Cute Quote of the Day

This morning Josie was sitting on the floor, holding her bare feet in the air and peering at them intently.

Then she looked at me and in a matter-of-fact way said, "Mom, if my feet were people then they would be twins."

Good observation.

Creepy Crawlers

Josie and daddy love to work in the garden. Every year they plant a wide range of vegetation, with a wide range of successful growth!


I give credit to daddy and gardening for developing Josie's love of bugs and other creepy crawlers. Alright, love might be a strong word. She has some interest in them (which is a lot more than can be said for most other three-year-old girls!). She likes to peer closely at them, and has even been known to pick up a caterpillar or two! Yesterday, while gardening with daddy, I happened upon a funny scene. Josie was holding a worm and squealing in delight. Why? Not because she was excited to see it up close, or because it was crawling up her arm. No, my daughter was excited because the worm was making a "J" in her hand - J for Josie. She was so excited that she volunteered to continue holding it while I went inside to get the camera and capture this life-changing event on film!

The Flood Wall

A few weekends ago, we decided to do some new exploring in Richmond. I have wanted to walk on the Flood Wall for a while now. Several times I have even packed Josie and I up and hopped in the car to go there. However, the kind of scary homeless man that is ALWAYS sitting under the tree in the deserted parking lot has continually deterred me. So, this time I planned a family trip. And, although the kind of scary homeless guy was yet again under the tree in the deserted parking lot, we parked there anyway and braved the jaunt passed him to the flood wall access. We had a wonderful time walking along the river, taking in the views of the city (Richmond is so scenic!) and eating a picnic dinner on a bridge.

I am open to suggestions for other hidden gems we may have yet to explore!

Green Smoothies

Yes, you read that right. We have been drinking green smoothies in our house. To Josie, green smoothie is code for "wonderful strawberry and banana smoothie that mom had fun with and made green." She is right - just not entirely. A green smoothie gets its name from the four cups of spinach that I include. Josie sucks them up, literally. Eight ounces at a time and always wanting more. Of course, Tim and I enjoy them so much there is never any left for seconds. Today Tim walked away and left his smoothie on the table. After finishing her own, my sly little girl snuck over to daddy's cup and proceeded to drink over half of it before I made her stop. Now, to fully disclose, Josie does like to eat spinach in salads. So, I am not completely surprised that she loves the smoothies. I guess it is the quantity of spinach that she is consuming that impresses me. I am pretty sure that she would continue drinking the smoothies if I told her what made them green, but I am not positive. So, for now, it remains our little secret! :-) Thank you, Courtney and Rachel (at Stroller Strides Richmond), for introducing this new addicting (and healthy!) habit.

See how much she loves them?!?!

A New Crum

I am pleased to announce the arrival of a new Crum family member! Baby Sophia Elizabeth Crum was born on Tuesday night weighing in at about 8 lbs. and nearly 21 inches. Josie is ecstatic to be a big cousin. She has already coached Uncle Pat through changing a diaper and continually begs to hold her cousin. Congratulations, Pat and Amy, on a beautiful new addition to your family!

Easter

For the first time in a long time, we did not make the trip to Western PA for Easter. Although it was sad being away from most of our family for the holiday, we made the best of it and had a great time at home.

Josie really enjoyed hunting Easter eggs in our house:


Check out all of the loot! Princess Band-Aids, fruit strips, stickers, lip gloss, Play-Doh and M&Ms:

The Easter Bunny did a great job with her basket, too! Gardening tools, new pjs, Super Why! books, a My Little Pony, Dora toothpaste, and a new princess toothbrush:She begged and begged for days to dye her Easter eggs. Getting started:
A little help from daddy:
Finished product:
And, one more picture for good measure:

Daddy's New Truck

After 2 months of searching, comparing, and driving - not to mention countless hours of researching - daddy has finally purchased a new (used) truck! Daddy is happy and Josie is pretty excited, too!

She can use the cover as a dance floor:

The windshield as a slide:

And the roof as her stage: