Using Mainly Spoons, We Dig A Tunnel Under The City And Release It Into The Wild

I don't remember what was happening in our lives the last time I wrote, but I'm pretty sure our yard didn't look like this.  We're wrapping up our second snowed-in week of the season, and though I'm quite ready for spring, I have to say that these wintery blasts have a been pretty fun!  During our last snow (2012), Elsbeth screamed bloody murder after 2 minutes outside while Andrew wanted to play for hours, but couldn't do it by himself.  I took the above picture from a window while I was cozy inside in my pajamas.  They play and leap and slide down hills and make snow balls and angels for hours ... and they don't need me at all!  The only bummer was that I neglected to purchase decent gloves in advance and so we were switching out soggy hand socks on a regular basis.

We've also had a sweet new development in the family.  Our Wee Bairn is due July 17th and we are all so very excited!

Even with the impending storm brewing, we were able to make our ultrasound appointment and got our first real peek and this dear one.  He (she?) rubbed his eyes and waved at us and kicked around, much to the delight of big brother and sister.  All looking whole and healthy and we are so deeply grateful to the One who is knitting this sweet baby together.

Piling on the things to make us humbled with gratitude is Phil's wonderful new job with Deloitte.  He's in another cool downtown office right across the street from his old one and he's really enjoying it.  He was on business in NYC this week and missed our sleet and snow, but appears to have gotten plenty of his own.  It's the first time I've ever heard him pine away for a pair of galoshes.

Within an hour of being offered this new position, he was online researching possibilities of a last minute trip to Disney World.  Funny, adorable man.  He is completely obsessed with Disney World as being the pinnacle of childhood delight.  He worked his magic and we were able to squeeze a family trip to Orlando in before his first day at Deloitte.

We had such a wonderful time.  Andrew wanted to ride the fastest, craziest things available, while (surprisingly) Els had no interest in speed but adored Peter Pan and Small World and meeting all the characters.                      

We stayed way too long on our last day so Elsbeth could meet Snow White.  They had a lovely chat about her stuffed Pluto.

The couple in the background of this shot below were mesmerizing to me.  They spent the entire carousel ride taking incredibly amusing pictures of themselves and brought me much joy.

Phil had the hardest time leaving, poor soul.  But back to reality we all must go.

And now a quick update on My Nibblet and The Precious.

This picture pretty much sums up my girl.

She and Andrew had been playing in the garage for some time.  Do we have a coal chute in there I wasn't aware of?  She had a luxurious bubble bath and got all sweet and clean for bedtime.  The next morning she asked to put on her boots over her "footie wams" (footed pajamas) to go outside, and I found her like this a few minutes later:

She is absolutely impossible to keep clean and all of her clothes (mostly pink or orange and filled with sparkles if she has anything to do with it) are stained beyond recognition and have gaping holes in the knees.  She loves coloring and painting and will amuse herself for hours with her art projects.  Here she is working on a Valentine for Daddy.

She is counting down the days until kindergarten and has already begun to send love notes to Mrs. Funk, the kindergarten teacher.  She loves to tell me all the things she's going to teach the new baby and how she's going to help.  I'm a little nervous.  I got more nervous when Andrew came up to me the other day and we had this conversation:

Andrew:  Mommy, Elsbeth just told me that when the baby comes, she's going to hit it until it cries.

Mommy:  Elsbeth?  Come here, Honey.  Did you tell Andrew that you're going to hit the new baby?

Elsbeth:  (Stands there silent with a  half guilty, half "well yeah" expression on her face.)

Mommy:  I thought you said you were going to help the baby.  Why would you want to make him cry?

Elsbeth:  Ummmmm ...  I think maybe I'll just tap him.

Oh heaven help us all.  Perhaps I won't leave her babysitting right away.

My little man is scooting right along through the second grade and loving it.  He wants to be a scientist when he grows up, is enjoying the microscope Nina and Pa got him for Christmas and is already requesting a chemistry set for his birthday.  He was all set this morning to build some sort of apparatus he read about that slices specimens to examine until Mommy put the kibosh on any projects that involved razor blades.  He felt I was being quite unreasonable.

He finally lost those top front teeth a couple months ago (we're late teeth-losers around here) and nothing appears to be coming in!  We leave in a few minutes for a dental cleaning.  Perhaps I'll inquire about grade school dentures.  Actually, I pretty much adore this gapped grin.

And exciting culinary development:  Andrew loves salad!!  With my house of picky eaters, each new healthy addition to our list of desirable meals is cause for celebration.  His salad of choice right now is romaine with tomato and bell pepper and a splash of balsamic vinaigrette. Very sophisticated, don't you think?

Signing off to go make a quick salad-y lunch, then see if our car can handle the one icy patch left on our driveway as we head to Dr. Robinsons office.  Popcorn and hot chocolate when we get home to celebrate our first venture out into the world since the ice storm!