Hazel turned 3 two weeks ago and I can still hardly believe it. For some reason two didn’t come as such a surprise, but 3, it’s bigger somehow. Yeah, I know, it’s a full year more than two and all of that, but what I mean is that it feels like she’s really growing up. So fast. We are now in little kid territory, not baby, not even toddler, but kid. Here’s that beautiful kid the morning of her birthday (and yes, I know that kids are baby goats, hush!)

We sang Happy Birthday to Hazel in bed that morning, and then asked her what she wanted for breakfast. Her reply was not too much of a surprise. We had donuts. John was thrilled (his first)…


John and Hazel ate theirs up, and John decided he wanted everyone to have a taste of his donut- he loves to share…

Darn these donuts are good!


A boy after my own heart…

I know, I know it’s Hazel’s birthday, but John was enjoying these donuts SO much… we just had to snap a bunch of pictures… More of the birthday girl coming soon!

Alright, on to the birthday girl… crazy as ever!

Running through the streamers



Come on, John, you can do it to!

Air guitar???




How old are you, Hazel?

Snack time!



Hazel’s cake:

And I’ll huff…

And I’ll puff…

And I’ll blow my candles out!

Hazel and her ladies in waiting

Princess clothes!

High heels!


Pleased as punch

It’s amazing how much they change in a year…

or even two…

or three…

Happy Birthday sweet girl. We love you SO much.

Here are the photos from John’s birthday and the last couple of weeks, pictures of Hazel’s birthday to come!

Sweet Birthday boy…

Hazel helped decorate the cake

Nom nom nom carrot cake!

My teeth are coming in and they’re making me make this funny face!

and this one…

I’m so cute it hurts

Hey guys, whats up?

I look just like my big sister

Dancing Hazel…

The kids exploiting our librarian friend…

And just a little preview, this is Hazel when she woke up on her birthday yesterday-

Birthday donut!

Also, Hazel wrote her name this morning, I’m super proud!

VID00013 from esther benoit on Vimeo.

VID00030 from esther benoit on Vimeo.

VID00015 from esther benoit on Vimeo.

Christmas Interview

VID00026 from esther benoit on Vimeo.

VID00027 from esther benoit on Vimeo.

Another Silly “Interview”

VID00006 from esther benoit on Vimeo.

John is into everything lately- he climbs, rolls, stands, crawls (and crawls and crawls), and tries to keep up with Hazel. We are quickly realizing how much John enjoys vehicles of all sorts- anything that is loud and moves quickly (or slowly, as long as it’s loud!). He gets a real kick out of airplanes, trucks, and fire engines. It’s a good thing we live so close to the fire station!

I’ve got a few pictures to share today as I prepare to empty the camera’s drive for tomorrow’s birthday festivities. So without further ado, here are the pictures from the last couple of months. From a trip to the zoo with Jered’s Uncle Phil to Easter to playtime with friends and a sweet mother’s day photo, here they are:

riding on the train…

The day started with breakfast in bed- prepared lovingly by Jered and his partner in culinary crime, Hazel. Eggs, fruit and bacon were on the menu and they were delicious. I was given a fantastic card by Hazel and John that was clearly selected by Hazel- it played a garishly punk-rock “My Mom is a Superhero” song when opened. This came complete with a dance and laughter and clapping from both kids. Just perfect. Hazel also made a lovely hand print picture for me at school that she gave to me this morning. I’ve already got a frame picked out.

The day got better from there. We got a new patio furniture set this weekend and we spent the afternoon cleaning and clearing the back yard for our new gear. Hazel spent the entire afternoon outside playing in her water table and anticipating the marshmallows we promised her we would roast in the new firebowl for dessert. We roasted jumbo marshmallows that Hazel ate in a bowl with a spoon. John ate an entire bowl of curry and managed to steal a marshmallow and nearly eat the whole thing before anyone noticed.

We put the kids down for bed and I went for a quick run (to burn off the jumbo marshmallows!). When I came home Jered tagged out and went for his run. I had positioned myself outside with tiki torches, magazines and the radio, ready to relax after a perfect day. Suddenly I see a very sad little girl at the back door, crying. I open the door to see what is the matter. Hazel comes outside and tells me sweetly that she needs me to be in the house. She needs me to be noisy. She needs me to make “racket” so she can sleep. She needs to know I’m at home. I pulled that girl onto my lap and we sat under the umbrella, watching the tiki torches and citronella candles flicker. She asked me why the neighbor girl (who is 17, by the way) was allowed to be outside and awake. I told her Katie is a big girl. She asked me if I was a big girl. I said that I was. She then asked if she was a big girl.

Not yet little Hazel. Not just yet. Be little for a while longer.

Both kids are tucked into bed now. I know I won’t forget today. It was the kind of day that you can’t forget. Easy.  Comfortable. Sweet. Nothing out of the ordinary, but yet completely extraordinary. I’m taking a snapshot of the day and putting it in a special place- a place where I can look back and remember how sweet this time is. I look forward to all of our new adventures together as a family, but today is getting earmarked.

Poor kid has to use his sister’s pink hand me down bibs…




Enjoying a lazy Sunday morning


She cleans up kinda cute…



You can’t scrub all the silly away, though…





Let me go, Hazel!

Okay, John!

Saying a little prayer of thanks for the pile of pancakes…

It was probably a silly prayer…

Does it get any better than this?

Our little pianist



I don’t take no guff


Whoa!

March has been a fun month, partly because the weather has been a bit warmer and we’ve been able to get out and play in the sunshine. This winter has been a bit of a weather roller coaster and we are all looking forward to the warmer spring and summer weather getting here in earnest (the high today was only in the 40s!).

John is getting so big. He crawls everywhere and he is such a little explorer. Hazel was always very social, chatting and smiling and interacting with anyone and everyone she met. John, on the other hand, is curious about everything that surrounds him. He crawls all over the house inspecting every toy, container, chair, piece of lint, etc. that he can find. I really have to watch him because he gets into absolutely everything. He loves to laugh and thinks Hazel is just hilarious. The two of them can get each other laughing so hard that they both gasp for air- it’s just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. John really loves to eat, too. We always thought Hazel was a great eater, but since John has joined us I’ve learned the true meaning of an eater. This boy has never turned down any food we’ve offered him. His favorites are almost always more unusual and strongly flavored foods. He might just become our family’s Mikey. What a kid!

Hazel is growing up too fast. She’s getting taller, talking up a storm, learning all about numbers and still singing and dancing like crazy. Her hair has grown and is now long enough that she can wear it out and it looks very sweet. She still prefers to wear dresses, jewelry and anything that she deems fancy and beautiful. She has recently taken to styling her hair with me in the morning and putting on “make up” (which she likes to paint all over her face indiscriminately). We are learning the subtle differences between daily make up and clown face. She prefers the clown look. Numbers are big for Hazel right now. She likes to count and will tell us to “think about it!” and “count my fingers!” This is such a neat age- she has so many interests and gets so tickled whenever she gets to do something she loves. Her favorite movie is How to Train your Dragon, so we got the soundtrack and let her listen to it on the cd player that is in her room (she stole my alarm clock!). She loves to dance and twirl to the music, which is all instrumental score type music and not something I would have ever guessed a kid would like, but that’s our Hazel, she keeps us guessing!

I’ve yet to upload the latest and greatest pics, but here are a few from my phone, and one of a drawing Hazel did all my herself today at school (she’s taking after her Papa’s artistic abilities!)

A few shots from Oma’s visit (Oma and John are crazy about each other)

Lunch with Hazel’s buddy from school

Child Labor…

Hazel really really loves to paint…

We made Valentine’s for all of Hazel’s friends

Silly silly big sister who stole her brother’s seat…

Love this little guy

Yoga poses while watching Diego