Snails and Rolly Polly Bugs

 Of our blog readers, my mom will likely be the biggest fan of this post.  Will discovered snails and rolly polly bugs, and we spent lots of time looking for them.

We did find a few snails, and we would put them on a rock and then check on them throughout the day.  This snail got out of his shell while we were watching him!  I have never seen this happen before, but it was awesome.  He abandoned this house, so now the shell is outside and we get to see it all the time. 

The first time Will picked up a rolly polly bug, the poor rolly polly did not survive. He has gotten a lot better at being gentle, but it was hard to explain to him what had happened.  I told him if we squeeze them too hard they can no longer walk.  Since then, most of those he has held have survived. 

I love the excitement he exudes when he finds a bug.  I hope he always has so much joy for life!

Conversation with Katie

Sibling Love

 
I just love watching the love Will has for Katie.  His eyes light up when I take her with me to get him from a nap.  He reaches over to hold her hand when they are in the double stroller.  And he loves to hold her, hug her and kiss her.  Sometimes it is smothering and we have to rescue Katie, but often it is just soft and sweet like this picture where he is "hugging" her in her bumbo seat. 

Katie loves watching Will.  She constantly is following him with her eyes and he definitely makes her smile.  I knew they would entertain each other - I just didn't expect it this early!

watching Will

little doll baby

kisses

sitting on her lap (he is actually sitting on a piece of plastic)

trying to put her bow in

wiping her face

Getting a tootsie pop from the postlady!

going for a spin with dad

Playing Outside

 We have been spending a lot of time outside these days in this glorious weather.  We almost always head outside after Will's nap, and luckily Katie seems to love the outdoors as well.  She typically just comes along for the ride.

Playing in the sandbox is always fun.  Will likes to give me a shovel or rake to dig holes, and then he fills up the dump truck using a bulldozer (he still loves trucks) and dumps the sand into the hole.  We also look for treasures.  Treasures to Will are the small rocks in the sand.  It is so fun to watch him get so excited about these simple things.

Today I showed him how he could bury his feet in the sand.  He thought this was just hilarious.  We both buried our feet multiple times.  Then we put our feet in the water table to get all the sand off...and then Will splashed like crazy.

I cannot wait until we go to the beach in July - he is going to have a blast!

Buried feet

Splashing

Pure joy

Katie watching all the fun

Katie Boo

 I miss this girl!  Going back to work as been a little harder than I expected. 

I really enjoyed my 12 weeks with Katie.  I had so much fun spending each day with this little bundle of joy.  Now that I am back to work, I have moments where I wonder where she is... forgetting that she is with Loli and Will.  When she is home, I try to get my hands on her when I can and take in that baby smell. 

I am so in love with this little Katie Boo!

Maggie

 Maggie loves Will.  Will loves her as well.  He always has.  He is curious where she is when she is not around.  He knows when he drops food on the ground, she will get it.  And now, he really enjoys taking her for walks on the leash.

Yesterday Maggie and Will were having so much fun together.  Maggie is always by his side.

Telling Will secrets

Helping Will fix things with his screwdrivers

More secrets

It looks like Katie and Maggie are going to get along just fine

She was talking to Mags

Me and My Shadow

Yesterday when Will and I were outside playing, I showed him his shadow.  He was pretty intrigued by it and had a great time playing with it.  I loved when he would get up really close to check it out. 

It would have been a great video!  I am thinking about upgrading to a new SLR that also takes video.  That would really be perfect for me as I almost always have my camera close by.  Maybe I'll suggest that to Chad as a Mothers Day gift option for this weekend!

taking a closer look

watching it run

about to high five his shadow