Family snippets // Weekend linkage

February is over (we survived!) and spring is coming down the pike. I am tired of staying inside, tired of the sameness, tired of the cold. We have a park just down the street and the first warm day, the girls and I will BE THERE.

We are gradually discovering Zoe's personality. In addition to being a snuggle bug, she is less amenable to routine than Ellie was. You never know what the next several hours will look like. The sweetest thing about her, right now, is how tightly she clings to my shirt while she nurses. I think she realizes This is Mommy. This is safe and wants to make sure I don't drift away.

Ellie has added several useful phrases to her vocabulary. "Is mine!" "Did it!" and "Is empty!" for example. She loves to talk and gets so excited when she figures out a new word, especially a complicated one like "breakfast" or "schoolbus."

. . . thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,

"In returning and rest you shall be saved;

in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."
-Isaiah 30:15

Here's an interesting post (and comments) on letting your kids talk to strangers. I've always thought that my policy will be "go right ahead and talk to people, just don't go anywhere with them."

A Plea for Innocence. "It can be dangerous to assume that we need to have a deep understanding of error in order to hold fast to what is true."

This guy is smart: selling Boston's snow!

All these recipes look great.

This is such a weird story: two babies switched at birth.