting my Grandpa on Christmas day, just a few weeks before he said goodbye to this world. He was very tired and didn't say much, and it was hard to see him like that. Somehow I knew that it was the last time I was to see him. 

He got to meet Esther that day. 

It's beginnings and endings all mixed up together.

 

I think he loved her. My mom got this picture of them looking at each other, each reaching their hand out to the other.

 

There was a beautiful creche at the nursing home where Grandpa Bob spent his last months. I loved showing all the different figures to Caedmon and explaining who they were. Their eyes were so lifelike, as though they really knew what a crazy wonderful mind-blowing thing it was for God to come to us as a baby.

As Caedmon and Esther grow, I'll tell them about their Great Grandpa. I'll show them the hutches and doll houses and benches and cabinets he built and I'll show Caedmon the picture of him at his drum set. We'll think of him when we rake leaves and pick up sticks in the yard, and when we hear big band music or see a Cubs hat.

I'm sad that they will not have the joy of knowing him as I knew him, but in some mysterious way he is a part of all of us. We will remember this " good man," and we look with longing toward the day when we will meet again.

Caedmon's Creations

Here are some of the things Caedmon's been creating lately.

Outside-the-box Lincoln Log houses:

 Pretend beds on the living room floor:

And "cars":

Don't Drum and Drive!

He has also used these same items to make several different "models" of cars, as well as buses and airplanes. The variations are endless. The only rule is that he must use all the toys, the file boxes, the ottoman, and all the throw pillows.

See that skinny pillow in between the ottoman and the file box? That's the engine.

 

What will you be someday, Caedmon?

The Milk Sessions

You'll be glad to know that this post is not a series of photos of me breastfeeding Esther.

No, it's a series of photos I took of Caedmon waaaaay back in June, drinking a big glass of raw milk. I took them for this post I wrote about the awesomeness of raw milk, but it might as well have been about his cuteness. So here they are. Sorry there are so many; I couldn't bear to leave out any of those adorable, milk moustached faces.