crafty afternoon

Logan received his first birthday party invitation this week--a celebration at the local gymnastics academy. He chose to give the birthday girl a watercolor paint set and paper, along with a few books. But something was missing...

Yes, I decided (and he agreed), this was an occasion worthy of some mother-son craftiness, requiring a trip to the local fabric store and an afternoon of sewing. With Logan at the pedal and me steering the fabric, we had a pretty gift bag whipped up in no time. And once it is emptied of today's treasures, I'm sure that its 7 year old recipient will find something else to stuff inside.

From this...



To this...



And this...



By the way, Logan had a fun time at the party: running across the tumble trak to jump into the foam pit, racing through the inflatable obstacle course, and eating cake, of course.

in the dark

What did you do for Earth Hour 2008? We showed our support in the fight against global climate change by turning off our lights and reading and snuggling with the kids by candlelight. Quite a simple thing, really, but together with so many other concerned earthlings, I'm sure that we all made a significant impact. In 2007, 2.2 million people and 2,000+ businesses around the world participated in Earth Hour, resulting in a 10.2 % reduction in carbon emissions during that hour. I can't wait to see this year's stats.

http://www5.earthhourus.org/

art appreciation

An art gallery is a wonderful place to take children. They have such open minds and are able to communicate what they like or do not like about each piece. Last night we joined our dear friend, Heather Marie, for the opening reception of her senior art exhibition. It was so inspiring; she had painted images coinciding with her desire to live a life of sustainable farming in the future.

This is Owen's favorite: a green pepper.



The tomato is Logan's favorite.

egg dippers

Happy Easter! The boys had a blast coloring eggs. Some of the eggs even survived the process without cracking.

Owen closely observes his egg.



The multi-color magic begins here.



The finished product.

happy spring!

A little glue here...



A little marker there...



and feathers add the final touch.



Ta-dah! Fancy paper eggs for cousin Gabriel's first Easter.

won't you be my neighbor?

Hello Internet neighbors! As part of Pittsburgh's first ever "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Days (March 15th-20th), we're modeling our favorite sweaters to honor Mr. Rogers, on what would have been his 80th birthday. Read more about it here: http://www.fci.org/NeighborDays/sweater.asp

priceless art

Logan presented this beautiful drawing to me after work today. It is a picture of me at the beach holding a towel and looking at the lake. He has also been working on two story books for his brother this week and has spent nearly every available moment in his room writing and drawing away.

snow daze

The sunny days and warmer weather bring more fun in the snow. Although no photos were taken to document the evidence, our snowblock maker and various old tupperware containers provided much constructive (and destructive) fun.

A snowman has been standing in our yard for weeks, minding his own business, and just doing what snowpeople do. Then suddenly, without warning, he was forcefully disassembled by the kindergarten-sized assailant shown here (balancing on the snowman's remains).



Owen tested the snow handling capabilities of his 3-wheeler with multiple trips across the drifts.

surprise, surprise, surprise!

The American Heritage Dictionary defines "sneaky" as:
1. Furtive, surreptitious.
2. Marked by quiet and caution and secrecy.
3. Taking pains to avoid being observed.

I personally think any definition of the word "sneaky" should be accompanied by a picture of my wife. She recently threw me a surprise birthday party with 16 of our closest friends at the local brewhouse. I could not have been more clueless concerning her planning and preparation. Everything worked perfectly and I was completely surprised.



Thanks to everyone who maintained the shroud of secrecy, assisted Tracy in her endeavors, and who attended on Saturday. You are awesome friends and I love you all.

tympanic blues

Welcome to the house of very little sleep. Owen has a fever, runny nose, and goopy eyes. For the record, goopy is an official medical term I picked up from my years in ophthalmology at Mayo Clinic. Antibiotic eye drops help until Owen wails, "Hurt ear, hurt ear." After a visit to everyone's favorite pediatrician we discover we have the dreaded double ear infection on our hands. We exchange the eye drops for a pink liquid that tastes as delicious as it looks. After a few doses Owen is on the mend and sleep patterns return to normal.

happy 40th birthday tony!

Hope that you have a wonderful day. We love you!

on the needles

Logan learned to knit last summer in the car en route to our annual blueberry picking weekend in Bayfield, Wisconsin. It shouldn't have surprised us that he picked up the skill rather quickly considering his mama learned fibercrafts at an early age and hasn't stopped since. His current project has a future as a scarf or perhaps a fine coaster if the interest in garter stitch subsides sooner than later.