April 14

The amount of time it takes Will and I to go inside on any given evening is directly related to how nice it is outside. Today Will meandered around the front yard stripping the grape hyacinth of their berries. Luckily I've got a ton of them naturalized in the yard, so a few bald ones here and there won't make much of a difference.

April 13

Our wireless router is broken so I bribed the Jones' with a dinner invitation in exchange for Matt to check it out. Will was very excited for Sophie to come and play, but let's just say he had a very difficult time sharing his toys. He's also at the point where he likes to show off for guests, which means he embarrasses his parents by screaming at the top of his lungs during dinner and gets otherwise out of control. There were a few moments of kindness between Will and Sophie, including this one where Will is taking Sophie for a ride on his excavator.

April 12

We enjoyed a nice Easter at home with Grandma and Grandpa Richards. Will was very excited to see that the bunny left his basket filled with treats and scattered eggs around the house. Will loved opening the eggs to find the hidden treasures inside - matchbox cars and sugared cereal (gasp)! Grandma and Grandpa came down for dinner and brought Will more of his favorite Little People. He was most definitely a "Grandpa's boy" today, wanting Grandpa to follow him around and do everything with him. There were many times when Mom, Dad and Grandma were told to leave the room so he could have Grandpa all to himself! Will ended the day by showing us his pitching skills...the Mariner's bullpen had better watch out!

April 11

Will attended his first Easter Egg hunt today and I fear it may be his last. (Well, at least until next Easter rolls around). He is a bit terrified of people in costumes (Red Robin at Red Robin, remember Santa?) and the Easter Bunny was no exception. We arrived at Tumwater HS just before the event started and we were shocked to find nearly 2000 people in attendance. Perhaps if we'd gotten there earlier and let our sensitive little guy acclimate to his surroundings we may have had a different result. Doubtful. At any rate, as the 0-3 year olds got the go ahead to start dashing for eggs, Will spied the Easter Bunny halfway across the football field. He started to scream and cry, so Marc comforted him. (Incidentally, we looked around and didn't find another child acting similarly.) We eventually convinced him to pick up an egg, but he just kept saying, "I wanna go home. Eat candy at home." He did enjoy eating the candy out of the eggs we picked up, but he was not sad to leave. Marc and I keep wondering if we should be worried about his seemingly irrational fears. We know this is normal for a 2 year old, but no one else's kid was doing it! At least we may be able to breathe a bit easier during the teenage years since Will doesn't appear to have any dare-devil gene!

April 10

Today marks the 100th day of Project 365. Some days I find it harder to take pictures than others...its hard to find new inspiration each day. Plus, I don't always have the time or energy to work on setting up a shot and I find it difficult to settle for mediocre pictures. But, I've decided the point of this project is twofold - to both improve my skills as a photographer and to simply have a record of what we've done throughout the year. I feel like my photography has improved since January 1st (how could it not when I've shot over 3000 photos) but I know I still have a great deal to learn.

April 9

I spent today relaxing by myself. It was wonderful! I spent the majority of the day scrapbooking, which is something I haven't done much of lately. I was especially happy to frame these photos that I took yesterday. We've had these frames for the upstairs bathroom for at least a couple of years but they've sat empty all this time, waiting for the right prints.

April 8

I spent today cleaning, sorting, and purging. It feels so good to have a clean house...if it would only last! I rewarded myself by bringing some forsythia indoors.