Scout's first potato person

Scout just discovered Mr. Potato Head, and she loves it. It's one of the few things that keeps her seated in one position for any amount of time. Here are pictures of her first creations. I put the feet on for her to give each potato a base to stand.

Working hard

Proud artist

The glasses help her get into the mind of the potato, so that her creations are more accurate and true to potato life!

Crazy bird

Last month, Garrett and I were playing in the living room, when we heard a loud thumping. It turned out to be a mockingbird flapping its wings and beating against our window, seemingly trying to get in. It kinda freaked G out, and though I went out on the porch to check, I couldn't find any apparent reason that he was behaving that way. The bird kept at it for a good while, and even had a little air battle with a blue jay that flew onto the porch. The only good thing that came out of the situation was that it provoked a conversation of the origin of Scout's name and why we never kill those birds.

Cinco de Mayo

We had two families over for dinner to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. It's really just my excuse to make puerco pibil, which is one of my favorite Mexican dishes, but a little too labor intensive to make all the time. The adults enjoyed good conversation with friends, while the kids had their way with my couch, meaning they threw all of the pillows in the floor and jumped on them. It happens every time we have a group of boys over, and usually only ends when someone gets hurt. There were no major injuries this time, thankfully, and I got a couple of cute pictures. And, by the way, I do at least know the reason we celebrate Cinco de Mayo. It celebrates the defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 (not Mexican Independence Day, which is Sept. 15th). It's kind of a David and Goliath story, with the French army having so much larger and more powerful than the Mexican army. No charge for the brief history lesson.

Dog pile!

Climbing out

Ryan getting in on the action


Scout trying to give Emery a hug "adios"

Quaker cowboy

Garrett noticed a Quaker Oats commercial today and as they showed the oatmeal box front, he said, "Hey, it's Cowboy John White Hair!"

April's finishing touches

Can I really be this far behind?

I made a few extra pirate cookies for Garrett to share with his classmates at preschool, the Tuesday after his birthday. He was so proud to hand them out.

The following Thursday, he performed in his Spring Program at school, which serves as the end of the year performance. All of the children worked to make the decorations in the room, which, by the way, were really cute. Garrett made a big blue bird, which he brought home that day. Each class performed one song that they had practiced in music class. Garrett's class sang "I'm Not Perfect", which we know from the Laurie Berkner "Victor Vito" cd. The last verse goes, "You're not perfect, no you're not. You're not perfect, but you've got what you've got." The kids pointed out at the audience during that verse, which got a nice laugh. Just to clarify that it's a nice song it ends with, "You do your very best each day. You're not perfect, but you know we love you that way." It's a sweet song. Scout did well during the performance, dancing, clapping, and playing with her favorite friend at Garrett's school. It's Jayce, the maintenance guy at the church, who stands at the front door when we arrive and leave school each day. She runs into his arms each day and then immediately wants down. Some days, she even starts waving to him from the car. It's cute. We got to visit G in his classroom after the show, and he was crazy proud. It was a precious day.

Garrett's class - he's on the far right, and I think his bird is sitting on the tree branch

Jayce and Scout

Garrett after his performance

To finish out April, Scout, in a classic move, climbed up onto the kitchen table to finish off Garrett's dinner leftovers. The classic part was the climbing, not the eating, which, on the contrary, is quite atypical for her. As it usually happens, I turned around, and there she was. I'm sure that, as soon as she figures out how to move the kitchen chairs (and I've seen her try), I'll find her on top of the fridge. She's a monkey!

Eating his food

Giving him a sweet smile