Growing Up, It Happens Every Day

Lest you think I'm done being excited about spring, here's a picture of Leah and Addison looking out the kitchen window at the popcorn popping on our apricot tree. Every time Leah sees the tree, she says "popcorn!" with great enthusiasm. It took a while to convince her that it was not, in fact, actual popcorn, and we wouldn't be eating it.

And now, on to the post. Our kiddos are growing and doing monumental things left and right. Sometimes I want it all to just slow down! They're getting so big so fast, and occasionally I feel like so much is going on that I'm missing it. Here are a few pictures of our big kids' latest feats.

Firstborn first: Addison is somewhat notorious around our house for not enjoying chores. Don't get me wrong, he does them daily, and has gotten pretty quick at them, but you won't ever see him scrambling for the chance to do extras. Well we recently got an awesome book from the library about all sorts of plants and animals and he stumbled upon the page about venus fly traps. The boy was obsessed. We printed coloring page after coloring page of venus fly traps, he built one out of wooden blocks, he requested one when Grandma asked him how he'd like his face painted. And then we found one at Lowe's. He was so excited he couldn't contain himself. I told him how much he needed to save (like six dollars or so), and that boy was doing "quarter jobs" so fast that he completely cleaned out the quarter supply. I figured it would last maybe a day, but Addison stuck with it, and earned his venus fly trap, a quarter at a time. (Truth be told, I think it's actually another kind of carnivorous plant, because venus fly traps are endangered, but we don't have to let that out). I am so proud. And he is so cute carrying it around and taking care of it.

Next up: Bryn. At long last, our Brynny has started soccer! She had to miss the entire first half of the season back in the fall on doctor's orders because of the broken arm. Her first game was a couple weeks ago. She was great! Bryn is pretty mellow, easygoing, and content most of the time. She shows emotions, just in a very laid back sort of way. Let me tell you, though, you should've seen her once she got her purple jersey on and started playing. She could not stop grinning. She had such a good time! She stayed right with her team and with the ball and even scored a goal! I don't know who had much fun - her actually having the fun, or Nate and I watching her have it. Her coach is great, too. And the girls on her team are very cute and nice. They're the "Purple Princesses."

And finally, Leah. She had her first "messy bun" hairdo a couple weeks ago. She and Bryn were twinners. Her bun was approximately the size of a radish. It was so cute.

And this picture is just really cute.

Leah has also gotten to the point where she'll sit completely still for Grandma to paint her face. She thinks it is so neat. Every time anyone mentions Grandma, she always talks about having her face painted.

And she can do this. I'm impressed.