sometimes a 2T really means 12 months…sometimes a 2T means 4T??

Oh, girly…I bought this shirt for you when you were 16 months old…and we took you to Canada. And you’re wearing it today for the first time…So glad I didn’t buy the 4T, you’d have worn it when you were twelve.

Since the kids aren’t in school yet, our daily schedule doesn’t change much in the summer. You may even think it doesn’t affect us at all…well, you haven’t seen my calendar. Summer is crazy busy!

Most of our free time lately has been occupied with some “outdoor rec.” Well, some outdoor, some indoor…

Swimming lessons started out like this…

are you all that surprised? Can’t say I was.

But, in the end, he mellowed out a little bit. Thankfully our swim instructor was all about just taking him into the big pool without us, crying or not.

The other one, I knew I didn’t have to be worried about.

and this was probably the highlight of her existence.

Jump, Tumble and Roll ends tomorrow. I think she’s really enjoyed it…and I’ve liked that she’s in an enclosed room with someone else for an hour practicing these things.

Will summer slow down now that these things are done? Probably not. That’s what summer is for right? Knocking yourself out so you can completely enjoy winter when you have to sit inside and have nothing to do?

i have to leave you with this one today…

golly, he’s just so stinkin’ cute.

Yesterday’s lunch had me a bit concerned by its green-ness…

You’ve heard of the Green Smoothie, right? You know what gives it that beautiful green color?

Yep, Spinach.

It was super tasty. I probably will add less mandarin oranges next time, just because they were a bit overpowering, but it totally wasn’t as bad as i thought it would be. And, my iron count probably thanks me for drinking it!

I even got Ellie to try it. Just took bribing her with a marshmallow to do it. Hey, I’m not above that. Used to think I was…then i had children.

Enjoy it…its good…and good for you!

Green Smoothie

1 small can mandarin oranges, chilled (with juice)

handful of fresh pineapple. (I used canned crushed pineapple, about 1/2 c.)

1 frozen banana. (Mine wasn’t frozen, but I hear you want to freeze it by breaking it into chunks and then putting it in a ziploc in the freezer).

blend until smooth…and then add spinach, and blend again until smooth. I added ice cubes…since my banana wasn’t frozen. Seemed to work out okay. You can add as much spinach as you want. i filled the blender to the top with it. Couldn’t even taste it.

Happy Blending!

Two…

It brings with it so many stereotypes…a lot of them true.

Especially with this child.

He’s finding his independence…for the past 3 months.

I suppose its good. I want him to be independent. I just want him to be independent while still conforming to what mom says. Is that wrong?

Anyway…I digress.

The day started out like any other birthday here…with, you guessed it, the birthday donut!

Not so sure about the fire.

After that I hope he had a good day. I worked all day, so he was at daycare for most of it. He moved rooms at the daycare, too. I didn’t pick him up, so i don’t know how it went. What a big day for a little guy.

His party the day before was a success too…

He liked his cake. He just kept saying “fish”, “lub lub” (which of course is blub, blub – or what a fish says).

Anytime you’d ask him if it was his birthday, he’d just say “cake”, or “happy” as in happy birthday. Very cute.

And of course, he liked his presents…who doesn’t like presents?

Oh, Happy Birthday, Little Man. I hope we have a great year. And I hope you find that independence, decide its not for you, and go back to being my calm little man…

No, thats not true. I just hope the next year doesn’t kill me.