Rosie Singing

This is one of my favorite rituals with Rosie at this age.  I cuddle her and she just coos and Ken and I listen.  I never, ever want to forget it.

SCIENCE!

This is one of those fun and mildly educational activities I've been trying to do with Jared lately. 

Milk in a dish with a few drops of food coloring in it.  Then dip toothpicks in dish soap and touch it to the colored parts of the milk.  The milkfat moves away from the soap creating awesome curling designs.

Unfortunately, a few minutes after this photo was taken, there was a lot of dingy brown milk all over the walls.  I guess I should have explicitly taught him not to splash in this activity!

Zoo Trip

On Ken's birthday, we took a family trip to the Potawatomi Zoo.  He's pretty awesome like that.

We didn't get any pictures of the actual animals apparently,but the zoo here is pretty good.  It definitely isn't a big city zoo, but it has a lot more than the zoo I grew up with.  It has got flamingos, tiger, peacocks, bison, otters, chimpanzees, zebras, kangaroos, leopards, cows, goats, lemurs and bugs and stuff.  We've been three times so far and Jared hasn't gotten board yet.

Ken turns 28

Look at all that fire!

You can see in this one that we had nachos for dinner.  It is truly Ken's favorite meal, which is still weird to me.  We had to have cake sort of during dinner because we were a little rushed. Ken enjoyed his 28th birthday (as far as I can ascertain).  I am so lucky to have lived another year with this man.

Half a year with Rosie

 She is just adorable.  All. The. Time.

One of my favorite rituals that we have is that after Jared goes to bed, she and I talk and cuddle for just 5 or 10 minutes.  We just smile at each other and it is the best.

 She (unlike her brother) is very bothered by a dirty diaper, so she has lots of changes each day.
She is also at that age where she reaches for what she wants.  And that can be anything from a parent, to a spoon to a diaper wipe!

 Now that she is getting older, she really enjoys exploring toys and things, which is wonderful.  This also means that she does not enjoy the times when she doesn't have any toys within reach.

Also, she is finally rolling from her back to her stomach.  Hurray!  I have to start being more watchful of what mischief she could possibly get into.

Our next goal is sitting because right now, she mostly just folds in half.

What a pair!

I don't know why I have trouble getting them to be photogenic together.

How to Eat a Cracker

First of all, when you see a cracker get really excited and start to shake a little.
As the cracker approaches your face, lift your legs in to the air.
Hold this position while you consume the cracker.

Carbo Loading

After a good run, I like to rest, ice and eat my favorite thing- carbs!  And of course, the children want to join in on the fun.  Here, Jared is also hydrating.  I love these kiddos!

"Nursery Time!"

It's what he yells until we can get our act together to get out the door on Sundays.

5 Years of Mawwiage

So, in late April we had our fifth anniversary.  It is a big one.  Five whole years!  However, Ken was out of town the entire week on a business trip.  Gross.  The kids were really wonderful the whole time, so it was fine, I guess.

But then, Ken sent me these on our anniversary.  It was an amazing and wonderful surprise!

He definitely earned some husband points for this one.

We celebrate by going out to a very fancy dinner after he got back.   It was amazing.  And, well, we've been married 1827 days and I still love him.  Not shabby at all!

Fine Motor Skills of the 5th Month

She looooooves her evening bottle!

Wonderful Eastern Easter Trip

 My mom and brother picked us up on their way out to Pennsylvania and Maryland for Easter break.  It was so much fun.
Our first stop was in Philadelphia to visit my Aunt Lisa.

Easter Sunday outfits in the car on the way to church.

We saw the Liberty Bell.

And then we went down the best slide of my life.  For Jared's enjoyment only of course.

(Internet's photo)

The bummer is that I didn't get even one measly picture of my Aunt Lisa.  Gah!  I'm not good at, you know, taking the camera out and pressing the button!
Anywho, our next day was spent in Lancaster where we of course saw lots of Amish stuff.  The farm was Jared's favorite.

In Maryland, we saw my Uncle Rick and Aunt Jill and their wonderful children.  Again, no pictures of these wonderful people.
Jill took us the the Natural History museum.

 There's Aunt Jill behind Peter!

Then we had lunch at the American Indian Museum.  It is amazing.  Best museum food EVER.

And went to the gift store there where I found (among many awesome things) this little gem.

Dying Easter Eggs

We did participate in this common tradition.  When it was Easter time.  Not, you know, recently.