13/52

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Elise:  If she's outside playing, she's almost always climbing a tree or swinging from it's branches.  Likewise, at school, most of her playground time is also spent on the monkey bars.  What a cute monkey!

Caleb:  Like his daddy, he's working on writing and recording a song.  I helped him write one about being a farmer and one about being a president but I'm going to call on our household musician for some backup very soon!  (Love the vintage Julius Erving shirt that's been around for a few decades...I have wonderful memories of going to Sixers games with my dad and staying late to shake his hand!)

Lucas:  Oh, the end of an era.  These Spiderman boots have been loved and loved.  In fact, if you've seen Lucas at any point over the last year and a half, chances are you've seen these boots.  I think they've been worn on as many sunny days as rainy ones!  Well, they've finally sprung a leak so they'll have to be sun boots from here on out.  

Eden:  This happened this week!  Lucas was at the top of the steps after just waking up from a nap; Eden practically jumped out of my arms and then proceeded to climb every single step until she made it to her favorite Lucas.  

12/52

 

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Elise:  Carolina Girl!  She was so cute cheering on UNC in their game tonight.  She kept us continually updated with the score and gave play by play commentary on every stat and bit of info. that came onto the screen.

Caleb:  Learning some chords with Daddy and can almost play Twinkle, Twinkle on his own.

Lucas:  Loving the spring weather and riding his bike.  I don't think those training wheels will be on much longer!

Eden:  Laughing so hard at silly Caleb dancing and playing peek-a-boo with her.  (Her bib was one that my Banny gave to Elise when she was born!)

Ten months old

Hello, Little Miss Personality!  Eden is becoming quite the comedian these days and is trying so very hard to be a part of everything her big sibs are doing.  She inhales big and loud when she wants their attention, laughs right along with them when silliness erupts at the dinner table and crawls as quick as her chubby little legs will go to chase them around and around the house - trying to figure out exactly what it is they're up to.  While I've been over the crunched up Cheerios underfoot and splattered fruits of veggies of all kinds marking my dining room floor for ages now...I really can't get enough of that messy and adorable face!  Eden Joy, you sure do make us smile!

Life on the edge of her seat...watching the big guys play soccer at Duke Gardens!  Springtime means her birthday is just around the corner, too; I can hardly believe it.

Peek-a-boo! (another skill we've mastered this month!)

...and yes, sometimes life is rough...this is the new face we're seeing lots of when Miss Eden doesn't get her way!  Poor baby!

Washington, DC

After our busy weekend in PA we decided to take the slow route home and stopover in D.C.  Hannah and Chris had generously offered to host the three big guys, so Josh and I (and our fearless sidekick Eden) found a little apartment to rent in Capital Hill and made our way to a delicious sushi restaurant for dinner; a lovely evening almost alone! Meanwhile the kids were enjoying dinner and a movie and a special night in with Aunt Han! (Sadly, they didn't even get to see Chris who was super busy hosting a group with CSM and ended up with only a short night of sleep, missing them completely.)  
Hannah has been a D.C. resident since she and Chris returned from their honeymoon in early January and she has quickly become more of a local than a visitor.  She was a wonderful tour guide for us and we loved seeing so much of her new hometown.

On Monday, while Hannah worked, we visited the Air & Space Museum and the White House.

Eden and her royal wave.

This is Josh and Elise leaping over the fence while being chased off of the White House grounds by armed guards.

Eden: "Faster, dad, faster!"

Highly recommended picnic spot for a cold day...the atrium of the National Portrait Gallery!

A favorite site, the Lincoln Memorial.

Well...we'll take what pics we can get of this motley crew!

Thanks for the wonderful visit Aunt Hannah.  Hope we'll be back soon!

11/52

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Elise:  This girl gives 110% when she's excited about something and I love her for it.  Yesterday, she rallied the boys to clean up the basement so that they could enjoy a little tv show while I made dinner.  I'm trying to remind myself that she's old enough to have some more big kid responsibilities and privileges these days.  (Who said Mommas don't go through growing pains?!?)

Caleb:  Clad in our neighbor's elbow, wrist, and knee pads - I think he's looking more robot than boy these days!

Lucas:  Yes, this is the boy who was climbing to the top bunk when he was 14 months old...pictured here somewhere frighteningly high in our neighbor's magnolia.  (And, yes, he does have on one rain boot and one croc...did I mention he's a tad stubborn!)

Eden:  Trick of the week and yet another rite of passage for all of infantkind!

Grandpa Sam and the Ukulele

Caleb was anxiously awaiting our visit to PA for many reasons, one of which was to receive his birthday gift from Grandma and Grandpa. For months he's been asking for a guitar that you can really tune and really play. They had decided that a ukulele would be just right. Perfect size. Less complicated with fewer strings. Tunable. He LOVES it! (And, if you've seen him lately you've probably heard his C chord!) 

We thought it might be easier for Caleb to play if he could put a strap on the ukulele, so Grandpa set to work carefully drilling and placing a peg in the end so we could secure a strap.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

Les Mis!

This weekend we traveled to Pennsylvania to enjoy Lydia's final high school musical production. I suppose, after an 18 year run, it was actually the last Garnet Valley musical for a member of the Woodworth family (at least for the foreseeable future.) It was wonderful to be there to support Lyd and be a part of a special highlight in her high school career.  

On Sunday we set out to Nifty Fifties for an impromptu celebration dinner!  Josh has a hard time turning down a cheeseburger and I've been dreaming of their milkshakes for several years now, so it seemed like a fun and festive place to end the weekend.

Mmmmmm!

10/52

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Elise:  Enjoying a snow day (#6) and working on a rocket project with Caleb.  I provided a little support, but it was really cute to watch them work on it together!  Thankfully they were willing to settle for a rocket made out of cardboard, since initially they'd asked me to take them to the junk yard to purchase scrap metal.

Caleb:  The making of the rocket also included the making of "marine hats" which were used in a"ceremony" they held before they attempted a launch.

Lucas:  I think we officially have a lefty! (Just like his Daddy, Uncle Hayd, and Great Granddad) 

Eden:  On the move and into trouble...crawling, standing, cruising, etc...

9/52

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Elise:  My sweet girl seems so grown up lately.  Here she is dressed and ready for her school field trip to the NC Children's Theater...so excited to wear a hat for Read Across America Day.  (aka Dr. Seuss' Birthday!)

Caleb:  Ever since our neighbor told him about the skate park downtown, he's been begging to go.  It was a bit out of our league (note all the teenagers in the background), but my confident Caleb was undaunted.  

Lucas:  My only blanket kid all wrapped up after his nap. (I toted mine around until college, so I'm kind of glad at least one of my kids likes a blankie!)

Eden:  This girl discovered popsicles this week!  Wish you could have seen her kicking, waving, and shouting for more...lucky for her, she has 3 doting older siblings who lined up to share licks with her.