March madness

Welcome March! There is an old saying that if March "comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb". I want to know is if the opposite is true because March this year definitely came in like a lamb with gorgeous weather perfect for outdoor excursions.

This girl cracks me up. She is so full of personality, spit, and fire--it's no wonder it spills over on a daily basis. I'll admit I'm not a fan when the "spit and fire" overflows, but then I can't help but admire her tenacity and strength.

And her goofiness.

Cole has made some big strides socially this year in Preschool and is slowing coming out of his shell. He's having more fun playing with a group and likes to be part of the action. I've been concerned about his social skills this past year as it seems he's a bit behind, but am feeling more confident as I watch him grow and learn to navigate the in's and out's of life. 

Jude has struggled with nightmares for a couple years now and will often make his way into our room at night. Our bed isn't large, so he'll make himself a bed on the floor just to be near us. Lately I've woken up in the middle of the night to discover Jude has joined Bender on the dog bed where they're both sleeping soundly. 

Good thing that bed's from Costco! It's enormous and actually super comfortable. (I might have spent a few hours sleeping on it myself when we first got it.)

Lexi continues to be our sunshine. She lights up whenever she sees anyone. I love that she hasn't hit that "stranger anxiety" stage yet. She's happy to be with anyone and such a joy to be around.

She found a friend!

Jude started soccer this month on a team a step up from Hot Shots. They still don't keep score on games, but they started practicing on Mondays during the week, as opposed to only before games on Saturdays.

Jude seems to enjoy it and smiles and laughs his way through practice.

Cone-head zombie!

Cute girls.

Lately it seems harder and harder to get these kids in bed at a decent time. Most nights it takes more than an hour to get everyone to brush their teeth, get jammies on, and get to bed. It get frustrating, but sometimes I have to just let it slide while the kids play with George. I love watching them together and often this is the only chance they have to be with him.

Family time in bed

(Ignore the mostly-naked kids--they were in the process of getting in and out of the shower)

George found a ridiculous GIF and showed the kids. It just got funnier every time they watched it:

These are the moments that make my heart sing.

We really really want to install a patio behind our house to make the dirt and mud that's currently there more functional. We got a couple estimates and after the pulling our jaws off the ground when we saw the price, we decided we would wait a bit before attempting anything. George was hosting Journal Club for the Emergency Department this month where all the Residents and many of the Attendings get together to discuss articles published in various journals. We had wanted to have a place for them to sit and talk, so we broke out the camp chairs and got a fire pit.

The kids were more than happy to test it out with hotdogs and s'mores.

Cole's s'more! He did it all by himself!

(And yes, I do believe there are 8 marshmallows on it.)

Lexi has discovered she can feed Bender from her seat and thinks it's sooooo funny. It didn't take Bender long to catch on and he now positions himself just so and waits patiently for the inevitable tiny hand to come down with some delicious morsel.

This girl is such a ham.

I wonder where she gets it from!

Love these things!