Anna Claire and Tyler

Anna Claire loves playing with little Tyler. She calls him her little "Boo boo". Don't ask me where she got the word. It is funny how kids relate to babies in the same way their parents do. She uses many of the same nicknames for Tyler that I do, and also the same phrases -- all in my tone of voice. I had better stop yelling at my kids or she'll start doing that. :)

Here's a great shot of the two of them snuggling in the morning.

March madness!

Okay, my life is always mad but it gets more mad when Rob leaves town. I do everything I can to make life fun for the kids (and me). That means outdoor trips -- especially now that the days are finally getting warmer and sunnier. We spent a fun afternoon with friends last week at the Wildlife Park Langenberg. They have loads of wild animals there -- deer, bears, boars, wolves, etc. It's only 20 minutes from our place. I can't believe I haven't been before!

Here are the girls comparing their sizes to bear sizes with their friend Joseph. (Kelsey's head is cut-off in the foreground -- sorry Jess, my photography isn't quite like yours.)

We also hiked around Halbinsel Au, a little peninsula that juts onto Lake Zurich not far from Waedenswil.

Although it looks deceptively warm, it was actually really cold outside. The girls were troopers for making the long walk.

Here is Mariah, on the other side of the peninsula, looking out toward Horgen.

It's clear days like this that make me so happy to be in Switzerland.

Here is Mariah trudging along at one of our favorite parks.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's St. Patrick's Day so the girls and I put together a last minute green meal topped off with our pot o'gold green cake. This cake isn't quite the masterpiece, but I was proud that I was able to make the rainbow from leftover m&m equivalents and the pot o'gold from leftover butterscotch chips and a chocolate bar. That thing in the right-hand corner was an attempt at a four-leaf clover.

We didn't have much green food around, but we had green napkins, green plates, green beans and green kiwis too.

When I tried to get the girls to pose for a shot -- they made little leprechaun faces instead.

A Trip to the Rapperswil Zoo

We decided to make a daytrip to the Rapperswil Zoo -- so that the girls could show Daddy all their favorite animals. (It was his first trip.) Our first stopping place was the giraffes.

"Kiss him, Mariah! Kiss him!"

"Hey you, want some popcorn." The best thing about this zoo is that it's a feeding zoo -- you buy popcorn and feed it to the animals.

Watching the camels. I don't think Anna Claire was even trying to kiss this one.

Mariah was a little shy with the petting part.

Both the girls love the pony rides. No fear!

She's the perfect equestrienne.

Mariah found a pony just perfect for her size!

Time for a little icecream break!

Yummy!

Bye bye! See you later!

Baby Tyler is Growing. . .

Baby Tyler is growing so quickly -- he's almost 2 months old. Time has been speeding by and I just realized that I've hardly taken any pictures of his growth. Poor third child. But he is growing so quickly -- and turning into quite the chubby one. He's very smiley -- as you can see. Anna Claire and Mariah dote on him.

The other day I was carrying on my usual running conversation with Tyler. "Here's your binky." Then in Tyler's voice, "Mommy, I don't really want it right now, I just want to play" etc. I do this with all my babies out of instinct or something. Anyhow, Anna Claire finally tells me, "Mommy, you know that Tyler can't really talk." Reality check!