Springtime!

Spring has sprung here in Fresno, and while we're still hoping to get a lot more rain to help with our current drought conditions, we are also enjoying some really nice sunny, warm days. Norah and Maddie love playing outside this time of year... they were nice enough to slow down for a few minutes so I could get some pictures of them with the blossoms.

Dan, Norah, and Maddie also took advantage of the nice weather by running in a race this past Saturday. Norah and Maddie did the 1/8 mile kid's race, while Dan (joined by Maggie, Jake, and Laura) did the 10K. Both girls did great! Norah took a bit of a spill while trying to navigate the crowded starting line, but she hopped up, wiped away the tears, and completed her race. Maddie - as the youngest competitor in the field - was the last one to cross the line... but she ran with determination from start to finish. They both had a lot of fun and were very proud of the medals they got at the finish line. (The adults did great, too, even if their race didn't draw quite the same crowds of spectators as the kid's race did.)

Norah is cruising along through her last few months of preschool (sigh...). She has made some good friends, some of whom will be continuing on with her at St. Anthony's next year. Maddie has been ramping up her vocabulary the past few weeks. She has a few obvious favorites (no, doggie, ball), but also some harder words that are obviously very important for her to be able to communicate (cookie, swing, dinner ["ninner"], sister, yucky, stinky, gunk, shoes, and balloon ["manoon"]). She's even realized that she can convey attitude with her words ("um, no")! It's very cute, and she is surprisingly patient with us as we try to figure out what she's saying.

We have also started preparations for our new arrival, with cleaning closets and organizing cabinets first on my list of to-do's. Maddie will be moving out of the nursery into what we have been using as our office, so there are a lot of things to relocate. As I was moving some boxes of old keepsake clothes from my childhood, I couldn't resist having a dress-up session with Maddie. I was also able to find of picture of myself in one of the outfits (along with some very stylish ladies, I might add!).

Next on the nesting list is wallpaper/texturing removal, retexturing, and painting. Luckily for Dan, I think we'll be hiring a professional on this one. I'm sure we'll think of plenty of other things to keep him busy, though! Happy spring to all!