spring has sprung

We've had a GORGEOUS weekend...sunny and in the 60s....finally! We definitely had a chance to get outside and shake the dust off. It has been a quite full weekend...us girls went to the museum in the morning yesterday while daddy met a friend for breakfast, then we spent the remainder of the day outside--blowing bubbles, sliding, running around, taking a nice walk around the neighborhood...delightful! Today after church and nap-time it was much of the same...basking in the glorious sunshine. I did find time to make a trip to CVS (or should I say, FREE-VS!) to pick up some deals...including basically free diapers...it feels kind of like getting to go "for real" shopping with monopoly money! Anyway...thought I would share a few pictures of our Saturday and Sunday.

I also should mention that today our Kate is 8 months old...can you believe it?! I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by...and it seems just yesterday we were in the midst of sleepless nights, snuggling and cuddling with our sweet newborn little girl...and now, well, let me tell you, she is still our sweet girl...just bigger and more mobile...full of giggles and raspberries. We laugh at how much less mobile Kate is than Elizabeth was at the same age...I don't wonder why she moves less...that is obvious...she has big sister to help her reach anything she might be "straining" toward. However, in just the past one or two weeks Kate has finally figured out the art of rolling....managing to "get around" quite a bit just by flipping and rolling and scooching. She is spending lots of time on her tummy, trying to figure out how to get those chubby little knees underneath her to lift her belly up and crawl...and little by little, she is inchworming herself forward. She is ready with smiles and the funniest, most contagious giggles...truly such a happy little Kater-gator. In the past month she has traded in her pacifier for her thumb...and it is so sweet to walk into her room and find her clutching her blankie bear and going to town on her thumb. Of course, as soon as you round the corner of the crib and enter her field of vision, the thumb pops out, replaced by a massive, cheeky, ear to ear grin. Kate is still babbling like crazy..."dada dada"..."baba baba"....no "mama mama" yet...but I'm sure that will come soon enough! And food...let me tell you, this girlie loves to eat these days...her newfound love is finger food...cheerios, sweet tater puffs, even torn up pieces of bread....and we might have another little engineer on our hands. Before she really grasped the idea of picking up the pieces and putting them in her mouth, she found a way to "shovel" them from the edge of the highchair into her open and waiting mouth. It is so amazing to watch those wheels a turnin' in that little brain. Kate, we LOVE you!

And if Kate is 8 months old...that means that in just 2 short days Elizabeth will be 2 1/2! I have so much more to say to my rambunctious toddler, but I will save that for another day or so...I will, however, leave you with a teaser. My new favorite "Elizabeth-ism"..."upside-over"....as in, "Daddy, turn me upside-over"...meaning, of course, upside down....but, oh so cute!

Anyway...without further babbling...here are the promised pictures!

sportin' their free shades from the museum!...i LOVE kate's expression..."mom...what are you doing to me!!!???"

my cvs "spoils" this week... my new "toy"...the stroller, not the girls!