The last ten days

The last two weeks or so have been super-busy: to California, and back - plus a visit from Natalie's Bubbe and Gramps.

This is not that post.

This is the post about all the stuff that happened before that (when, life was also, apparently, super-busy).

Not too busy, though, for cuddles on the couch or pancakes in the morning.

And we did take time to stop and smell the bluebonnets. Well, actually bluebonnets are sort of lupine-ish, so I don't really think they smell, but we did take time to pose for our annual picture (and, unlike, oh, I don't know, nearly all the other parents in Texas, I did not pose my kid beside the freeway or a country road with a 60mph speed limit).

Want to travel back in bluebonnet time? I do!

2011:

2010:

Dude, where's my baby?!

Some things remain the same, though: tote bags (plural), always.

But also - why is my baby sitting at the table like this? This is such a grown-up girl thing!

Also, the above was pretty unequivocally a totally failed experiment, so we won't be doing that again anytime soon. At least not with any food that has any mess potential whatsoever. So we're back in the high chair.  And, uh, note that I said "failed experiment", not "forgotten experiment". Of course.

There's always time for climbing. And cuddling.

 And legos. And rainboots.

In addition to hanging out at home, we also had two exciting events. First, we went to open farm at our local-ish goat dairy.

And as awesome as the goats were, this chair was perhaps Natalie's most favorite part of the farm experience. I kid you not (ha!).

 
Second, we all went to the Faculty / Staff picnic at our local esteemed educational institution. Natalie was not into the veggie sandwich, but she did like the cookies!

About a minute after this picture was taken, Natalie started freaking out and saying "Go home, go home, GO HOME NOW!" At first, we couldn't figure out what was wrong: cookie-check, daddy-check. And then we turned around and saw that SuperFrog (the TCU mascot) was right behind us, full-size. No wonder she was a little put off! (Although she does enjoy running around the house "playing bleacher creatures" and demanding that Mike and I make the horned frog sign with our fingers.)

Her freak-out didn't last long, though.

And to further illustrate her complicated feelings about SuperFrog, she announced she wanted her face painted. And she was actually pretty willing to wait in the long line for her turn. Mike and I both thought she'd balk when it came time to actually sit in the seat. But she didn't.

And her design of choice? SuperFrog! Despite my suggestions that she might want flowers, a rainbow, a unicorn, or a tree.

After the face-painting, we headed over the college baseball game. Our plan was just to stay for a few innings. We decided it was time to go when Natalie (who was wiggling around in the area in front of our seats) announced she'd licked the floor. That was at the end of the first inning.

I've also been busy making things.
No-knead bread:

 Hamantaschen:

Socks

(uhh, no wonder where all the time goes, huh?)

In closing, here's a shot of the first rose on the rose bushes outside our bedroom windows. These were my Mother's Day present in 2010, planted just before Mother's Day 2011, and they're doing great!