Spring!

I'm am LOVING Spring this year. The flowers, the bright green leaves, the gusty winds with a hint of warm in them, hinting at the warmer Summer weather to come.

The kids are loving it too. It's been dry enough several days this month for them to be allowed out into the backyard. They LOVE the backyard. We have a patio swing, a plasma car, a small slide, a teeter-totter, a t-ball set, and several play balls. Raia and Errol would live out there if I let them, and they've quickly introduced Patrick to it's wonders. He loves grabbing the balls and dropping them on the ground to watch them bounce, and is gradually discovering the joy of dirt (which Errol is revelling in. he's my litte piglet who enjoys digging around in the mud).

Raia is showing me the "tricks" she is learning in P.E. at school. Skipping, running, and twirling combinations that set her (and me) dizzy. I cannot believe she is almost 6 years old! She does jumping jacks and summersaults as well. But she loves just as much to come inside and play with her Barbies. I haven't been able to decipher yet what exactly she has them doing, but they always do things in a group.

She is reading so well now. She can sound out lots of different words, or make a pretty good guess at them. She's starting to read some of her story books on her own as well. The kids are allowed to take books to bed with them to flip through until they fall asleep (a tactic to keep them in their beds when they wanted to be up and playing because it wasn't dark outside yet) and I often find a few books laying next to her when I check on her in the middle of the night. Errol, too, has taken up bringing books to bed with him. Most often it's the ones about dinosaurs, which he has practically memorized anyway.

I love watching my kids discovering and playing together. They're all pals, and I love it. :)