Second Half of March: Excitement!

Phoebe’s fourth birthday was the main attraction for the end of March. She was initially disappointed that I insisted on throwing the party at our house, but once she chose a camping theme, she got more excited. She invited three friends from school and a bunch of our friends’ kids, so the party was fun for all of us. The weather cooperated beautifully; Sunday the 23rd was the nicest day of that week, so the kids could play outdoors. Dave set up a tent in the yard, which held their interest for a good twenty minutes or so.

On Saturday, the day before the party, Phoebe and I made an applesauce spice cake and Roy Rogers (basically cherry coke–flavored) gluten-free cupcakes.

While we were busy baking and decorating, Dave was spending the afternoon buying a car. We were very ambivalent about becoming a two-car family after spending 13 years with only one, but his new job is too far away from daycare for us to feel comfortable about getting to the kids quickly when necessary. Plus, he’s going to play golf with the work team, and our hours may not always mesh. Excuses, excuses! So far, he’s pleased with his choice.

Here’s the cake once we’d frosted it.

Singing Happy Birthday.

Eating dessert and snacks in the yard.

After dinner, per a Hazelton family rule, Phoebe opened her presents. She got some really great stuff!

On March 24, Phoebe’s actual birthday, I had to fly to Toronto for my last conference as a Lynne Rienner Publishers employee. (I’m changing jobs on April 14; it was time for me to move on professionally, though I’m really going to miss my colleagues.) Here are some photos from the trip, which I took with my good friend Karen, publicity and exhibits manager at LRP.

March 29

Phoebe got some dress-up clothes from Grandma and Grandpa. She’s been spending a lot of time in her princess dress.

I guess it’s silly to share photos of my office now that I’m leaving it, but I wanted to take a few for the sake of posterity (and my terrible memory).

April 5

Benjamin has suddenly made a huge leap in both motor and speech development! He’s walking with help and he’s using four signs: more, milk, want, and all done. As we so often do, we went to the coffee shop on Saturday morning. The kids and I walked home. I kept a close lookout for glasses being thrown overboard, but Benjamin has gotten a bit better about that. We stopped at the baseball field near our house to watch a bit of high school baseball.

It was Phoebe’s idea to hold Benjamin’s hand. So cute!

On Sunday, Phoebe showed us some of her yoga poses. These stepstool poses were her own creation, though!

April 7

Here’s a video from our YABS get-together at the Brinkmans’ on Monday.

April 8

Because of Dave’s new job and his terrific health insurance, we’ve had to change doctors. (Grumble, grumble). However, we met our new pediatrician today, and three of us liked him a lot. (Benjamin cried, but that wasn’t unexpected.) As I hoped, he seems to see Benjamin as an interesting puzzle. Phoebe had her four-year checkup, including three shots, and she did great! (I had to look away.)

It was a beautiful day, so we did some yard work after dinner.