First Week of Spring

Hello, hello!

So I haven't written for the past week, which also happens to be the first official week of Spring, so I am here to give ya'll an update :)

Here is an overview of the week:

So, since I last wrote, it's been just over a week.
Last Thursday, March 20th, was the official Start of Spring and boy did it feel like it!
We had Ella's lovely friends over and enjoyed the sunshine on a nice long walk:

My favorite trio :)

I love it when they all hold hands :)

Strike a pose!

 Ella Rose and I then wrapped it up with an impromtu "Girls' Night Out". :)
We attended the Corvallis Art Center's Howland Community Art Open which featured one of Ella's works!

Her favorite color, purple both in her painting and on her :)

There was some really impressive works there. Reminded me how much artistic talent there is in our community. You could even set a price for your piece for sale. I marked Ella's as "Priceless...OBO" Ha!

After that, we ate at McMenamin's and then had dessert at Yogurt Extreme. Just the two of us!! :)
It was sweet and fun. I do love my little (big!) girl!!

Trying to pull off the "duck lips". Ha!

I don't quite recall how I then spent Friday, Saturday, nor Sunday...
Just general yard work as I set about clearing out the carport for my first Azure delivery... more on that another time, I promise ;)

Monday was particularly noteworthy as it was the most beautiful and warmest day of the year so far. A whopping 71 or so degrees, and we spent most of that day on the beautiful property of すや and her family who run a bamboo farm just outside of Albany.

Ella loved getting to climb on the jungle gym of bamboo they'd erected~

I had first met the family through Ella's Waldorf Little Acorns class, and it was good to reconnect with them again -- especially after I heard that Ella will be going into the same kindergarten class as their youngest, ライラ~! Too cool :) I really dig this family's lifestyle, enjoyment of the natural world, and DIY values! They're land is like a bonafide homestead!

William squealed quite a bit about the baby chicks. But doesn't his head look big and inflated like a balloon here?

The 外薗 family was also there and it so good to see my dear friends again ♡ 果恵 is such a perceptive, smart, and funny woman -- she reminded me how important it is to take care of myself, since lately I've really been piling things on my plate, no matter how much I try to rationalize that it is all just fine and I am fine.

So I made a real effort the remainder of the week (which was Spring Break, I might add) doing low-key activities with the kids in lieu of big, complicated outings. Oh! And before the Break started, I had told Dash I wanted to really make it a "TV Free Week"...which is exactly how it turned out, without a single fuss made! It's like...the good weather was just the impetus we needed to get outta the house, and then after that, my resolve to plan less and just be with the kids, meant they never felt bored/neglected to the point of just wanting to have something to entertain them. Buya! :)
I hope this TV-freeness can last since I think it's made for a general better energy in the house, less whining, and the kids really diving into their play in a deep and satisfying way for all~

On Tuesday, we went on a farm outing as a field trip with William's Little Acorns class. It was cool that the kids got to have back-to-back farm experiences (heh) but the drizzly weather meant it wasn't quite as nice as the bamboo outing.

Oh, I should also note that three days in a row, William "progressed" in three different ways:

1) starting jumping in a way where his feet really leave the ground. Wow!
2) took to the non-baby swings at the park (video below!)
3) mastered buckling and unbuckling his carseat belt! @_@

All pretty neat (save for the car seat escape antic) and just overall good reminders that he is always growing, even if I may not notice it since I'm, like, in super close proximity to him all the time.

As you can hear in the video, he's also communicating quite a bit, even if it is mostly pretty demanding-sounding. I am still working on him saying "I love you", but usually when I try to have him repeat after me, he replies with "...hi."
Maybe that is his way of saying I Love You? :D

Let's see...what else...

Wednesday was really a day of baking and being in the kitchen with both kids. So fun!
We made oat bake, crackers, and a yummy spaghetti+meatball dinner. Yum!
I love making crackers for the family, and must be more diligent about it since it's not hard at all and the kids get a real kick out of them. Especially because they get to cut them into fun shapes.

As for me, I think part of the reason I haven't been updating as regularly is because I've been really absorbed in this audiobook I'm listening to. It's Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" and I am really nearing the end of it!! Will write my own little "review" of it when I am finally done.

Well, that is all for now.
Today is technically Dash's birthday!!!! But I will cover our celebrations of it tomorrow ;)

Until then, take care and I hope you enjoyed your First Week of Spring!!