End of February (and beginning of March) shenanigans

Last weekend, in addition to Oliver's typical reading ...

... we attended a costume birthday party!

Oliver was an astronaut ...

... and Madeline was a superhero princess.

Most of the time, though, she's just a cool kiddo.

At school, Oliver made a Mardi Gras mask.  Though he's wearing it here, he usually insists that it's for his sister.

Madeline's sharp sense of style ...

... extends to her vocabulary too.  She's coined a form of slang that involves severely truncating words.  Her special purple scissors are either "sciz" or "purps."  Sometimes she has to go "pods" (potty).  And in the morning, it's time for "breks" (breakfast).

On Friday morning, Madeline got dressed up.

While Oliver hammed it up for the camera.

After Summer picked Madeline up from school, they got lunch at the local bakery, and finished off their meal with a special treat of clover cookies.

They even brought home some cookies to share.  This excited Oliver.

At night, Madeline tried out some new footie pajamas that she was very excited to receive.  She's worn them every night since.

On Saturday, Madeline carefully constructed a block tower ...

... while a grinning Oliver barreled around, occasionally stopping to add a piece here or there (and occasionally knocking over a turret much to his sister's chagrin).

Madeline was very proud of her creation.

When Oliver took his nap, Madeline and I headed down to the basement to begin painting our Little Free Library.

When Oliver woke up, we grinned for the camera.

Then we checked out Madeline's school poster, which we'd hung on the wall while Oliver was sleeping.  When he saw the poster, he was very excited and exclaimed, pointing: "Kitty!  Ariel!  Maddie!  Baby!"

On Sunday, Madeline once again became Maddie the Superhero!  She can tell you all about what this entails:

And today, Madeline's long-awaited booster seat arrived.  Its purchase was spurred in large part by Oliver's large size -- approaching too large for his baby seat.

So Madeline is moving into this ...

... while Oliver moves into Madeline's old seat.  (Though he dreams of being as big a kid as Madeline is.)

After the birthday (3 of 3)

After Madeline's birthday, Oliver wanted to help clean up.

That afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa took care of the kiddos while Summer and I got out for dinner and a movie -- we can't remember the last time that happened!  (Grandpa took this picture.)

Then the next morning -- Presidents' Day -- Grandma and Grandpa had to hit the road early to try to beat still more bad weather.  Oliver rolled around on their bed, nibbling on a cookie.

We decided to have smoked mackerel for dinner.  In the morning, I cleaned the mackerel so they could be brined before smoking.

But first, Madeline wanted to check out the fish.  She found it very interesting.

Oliver did too.

The next day, Oliver turned 18 months old!

Petey joined him on the chair to celebrate.

Then Madeline did too.

And we realized we ought to have taken a 4-year-old chair picture of her too!  So we got one a little late.

During the week, the snow caused car problems, masking potholes that left me with flat tires two days in a row and damaged a wheel.  The car was fixed just in time for me to pick up the kids after school on my birthday.  We came home to a nice dinner and dinosaur cupcakes made by Summer, followed by a (relatively) relaxing night post-bedtime complete with thoughtful gifts from friends and family (thank you!).

We are now officially counting the days until spring -- 26!  But this weekend, the snow still continued to pile up.

And Oliver continued to spend his snowed-in time reading.

I examined the exterior to check for damage.  We have a pretty nasty looking snow dam on one part of the roof, but I can gear it melting right now as we get one single afternoon of sunny, above-freezing weather.  Hopefully the afternoon sun will do the trick and keep us safe from the water damage that's hit some of our friends.

Madeline's birhday (2 of 3)

Madeline's birthday was an exciting day!

In the morning, she opened some cards, including this one from Ilan, which included a letter and pictures.  She was thrilled.

Then she helped me make her requested breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes.

Later that morning, Grandma Susy and Grandpa John arrived for the festivities and Madeline got dressed up.

Before we knew it, it was time to head to the Rhode Island Audubon Environmental Education Center.  Madeline eagerly awaited her guests' arrival.  (Grandma took this picture.)

When many of the guests were there, the kids began a scavenger hunt in the museum.

Then they got to hear a special story ...

... and put up animals on the felt board.

After the story, the kids got to color or decorate party hats.  Oliver had a blast.

They had some snacks too ...

... and then it was time for cake!

Madeline blew out the candle!

(Thanks to Grandpa for those last three pictures!)

After cake the kids ran around and did silly things like sitting in cubbies ...

(Thanks to Grandma for the second cubby picture!)

... until one by one they trickled out and the party ended.  We braved pretty awful driving conditions on the way home, and then spent the evening eating Madeline's requested dinner (Chinese takeout) and opening presents.

It was a very fun day for our big 4-year-old!