recital at nursing home.

Clara had a recital at a nearby nursing home recently.  She did pretty well.

Here she is prepping for the show!

 She didn't like the spider in her hair!  The 2-3 year olds are dancing to "Itsy Bitsy Spider".

 Kurtis is a total stage dad!

 She honestly stood facing sideways and picked her nose for the first half of her first song.  But then she saw us in the audience and livened right up!

 This was when the applause started!  Hilarious!  She was so proud!

It was pretty great!  She is the youngest in her class, but she did surprisingly well...besides the nose picking!

dance practice.

The costume is just too cute not to share!

Clara loves one particular friend at dance.  From the very first day of class, they were fast friends.  They hold hands a lot of the time.  And they always bring snacks to share with each other.  Here they are in their costumes.

 A few times after dance, we've gone out for a special treat.  Clara loved getting her first ice cream cone.  She thought it was pretty cool to eat one all by herself.  Daddy was happy because he got to clean up all her drips and eat a lot of the cone himself!

 love this!

 And here are Clara and her little buddy on picture day!  Clara just hugs her buddy!

practicing dance hair.

So, as you can see, Clara thoroughly enjoyed practicing her dance hair do...

 loving it!

She's a little Dutch girl for the recital, so we've been working on wreath braiding her hair.  I never thought I'd have a child in dance, but the title of the class through community ed included tumbling, and it was the only thing offered for 2 year olds in the evening.  So I was sucked in!  And I have to say, it has been a great experience for her.  She listens to her teacher, she's made some friends, and she can is learning to follow directions.  Stay tuned for more dance pictures!

just a little something I don't want to forget.

Clara pronounces granola in the cutest way!

making our mark.

Clara got some sidewalk chalk for Easter.  This may be how we spend the next few months years!

a couple cute cousin shots.

Oh I love this pic!  My Dad captured it on a walk in the park below my parents' house a couple weeks ago.  These two are so smiley!  It is rare that they look adorable at the same time in pictures, so it's a keeper!

 One day while the boys were here and their parents were playing in Hawaii, we walked over to our neighborhood park.  The kids had a ball playing and swinging!

 Look at that agile almost three year old!

 There are Oma and Baby Bill in the background on the swings!

I'm so happy that these chitlins get to see each other often.  Even though it would be even better if Steve and Teenie move to Boise with the boys...hint...hint!!!

Happy Easter.

We awoke Easter morning to one of the most beautiful days of the spring.  The sun was shining, and it was warm!  Clara came down the stairs to find her Easter basket filled with a few goodies...a butterfly net, a little candy, a slinky, a new ball for outside, and a few cheap little musical instruments.  She loved everything!  Then we got in gear and started fixing some breakfast.  Jeff and Janet, and my Mom and Emily came over for brunch mid-morning (my Dad was out showing some turkey dude from the south what Idaho looks like).

Of course, she was super happy about the candy!

 Once we all had eaten a fantastic brunch (thanks again Moms for bringing dishes and making my job easy!), we headed outside so Clara could look for some eggs.  She had practiced hunting eggs already with her cousin Ben, so she was an old pro!

 Look at her focus!

 There's Kurtis in the background, enjoying a little mimosa!

 She's so proud of all her eggs!

 Don't mind my dead marigolds and bamboo in the background here...I'm a hoarder and keep my dead plants around so I can sprinkle their seeds the next year to grow new plants!  It's a sickness...

 Clara was not in the mood, but we snapped a quick family pic anyway!

 And there she goes.

The day was perfect!  After brunch and hunting eggs, we lounged around outside in the sunshine.  All of us got a good dose of vitamin D and conversation.  We couldn't have asked for a better Easter 2013! PS - Happy 300th post!  Here's to 300 more!