egg hunt

we've been to two easter egg hunts this past week, and i think it's safe to say that the girls don't really "get" the easter egg hunt.

seems they lack that killer instinct. you know, the "hunt."

summer is usually too busy examining the few eggs she has gotten her hands on to or (competitive gasp!) helping other kids find eggs, while afton (if she decides to participate) has this pesky habit of overshooting her basket and tossing her eggs back onto the ground.

but whatevs.

if they're happy, i'm happy. and believe me, all they need is some sunshine and an open field, and they're happy.

many thanks to lisa and the moms club of woodinville for hosting such a fun event!

happiness is

caleb's first swing: 

unky ken

faithful steed.

la familia de summer

summer's first family drawing:

left to right: afton, mama, daddy, summer, caleb.

this picture really makes my heart sing; there is so much to love about it (who else is totally digging byan's outfit?), but i think what i love most is how summer apparently views herself as the red-hot love child of rapunzel and angelina jolie.

own it, summer girl. own. it.

first outing

sans hair.

and if you're wondering whether or not people stare,
the answer is yes, yes they do.

luckily, i'm used to it.

shorn

taste the rainbow

our st. patrick's day activity (adapted from here) was magically (and surprisingly) delicious.

growing pains

march twelfth is now the official wheeler family "see how much you've grown" day.

let see how the younggins measured up this year, shall we?

firstborn summer continues to flit and float her way through life on her tippy-tip-toes and grew about 2.5 inches.

afton, who ate, like, zero vegetables this year, managed to eek out 3 inches 'cause she's boss like that. 

and caleb refused to hold still and stand up straight for the measuring, so he remains unaccounted for.

happy height day, ya'll!

up all night

bryan is back in london. 

(he's working on dual citizenship, dontchaknow).

to help curb the loneliness, i've been spending my evenings snuggled 

up in bed with two of the next best things: babies and ice cream.

editorial: caleb does not care to "share" the ice cream.

he must get that from his mom.

spring fling

this past weekend, the pacific northwest played a cruel but beautiful joke on us.

cancer: update one

three weeks ago, my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer.

as a family, we decided it was best for her to undergo treatment here in seattle, and she and my father are staying with us for the next few months whilst she endures rounds of both chemotherapy and radiation.

to keep the many family members and friends who are thinking about her and praying for her updated, and at her request, we will be posting periodically on how she is doing and how treatment is progressing.

so far, she has completed one three-day session of chemotherapy, with three more sessions to go over the course of the next two months.  she has also completed six of her thirty-seven sessions of radiation.

cancer treatment is hard. it is so hard on the body, which is in turn hard on everything else.  at this point there are a lot of unknowns, and there will be a lot of hard days, but we are so, so proud of my mom’s great courage and strength as we face the unknowns and the hard days ahead.