Harpy Eagles - Amazing.

Watch Jungle Eagle on PBS. See more from Nature.

Lucia's buddy Neil

I decided that I should take photos of Lucia's buddies with whom she hangs out, of course with permission from their moms.  Why?  Because this blog becomes a year-book and some day she'll want to flip through and see who her friends were way back when.  Maybe they'll still be good buddies later in life, and then these photos of them will be really special.  So, over the next few weeks, I'll post about her friends.  Neil is several months younger than Lucia but they enjoy hanging out together.  This park is their favorite.

This week's art class: Texture book

Being goofy

Sorry some of these are blurry but a camera phone is no match for a toddler in constant motion!

Yep, it was bound to happen...

What would be the most fitting occurrence for one of the warmest winters, and record-breaking heat in the past few weeks?  No doubt we are headed into a HOT summer, and I will be VERY pregnant for most of it.  You know the air conditioner decided to fizzle at the most opportune time.  Granted, I was positive it was going to die two years ago when it was hot and I was pregnant, but it managed to last this long so I should be thankful instead.  At the moment I'm thankful for a reprieve of temperatures only being in the 70s for a high this week, hopefully until the A/C can be replaced.

Downtown Classic Car Show (Part II)

Lucia finally became more interested in spinning the wheel at the VW dealership booth, winning a bag.  Troy won a koozie, and my spin landed on a bag which I declined.  She also happily drew on the VW "art car" on display, with artistic guidance from Daddy.  We hope for more downtown activities!

Downtown Classic Car Show (Part I)

Our downtown is undergoing a revitalization, somewhat slower than originally planned due to the economic downturn.  We are rooting for more activities, festivals, restaurants, coffee shops, stores, park and such because we had purposely looked for a house within walking distance of the downtown, having learned about the revitalization plans several years ago.  We really do enjoy walking to the library and shops on the main street. Also within walking distance is the Art Center where Lucia's weekly art classes occur, and its renovation has been complete for about an year now.  The beautiful building anchors the (hopefully) new center of town.  We are excited to hear about plans for a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) children's museum, with the project already in full swing with grant proposals and funding in motion.  Plans for a theater, new farmer's market location, park, etc are all in the works.

Yesterday, the town put on an inaugural Classic Car Show, sponsored by a local VW dealership.  To support the local activities, we managed to squeeze in about 45 rain-free minutes between thunder showers.  The girl who loves to wave at fire trucks (even when the sirens are screaming) and excitedly hops onto the sofa to look out the window when the garbage trucks rumble by our house, suddenly became shy at the opportunity to sit in a new fire rescue truck on display.   Same for the garbage truck.  Go figure.

This week's art class: spring chicks

Helping Daddy in the yard

"Mommy, dirty"

8:45 pm pregnancy pizza craving

Little Caesar's drive-thru to the rescue! 

Give a girl a mirror....

... and she'll figure out how to check herself out.  Sunday morning's hair session took place in front of the mirror in hopes it would keep her still.  Uh, right. After a few different attempts, we finally ended up with a bun which looked neat and cute for approximately 4 minutes, and no photo of the actual bun came close to being blogable.

ALMOST the famous frown (still trying to capture it!)

Research Area

Troy's latest research area. Any guesses?

Gloves, check. Camera, check.

That same morning, we also planted some flowers.  Lucia was excited to help me (though capturing any smiles on camera seemed impossible), and wanted to dig in the dirt herself.  What tools does a girl whose mom blogs need?  Spade, gloves and definitely a camera!

Spring fever

We are happy that our girl loves to be outdoors, and we are grateful for these few days of warm sunshine minus bugs, especially mosquitoes.  The other morning, we enjoyed both the sunshine and chasing her orange ball.  She also learned very quickly how to get the ball out from under the car, and of course insisted on doing it all herself!

This week's art class: Wind sock

The deer that crept into our bedroom

Just before the holidays, Troy told me about a very special lamp that was coming home with us from Ohio.  Apparently, it sat next to his bed all his childhood years, and after being in someone else's possession for a little while, was being returned to its former owner.  The story's lead-in and undisguised glee made me wonder about this lamp, and sure enough, my fears were confirmed.  This iconic, mystical lamp was made of deer feet.  What?!  Ok, I'm a city girl and freely admit that the thrill of getting up at 3 am to shiver in the cold waiting for a deer to slink past and shooting it goes beyond my comprehension.  (No offense to any of you who love hunting, my hubby included).  My heart does not "thumpety-thump" when I walk by mounted deer heads.  And definitely not for a deer-footed lamp.  Of course my dear husband already knew all this about me, predicted my reaction and somehow managed to convince me that taking this lamp home was a good idea.  I couldn't resist that boyish excitement, and so I said that the lamp would look great in his office at school.  Office, not house.  But we conveniently left that lamp behind when we left Ohio (he, he... it really was an accident!).  Guess what?  That lamp showed up with my in-laws when they came last month. Sigh.  And last weekend, we found a shade for it.  And after "trying it out" in the living room for a couple days, it somehow magically appeared in our bedroom the other night.  I might end up having to become friends with the deer-footed lamp after all.  Or it might have to magically appear in his office at school.  Or I might have to admit that secretly I think it's a pretty cool lamp.

Weekend update

The sunshine filled the yard and house all weekend.  It beckoned us outdoors and we enjoyed in the backyard.  I worked Saturday, but it sounds like the Daddy-Daughter duo enjoyed themselves immensely.  At last the yard looks tidier, the birds are happy with extra suet, the van's exterior and interior are clean, and maybe, just maybe the garden might produce something this year.

Happiness = barefoot in the sand

Since the weather turned balmy and spring-like, Lucia loves playing at the park, and especially barefoot in the sand.  That barefoot trait she inherits very honestly, ahem, from a certain special woman.  Pretty soon, it'll be too hot to run around barefoot, so she might as well enjoy it now.