Spring has arrived!!!

Ahhhh...the beautiful spring weather has finally arrived! The temps are up to the 60s, even some days into the 70s. Trees and plants are starting to burst with new buds (all except our lost cause of a Japanese maple in the front yard). We're starting to see our neighbors emerge out of their homes after the very rough and long winter. Many are surprised to see that I'm pregnant. I guess that's what happens around here - we 'hibernate' during the winter and when spring comes, you start to see either new babies, pregnant moms or new pets. A lot has happened since November 2007!

With this warmer weather upon us, I'm also realizing how good I had it the first two pregnancies, which were both over the winter months. I've got 2 more months to go and I'm already feeling over-heated. This will be a rough one, hopefully not too bad on our cooling bill! I think I may start to sleep in our cool basement if it gets any worse.

Peter's latest passion has been letters and spelling. The learning computer he got over Christmas from my mom has been a saving grace. He's learning so much from it and catches on very quickly. Many times, we're amazed how much he remembers!

This is a very typical scene in our house:

I've often joked with Sam that Peter is taking after his daddy - getting on the computer first thing in the morning. Luckily, Natalie is more like her mommy - snoozing in the bed a little more before officially starting the day. The only thing that quickly gets Natalie out of bed is the mere mention of Daddy sharing a strawberry (or apple, whichever we have) bar. I'd admit, mentioning a yummy breakfast will also get me out of bed quicker than I can say IHOP! :)

We've been able to get out of the house for walks around the neighborhood. For Natalie, that includes taking Puppy out for a walk:

And as my belly grows, Natalie is ever more convinced it's a great pillow:

On Sunday, we seized the moment to take the kids to a playground. It was great for Peter and Natalie to get the fresh air and revitalize on a playground with other kids. A fearless Natalie had a great time going down the slides all by herself.

It took a while for Peter to warm up to the idea of actually going down a slide. He finally built up the confidence and in the end, he figured out there was nothing but fun to be had.