Nina's 2nd Birthday

Well... princess for a day. Doesn’t every little girl deserve it? My parenting philosophy is most definitely not towards spoiling, but on a birthday??? Open the floodgates! Unleash the tickles and bear hugs! I love to give a little extra love!!!!!

We had some great burgers (courtesy the Grillmaster, my handsome husband) and all of its accompaniments. I attempted a princess cake, which turned out pretty well! And it was great to have all of our family there to celebrate with us!

10 reasons why I love Nina so much:

1. 1. She’s quite the charmer (one of her first words was “Cheese!” for the camera).
   

2. 2. She’s got the best giggle in the universe.
   

3. 3. She is quite the talker! My favorite sentence of hers? “Love you.”
   

4. 4. She was born amidst blooming tulip and lilac season.
   

5. 5. She hugs with more enthusiasm than ANYONE!
   

6. 6. She’s a Daddy’s girl.
   

7. 7. She loves to snuggle... it’s one of her top 10 most recurring words.
   

8. 8. Her name means “grace of God.” What could be lovelier?
   

9. 9. She and her bro Ian are best buds.
   

10. 10. Can’t imagine life without her!
    

LOVE YOU, NINA RUTH POCH!!!!

Easter Morning

Sunday morning commenced with the traditional Easter basket search. Ian and Nina’s were hidden in rather easy-to-find locations... although the Easter bunny was not so merciful to Tom. Here he is tearing apart Ian’s room, looking for his basket. Erin and I were also recipients of the Easter bunny’s generosity (and I’m glad he remembered how much I love Starbuck’s giftcards!).

Nina was visibly shaken to see a 3 foot tall bunny in the cupboard!

Nina eating her first marshmallow Peep!

Easter Best

Here are photos from our trip to church for Easter. We actually went on Saturday evening this year, to make room for all the visitors on Sunday morning. Our services have been close to capacity and Easter was the highest attended service in the history of our church! Katie’s fiancee Jason joined us, but Carol had recently had eye surgery and wasn’t able to come. We are especially thankful for family on this holiday!!

Easter Egg Hunt

The week before Easter, we invited some friends and their kids over for a low key Easter egg hunt at our house. The weather was a bit chilly and wet, so we opted to have it downstairs. The kids LOVED it... especially Ian and Nina, since they rarely get sweets. Nina, in fact, was grabbing any candy in sight and stuffing it in her mouth with impressive speed and agility. I suppose she was concerned that the candy wouldn’t be available for long. And of course she was correct in that assumption! I have resorted to my father Bruce’s method of having a “stash” , where all things sweet are stored relatively near but not in sight, so as to discourage an all out binge!!

Here is Nina with a mouth full of love!

Girly Girl

I was never one to openly express my desire to have children of both genders. I figured that God knew what I needed best! I speculated that the differences in personality of each child was more than enough to keep my life from being dull. But interestingly, after we were blessed to have daughter Nina following our firstborn Ian, I have realized more every year how much I relish the differences a girl brings. There are more hormones to be sure, but I love that she delights in ruffles, jewelry, girlish accessories, and all things sparkly (or “prih-tee” as she calls it). I am looking forward to tea parties galore as our little princess grows!

Library Bliss

There is no better word to describe the feeling that the library gives me than BLISS. I am not certain who initiated the concept of a library, but I am forever indebted to that individual! I decided recently to read the biography of Andrew Carnegie, because he is considered the second richest man in U.S. history (after John Rockefeller) and gave a considerable share of his fortune to the establishment of libraries across the United States, United Kingdom and other English speaking countries. Even the library in my mother’s hometown of Ishpeming, Michigan is called the Carnegie Public Library! Quite a legacy.

But I just adore how my chidrens’ faces light up when we visit the library. It is a special day indeed that includes a jaunt to our favorite book nook.

St. Patrick's Day Pub

Erin and I take great delight in our annual St. Patrick’s Day tradition of visiting an Irish pub. We are fortunate that there are an array of options in the Twin Cities! This year we visited The Local in downtown Minneapolis, which happens to also be the location of my first date with Tom! Erin ordered chicken pot pie, the kids had shepherds pie and I had a reuben. I loved the ambience of the dimly lit, quiet back room and the subdued conversation and laughter from people at the tables around us. Tom was unable to join us because he was at Men’s Retreat, but we look forward to next year’s celebration... any suggestions??