March highlights

 1) Soccer season for Cecilia! her Little Kickers team meets once a week on our school field to practice soccer drills and scrimmage games.  the practices are hilarious to watch -- this team is for preschool and kindergarten, so there's lots of running around, cartwheels, and shenanigans interspersed with actual soccer. (they won't start playing games against other teams until first grade.) their coach does a great job keeping them focused as much as possible. I think Cece's favourite so far was a version of flag football they played -- she collected the most "duck tails" by far! 

running fast! (she's in the white top and black pants)

collecting duck tails like it's her job

handstand break

just taking a minute to herself :D

2) a trip to the Children's Museum. our local children's museum is nationally ranked as one of the best, but I have always felt that it doesn't have much to offer the 2- to 5-year-old crowd (the science center and natural history museum appeals more to my kids at those ages). fortunately, our crew right now (15 months, 6, and 9) all absolutely loved it. even better, we were able to go for free with passes obtained through our library card! Greta and Cecilia are old enough now to fully appreciate and participate in the maker spaces around the museum. Greta, in particular, was entranced by the electric circuit station. after several false starts involving dead battery packs, she figured out the magic combination (component, battery and switch) to bring her creations to life. both girls loved making sand art and playing in the water play area, and Elizabeth had lots of fun with blocks, the giant Lite Brite, and the soft play area. 

my heart!!

3) Seeing Six!, the Broadway musical. my friends and I bought tickets on pre-sale way back in the fall to see this super fun retelling of the lives and passions of Henry VIII's six wives when the Broadway national tour came to Pittsburgh in March. I hadn't listened to the soundtrack prior to seeing the show, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. the music is catchy and I certainly learned a lot about their individual stories. for overall musical genius, choreography and costuming though, it doesn't compare to classics like Les Mis or even the more recent Hadestown in my opinion. it was still an incredibly fun night out, especially paired with dinner at the Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao (all you can eat meat and cheese puffs? yes please!). 

friends since freshman year of college. I will spare us all the counting of
exactly how many years that is.

I had to do a double take when perusing the playbill. the woman who plays
Catherine of Aragon is on the left; my sister Kira (also an actress and model) is on the right!
she said she didn't see the resemblance when I sent her Gerianne's picture but, hello!!

4) Greta's developmental basketball season finished with a bang! it's been so much fun to watch their 3rd and 4th grade girls team learn and grow together this season. although they don't officially keep score during regular season games at this level, their team had a great record (10 wins and 1 loss) during the season. during their first tournament, they were so disappointed to lose both games. they went into their final tournament ready to fight, and won their first two games! Greta had some great defensive plays. both games were very close and my Garmin kept buzzing to notify me of abnormally high resting heart rates :D they ended up losing the semi-final game, which was okay with me because I guarantee they would have lost the final anyway (they would have played the one team who beat them by over 10 points during both the regular season and their first tournament). but I was so happy for them to celebrate winning those first two games, and to practice good sportsmanship congratulating the team that ultimately won.  

hustling after that ball

I was not prepared for the intensity!

getting a pep talk from their wonderful coaches

5) Elizabeth being adorable, in general. at 15 months, she has developed a sense of humor and loves to play peekaboo (although often she covers her ears or forehead instead of her eyes). she waves "bye-bye", says "night-night" and "wah-wah" (when I wash her hands and face after meals), puts MegaBlocks together, can point to her nose and tummy (when she wants to), and zooms around pushing her little car around with no consideration given for our toes or the furniture. she finally started walking independently, although if she's trying to get someplace quick (like into the girls room to play with their toys -- definitely off-limits), she'll crawl at lightning speed. one particularly notable day, she took her pants off during her nap, shouted "no! no! no!" while trying to put her own coat on and not being able to get her arms in the sleeves, climbed up on the blanket chest and onto our high bed in about ten seconds while my back was turned, and knocked over the trash can. when I came running, she started clapping and laughing uproariously. suffice it to say, we have a toddler in the house! :) 

wearing Daddy's shoe

she was thrilled to be the assistant to Cecilia's magic show

watching for the school bus on a chilly morning