Spring...is that you???

So I promised pictures or something, but I'm on the wrong computer so I can't post... oh well... Moving on...
We think Spring might have arrived! (knock on wood, click heels 3x, blink twice for yes, etc...) Seriously, this has been a mighty long winter and we have been spending a lot of time out in our backyard soaking up rays, dancing, drawing with chalk *some little people eating it*, going for walks, falling asleep, eating breakfast lunch and dinner... As much time outside as we can humanly get before, brrrrr "it" returns. The only bad thing about spring so far has been the lack of rain to wash away snow mold and all the dirty debris leftover after the big melt. I am fairly certain that the girls both have allergies/hay fever and I've been in a constant battle with them over wiping noses and forcing them to drink water to clear out all the gunk in their little bodies. Kalea is a juice drinker, but I ran out and don't feel like buying anymore so I've been lacing her water with stevia so that she'll think it's juice, I wonder what she'll do when she realizes water doesn't naturally taste like anything? Hmmm... Some fun tidbits from the last few weeks.
1. At Meg & Mark's wedding we had a pre-ceremony family lunch at Cobblestone Manor in Cardston... Kalea escaped while Steve was changing Brynlee's diaper. When I say escaped I mean she was with a group of nieces and nephews and then she quite literally left the building. I had to chase her down in heels and a very flowy dress, through some muddy grass, around half the building before I finally caught the back of her shirt. This was one mama who in that moment was very much wishing she could fast forward to Kalea's wedding day, 20yrs (or so) to go, but who's counting?
2. We are having less problems with tantrums, except for the last few days when she's begged to "go home" when we most definitely are at home or to "go car ride" or "go park" or "go walk".
3. Last night we succumbed to the pressure and took the kids for a car ride to an area that Steve had done a few installs in this week. Kalea was fairly quiet on the ride, but we figured she was just exhausted from playing outside most of the day. As soon as we drove into the subdivision we heard what sounded like belching, nope it was puking. Great, all over her nightgown and blanket. Lucky for us she pulled a wonderful striptease in the car on Sunday night and we just happened to have a spare dress/nightgown to put on her and used a winter scarf as a makeshift blanket for her. Thankfully it was nice enough to open the sunroof and roll down the windows or we would've been in huge trouble. After that she was up to her usual blabbering while we drove.
4. My new "favorite" command from Kalea has to be "Kitchen! Now!" while she points me in the right direction or pushes me to the gate that keeps her out of the kitchen. She always says it so seriously, I guess in the same tone I use when I send her to time out (pointing and hand on my hip). I'm glad Steve doesn't use that tone of voice when he wants food or he'd be a dead man!
5. Brynlee is in a funny stage of life. She watches and observes everything Kalea does, and in turn is starting to repeat different phrases but at completely random times. She has no clue when it's appropriate to use some of the phrases- or that it's not appropriate to use some of them, so it's entertaining.
6. Brynlee is also in a stage I like to call delayed retaliation. Kalea will do something to her and then a few minutes later Brynlee will finally clue in and retaliate. Usually Kalea will take something from her, walk away and start playing by herself. Brynlee will just kind of sit/stand there for a minute processing what happened and then will walk over with a scowl on her face and open-hand slap/pat the top of Kalea's head, or her back, etc... It's interesting to watch sometimes, but obviously both of them get their share of time-outs, etc... Just interesting to see the kinds of things they do on their own to try and rectify the situation before I step in. Kalea is pretty tough and usually won't do anything when Brynlee swats her, she just continues playing or goes somewhere else. Which also leaves Bryn very confused. Fun.
7. Today on our walk Kalea decided it would be fun to just randomly stop and sprawl out across the path. Anyone who knows the paths near our house, knows that they are pretty busy with cyclists, walkers, runners, wildlife, etc... So I was sure feeling patient with this activity. She just lay down on her belly holding her head in her hands like she usually does when she's watching a movie at home. Ignored all of my gentle promptings to get up and dang near got herself run over by a very nice older gentleman. As soon as he passed she got up and tried to "get him!" which she said very enthusiastically and then quickly got distracted by the geese and ducks in a pond nearby.
8. Kalea almost ran into the pond, but I caught her before she got to far. She was angry at the Canadian Goose who would not honk back at her- she was trying extremely hard to have a conversation he/she would understand. Cute.
9. Our home teachers came over last week and Kalea was putting on her usual show, using her fun guests are in our house antics, all very funny. I can't remember the question that Rob asked us but Kalea wasn't paying attention to him but before I or Steve could answer she said a very deep, "oh yeaaaaaaah" and we all erupted in laughter, it was priceless.
10. She took her diaper off and piddled in the basement today. I realized that my present mindset is SO different from the old one I had before I had kids. Cleaning up pee is like cleaning up spilled milk now, I don't even think about how gross it is. I miss the days when it seemed gross...
11. Kalea was pretty tired the other day so I put on her current favorite princess movie, Sleeping Beauty, and left her downstairs on the air mattress to bounce and dance while watching. She takes princess movies very seriously and always finds a dance partner and sings along now. Anyways, it was very quiet so I went down to check on her and she was laid out with her hands over her head snoring- not quite Sleeping Beauty style, her snores are pretty loud and obnoxious but she was pretty dang cute zonked out like that. I'm sure her arms were pretty dead/numb when she finally woke up too!
I forgot how much we love spring/summer/fall. Despite what some people might think, I love getting outside and doing something with my day besides the mundane inside the house chores, etc... even if it's just a little walk, the fresh air is magic at this time of the year. Kalea was so good on our walk and even helped push the stroller and did a surprisingly good job. I'm glad we're moving past the crazy toddler stage and into the little helper stage. Hopefully this weather keeps up so we can get into our new daily routine, yay!