Chops often sings narratives to us while we are driving around. She does this also around the house. It can sometimes be annoying (when all you want is some quiet), but generally speaking we enjoy it and appreciate it. Here is the “Hood Song“:
… getting there I suppose, though he seems happier practicing standing:
Can’t believe he’s getting closer and closer to his one-year anniversary 
!
Photo from Easter of the kids together:
(Kind of funny considering the fit Chops threw in the morning regarding the dress.)
This year’s egg dying was considerably less messy compared to last year (helps that she is more coordinated):
But we still have a little ways to go in the egg-hunt department:
The flowers in our yard are starting to bloom. I love it! This fall, I added some tulips, crocuses, ranunculus, and irises. We’ll have to wait and see how many of the irises and ranunculus will come up, but a quick photo tour of existing flower show at our house right now.
First, the plum blossom trees
and cherry blossom trees
flowered a bit ago. It’s always so pretty, even when the petals start dropping:
I suspect that squirrels or rabbits did something to the majority of the crocuses since I’ve only seen one so far and I know I planted more than just one, and the kind I ordered actually look different. But it is/was pretty nonetheless:
The tulips are finally starting to bloom. This is probably a Viridiflora Tulip China Town:
And finally, some grape hyacinths, though not the ones I planted (these were from previous home-owners. I ordered and planted some white and pink ones, but those ones are still in the process of blooming). I apologize for the lack of proper focus in this photo — was holding/carrying a certain Sir Spiky:
And there you have it! Spring!! 
We’re planning on visiting the Tulip Festival and seeing even more tulips. Hopefully it’ll be great and traffic and weather will cooperate .
I always knew that Chops liked “art projects”, but until recently, most of her drawing consisted of scribbling zig-zag lines on paper. So imagine my surprise when I caught her doing this:
at the church office this past Sunday.
As a family, we sometimes enjoy going on short road trips to visit Snoqualmie Falls. Just the other night, we decided to make an impromptu trip out after dinner. It was drizzling a little, but we decided to chance it anyhow and Chops became very excited about the prospect of seeing the falls. Unfortunately, we discovered when we got there that it was just a little too wet to be able to see the falls which was a rather big disappointment for Chops. We told her that the reason she couldn’t see the falls was because it was misty and foggy, but that the waterfall was there and we know that because we can hear it.
The following line of questions/comments commenced:
“Where is the waterfall?”
“Is it upstairs?” (there were stairs along the walkway to view the falls)
“Did his mommy/daddy make him to bed?”
“Did it walk away?”
“Is it messy because a froggy put rocks on top of it?”
…
It took us a little while to determine that the “messy” and “froggy” weren’t arbitrary, but in fact her interpretation of the words “misty” and “foggy”. It amused us the rest of the way home (and even once we got home):
We ended up making a follow-up trip out the next day so that she could see them. It was still a bit “messy and froggy”:
but you could see it:
Our little not-so-spiky Spiky guy is still happy as ever. Even with a cold. He still hasn’t been sufficiently motivated to roll regularly, or crawl, but he can now clap , sometimes when asked. And who can resist a cute little smiling face?
I’ve always admired prettily frosted cupcakes and believed it to be beyond my capabilities. In the past when I’ve made cupcakes and frosted them, I would just apply it with a butter knife and call it good. For Dan’s birthday this year, I didn’t get around to making the 4-layer coconut cake I have always made for him as his birthday cake since we’ve been married. Instead, I wimped out and made coconut cupcakes instead, but decided to learn how to make them look fancy. Apparently, all it takes is a decorator tip and a semi-steady hand. Viola:
Another thing I’ve been wanting to try for a few years now and never got around to is the making of macarons. Through lots of online perusing, it always sounds like a finicky task. I should not have tried the first time running on little sleep, post-midnight, etc. But I’ve sampled and they taste like they’re supposed to, even if their appearance leaves a little to be desired.
Will have to try again, hopefully with more success , but I would like to try my hand at making these meyer lemon and sour-cream donuts too in the near future. Oh, what should I do (other than not undertaking either and getting some much needed sleep)?
Currently on a quest to find a recipe for these soft, chewy cheese buns we had at a Brazilian steakhouse. Dan doesn’t seem to recall them, but I really liked them and would like to know how to make them for myself. I found a quick and easy recipe and followed it to the T, but after sampling them I think I should have tried it with Parmesan cheese instead as lots of alternate recipes seem to specify Parmesan cheese (instead of the queso fresco that this particular recipe suggested). I think I might have to have Dan and I go back and eat there again so I can refresh my memory regarding the taste and texture of those buns, just in case they were actually cheese puffs.
Next time, I’ll have to take a picture. And once I find a recipe I like, I’ll be sure to share that information .
I just finished weaving in the ends and had a coworker help me kitchener stitch the armpits together. So what was originally intended for Chops (knitting aspect finished October of 2010, and only now wearable?!) is now brand-new for Spiky:
Guess I should get cracking on the larger sized one. Especially since Chops was complaining about how she wants/wanted that one and I showed her the WIP .