Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

Guess who! Henry's first Easter egg hunt. "So what do you think, Susanna? Is it worth it? You know they won't let us eat any of this candy anyway." After filling his basket, Henry decided it would be fun to dump all the eggs out and pick them up again. That was fine with me! Check back later for more comments.

At the pond yesterday while watching thirteen precious duckings (alas, no camera but my phone. We'll see if those pics are any good) Henry got tired of looking at the downy creatures and decided to see what would happen if he ran up behind Elisabeth who was crouching at the edge of the pond and pushed her really hard. He was probably disappointed that I was there and could catch her before he found the answer. Elisabeth sat on the couch reading The Flip Flap Body Book. "Mommy!" (big grin on her face) "You must've started being pregnant with me in January!" Mommy to self: I better take a look at that book. Her counting skills and reading are making things interesting. But she still has a few things to learn. Next she asked, "How do you have a baby in January?"

The day before Henry’s birthday we met Sarah, Timothy and Charlotte at the Mercer Arboretum. It was a gorgeous day, once the pea soup fog lifted. Sarah and I could barely see street signs as we drove there. I would guess that I had about 30 feet visibility. Almost as soon as we arrived at the arboretum Elisabeth identified a chipping sparrow—a little advertisement for The Burgess Bird Book For Children here. The stories give the birds personality, and the friendly descriptions stick in our heads. Elisabeth is trying to identify any bird she sees. Elisabeth and Timothy were so excited about drawing in their journals. For the first 15 minutes they wanted to draw everything they saw. Then it was time to run and run and run. John likes the pictures of Henry by the bluebonnets (Texas state flower) because he looks like a farmer surveying his field with much satisfaction.

Henry turned 2 on March 19. We celebrated a little bit that day and then again on Saturday the 21st with grandparents and cousins. Henry was so excited for his birthday cake. He saw Elisabeth and me decorating it Friday night and he just marched right over, climbed the step stool and tried to take a swipe at it. He was making all his winsome and not so winsome attempts at getting what he wanted. He did get a little sample after dinner that night, but it was only enough to whet his appetite (for sugar!) The next morning was the party, and as I was getting things ready in the kitchen, suddenly all was quiet. The cake was on the dining room table, so I rushed over, and there was Henry quietly climbing up onto a chair. I caught him just in time. He had bumped the table and knocked off a wheel. I asked him what the cake was. He said it was a car. Eventually it looked like a train to him, which is what I had planned. "Don't let it be over, please!" Hmm, now he's onto the ...

A good day to be "home" schooling: It's gorgeous out. Let's clean up the breakfast dishes, have Elisabeth read me a story and do a quick phonics lesson, a few tangrams, then grab a picnic lunch and water and a blanket (okay, this part took a little longer) and get out the door. Drive to Jones State Forest and go on a beautiful nature walk. For me the day was perfect. Blue sky, birds singing, sound of cars only faintly in the distance, wind in the trees. Cute kids walking along the trail. I was surprised by all the stubborn roots that kept tripping up little Henry. He was pretty tired out after a few hundred yards down the trail, and asking for lunch at 10:30 and to be carried. But every time there was a little foot bridge he would walk. Of course I didn't get any pictures of those because I was afraid he'd fall off or in (some were just boardwalks to help manage drainage but one was a really cool pipe bridge with a 15 foot drop and no sides of any consequence....

Henry loves to dance. It didn't take long --he had a good teacher and example in Elisabeth. His favorite CD right now is "Yiyi Kih"--aka Lion King (yeah, I have the soundtrack from the 90s but they've never seen the movie). Favorite past time these days: "Pay pay chains Mama, pay pay chains, Fwe Fwe. . ." (Play trains with Mama, or Elisabeth. or anyone . . .). He's getting better at playing by himself though too. His new interest has prompted Elisabeth to become interested as well so we just rolled up the rug and let them leave a track set up all the time. Two nights ago I was putting Henry to bed and as I put him in his crib he said, "Kiss Mama." So I kissed him, and then he said, "Kiss Hen Hen." How could I refuse? This went back and forth for a good long while.

I happened to find an old kilt of mine, purchased in London by my mom. She had been saving it for Elisabeth to wear and I found it just in time. Elisabeth loved wearing it and looked so cute.