Treetop Toy

One of my favorite holiday traditions in Mr. Fixit's family, is the Easter egg hunt!  Each family brings items for all the kids 10 and younger to hunt.  This year there were 15 "hunters," ranging in age from 7 months to age 10.  The older grandkids (nieces/nephews) "hide" the items for the younger crew to find.

Well, some of them are quite creative in the hiding spaces.  One of Little "K's" items were in the top of this tree!  Mr. Fixit is holding up Little "K" to claim his loot.  I am told that Mr. Fixit was a little ornery with the older nieces/nephews' loot when they themselves participated in the hunt.  So, the time has arrived for a little payback!

Blooming Cactus

My houseplants have decided that they really like hanging out at the South window.  The winter sun has kept them warm, and they receive plenty of light from the window.  The plants are experiencing a bit of hard times lately.  Some little guy has decided that plucking leaves off and sticking them inside the heater grate is a fun game!

So, the smaller potted plants have been moved up to the kitchen table.  We dine with a small forest at each meal.  I think the Christmas Cactus must have thought that since its leaves were being taken, that it must hurry and bloom, as the end was certainly near!  Here is a photo of the flowers.

Pop Up Toy

Little "K" received a toy that has 5 little knobs, switches, buttons, etc.  I think that the toy is designed to teach little tykes some fine motor skills, like flipping a switch or turning a knob.  I do think this is a little humorous, because we are currently trying to "baby proof" the place to keep "K" from opening doors, pulling knobs, etc.!

He is currently trying to figure the toy out.  He has a couple of the skills mastered, and I am sure that with time, he will master them all.  I just hope that we can keep one step ahead in the stay-out-of-stuff department!

Belated Birthday

Little "K" turned a year more than a month ago already!  Time simply continues to go so quickly, and well, it seems that work has been super busy too.  I do not remember a weekend when we have had a chance to just catch up on items at home, so my apologies on the lack of blog posts lately!

Little "K" received a gift from his Godparents, and here he is trying to figure out how this wrapping paper business works.  It took some pre-tearing, but eventually he got to the present!  He has enjoyed trying out this toy and his other birthday toys.  We find toys scattered throughout the house now!

Block Party

Hands down, the favorite birthday gift is: the block wagon!  Little "K" goes for these little guys first thing every morning.  Blocks are scattered throughout the kitchen, dining room, living room and hallway within about 15 minutes of play.  Stacking, throwing and chewing are "K's" favorite way to play.

The wagon is a fun toy too.  The string was quite short, so Mr. Fixit added an extension string, so to speak.  "K" happily pulls the wagon behind him throughout the house.  Sometimes he gets it stuck in a chair, or caught up in a tight spot, but look at the problem solving potential this brings!

One block has been missing for about a month.  I discovered a book in the trashcan, and well, I am wondering if the block left by accident.  I am still searching underneath furniture and in small places - in hopes that I will rediscover it soon!

Tulips

Spring arrived with a flourish this year, or maybe it was a preview of Summer, and now we are experiencing spring??  The temps were in the upper 80's and even reached 90 degrees on more than one occasion during the later days of March and early April.

The landscape in front of my office has been changing with each season.  Last Fall many tulip bulbs were planted.  The cold and ick of Winter set in, and then, poof -- just like that, the soil erupted with new life!  Each day I peeked at the action, it was then that I remembered the Fall tulip planting!

The showcase was brief this year; due mainly to the hot temps.  These delicate beauties could not survive the multiple days of extreme temps.  So, enjoy this snap of one of the beds.  This was taken last week, on one of their final glory days.  Until next year, tulips!

Floral Art

We had a day to browse DC on our own while participating in our KARL experience.  So, one of my classmates and a high school friend of hers and I went to visit the Smithsonian Art Galleries.  We took in both the older, historical art pieces as well as some of the modern art.  There are two building!

At one of the building entrances, we discovered this beautiful floral display.  I am not certain what type of flowers these are, but I am guessing they were on display to set the mood for the upcoming cherry blossom season.  They were breathtakingly beautiful, but they really did not smell much at all.

I simply love flowers and viewing gardens!  The season was a little too early for outdoor viewing, but this site definitely provided a view that Mother Nature still had as a "work in progress!"

Happy Easter!

Wow, Easter Sunday was simply beautiful!  The skies were blue as can be, and there was barely a breeze up North.  The weather was perfect for a family Easter Egg hunt - and then some!  Let me tell you, Little "K" certainly collected lots of goodies, and he was simply none the wiser. =)

Mr. Fixit and I took the team approach to seeking his goodies this year.  The first item collected was a bucket, great design by the way, since we needed that bucket and then two others to keep all the collected items from getting lost.  Little "K" acquired several new books, a dump truck, several sets of bubbles, bath toys, a sand bucket and shovel, some fruit snacks and this fun stuffed chick!  Each new item was a distraction, and he had to play with them before we could move on and hunt for more items!

Thank you family for all the goodies that each person provided for the hunt!  Thanks also to big sis "L" for organizing the hunt and getting all the items hidden - with the assistance of some "bunnies!"

Eraser Wheel

Think way back to the typewriter era.  We do still have one typewriter in our office, but it is electric.  So, you need to think back further than that.  Remember the typewriter with all the keys that would get tangled, if you pushed them at the same time?  Ok, now you are in the right era!

This photo is of a giant version of the old typewriter eraser.  Kids today would have no clue what this sculpture even is.  The pre-computer generation has a great appreciation for this tool, however, because typewriters did not have white out or a backspace button!

My classmate Paula Landoll-Smith visited the sculpture garden while we were in DC for our KARL experience.  We could not resist having a photo snapped by her good friend Kiersten, on our stroll through the garden!