Shanda gave Kira a Gift Certificate to the "Build-a-Bear Workshop" for Christmas. It is a fun place to make your own friend. Much to her father's shagrin, she chose the pink poodle. She named her Rachel because that is her favorite name right now.

This is when he found my lipstick. I'm not sure why my make-up is so fascinating!

Kira and I hosted a tea party for a group of her friends that have been trying to get together often. Jodee (our photographer friend and mom of Kylee) came to take pictures of the lovely ladies. I gave them an etiquette lesson, they dressed up and then we had "tea" (lemonade) and cookies.

On St. Patricks' Day we went to the zoo with some of our friends from church. We were fortunate that just the day before Grandma had sent these matching outfits that would make it really hard to lose track of the kids (some how I still managed to when they were playing with hundreds of other children at the play area). The kids had a great time, although Trenton really wanted to ride the go-karts that the zoo employees drive.

Kira talked me into letting her have a ride on the carousel before we left the zoo. She went all by herself.

There is a small river running through the zoo right by the playground area (I think it was designed for older children). Trenton--my "water boy" couldn't be content until he waded through it, but wasn't too content after when his shoes were filled with cold water.

Trenton has been giving me all kinds of headaches lately, but he’s so dang cute, it is hard to stay mad at him for long. He is proving to have the same stubborn will as his sister but is physically stronger than she was making things like getting him in the carseat a near impossibility when he doesn’t want to be there. (He really thinks he should be the one driving!) He is endlessly fascinated with toilets (dirty and clean), and has started throwing random things from the house in our recycling garbage can. As you can see here, he found my mascara one day. It was either cry or grab the camera, so I grabbed the camera. I made the same choice a few days later when he found my lipstick and painted his face. I think I was closer to crying though, when he found sister's nailpolish and decided that we should have a pink carpet. (Do you think he has too many female influences in his life? :-)) The most recent disaster caused by Hurricane Trenton happened last week. Remember that he thinks he can drive. He always makes a b-line for the front of the van and presses buttons until we manage to pry him away and get him in his seat or out of the car. He had been playing in the car one day after dropping the kids off at school. I didn't use the car again until the next morning when I went to take the kids again and there was zero power in the battery. He had turned the lights on and they had drained the battery. Fortunately my neighbor was able to come down with her car and with a little coaching from Barry on the phone, we were able to get it charged again and only be 15 mins. late for school.

Trenton has turned into a little parrot and will say back most any word you say. Our favorites of course, are “thank you” and “please.” Our least favorite is "stop it" that he learned from his sister. But it is pretty funny to hear him say “poof” when he has a messy diaper. He likes food so will ask for “pizza”, “hot dogs”, "candy" often in a hungry monster voice. I think since he can use his words to make himself understood, he is a little less frustrated and more cheerful, although he still can’t understand why we won’t let him play in the toilet, walk around with scissors, mow the lawn, or drive the car. We are mean parents!

Kira finished another term with her performing arts class through the City of Tempe, in March. They had a gallery exhibit for the parents to view. Our favorite this time...the elephant puppet!

She has now begun attending preschool everyday at Faith North Montessori school in downtown Phoenix. It is part of the Phoenix School District, so not only is it free but they feed her a snack and lunch for free each day. She attends from 8:15 to 12:15 each day and it is a good breaking in time for full-day kindergarten next year (for Mom, too.). A couple of our friends in our neighborhood started attending as well, so we have a three-way carpool going. So far, everything is going well. Kira enjoys school, her teachers are impressed with her readiness to learn, and Trenton and I have a little more time together in the mornings.