Life is good!

Spring is approaching quickly. We can feel it here in Ann Arbor--warmer days, melting snow, and more days of sunshine. I'm certain we'll get at least one more big snowstorm before the winter is wrapped-up for good, but that's OK. We all can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

How are we? Good!

• Preschool has been such an enriching experience for Maia. Just this week, for example, she wanted to have Eli as her show-and-tell on Monday, so I brought him in midway through the morning and sat with him on my lap in front of the class while Maia proudly showed-off her little brother. It was quite charming. Then, on Wednesday, a local dentist visited class and taught the kids all about healthy teeth and foods. Maia's been talking about caring for her teeth ever since, and she now insists on brushing them multiple times a day.
  
• Eli is happily digging into solid foods. This week, he broadened his repertoire to include Zingerman's Roadhouse's grits, roasted chicken, and Brian's delicious risotto. We didn't go through much of the process of making baby food purees and such this time around. While we do have some cooked and frozen veggies in bags in the freezer, he's already moved-on to eating bigger chunks of stuff.
  
• Eli also added another sign into his list: "water." That brings his total up to four signs.
• We got a spring windbreaker jacket for Eli recently, and we had to go all the way up to a 24-month size to get one that we thought would fit all season. I think that he weighs about 25 pounds (using our bathroom scale as an estimate).
  
• Maia's added some great words and expressions into her own language usage. She loves to use the words "ordinary" and "recognize" lately, and recently said "We should do this again sometime!" (to Aunt Katie, as if they were on an Auntie/Niece date.)