Bring it on

Gracie took a moment or two to warm up to her new uniform, but....



she quickly got the hang of things and began performing stunts. This picture fails to capture the height she was getting with her jumps, but you can perhaps get the idea....



A little rest after all those jumps:



Lauren is too busy to perform any stunts for the camera:

Dressy

Buggy!

Toddler anxiety is a common developmental phase, or so I have been reading. We are experiencing it two-fold. Gracie is experiencing anxiety relating to "new" people and experiences. And, we've learned that "new" could simply mean a new hair style on a very familiar face, or it could apply to someone she has not seen in the last couple of weeks. Someone she is meeting for the very first or second time? Forgetaboutit. She becomes a human-magnet, clutching and grasping for dear life and managing to completely conceal her face underneath my neck. Such is her behavior at a play group we have participated in twice.

Lauren's anxiety is more focused.... on insects. This began last Thursday when we were outdoors and she playfully kept saying, "Silly buggy!" and, "Bye-bye Buggy!" By Friday, this cute girlishness behavior had evolved into full-blown phobia with screams of, "BUGGGGYYYYYYYY!!!! Noooooooo buggggggyyyyyyyy!"

Here is a pic of the girly behavior Thursday night:



Here is Lauren spotting the buggy:



And this is Lauren deciding that the outdoors is not for her:



A couple just for fun:

Bubblicious

All smiles

No Escape

While the girls were enjoying their books outside today, Brownie begged for admittance to the gated deck. I thought he immediately regretted his decision, but he quickly made his peace with the confined space, ear pulling and tail pulling (the latter are both signs of affection).

Easter morning

We are spending Easter in Asheville, North Carolina, this year. Somehow, the Easter bunny still managed to find us at our hotel. We enjoyed Easter goodies, dining out for breakfast and a lengthy drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Grove Park Inn

Even a cloudy, overcast day at the GPI is lovely.

We had lunch at one of our favorite places today: the Grove Park Inn. The nice couple at a neighboring table told us we were "very brave," as they gestured at the girls. Skip explained that we used to lunch there frequently when we were dating and that, really, the experience with two two-and-a-half year olds is not that different --- except for the chicken fingers sliced into tiny bite-sized portions, the crayon marks on the linen table cloths (This would be easier to explain if this was a crayon-and-kid's-menu kind of place. Since the crayons were procured from our bag and were emblazoned with the Cracker Barrel logo, we scrubbed furiously with wipes to remove the crayon -- washable, we hope? -- stains.), Lauren trying to eat a lemon and our asking the waiter if he could possibly locate a banana to serve as a tasty dessert. Our patient and saintly waiter consulted his manager, a banana was located, sliced and served on a pristine piece of china.

Voila!

Really, nothing has changed.

Fun on the field

Prepping for Easter

Potty Time

All the viewing of "Elmo's Potty Time" is really starting to pay off... at least for Lauren's Bear: