Family Photo

On Easter, Lance managed to take a picture in which every member of the family was actually looking at the camera! I had to post for that, if nothing else.

Easter, itself, was perfectly calm. We started the day with an Easter egg hunt at home, then church, then Grandma Jackie's for another Easter egg hunt (and a fabulous beef tenderloin, because ham just doesn't cut it around here). I'm wondering if it's the last year I can fill the eggs with things like dried apples, cranberries and blueberries and still get sincerely excited looks from the kids when they open them...

Happy Birthday, Bean

Rowan,

You are now four years old. Four! You're truly a little girl--not even a little bit a toddler anymore. This past year, you grew and changed more than I could imagine. You have learned to be patient and considerate and you're even nice to your brother--most of the time. You learned to read, get dressed by yourself and can understand quite a bit of Spanish. You still love pink, pigs and Mommy, but you sure are becoming quite the Daddy's girl and are starting to choose Daddy over Mommy most of the time.

We celebrated with a Piggy Party which was just perfect for you. You had so much fun with your friends and your family. In true Rowan style, you woke up that morning with a scrape and bump in the middle of your forehead. Somehow you managed to hurt yourself in the middle of the night! Everyone kept asking what happened and you would either say "I don't know" or "I don't want to talk about it." You also woke up asking how much bigger you were now that you're four. And refusing to allow help with anything because since you are four you can do it all by yourself.

I've had so much fun watching you become the little girl you are and can't wait for all the fun things you'll be doing in your fifth year of life!

Birthday Girl

While Rowan's birthday isn't actually until this Saturday, she celebrated at school last Thursday, what with spring break happening this week. Because all 3-year-olds who go to school all of 2.5 hours twice a week desperately need a break. (But I really get that the teachers do need that break.)

Needless to say, she was excited. She insisted I make pig cupcakes, which turned out surprisingly well, but took a bit of work. She wore the "Birthday Girl" shirt (which I was hoping might make it through two days, but is now too stained to wear on her actual birthday) She got to wear the birthday crown. The weather was gorgeous and she played outside at school and after school. She was pleased. I was pleased. What more could we ask for? Except a Leapster, which Rowan has informed me is what she would like for her birthday. But I'm pretty sure she's not getting it. So I'm hoping the actual birthday will not turn out to be too disappointing.

Vacation

We're back from a whirlwind tour of friends in the south. While it was a great time for all of us, there's something amazing about coming home, getting back into a routine, sleeping in my own bed! And I think this is the first time I actually felt like I was coming home. The first few times we went back to visit friends, I felt like I was leaving home when we left Charlotte. This time I felt like I was coming home. And I was ready to be here.

Since we were gone for 11 days, we got to see a lot of people. I was thrilled to finally catch up with Andrea after her months of chaotic scheduling. It was amazing to finally meet Madison and to watch Rowan and Nathan catch up right where they left off. I had a blast catching up with my teacher-friends and the dinner-group girls. There was a wave of nostalgia when we drove by our old house--especially since there was a "For Sale" sign out front. Rowan said "I like that house. Can we buy it?" It was great to see Heather and Mike and to cheer the guys on at the Lexington half-marathon. The kids were champs on all counts. Great car-riders, great (with the exception of two horrible nights with Tate) sleeping in strange places, great playing with new friends.

While I didn't get to actually do a lot of the things I wanted to, I got to see virtually everyone I wanted to. The shopping, eating at great restaurants and doing any sort of "adult" thing will have to wait for another visit. Thanks to Trang and Mike and Heather and Mike for letting us invade your space for a while. We had a wonderful time! And, Heather, thanks for getting Pig back to us so quickly. Rowan didn't even ask for her until the day she came! (Yes, I know Piglet is a boy, but not to Rowan. All things pink must be girls.)