Here are a few pictures from Natalie's blessing day on Sunday. Natalie was looking cute, of course.
Natalie with her Aunt Tino.
She spent some time talking to her Great-Grandma Colton.
We even got a family picture. (Yea!)
Here's how we all felt after everyone left our house, but Ian was the first to crash. (He never does this.)
Thank you to everyone who helped make this a special day for our family!
Kimi's contribution was to come over and ask me if I was tired of all that back-breaking work and to inform me that what I needed was the "awesome auger." Christine already knows this, but Kimi can quote infomercials to you; it's just one of her many talents. She was busy giving Mrs. Frog (our garden statue) a makeover in her makeup trailer.
I went back out to finish the job the next day and gave Ian freedom to play in the dirt. That was a first for him. He decided to shove the dirt into the holes on his sandals.
Now we just need to get back out there and plant something. Yea, Spring! 
You can't see it all here, but a new box of q-tips has just covered the floors of the rooms upstairs. I was feeding Natalie in my bedroom and didn't know what these two were up to until Kimi came in and threw some up in the air like confetti. One box goes a long way.
Natalie wasn't so happy about the sun. Ian just doesn't know about smiling and holding still for more than 1 nanosecond. Here he is walking away.
Thank you, Cali and Kimi, for humoring me.
I did get some of the littlest lady once we were inside. 
She knows she's a pretty girl.
Sorry to brag, but I think my kids are pretty cute.
She didn't want to miss a word. Especially a few key words.
Here's why:
I wish I could say it was the love of the word that I have instilled in her, but I think it was more the reward that Grandma Colton had offered for people to pick a treat when they heard a word off a list she came up with. That got Cali's attention.
Smile! (They were too busy for me to take more pictures so this is what I got.)
We got him a golf set so I could have my kitchen spoons back.
When I saw this at the store I knew it had been waiting for me. Especially when I saw it was on clearance. Its his "football bike." By the way, the way Ian says "football" sort-of sounds like "poopball." That's really not relevant, I just think its funny.
After blowing out the candles on his cake, (I made a post about the cake below) he was ready to eat. Scott grabbed it just in time.
I made a banana cake. For the recipe head over to our food blog. After baking the cake and making the frosting (some plain, some chocolate) I got my helpers and we layered the cakes.
Then we measured 2 inches in the center of the cakes and cut it out.
This is what we were left with.
Then we took a break to eat some of the cake we just cut out. If you're pressed for time I guess you could skip this step. (if you are that pressed for time maybe you should prioritize)
We frosted the cake with chocolate frosting.
Last, I piped the lacing and other white stripes onto the cake. Here is my very high-tech decorators bag. 
This was the final product. Ian loved it and Scott wanted to know why I have never made him one.
Here's the family. (Kimi was looking a little rock-starish, I must say.)
Happy Birthday, Ian!
Kimi was 17 months old. It started out as just evening her bangs out, but then one side got a little higher, so I had to even it out again. . .and again. . . until I finally realized I had just better stop before there was no hair left. Scott was a little surprised by the new "do" and thus came the ban. When we went places I hoped people would think Cali, who was three, had done it to her. Thank goodness, it grew out within few months.
And speaking of St. Patrick's day, as I was picking out my clothes and everyone else's clothes this morning I wondered if maybe having a fear of not having something green on today was a little irrational. I am not sure who would be pinching us should we fail to look festive. I am wearing green though, in case you wonder. Somethings you just have to do. 
