Miles turns four & welcome Baby Claire!

Hi! Just a few months to catch up on, but so much to tell. All in this past month we have celebrated out friends Lilly and Georges birthdays, welcomed Nick and Lindsay Collins baby girl Claire, finally found time to go to the play Jeff got me tix to for Vday, and Mom got her turn to spend an evening at preschool with Miles.

My mom came down for the weekend to watch the kids while Jeff and I finally used our tickets to see The Long Red Road at the Goodman Theater downtown. It's in the mid-high sixties all week, and somehow we pick the blustery snowy day to dress up and walk around down town. The play was ok, weather sucked, and the blisters I got were painful... but alllll totally worth it to get to spend an entire day (nice restaurant dinner too) ALONE with my husband!

Here's an image of SuperDad in action- reading Mayse her pre-bedtime book. Miles likes to help too sometimes.

Just like Miles did, Mayse loves to sit on Daddys shoulders and hold his ears. :)

One of my new all-time favorite pictures. Nick and his new baby girl Claire, and his best friend Jeff with his baby girl Mayse. It's hard for me to think of us all as grown-ups now, but here's the photographic proof.

New mommy Lindsay holding six day old Claire Olivia Collins. :) :)
We drove out to Dexter to see them last Sunday, and it was so nice to get to meet Claire and hang with the new parents for a bit. As a tribute to who Lindsay is, I want it noted that she made her first post baby out of the house venture that to the store and get some groceries (including Jeffs favorite soda) to have on hand like a good hostess!?!?! While it was certainly not necessary, we truly appreciate the effort.

This picture is of Miles and his two best buds from preschool. Miles, Kasey, and Eliza are inseparable and they (along with neighbor Lauren) are all he talks about! Never noticed before, but they all have the same color blond hair.

Miles turned four and Lilly turned 3 in late February and George turned 1 early March. Here is a picture of us all at George and Lilly's combined party at Jessica's new house in Dewitt. A fun time was had by all!!

Miles is starting to 'think deep' about things now, and I love being here to see it, and help him uncover answers to things. When I explained that Mayse's poop was orange this week because she was eating orange vegetables, he thought about it and asked me why his pee never turned colors. The picture above was his solution to the question he asked me one day, "Mommy? How do Hippo's paint if they don't have hands?" I LOVE seeing him think!

Mayse LOVES her big brother. He can make her laugh when no one else can. He still really enjoys having her around too. He loves to make her laugh, to stop her from crying, and even to change diapers. She's starting to grab for things now, and I can see this will be causing some sibling stress in the future. :)

Brother is really good at feeding Mayse, and still often likes to hold her.

This is an example of how my days are spent, as servant and entertainer extraordinaire. When I say, "I am not your maid..." I often hear, "Yes, you are." :) Cute for now...

A messy child is a happy child. So true.

That wraps it up for this session! Hope you enjoyed~