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I have been spending more time in my studio lately after a long break. It has been fun getting that creativity flowing again.

HOUSE 105
Playing around with some portraits

HOUSE 107

and a little Nun thrown in just for good measure.

One warm day...

and everyone came out to play.

It was good to hear see everyone back after the long winter hiatus.

One beautiful warm day in February...
A hint of spring to come.

Only in Chicago...

We had an unseasonably warm day today so the kids piled out to have some spring type fun.

I cleaned out the garage and when I saw the snowblower sitting on the chalk drawings, I thought it was the perfect representation of our weather.

Unpredictable!

A day in the life...

of a Cricket.
I keep saying I want to document the many costume changes that go on throughout the day.
I tried that today but then we went out in the afternoon and I missed all of those.

These were all before noon.

Some day I will capture them all.

It will be a long blog post.

Valentine Girl...

Off to school on Tuesday to hang out Valentines.

You looked like a little Valentine in your new dress.

The big "3"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRICKET!

Even though your actual birthday was back in January, yesterday we had your little party to celebrate. I tried to get some photos of you before you had a chance to get dirty or change clothes. You chose to wear the pant outfit I had instead of the dress which was a shock given your recent decision to wear mostly dresses. I think it had to do with the fact that there were cupcakes all over this outfit. You looked so cute. You are not fond of photos these days. It is a struggle to get you to sit still and smile. When asked to smile, you shout out "cheeseburger" (I have no idea why) and then offer this cheesy grin. I love it!When I asked you what kind of decorations you wanted, you said "flowers". You love flowers. Every time we go to the store, you have to stop and smell the flowers. I hope you always remember to do this as you grow older.You helped me make your goody bags. I was going to put a "G" on them for Gabriella but you insisted that your name is Ella and therefore they needed an "E" instead. You are very opinionated about things these days. A strong woman at 3.

"Whose birthday party is this?" "ME, ME, ME!"I tried to get a photo of your whole birthday outfit but you did not want to sit still long enough for that. You had a party to host after all.

Of course it didn't take long for the costume changes to begin. I think you wore at least 10 different outfits that day. Sounds like a typical day at our house.You were so happy to see all of your friends. Especially Sara and Matt. (OK, mostly Matt I am sure...haha) There is that cheesy grin again!And speaking of cheesy grins...Austin was showing his stuff.

I tried to get everyone together for a photo by bribing them with the pinata. It almost worked...a few were missing still. Funny how it is always the big kids who love to hit the dress up area.Everyone had fun taking their frustrations out on the princess pinata. Of course we had to do this one in the basement thanks to the wetness outside. Austin got attacked by the pinata...And...in the end...since we are all about recycling around here...Tim thought the pinata would make a nice hat. Stylish.You loved your "beautiful cake".

And, for all of your boldness in life, you were shy when everyone sang to you which was so cute. You asked Shawn to blow out your candles. Then you devoured your cake and declared it the best there ever was.

And even though you were not quite as polite about your presents as I would have liked, I later found you trying on all of the outfits and playing with all of the toys. (I have no idea where my camera was at this point...shame on me).

What fun we have had over the last 3 years! I am so excited to see what this year will bring.

Happy Birthday Baby Cricket...you are so well loved!!

Last week was our Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. We had 38 cars racing and many people in attendance. It was a very busy week for me with all of the planning that went into the event. Tim was in charge of the starting gate.

This was Shawn's car...built by Shawn and Dad. It was called the "Peanut X59" which has become his alter ego through the years.
Our babysitter backed out at the last minute so we took the whole gang. Luckily...Ashley came long to keep on eye on the crazy Cricket. Austin was his own man...lots of sibling friends to play with so I barely saw him all night.

My daughter found interesting ways to entertain herself...
Like jumping off of the stage 100 times.
Luckily...she landed every one!

And thought she was pretty cool.
Shawn came in second place out of 38 cars which was pretty nice. He got a trophy. Since Tim is the Cubmaster, he got to hand them out and he was very proud.
Here he is with Jared, who won first place, and Ashley clowning around.
And...I couldn't leave this one out. Love ya Brenda!!

Daddy Love

nothing better!

View from my window...

Icicles everywhere
This was before the last big snow

Beautiful...

but cold.

Today is Ella's birthday. She is 3. Every year, on their birthdays, I wake my kids up with a cake, lit candles, and a happy birthday song. Then they are allowed to eat the cake for breakfast.Needless to say, they love it.

Especially this girl.

I am having a hard time believing that my baby is already 3. Ella is a wonder. She has grown up so much in this last year. She talks a mile a minute and I often say that your ears can bleed just from being around her for too long. She is extremely opinionated about everything. My boys never cared what they wore (still don't), what they ate, what their room looked like, etc... My daughter, on the other hand, has very specific ideas about herself and her personal space. She has recently decided that she only likes to wear dresses and she changes clothes about 20 times a day. She can deconstruct a room in seconds if left to her own devices. This year she decided that she no longer wanted to be called "lala" (as she did all of last year) but would like to be called "Ella Bella". In fact, she would not answer you if you didn't call her "Ella Bella" for the longest time. I am so glad that is over now. She has also recently decided that she no longer likes the murals in her room and would like it to be PINK. Lord help me. She asks me every day when we will be painting her room pink and installing the "princess bed" that she would like. I have no idea what that is supposed to be but only that she is sure she will love it. She is her own person in every respect. Totally different from my sons, totally different from me. I love that about her but it is also the source of much frustration sometimes.

So on her actual birthday, we had our morning cake and we took her out to a dinner of her choice (and, let me tell you, she had opinions about this as well) and I forgot the camera. Her actual party won't be until February as we like to separate it from Christmas a little bit. My big girl...