An Afternoon at the Beach with Baxter

Girl Ready to Walk the Dog

Everybody Digging

Baxter

We have been staying with our friend Baxter. His house is walking distance from the beach, so we have been having many beach walks together. He is a great friend to Penelope, she loves bossing him around, playing hide and seek, and feeding him. And she loves the fact that he has curly hair just like she does.

Violet also loves Baxter. She crawls after him at warp speed, and he is a little nervous when she does, shrieking as she goes, but when she sits in her highchair she is his best friend. He starts his day with a breakfast of fallen cereal O's and he has enjoyed bits of sweet potato, carrot, tofu, lentils, and teething biscuits. He will miss her when we are gone, I am sure.

We are all enjoying having a dog for a little while, and I'm even more loving the walks on the beach daily. And I'm being reminded too, that I am happy to wait until the girls are a bit older before we get another dog of our own, because they are so like little children themselves, and need so much care and attention. We are glad to borrow Baxter for this month though, especially Penelope. She is loving this wild, curly haired guy every day, and that makes me so happy.

May Day

Around the Maypole

Watching the Ladies of the Rolling Pin

The Ladies of the Rolling Pin

Face Paint

Making a fairy cake.

Rolling down the hill.

Cute Baby

Fairy under a tree.

Worn out baby.

Building a fairy house.

Creating a cradle for fairy babies.

She worked peacefully for 40 minutes on her own.

Dandelions were used for cushions.

This was my favorite house. (made by someone else)



I liked this one too, with feathers and moss.



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This crazy thing I loved.

Cleaning out our garden.

Our fire.

We had such a lovely May Day. We went to Blithewold for Fairy day again this year. We missed the beginning because I forgot, but we did make it there in time for almost everything. Penelope had her face painted, made a fairy cake, fairy wand, fairy dolls, and chose a fairy name (Rosetta). She danced around the maypole a whole lot, rolled down the hill so many times, and built a fairy house. The cuteness of tons of little children dressed in their own versions of fairy dress was unbelievable. We were entertained by The Ladies of the Rolling Pin's strange but wonderful dances and music too.

When we got home Penelope and I cleaned out our garden and had a dinner picnic in the yard while baby slept. Then we got in our pajamas and headed back outside for a fire. It was a beautiful day, and I was so happy to spend it with my little fairies. I can't wait until next year when Violet can be more a part of it all. Though she enjoyed watching her sister dance the Maypole so much, squealing and cheering with joy.

What's Hanging on the Clothesline

Penelope's dresses ready for Violet.

Ella drying out after a night left out in the rain.

Violet's diapers drying in the sun.

I'm so glad to be using the clothesline again. I can't stand how much I love the smell of laundry hung out to dry. It is the best smell in the world. And it makes me so happy to see little dresses, and brightly colored diapers blowing in the breeze.

Some Easter Cuteness

Penelope leaving a carrot out for the bunny.

The Bunny brought Pen a goat, which she named Rosie, and Vi got a pink bunny, which she calls Num Num, hmmm.

Hunting for eggs



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She found them all!



The girls with their new Easter toys.

She'll reluctantly stand still for a picture.

But she'd much rather...

Twirl!

And twirl

And twirl

And twirl!

Pen, Grandma, Violet, and Steve

Bunny Babies

Bunny Steve

Pen bursting in the door with flowers she picked for me.

Charles relaxing on the couch.

Violet enjoying the bucket Grandma brought her.

Penelope's cupcakes!

We had a very nice Easter. Both of my brothers spent the day with us, and Steve's mom came over for a while. There was an egg hunt, and brunch - which was happily eaten outside! We finally got some really warm weather. We visited and enjoyed each other, and enjoyed some chocolate bunnies too. Somehow I never got a picture of my brother Tom, which is a shame because he was wearing the bows Pen found in her eggs all day.

Penelope was so excited for the bunny to come. She has never liked the idea of Santa coming into the house while she is asleep, and I can understand. I mean really, who would be comfortable with a man you have never met coming in the house while you are asleep? But she had no such problem with that old Easter bunny. She was SO excited to see her basket and know the bunny came. It was so cute. And Violet screams wildly when she sees her new, pink bunny. She always says "num num" when we give it to her. Which is a little odd because that is what she calls food, and I know she doesn't think the bunny is food, but Steve has taken to calling it "Bunny Num Num" and I guess that is it's name.

Penelope had several wardrobe changes through the day, just because. Violet wore her sweet smocked dress so I could take some pictures, but she found it too impractical for a new crawler to function in, so she spent most of the day bumming in a cow print cloth diaper and her Born at Home t-shirt, which is as cute as anything. I can't wait for it to be only a diaper weather every day.