From Our World To Yours. . .

So it's springtime here in Seattle! Now that I have seen three Seattle springs I've pretty much figured out that springtime here is:

a) Unpredictable
b) Beautiful, of course!
c) Consisting of many days of gorgeous sunshine but cold temperatures, followed by days of sunshine and warm weather, followed by days of cold, cloudy rain like today. Or days where all three of those conditions are combined! Which makes it tough to plan outdoor stuff, since you never know how the weather will change from one hour to the next!

But we do take advantage of the sunshine that we get and try to head to the parks whenever we can. Even if we have to bundle up in coats and hats, at least we're enjoying the beautiful fresh air!

Kirsten is a lot like me. . . she does not like to be shut up inside the house for too long. Every day she asks me, "Can we go swim? Can we go to the snow and go on sleds? Can we go to the park on the slides?" If we can't go to any of those places she just says, "Go to. . . a place?" She doesn't even care where it is, she just wants to go somewhere!

Natalie's not quite sure how she feels about the swings yet. She only stayed in it for a couple minutes.

At 11 months old, Natalie is still teething, still cranky because of teething, still impatient when she has to wait for anything, and still loves to be the center of everyone's attention. She loves her car seat and is a total angel in the car. And she's outgrowing her infant car seat. We've got to get her a new one very soon!

Natalie discovered her very first pine cone. She was pretty thrilled with it.

I love the parks around here that are right next to lakes! Growing up in San Diego, I never went to any parks with lakes. They are beautiful!

Kirsten loves to dig in the dirt and play in the sand. . .

But that girl just doesn't like her hands to get dirty!

We discovered a fun place to play at an indoor gym's open play time. Kirsten especially loved the giant trampolines and the foam pit.

See how Natalie's hair is getting less crazy? It's starting to sit down on its own now. Sometimes I miss the poufy, fluffy hair. Although it can still look a little crazy from time to time!

We pretty much FROZE at the park that day. The sun was very deceptive, because the wind was seriously chilly. But we had a fun time there with friends!

I love Natalie's little bear hat!
Natalie has finally started wanting to eat table food off our plates. She loves to munch on crackers, bread, french fries, and she just wants to try everything!

Sometimes I think if I have to watch "Elmo's Pottytime" one more time I'm gonna go nuts! Kirsten loves it and asks to watch it two or three times in a row. At least she's learning??? I hope??? (She better be!!!) Here she is on the potty chair, with her sucker and her lemonade, and she's sometimes successful. I just wish she would tell me when she has to go! We haven't reached that point yet.

The little sugar fiend was thrilled to help Daddy blow out his birthday candles, and then dig into his cake.

The feather boa was most definitely Stephen's favorite birthday present. ;)

Kirsten thinks the ball pit at a local play area is pretty close to heaven on earth. Natalie enjoys it too. And I just try not to think about all the bacteria and dirt clinging to those balls, since there's just no way to stop Natalie from putting them all into her mouth. Nasty, I know!

I never dreamed that two brown-eyed parents would have two blue-eyed kids! Our next one has to have brown eyes, right? I just love Kirsten's sky blue eyes. They are SO pretty! She's a lucky girl!

I love the blurred backgrounds that I get when I use my 50mm lens on cloudy days outdoors. Mmmm, love that lens. And love this girl, of course!

Kirsten would make a great youngest child. She adores older kids, and this 6 year-old is one of her favorites.

Despite what I said about March being the second-worst month of the year, it was a really nice month! There are days when both kids are crying or screaming at the same time and I wonder what on earth I was thinking and where my escape hatch is. But for the most part, having two kids is so much more fun than having one. There is rarely a dull moment! And for someone like me who craves excitement, I am happy to be living that way.