easter egg huting

I've been a bit slack on the posting-front lately, but February and March have been rough months for us. Well, mostly for me. I had a bad cold on my birthday, a stomach bug at Valentine's (and actually left Eric in the restaurant where we'd gone on a delayed birthday outing), another cold two weeks later, and, most recently, another cold that Macon gave to me and Jed (and presumably someone has given it to Eric). But I guess I can't complain. At least I haven't popped an eardrum, which is exactly what poor Macon did a few days ago! 

Nevertheless, we've still managed to enjoy a few rites of spring, namely, egg hunting. Last weekend was our neighborhood egg hunt, but it was cold and dreary and I didn't snap a single picture. Macon, however, was able to learn the ropes so that on this past Thursday, he was ready for the preschool egg hunt on the capitol grounds. I managed to get some pictures with my phone and you'll notice a pattern in the shots of Macon: he's either swiping eggs out from under the feet of older children or he's eating his loot. 

quicker than a kid from the 2s class

Yum!

Got it. Where's the next one?

most of Jed's class

again, swiping from a kid in the next class up

Trying to impress my lady-friend with my loot. 

more candy

candy brothers 

When Jed's teacher gave out big eggs with a toy inside to each child, Jed and one of his best buddies scored fire trucks! Miss Susan really knows her boys! (Macon's still eating candy in the background.)

spring is here

Despite a warm winter, our spring is pretty chilly, but the calendar says it is here. The calendar also says it's time for Jed's first foray into organized sports. 

Yes, folks. He's playing t-ball. Some of you know that I think baseball is boring, so you're probably surprised by this move. Admittedly, I'm a bit surprised, too. I enjoyed playing softball back in the day, but even then, I could see that it was probably a snooze for the spectator. Thus, it's with great appreciation for my parents' willingness to deliver me to thousands of practices (and pick me up) and to sit though hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours of games and matches, we have started down the road to game day. While I can't say that it's very exciting, it is, at least, pretty funny. 

Back at the ranch, we've had the wagon out recently. 

 And the other day, they were shirt-twins (this is Jed's term) at the park. 

Looking up at Jed through the holes in the floor is hilarious. 

as

Jed as Lincoln back on President's Day

plastic bag as kite

St. Patrick's Day cupcake as breakfast . . . 

gone before I could even catch a picture of it

breakfast then and now

south paw bros

plus one with north, south, east, and west paws

saga of the bed continues

As you may recall, we converted Macon's crib to a toddler bed in early February. With his new found freedom came a desire to roam. Over time, his napping improved, but bedtime was, for over a month, difficult at best. 

Macon would invade Jed's bed and then the two would feed off of each other until Jed was grumpy and frustrated and ready to fall asleep. Nine times out of ten during the month of February, Jed ended up in the guest room, and Macon would stand at the gate in the door to their room and fuss, cry, or scream for seemingly forever. Twice, Macon actually fell asleep on the floor. Most nights, he'd wake up at least once, and our 8-a.m.-riser was getting up well before 6. Jed, too, was waking a bit earlier than usual because the guest room is lighter than his room and because the guest room is next to ours, so he was hearing us getting up in the mornings. 

Thus, after many weeks with very little improvement and lots of lost sleep, we decided to continue the upheaval and get Macon a real big boy bed. 

The new mattress arrived on Saturday and we set the bed up, complete with a fold-down guard rail. As an added bonus, Macon seemed reluctant to climb down from the bed, so we were hopeful that maybe Macon had been recaptured. Our hopes were dashed, however, when we heard both of them up shortly after we closed their door. We assumed Macon had overcome his fear of climbing down, but, magically, they both stayed in bed after only one return to their room. Maybe the new bed was actually enticing enough to keep Macon in. Could that be? 

As it turned out, Macon had not acted alone. On Sunday, Eric and I both independently witnessed Macon scoot to the edge of his bed, make "help me" noises, and reach out for us. On both occasions, before Eric or I could think, "but didn't you get down by yourself last night?," Jed stepped in to answer our unasked question by lifting Macon down from the bed. 

I guess singing the song from Wonder Pets ("What's going to work? Team work!") has paid off. At least for Macon.

We both pointed out to Jed that helping Macon down would mean Macon could run around the room and disturb him. We told Jed that he could help Macon down during the day but not at bedtime. Because this rule benefited Jed, Jed complied and last night for the first night in many, many weeks, we put them to bed and no one got out on their own. Macon cried for a good while at bedtime and I returned once to offer comfort, but that was par for the course with the crib and that's something Jed can sleep through. 

So until Macon gets a bit braver, we will all enjoy the benefits of his captivity!  

The bed makes a great tiller truck with Jed driving in the front and Macon handling the back.

Or, both firefighters can ride up front. Either way. 

UPDATE FROM ERIC:  Those of you looking carefully may note that the new bed appears to be perched on a set of blocks.  In fact, the two legs closest to the camera are set on about two inches of blocks.  That is because the floor in that room is so uneven, it falls about two inches from one side of the bed to the other.  The joy of old houses.

EXTRA UPDATE FROM SARAH: To get an up-close look at what Eric's talking about, you can click here so see how the crib was rigged in the same location.

happiness is . . .

Back before Christmas, we visited Raleigh Fire Station 1. Jed told the guys he had asked Santa for fire gear, and they challenged him to come back for a speed contest. So, today, Jed took on Firefighter Kevin and won! Of course, Jed had rigged it a bit.

Firefighter Kevin donned pants, boots, jacket, knit head-protector, and helmet. Jed had a trimmed-down kit of boots, pants, helmet and gloves (courtesy of Firefighter Kevin), but he intentionally left his jacket in the car because "it takes too long to zip."

Once they were dressed, Kevin hooked a flashlight to Jed's gear. 

 Then, Jed got to hop in the rear cab of the tiller truck. 

(A tiller truck is a ladder truck with drivers in the front and the back. Click here to watch Raleigh's tiller wreck [no one was hurt] a couple of years ago, and click here to see it leave on a call.)