Finally it's SPRING!

Hello everyone!  Today was the day I moved all of the winter coats into the basement, so I am ready to celebrate finally being 100% over winter!  In Denver we count on the last frost being on May 1st, so I always wait until then to do all of my spring planting and getting rid of those dumb coats.  I always plant a few things way too early, and start buying summer clothes for the kids WAY to early, but hey, at least I'm prepared when the good weather hits!  It makes Luke nuts when I fill their closets with sundresses in early March, though...I can literally feel him biting his tongue about it all.  Hopefully he can also feel me rolling my eyes at his back while I load up the closets with pretty princess clothes:) I have always hated the winter cold, but never so much as once we had kids...my life is SO much easier in summer!  Going outside in winter involves coats, hats, gloves, socks, you name it.  The dumb snow gets all over my floors (we don't have a mudroom, sigh.), and the girls are always sick with something.  Always.  But in summer everything's so easy...sundress, sandals, sun hat, DONE!   I don't have to run the humidifiers at night in the summer because their little noses dry right up, too...one less thing to do!  That's right, everyone...everything's coming up roses.  Now, as I type all this it's a chilly 50 degrees outside and Maddie and I both have strep throat (for the second time this month), but I'm trying to think positively.

Just like all of our months, April was crazy busy.  I have been to the doctor with the kids more times than I care to mention, and this eats a) all of my money ($30-$40/visit adds up when you're going 2-3 times per week!) and b) all of my time.  As a provider I always try really, really hard to run on-time for my patients, and for myself--I have no interest in being in the clinic an hour late every night if I can avoid it, and I know that there is nothing worse than sitting in a closet of a room with 2 or 3 toddlers waiting for an hour for your provider to show up.  Sadly, it would appear that I am the ONLY MEDICAL SUPERSTAR IN DENVER. THE ONLY ONE.  I love our pediatrician's office, but I wait an hour every.  Single.  Time.  So it basically eats up the whole morning or afternoon every time you go.  The worst part is the wait at the pharmacy after all of that waiting in the office.  God help me, I think they should write a prescription for a *big* glass of red wine for all the moms who drag those kids into the clinic for visits.  And if that glass of red wine should occur right at 5pm, well, it's medically indicated, right?  I'm not asking questions if you're not.  

In any case, I am relieved and grateful to report that, despite all of these visits, both girls are totally healthy and now doing fine.  Lucy had a real rough patch after her transition to whole milk, and we've since made the switch to soy.  Her allergy testing was all negative, but they do think she has a true lactose intolerance, so no milk for the Moose.  It's rare at her age but it does happen.  She has done so much better since the switch, I can't even describe it.  She hasn't puked in a month, which is a huge record for her.  She's mostly sleeping through the night (WHY am I typing that?  I'm sure I'll be up all night, now.), and back to her cheery self now that some molars have finally broken through.  Her left leg is about 1cm longer than her right, and the orthopedist assures me that this is normal, and has nothing to do with why she is not walking (Lucy=Lazy, apparently:)).  Maddie is horribly allergic to dogs and cats, the allergist said she hadn't seen a reaction that severe in a long time, but she has no food allergies and no big environmental allergies, so they think her asthma is just reactive airway disease and will resolve over the next few years, which is of course a huge relief!  So even though the doctor visits make me NUTS, we are so grateful that the girls are both healthy.  I would take them every day if I had to, just to hear those words!

We've finished renovating our downstairs bathroom and start on the kitchen in a few weeks.  That will leave only the upstairs bathroom to do, and we are SO excited to be finished with all of this!  We also want to expand our deck this summer but I am wondering if that is just going to have to wait until next year...we are exhausted and from where I sit our deck looks juuusssttt fine!

So here are our pictures from this month...we had a great Easter with Mimi and are looking forward to a visit from Sue, Dave and Emily this month!

I loved these photos of Maddie with her chocolate popsicle...it was one of our first warm days and she loved being outside, even more so since she had some chocolate!

Lucy and Maddie playing with Luke in the afternoon.  This was before Lucy was off the bottle.  I don't want anyone to think we have a Suri Cruise situation going on, here.  She's off the bottle, albeit reluctantly!

Lucy is *such* a daddy's girl.  Luke can do no wrong!  She's  doing so many funny things lately, standing on her own more and more, waving bye bye, talking away, and eating everything she can get her hands on since we took her off dairy!

Laughing at Luke.

Maddie and Mimi making pink cupcakes.  As you can see, Maddie is hardly enjoying herself at all.

Enjoying the beautiful weather while waiting for the cupcakes to cool off.

Still waiting.  As soon as the first cupcake was iced, Maddie was  done with the whole enterprise.  She wanted to eat, and she left the rest of the icing to us!

Maddie in her sweet Easter apron from Mimi and Gaki Mike.  She had so much fun doing all of her little kitchen projects with mom.

At the mall playground, working off some of that sugar.  Lucy was teething in the worst way for mom's whole visit...she was not feeling very playful a the mall this day!  Of course, the day after mom left she snapped right out of it.

"One pink cupcake and I can fly!"

The moose really only wants to climb up the slides.  The other kids totally, totally love this.  They love it so much they're always trying to kick her in the face as they come careening down the slide.  Lucy could care less.  She's trouble, this one.

You can see how bad her poor little teeth are hurting her.  The pain did  not stop her from trying to climb up another slide.

On the move.  She usually just crawls around the whole area, screaming at the top of her lungs and looking at all the big kids with crazy eyes.

Darn teeth.

She will go up and down these stairs.  Eight.  Thousand.  Times.

Cutie pie!

What a haul!  Mom and Dad sent beautiful baskets full of candy that Luke and I very much enjoyed stealing (I JUST lost my "Easter weight" back).  Sue and Dave sent GIANT baskets full of the cutest clothes, shoes, and stickers!  I won't have to buy shoes for the girls all summer!  

Apparently mom and dad were saving all of the really GOOD candy for their grandkids.  Where the crap was my Williams Sonoma candy when I was a kid?  None of those damn Peeps in this basket.  Also, you wouldn't BELIEVE how much dinner you can get a 3 year old to eat if you promise a "chocolate eggie" at the end of the meal.  I'm such a huge believer in the bribe.   I honestly don't know how parenting would work without it.  I knew it was for me when I heard my friend Martina reigning in her 4 year old's behavior by gravely stating that "the Christmas elves are watching you".  Toddlers take note: Apparently Christmas Elves will seriously limit your Christmas haul if you don't watch your smart talk with your mom.  I can hardly wait for the holidays to try this one out myself.  

Maddie loved opening all of her new clothes, and Lucy loved throwing all of her new shoes!  The baskets were a huge success, Grammie and Pops!

She's only smiling because she's coming for my camera.

Aunt Karyn brought Moosie some dairy-free Easter cookies.  I think the look on her face says it all!

Opening their baskets.  

Easter playground time!  It was cooold on Easter this year, but we didn't let that stop us!  Like all kids I guess, Maddie loves the playground, and we don't go as much as we should.  It was fun to get to take her with mom!  I got some GREAT pictures of the girls, so I was glad we went!

Love this!

Maddie had a ball.  You'd have thought it was 70 and sunny.  It wasn't.  Trust me.

Mid-giggle:)

She was at the top of the slide playing peek-a-boo with me.  These were the best shots of the day, I think!

Love my little Moose!

Lucy truly is so mischievous.  I think you can see it a little in this one.   

Doing her war cry.  She's quite fierce for a baby.

"5 more minutes, ok mom?"

We hope you're all having a wonderful spring, too!  I know everyone is looking forward to my posting about my garden this year, because who doesn't like to look at a million pictures of flowers?  Don't answer that.