Smiley Spring!

It has been a whirlwind week with me back at work on night shifts and Steve getting the hang of handling bedtime with 2 kids while I'm away. It has been difficult for all of us at times, but we're all still alive, fed, clothed, and smiling! Here are some photos from the past week or so.

Austin playing with his cars.

Sarah hanging out in her jammies. She likes to lie on the floor on my blanket. Sometimes she'll even fall asleep there when I'm gone at work or is comforted by snuggling in it. We think the blanket must smell like me and make her feel like I'm with her.
Sometimes, she just likes to kick and coo and smile and wiggle...More being cute and wiggly on the floor...
Steve had some trouble with Sarah fussing while he was trying to get Austin down for bed, so we got the swing out and put together so he could try putting her in her swing while he reads Austin stories and gets him tucked in for bed. She actually really likes the swing and it has given Steve a few easier nights.
Here's Sarah hanging out in her swing.Ausin stills wants to give her kisses all day long, even when she is in the swing and he has to stick his head through the legs of the swing to get to her.
I am on night shifts (7pm-8am) this month and have had a long stretch this first week (7 of the first 8 nights). Two more to go before I have Easter night off. Usually when I get home everybody is up, Austin is eating breakfast and Sarah has had a morning bottle. One day this past week, I came home and everybody was sleeping. Sarah had woken up, eaten, and then snuggled in bed with daddy. It was so cute, I had to take a picture.Austin loves a puppy hand puppet that Gramma Cronk sent him for Christmas. He has a favorite one that he asks us to put on our hand and play cars with him. Lately, he has been requesting to read stories to puppy. He typically reads him Curious George stories sitting in my papasan chair.
We have had amazing March weather, extending into the beginning of April. It was the first March on record in Minnesota without snow! The temperatures were in the mid-50s for much of March and even up into the 60s. Many days were happily spent playing outside with the neighbor kids, taking walks, and going to the park. It has been fantastic! This week, we even hit the mid-70s for a few days! Incredible! We put Sarah in a short sleeved outfit when we hit the high 70s the other day. It's fun to see her cute little chubby arms sticking out. Yay for nice weather! She has also been working very hard at getting her thumb in her mouth. I took some videos of her playing and kicking and smiling and also got some video of her working hard at getting her thumb in her mouth. I haven't gotten those uploaded yet, but I'll post them once I get them transferred onto the computer.

Now it's back to work for another night shift tonight and tomorrow. After my Saturday night shift, we'll head to Easter morning Mass then up to the Twin Cities for some family time. I'm sure we'll have some photos to share from Easter with the family. That's all for now.