I Don't Want Your Freedom

As some of you might remember, I took my sweet ol' time learning how to walk last year. It wasn't until the end of the summer that I finally put one foot in front of the other. Honestly, though - if someone was carrying you everywhere you wanted to go, would you bother learning to walk on your own?

Yeah, that's what I'm saying!

Anyway, now that I am walking and it is finally warm again, I can go out in the backyard with Charlotte and the pugs to play. We had some really nice weather a few days ago, so out to the back we went.

You'd think that with my new found freedom in the backyard, I'd be running all over the place like I was chasing a cupcake. Yeah, not so much. I decided that I was much more comfortable keeping watch over everything from the top of my slide. I didn't feel the need to go crazy with my new freedom. Mommy said that I spent at least 45 minutes sitting there while she and Charlotte played soccer. Everytime Mommy came close to me, I'd yell "Bye bye" and wave her off. I was enjoying my peaceful perch :)

I finally had to leave my spot when Charlotte decided she wanted to draw on the driveway. I was upset at first, but then discovered the joy of sidewalk chalk!

Charlotte later brought out her jump rope. She is getting really good!!

I have to do everything that my big sis does, so I tried my hand (er, I mean feet!) at jump roping. It's fun!

Blowing bubbles was a blast until Mommy told me that I wasn't supposed to eat the bubble wand. What fun is that?!

I'm thinking that maybe I should have walked sooner last summer. Maybe I do want freedom to be in the yard. Playing outside with my sister is fun!!

I hope you enjoyed my Wham! reference in the title, Auntie Tara :)

Sneaky Bunny!

Happy Easter, everyone! Since Mommy is trying to keep the blog current again, she decided that the baby of the family should now have the chance to narrate the posts. Charlotte has been narrating for the past FIVE years now (yes, this blog is that old. Mommy said she started it in February, 2006!), so we all figured it is my turn. Don't tell Charlotte, though - she doesn't like to lose a turn on anything ;)

Charlotte's Web and Claire's Lair is now under the control of me, CLAIRE ABIGAIL!!! :)

This is my first post. Please be kind!

We had a very nice Easter this year. The sneaky Easter bunny visited our house again. Why is he sneaky? It starts off with this note...

We had to find eight eggs that each held a clue as to where our baskets were hidden. Luckily, my big sis knows how to read, so she was able to follow the clues.

After some serious detective work, we found our baskets hidden in our playhouse. Mommy brought them out to the kitchen, and we were able to look through our Easter surprises.

Somehow the Easter Bunny heard about my hat obsession...
He also knows that I enjoy a nice pair of shades.

He guessed correctly that Charlotte loves anything to do with fashion and her favorite movie, Tangled.

He also guessed correctly that Charlotte enjoys Barbie.

After a lovely morning spent at our house, we went to visit Nana and JoePa's house for Easter dinner. I was so busy playing that I made it very difficult for Mommy to get a nice Easter photo of me with anyone...

Even a food bribe didn't help.

Yeah, I had too many things to do and to see to be bothered with any photos!

I was willing to show off my new Michael Jackson hat, though.

Easter Bunny? Are you there? Can you hear me now?

I love how this dress shows off my muscles!

Maybe I'll smile for a photo when I'm a big kid like Drew and Charlotte.

The day before Easter, we traveled up to Grandma Betsy's house for a yummy Easter dinner. That sneaky Easter Bunny hid eggs all over her apartment. Charlotte and I had a great time trying to find all of them!

Speaking of eggs - a few days before Easter, Drew and Charlotte colored eggs together. Reed and I weren't too interested in what they were doing. Who wants to color eggs when there are instruments to play and books to read? Drew and Charlotte sure did seem proud of their work, though.

Don't bother me about coloring eggs - I want to go on egg hunts and get the yummy stuff that is inside them. Last week we went to the middle school with our empty baskets and came home with very full baskets :) The little kids got to go first.

Even though I was more than capable of finding the eggs on my own, I let Charlotte think that she was helping me by letting her walk me around the field.

Look out!! Coming through with a heavy basket!

A bit of an embarrassing moment - someone forgot to tell me that the second egg hunt was for kindergarteners...

Once I was herded back to the sideline, Charlotte and the other big kids took off on their hunt.Charlotte didn't have too much competition.

Our friend Natalie came to the hunt with us. A five year old, a three year old and a two year old - unless you are Jessica Barnak, you aren't going to get a good photo of that group! Funny Mommy thought she'd get a nice shot...

The highlight of the egg hunt for Charlotte was the face painting. That girl is a sucker for paint on her face. Especially pink paint and butterflies.

Overall, we had a bunny-riffic Easter. Charlotte and Mommy got their Easter crafts on - I assumed they took a nap every afternoon like I do, but apparently they spend that time crafting. Silly girls. Here are the bunny cups that Charlotte made for Drew and Reed.

Charlotte also made these very pretty vases.

Daisies for Nana...

...and tulips for Grandma Betsy.

We hope you all had a lovely Easter!!

Blame it on Facebook

We're back after another long absence. We'd like to take a minute to blame Facebook for the long stretches of time without posts. It's just too easy to upload photos and share them with our Facebook friends. No worrying about spacing, uploading photos one at a time and hoping they are in the right order, trying to come up with clever text...Mark Zuckerberg just made it easier to share photos :) I realized that when Claire looks back on this blog when she is older, she is probably going to become justifiably angry that there is not nearly as much "blogumentation" of her early years as there was for Charlotte. In an effort to avoid even more sibling rivalry issues than we are certain to encounter in the future, I decided to suck it up and start blogging again. Don't worry, Facebook. I won't abandon you. The addiction runs too deep... :)

So, what have we been up to? After a long winter, we are welcoming spring with open arms. Unfortunately those arms are still usually covered with long sleeves, but we are hoping for warmer weather soon. Charlotte's kindergarten class is in full spring mode - they have welcomed a new class pet. Nibbles has only been in the class for two weeks, but Charlotte has spoken enough about him that you would think she's been around all year. Charlotte likes to talk. About everything. Currently, most of her nonstop chatter is about Nibbles.

Nibbles likes to eat little green pellets. Nibbles poops a lot. Nibbles gets scared easily. Nibbles is soft. I love Nibbles. I wish we could keep Nibbles. Do you think Trixie and Emmet would like Nibbles? I wanted to name her Rosie, but the class voted to name her Nibbles. Nibbles' poop is little. Nibbles' doesn't poop jelly beans like E.B. does in "Hop." Nibbles is SOOO cute!!!! Nibbles, Nibbles, Nibbles... Charlotte's class also had several eggs that hatched into chicks last week. Mrs. Ditzler invited us to come in and see the chicks (and Nibbles, of course). Claire loved visiting the room and stared at the chicks for a good five minutes.

Mommy, CHEEEEEEKS!!! Sis Sis, CHEEEEEEEEKS! Hi, CHEEEEEEEEEKS!

Charlotte very proudly showed Claire around the classroom and took her to see Nibbles. She made sure to go over all the rules with Claire. Charlotte is a rule-teller. She loves to tell you the rules. Maybe someday she'll follow all the rules herself :)

Claire, this is Nibbles. Claire, be gentle. Claire, don't scare Nibbles. Claire, Nibbles is a broken rabbit. Claire, Nibbles is a girl. Claire, be gentle. Gentle, Claire. Gentle!!

Spring has brought lots of new excitement to Charlotte's kindergarten class. Now that the weather is getting warmer, Charlotte's social schedule is getting even busier. Tomorrow she is having a lunch playdate with her BFF, Anna. It will be a quiet lunch tomorrow for Claire and me. Well, quieter than usual anyway...Miss Claire is doing her best to win the title of Chattiest Aston lately :)

Alright, Facebook. You might be a huge time suck and an obssession, but Blogger is going to do her best to avoid a complete take-over...Only time will tell!