Spring has sprung!

Ahhhh...spring in Seattle.  That time of year when blooms spring to life, bringing much needed color to our cloudy city, and when the sun makes a few rare appearances, teasing us into believing that *maybe* this year spring will be like it is depicted in all the Easter advertising.  Sadly, Seattle is nothing if not consistent and this April the bright days were appreciated, but not nearly enough.  Thankfully Lily and Matteo have the amazing ability to generate their own bright rays of light.  Among the highlights...

- Lily continues to demonstrate how five is AWESOME - we're now halfway through and Lily is the funniest she's ever been (and that's saying a lot), yet still has the enormous capacity for wonder and unbridled enthusiasm that makes childhood so magical.  However she is growing up fast...we went to the movies this month and for the first time ever she wanted to sit in the middle and in her own seat, rather than my lap.  Yes, the chair closed on her a bit, but it still struck me what a big girl she has become
- Matteo played peek on Easter.  Yeah, yeah, all babies play peek - but he took it to a whole new level when by gleefully instigating the game himself.  As with his sister, it was so cute I came close to melting on the spot
- Lily has always been funny with her clothes, but now that she's in charge of dressing herself every morning, she is increasingly resembling Pippi Longstocking.  Stripes?  Sure!  Polka dots?  Cool!  Floral?  Love!  All at the same time?  Why not?!  Despite her bravado, she is still decidedly unimpressed when other folks show similar moxie.  Recently in Ballard we saw a goth guy walking down the street.  Lily didn't hesitate to giggle what a "silly dresser" he was.  I didn't share that I probably would have dated him in high school
- In addition to playing peek, Matteo has also mastered clapping.  Despite being delighted by this new skill, he won't do it on request....unless it is for Lily.  Naturally when she does it, he happily goes along. So very sweet...and of course trying not to worry what shenanigans she might also get him to do when they are older....
- As I have mentioned in previous posts, it is very important to me to raise aware, altruistic children.  Thankfully Lily's school feels the same and has recently held several bake sale fundraisers to benefit other children who less fortunate.  When picking Lily up from school at the end of one, Chris found her quite distressed that the sale was coming to a close while there were baked goods still unsold.  When he explained it was time to leave, she responded "WE HAVE TO KEEP SELLING!"

- Speaking of food, it's becoming a running joke where we will find puffs on Matteo.  He loves Happy Baby sweet potato puffs, but inevitably some fall from his tray into his seat...and from there find their way into his pants, shirt, even diaper.  I've seen him crawling around a hour after snack time with a puff hanging off his bottom, while changing him into PJs a cascade has fallen from his clothes...they are a very stubborn snack and they seem to love him as much as he loves them
- And speaking of clothes...Lily no longer likes them.  There is no easy way to say it - our girl is an at-home-semi-nudist.  When watching TV, she immediately strips to her underwear and snuggles up under a blanket.  She'd prefer to eat dinner pantsless.  She's happily live life in the buff...but only at home with the doors and windows shut.  You see she does have a sense of propriety, but the security of home means it's time for my little Al Bundy "to get comfy"
- As Matteo has gotten older he hasn't forsaken clothing, but I have noticed his increasing awareness of others, especially the babies in his room.  More and more he likes to play near them and really reacts to their moods.  For example when Georgie, a girl in his class, was crying at drop off the other day, he immediately crawled over to her.  Once he got there he was at a loss, but nonetheless it was so sweet and such an indicator of his kind disposition
- Lily, too, enjoys the company of her friends and for the first time ever, chose them over us this month.  Her school hosts Parents Night Out on the 3rd Friday of every month.  For $20 your child stays after school and runs around in his/her jammies, eats pizza, then watches a movie and eats popcorn until 11pm or you pick them up, whichever is sooner.  We've never participated since Friday is ice cream and movie night at the Lowe house and honestly I couldn't handle the guilt of ditching her when we get so little time together.  Well this month she BEGGED me to let her do it.  I was both surprised and a little sad...I thought I had at least another 5 years before I'd get ditched in favor of her friends.  The story doesn't end there, though.  I got her a fairy snuggie (don't judge me - it was on sale) for her to keep warm under during the movie and Chris and I took little man to dinner.  When I went back to get her, the movie was in full swing, she was all snuggied up and didn't want to leave, so I hunkered down with her.  At one point I went to get her jacket in preparation to leave and ended up going down a conversation rabbit hole with another mama.  During this time, Lily got up to find me, didn't see me in the coat area, and started wandering the school, crying, thinking I had left her.  I felt TERRIBLE - a total parenting fail - and needless to say she has since told me she no longer wants to participate in Parents Night Out.
- "Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma" - Matteo says this a lot.  It's not only music to my ears, his saying it also shows off the two teeth that, after much teasing, have FINALLY decided to come through.  They've been quite slow to grow in, so my guess is he'll be like Lily...adorable and two-toothed for another 8 months or so
- "I want alone time" - Lily, holding her freshly filled Easter basket.  "Ok, but leave the candy in the kitchen." "I don't want alone time any more" (she's had a lot of "alone time" this month...her desire for it ended when the Easter basket and it's sugary contents were moved to the dining room
- High fives - Matteo has mastered them.  Chris has been working with him and is SUPER proud to show off Matteo's skills.  Of course because he is such a sweet soul, they are very delicate fives
-  Speaking of Easter, Lily arranged an egg hunt for me last week.  I asked why, since Easter was over.  She responded "because you didn't get one."  Man, I love this kid
- "How about this?" and "how about that?" are now very common refrains.  For example...
Me: We need to go to the store
Lily: How about this?  We go to the park instead?  How about that?
Me: Bed time in 10 minutes
Lily: How about this? We ride bikes and then read stories and THEN bed.  How about that?
A mere 5 and already a masterful negotiator
- Matteo, following Lily's cues, has decided to devise his own method of negotiation.  He REALLY likes me to hold him these days, in particular when I am getting ready for work or making dinner.  He'll let me know by crawling up to me, climbing my legs, and then systematically pulling my pants while making sad little "meh-meh-meh" sounds.  His terms are as follows: "learn to do things one-handed, lady, or you lose the pants."  He typically he gets his way

Oh! And to end things on a happy spring note - we actually had a sunny Easter!!! We still had our family egg hunt in the basement (neighborhood raccoons make this a good idea despite the weather), but Lily got to participate in the community egg hunt and the church hunt OUTSIDE this year - nice!