Some serious coloring at Zio’s for aunt Megan’s birthday
Playing another round of “Ma or pa?”
Ma won.
Eleanor proclaiming how “hot” her pizza is, as usual
Cookies = not hot
Where’s Spot?
Some serious coloring at Zio’s for aunt Megan’s birthday
Playing another round of “Ma or pa?”
Ma won.
Eleanor proclaiming how “hot” her pizza is, as usual
Cookies = not hot
Where’s Spot?
The birthday whale visited mom for her birthday (obviously)
Blowing out the candles is a group effort 🙂
Celebrating Mother’s Day at great-grandma Kathy’s house, Des is thrilled to hang out with his older cousins
Ella is still shy around folks she doesn’t see day-in, day-out. She was much more comfortable hanging out with dad nearby, still had a good conversation
Don’t confuse shyness with quietness though…
Goofing around with ma
But she’s oftentimes a hugger-at-heart
No, this is not group nap time, merely rather group pre-nap reading
As mom and dad were heading out to date night at the symphony performing Holst’s The Planets [a wonderful Christmas gift], Des settles into an episode of Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse with Liam, Ella frolics with Buddy the dog
For the first time in several years, the timing was just right to take the kids to the annual bat release at Joslyn. Each winter, a non-profit accepts calls for wildlife removal. The animals commonly need cared for, then in the case of the bats, returned back into the wild.
The welcoming committee was out in full force
Ella and her pa
The coffee filter craft project was a bat (?)
Baby’s first deli sandwich
And for a treat, a mini cupcake
After dinner, Eleanor was fueled-up and ready to go run.
And run.
Here comes the high stepper.
That moment “stepping down” by way of jumping, when the suprise dawns on Ella- “yup, you’re falling”
Des gets a close-up view of one of the stars of the evening
She’ll forever keep the older three on their toes
And now she’s beginning to wind down
Des and Viv look on at the volunteer holding her arms out with bats attached, waiting to fly away
They were mesmorized
One fella need to take a breather before trying to take off again, but eventually made it
Ma visits daycare for a dry-run on picking the kids up before mom and dad are out of town. Des was excited to show ma how to walk down the ramp
Team llama children enjoy all colors of play-doh
For someone who has shown physical repulsion to particular sensory experiences, it is so curious how Eleanor insists on rubbing play-doh through her hair and across her face
Easter is a spring celebration for Team LLama, and while there were a few treats, it was mostly an opportunity to gift springtime necessities to the kids
Ok, and one indoor/outdoor activity for “exercise”
Cool baby found a pouch almost instantaneously
Des models this spring’s rain fashion
Can only assume her grunting and gesturing was an attempt to say, “Mom, there appears to be treats hidden in these egg-shaped contraptions. Can you open this, please?”
Let the egg hunt begin!
Des spots an egg up above
Taking a craisin break
After plowing through her own craisins, Eleanor begins scavenging for more elsewhere. “PLEASE BROTHER! I need just four more!!”
Ella celebrating her dunk
She was, and continues to be, a big fan of her rain boots
So much so that Ella begins handing out footwear to everyone in the vacinity
Easter bunny did well with the stuffed dinosaur
Snack time with Ella and one of her many BFFs
Yup, wind-up chicks are hilarious!
In addition to coming over for dinner with ma and pa, aunt Megan brings over a basket of Liam and Viv’s old children books. Liam and Des go right for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles book.
Everyone has a book they’re waiting to be read
Eventually the kids self-organize their own book clubs
Eleanor is getting to the age where she usually picks out her own books to read before nap/bed time. Originally from great-aunt Molly to Desmond, Duck & Goose, It’s Time for Christmas is still in regular rotation.
While the real event was celebrating ma’s 60th birthday, the kids were equally excited about the mini-arcade at Mama’s Pizza
Ok, the pizza was a hit too
Desmond learning his first emotional lesson about gambling. Of course it was entirely skewed since Viv someone won three prizes out of “The Claw!” machine
However, the third win was after everyone left, so it wasn’t until the following weekend until she was able to gift the green hippo to Des
Toddler in a big-kid world. Although trick’s on them, Ella was grunting…
Happy birthday, ma! Eleanor was certainly focused on the cake
Yup, she’s a cake fan
A father’s pride: the Sunday morning Bugs Bunny crew
Using the super bowl as an excuse, mom made her famous from-scratch pizza
Dad’s been unusually interested in fresh pineapple in recent years, though Eleanor has zero complaints
Commercial dancing with ma
Goodnight keeses
Des and dad watch a few minutes of Planet Earth II downstairs while sister is nursing