Another gorgeous day found us driving west until we could go no further.

It's officially a month out, but for all practical purposes, spring is in the air. Days are getting longer and this is one. happy. mama. Now I yield to Winnie and Jez to let you know what we were up to yesterday.

W: The day our car won't start turns out to be a good day to stay at home, anyway. The sun is shining and the backyard calls me to explore...

..make fairy boats,

build bridges,

and play, Sink or Swim? with moss, sticks, rocks, leaves and grass.

I have to say that I like a broken car.

J. Also a good day to sit by the creek and check out the surroundings.

By which I mean, of course--

--eat the surroundings.

There are just so many things to taste test in this world.

It's also as good of a day as any to express, once again, my complete loathing for naps.

Seriously, you'd think they'd catch on.

WHile Jezzie "napped," we baked bread. I love to help cook and I'm getting pretty adept in the kitchen, if I do say so myself. Among other things, I can crack eggs (and actually keep the shell out of the dish), measure and sift flour and mix anything. I also do a bang up job of cleaning the spoons. (Does licking count?)

Happy Weekend!!!!

KISS... one for Valentine's Day and another for Keep It Simple Sister. This has become my mantra for the holidays as it seems that as soon as one birthday winds up, another celebration looms. To avoid burnout, apathy and scroogism from seeping in (I love to love the holidays!), I have to keep it simple. This is easy with a four year old, as talk of making a chocolate cake (above) can keep her in the most jovial of holiday mood for weeks. And the 9 month old--well, I'll post a video of her eating banana sometime soon and you can see how it really doesn't take a circus to entertain that one! So we cash in on these days of simple pleasures and try to keep it that way.

Pictured here--a valentine goody bag which doubles as a purse (anything that can be packed and unpacked is coveted and adored) and Winona's Jolly Jar-- a jar filled with laminated Knock Knock Jokes and riddles... also a fav these days. The hilarious one right now: Knock Knock. Who's There? Dwayne. Dwayne who? DWAYNE THE BATHTUB, I'M DWOWNING! (Like I said: Easily Amused). Also included: fruit stick, Panda's red licorice (yum) and a fruit juice sweetened lollipop and a glow stick. She's in heaven.

In an effort to make future yearly cycles of the holidays just that much easier--and inspired by some insanely creative women in bloglandia--I'm trying to make reusable decorations this year--LOVE banner seen here behind Winona the Explorer.

I must say, if you would have told the 23 year old me that within a decade I'd be making Love banners with O's in heart fashion, I would have been amused at how outlandish the thought. Well, here we are. Happy Valentine's...I'm off to figure out how to make Four Leaf Clover crowns out of recycled leprachauns.

We've been making valentines.

Lots and lots of valentines.

J: Join me on a little visual tour through a series of moments in my life which play out in a very similar fashion to what you see here about 47 times a day.

I play. Happily.

I find something of interest and crawl to it, 'cause, well, I can do that now.
I eat it.

Mom takes it.

I find another item of interest...

J: Here's a documentary of my talents and abilities these days.

"A-Dah" (ah-Dah'): n., v., adj., adv. meaning more, all done, hey knock it off, hey keep doing that, see ya later, come back here, nice to see you, stop licking me (when looking at dogs), more kisses, please!, I'm sleepy, I'm up!, I really wish I could walk, give me that, take this, pick me up and put me down. Usually. Very useful phrase, which you can feel free to quote me on.

Dude. The sun is shining. We're totally going to the park.

I'll even walk the dog.

No objections here!

So long as I can eat sticks. This one.

Oh yeah. I love me some park days.

What is that bright light in the sky???
Ah, sunshine.


W: "Listen to my words, girl. You have to TURN the cap to get to the water.
Not that way. THIS way. JEZZIE, YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!"
J: "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR."

Good day.

Booyah! Now that was a weekend! We played, cleaned, cooked, hiked, sang, played with friends, sewed, napped and ate. Then we did most of that all over again.

It all began with the beetzza. Now, some may think it couldn't go anywhere but up from there, but I assure you, it was gooooooood. Mom made this yogurt dough for the crust, so it was sweet and heavy and more of a torte.

Julie: I'm learning to sew. At this stage, it's more like I'm learning to have the patience to sew. I'm not much of an instruction follower, which is why I love cooking so much. Give me a few basic guidelines and I like to just do my own thing. Cooking, I've found, is more forgiving. So, I'm learning to follow the rules and go step by step and DO every step despite my strong inclinations to create shortcuts. Bags, I've found, are a nice, gentle place to begin. This one is Winona's G'night Bag, which now hangs on her closet door, holding her pjs (previously found anywhere from under the bed to in the laundry to in the doll clothes bin or anywhere in between) and the books of her choice for the evening.

Tonight, she suggested that she pack it full of her clothes for school tomorrow, "so it doesn't sit empty all night." Sigh.


Jezzie: HI!

Winona: I have a proud announcement. I summited today for the first time on my own two feet. Spencer's Butte is MINE!

(Julie: this is no small accomplishment, for wee Nona--it's a solid 3+ mile walk, the first half of which is up, up, up, the last quarter mile or so of that of which is scrambling over wet rocks, in the rain, as it turned out. She was a superstar trooper).

I like the mud. I didn't like it so much when I FELL in the mud, but I like the mud.

Mom gave me a couple chances to head back down before we reached the top. No way, Jose. We came to summit, I'm goin' up. It wasn't until after finishing our lunch at the top that I said, "Momma, my body is telling me I'm done walking."

(Julie: Yeah, well, your body is in for one of life's little lessons: What goes up, must come down. On its own. Without piggy back rides.) I rallied and made it down with pretty good spirits the whole way.

Bodhi and Lucy: We were very grateful for Winona's perseverence. This Butte used to be a 2-4 time a week adventure for us. It's been MONTHS. Darn kids.

J: Hey! I went too! But, granted, I slept on Mama's chest for most of the way, so I don't get to bask in the glory of the summit. Still, I was there. For the record.

Here, I am eating teething biscuits. Mostly, these are great for chucking on the floor.

(Note the dog in waiting. He's no dummy).

Visualize Whirled Peas...

...or, at least, just visualize whole ones actually making it into my mouth. This self-feeding thing is slightly frustrating, but make no mistake: I am up to the challenge. If it involves solid food...bring it.

Another "first" this week that went unphotographed: Swimming. My mom, dad and sister and I went to the pool together and I LOVED it. I got to kick my legs and flail my body and screech joyfully. What's not to love?

I'm an intense kid. I laugh a lot, smile always and rarely, rarely cry, but I am intense. I give you a wee glimpse in this video, but you ain't seen nothing yet. Every once in a while, when I supremely focused and verbal mom and dad give each other a "whoa, what are we in for?" look. Not sure what that's about-- I am nothing if not pure angel.

(In case you're wondering, Dad and Winnie are concocting dinner in the background...Not sure why everyone didn't just grab a handful of peas and call it good).

J: I'm pretty excited to be mobile. Here, you can see the "push up and rock" stage I'm in towards the ultimate goal of crawling. You can also see that I can take off my diaper (on the floor) and my sister can accessorize me (on my head). My mom took this video because she thought it was funny that I was rocking in time to Whip It by Devo in the background. You can't hear Devo's tune, as it turns out, but know that I was jammin' to 80s tunes...

W: As we celebrate a new year, I would like to share with you a few things that I'm all about these days.

1) I have imaginary friends. Their names are Sweetie and Keller. (Note from Julie: the latter bears my maternal grandmother's maiden name, so if you're here with us G-Grandma, nice to have you!) W: Mom sits on these friends a lot, so I spend a good deal of our play time moving them to safer resting spots. Oy vey.

2) I like dresses something fierce. The frillier the better and don't even try putting me in cords or jeans. I revolt. The picture above was taken when I came down and announced I was "ready for bed." My pjs are on underneath the rest of it and life, my friends, is too short to be caught without a tutu.

3). Jezebel is the best thing that has happened in my world. She laughs at everything I do and lets me put hats on her head. Bodhi and Lucy don't giggle and tend to get a little feisty about the hats.

4). I'm a negotiator. I'm goooooooood. Each of my parents thinks I get it from the other. I say it's my very own talent...and really, so long as I get (insert any number of treats, extra minutes, additional books, etc. here), what does it matter?

5.) I'm a good kid. Not to toot my own horn, but you out there in cyberland who love me should know that I take good care of stuff-- like other people's feelings, my safety and that of others, toys and other things that should be toys, etc. I'm a good mannered, good natured kid --a few strategically placed moments of whining aside. Mommy and daddy better know how good they have it... ;)