Spring was definitely in full swing in St. Louis.  Nani's peach tree was in bloom!

We had rain one night but woke to a very sunshiny day.  Magnolia declared this as puddle day!  We took a walk and she got to jump in as many as she could find.  It never occured to me that we don't have puddles in suburbia...one more thing to look forward to moving to the city.

These were taken in the the alley behind Nani's house.   If you look to the right you'll see someone's yard has a forest of bamboo, it's spectacular!

Much to Magnolia's delight, the magnolia trees were in full bloom.

What a great walk down Limit's Walk.  Love that pep in her step!

Next stop was  Elizabeth and Rob's new house.  It's adorable and going to be even cuter when they are done with a massive renovation.

I'm not sure I've seen a face sweeter than this.  Miss Madeline is a complete and utter doll.  I just loved seeing her!

Here she is wearing her new sunhat for the first time and hamming it up.

Meanwhile George takes Nani for a walk through their backyard.

Okay, one last picture of baby and mama.  They are so cute!

Spending most of our days in Nani's front yard we learned of a neighborhood easter egg hunt and are urged to come along.  We did and what fun it was!

Even though George didn't find any eggs, he had a blast.  Perhaps because he could feel the warm air and sunshine on those chunky thighs???

Well, that and his daddy was giving him a whole lot of loving.  

('ll be back soon with the big event that happened this week!)

Easter in St. Louis was beautiful!  We went to the family farm for lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt.  The weather was spectacular.  We had a wonderful time!  

I could not get George to look at me for a photo, he was so intrigued by the daffodils.

By late afternoon George and cousin, Madeline, were exhausted.

Magnolia loved the Easter Egg Hunt.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter celebration.  I'll be back soon with more photos from our trip!

Spring has sprung here and it's the first time I think I've ever experienced a spring in Wisconsin.  It has been pure delight.  So unexpected.  I never had time to whine about the lonnnnng Wisconsin winters.  We've had two straight weeks of sunny skies, warm temperatures and George makes his first visit to the sandbox!

Magnolia has been busy with sidewalk chalk, balls, and most recently...a new bike.  (photos to come!)

The forsynthia branches hardly needed much forcing indoors.

George continues to push his wagon.  He doesn't seem to mind the feeling of grass on his feet and puts far less things in his mouth outside than he does inside.  He got his first pair of walking shoes and I feel like his first year went by way too fast.

Showings on our house have slowed and as a result  we've slowed our house hunting in Milwaukee until we get more activity on this end.  Bummer because it sure is fun to house hunt.  I've been busy sprucing up the outside and just enjoying these first days of spring with Mags & George.  Hope the sun has been shining where you are!

George turned 11 months last week!  I cannot believe we are soon to be celebrating his first birthday!  

Sometime a couple of months back he decided he hated bathtime.  The only way we could give him a bath without screaming and trying to climb out of the tub was to put him in the sink.  This is how he's been taking baths ever since.  I'm afraid he's going to be outgrowing that sink in no time though!   He is busy walking along furniture these days and climbing the stairs.  We've had gorgeous weather here and I pulled out Magnolia's old Radio Flyer and put a bucket in it to weight it down and he loves to push this around.  I think I'm going to have a picky eater on my hands.  He loves to throw his food, spit it out when he doesn't like it and seem to only want bread or noodles.  Oh how I've been spoiled with Magnolia eating the lettuce off my plate!  He continues to love to wrestle, his balls, and quiet time.  He loves the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and tries to do the hand movements when I sing it.  He's working on his shape sorter and putting things inside of things and dumping them back out again.  If I say "choo choo, " he'll find his train and bring it to me.  He pulls cords out of the electrical sockets and chews the cords. He pulled toilet paper out of the toilet the other day and was eating that.  He gets into the dirt in the plants and knows how to take the cabinet lock off the cabinet under the sink.   He keeps me BUSY!    If Magnolia takes a long nap he will cry and fuss until she wakes up and then becomes dramatically happier.   Happy 11 months George IV, you are such a stinker and I love you!

We are moving!  We have been so busy around here decluttering, cleaning, repairing, and everything else to get our house on the market.  We're finally done, it's listed, and we've started the house hunt in our new city; Milwaukee!  We've lived in this small town for 6 years and we are really ready for some city living!  So far Magnolia seems pretty excited about moving but says she would rather live in a hotel. She was a champ going through open houses and pointing out things she liked.  So far her only search criteria is that the house is pink.  :)

Frosty

I cannot even begin to tell you how busy I've been around here.  I'll tell you why in another post...

This past weekend I took the kids to Madison to catch up with some of my family that was there.  It was such a fun, fun time.  When we came home on Sunday Magnolia and her daddy went out in the falling snow to build this snowman.  They made him so he faces our kitchen windows. This way we can look out the window and talk to him when need be. He's been a great friend to have around! 

In keeping with Black and White Wednesday, I'm including this shot I took in manual of the two of them inspecting their creation.   I'll be back soon!

I'm having so much fun with Black and White Wednesday.  Looking through my files I'm seeing photographs of our wonderful everyday moments.  I know these shots are the ones I'm going to cherish above all others.   This week I couldn't choose just one so I thought I'd share some of my favorites.   Whatever Magnolia is telling George here I'll never know but I sure do love the look he's giving her.  The next one is George and a ball.  He loves balls.  

Magnolia sleeping on the couch.  Thumb in mouth. I never want to forget this sight.   

This one could go down as my all time favorites.  Even though it's poor quality, it's a keeper for me.   I was upstairs with these two doing laundry while they played.  It suddenly got quiet and I couldn't find them anywhere.  I started to hear their voices but couldn't figure out where they were for the life of me.  Finally I opened the nursery closet and found the two of them laughing and playing in the pitch black darkness.   I grabbed my camera and captured their expressions getting caught.

Oh how I love her smile, her laugh, and her absolute sweetness.  I love her stories, her talking, and the way she sees things.  She delights us and anyone else who meets her.  She's a real gem and I'm so proud to be her mama!   She's a very happy girl with a wild imagination.  If she's not a dog named "Bark" all day then she's the proud owner of a small dog/brother named "Holly."  Sometimes when she's tired of carrying things in her mouth all day, she curls up in a nest and chews on green string because she's a dinosaur and that's her grass.  Bambi is another favorite, with little white spots and a tail that wags.  Sometimes she becomes the mommy and takes care of me or a little girl named Magnolia.  She's very interested in people's hair color, skin color, the story of China and how she came to be.  Equally as interesting is talking about the weather, noting whether it's windy or cloudy or sunny, she really likes to take note of that.  Her latest achievement is dressing herself for the day and that would include picking out her own clothes.  One day she dressed herself head to toe in black because that was her "suit" and she was going to work, just like daddy.   I wish I could bottle so many of our many exchanges during the day.  Sometimes she just knocks me off my feet with the things she says.  Life with a three year old is something else!

I thought I would share some of her recent artwork that so graciously adorns our walls.   It is our family; Mommy, Magnolia, Baby George, and Daddy respectively.

The Moment:

Friday, February 12th  

7:28 am

The sun was rising and coming through our yard showing off the ice covered branches.  It was so breathtaking and I desperately wanted to photograph it.  Being in my flannel pajamas with two kids crying for breakfast I could only step onto our screen porch and shoot from there.  Hard to believe that I spent many a summer days on that swing with both of my little ones.  It seems so far away but this picture reminds me that it is still there waiting for us.
For more black and white entries click here!

Happy Chinese New Year!  We had our celebration a couple of weeks ago with our local group, Families with Children from China.  We played Chinese bingo, had a tiger parade, and shared a Chinese dinner.  It was so nice to gather and catch up with families we don't otherwise see throughout the year.  Magnolia wore a dress I bought for her in China.  We were fortunate enough to have an outfit for George which was a gift from his Aunt Katherine who was in Beijing over the summer.  It was so much fun to see them both dressed in traditional Chinese clothing!   Gung Hay Fat Choy!

The Moment

 February 5

Early Afternoon

How did Black and White Wednesday come around so fast?!  I've been so busy around here, time is flying!   I'm glad I had this one to post that I took last Friday.  George and I were lounging on my bed having quiet playtime while Magnolia took her nap.  In this photo he propped his head on my leg to gaze out the window.   Like me, George is very sensitive to too much stimulation.  Here we are both relishing in the peace and quiet of the afternoon.
(click to enlarge photo)

George turned 10 months on Sunday!

He can stack two things.  The first time he did it was with two cans of food.  He can also drop objects into a bucket and get them out again.  He still doesn't say mama or dada.
He mostly growls.  Still a lot of fussiness too.  He's getting his 7th & 8th teeth.  His favorite toy is a ball by far.  I had no idea someone so little could catch and throw a ball.  I think ball will be his first word. 

I feel like I never have a smiley picture to post of him but I think that's just it, he's a pretty serious baby and this is his look most of the time.  Or maybe it's the 2nd picture. He does a lot of that too.  

Happy 10 months George!
I can't believe how close you are to turning one!
I really hope that 8th tooth breaks through soon so you can finally get a nice long break from teething.   
I also hope that means that you'll stop waking in the middle of the night too.  Please, won't you?  
xoxo

The Moment:

Saturday Morning

8:13 a.m.

George and Cheerios

I'm loving this Black and White Project!  I'm having so much fun thinking and shooting in black and white.  It's also so inspiring to see what others shoot too!  Thanks so much to everyone for all of their sweet and encouraging comments last week.  We just got a new iMac and we haven't decided on our photo software yet so I only have iPhoto to work with.  With that said, I'm shooting in manual and hoping for the best!  If anyone out there has any suggestions for software, let me know!