March and early April

We haven't posted any pictures since early March, so I have quite a bunch coming. We spent the first two and half weeks of March with Lily running around in her cast. She became very fond of her "pink princess band-aid." Even with a cast, Lily was great at climbing onto chairs, climbing in and out of her crib, and racing around. Near the end of the three weeks, she actually even ran from our house to the end of MacDonald Road (she had a friend her age over to play and she refused to ride in the stroller when her friend was running).

 The only real difficulty with the cast was keeping Lily clean. Her hair was often coated in peanut butter and jelly, or "squeezy" yogurt. At least she tolerated getting her hair washed in the kitchen sink.

This winter Nicholas participated in a program to encourage physical activity. For every ten days where he was physically active for at least an hour, he was able to receive an award. We cashed one of them in for a free downhill lift ticket at the Dartmouth Skiway. He quickly learned to use the J-bar lift (the lift only had to stop once). Although he struggled to go down the hills without crashing, he was catching on in a couple of hours.

 

While it probably wasn't the smartest idea, we finished our day by riding the chair lift to the top of the mountain. It was an absolutely beautiful day and Nicholas loved the ride and the view as we came back down the hill.  I'm looking forward to taking him again next year.

 

We celebrated my 36th birthday in the middle of the month. Nicholas was not feeling well, but we still had a nice day. 

 Donovan, Doug, and Nicholas bringing over birthday cupcakes...

Nicholas, Aricca, Lily, and Donovan - ready for the party to begin.

Ray, Malu, Neel, and Hael sent a cupcake kit to make with the kids. Needless to say, the kids loved it (and were running around the house high on sugar for quite some time).

 Donovan, Nicholas, and Lily - ready to dive in...

We finished out the winter with lots of Lego and dinosaur time. Nicholas has been building very long (and fragile) Lego vehicles. Donovan is very focused on dinosaurs (he and Lily both have dinosaur tattoos all over their bellies). Lily continues to love princesses and dresses.

Our weather has been pretty mild for the last several weeks. This past Friday, we had particularly nice weather (it got up to 74 before a cold front blew in). The kids and I walked to the top of Balch Hill. They're all getting fast... 

 Lily, Donovan, and Nicholas - ready to head to the top.

 Every time we head up the trail, we make a quick stop at Nicholas' favorite climbing tree.

 Nicholas swings down as Lily and Donovan watch.

Lily on the move. 

 Almost to the top!

The purpose of our trip was to check on the vernal pool near the top of the hill. The boys call this their "fishing pond". They love to take long sticks and pretend to fish. Usually they catch mud and some old leaves. We've even begun to hear spring peepers. : )

For a few more pictures, click here or see the slideshow below.