Hop-Hop-Hippity-Hop

Easter weekend was busy in the Herron household. This year it overlapped with a longstanding tradition: watching the opening weekend of the NCAA men's basketball tournament with our friend Todd. We began watching the tournament together way back in our college days while staffing a model United Nations conference. Since our move to Kansas, Todd has visited (almost) every year to watch the games. Carter had great fun with "Uncle" Todd, and Todd got a chance to hone his Seuss-reading skills.

After lots of basketball on Thursday and Friday, we took Carter to an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday. Since neither Erik or Lea had ever participated in the free-for-all, we were not familiar with the finer points of preparation. Our key error: we brought no Easter basket. Erik retrieved a gift bag from Ivan Franko National University that was in the back seat of our car, and it served as a satisfactory substitute. The children lined up, energetic and buzzing with anticipation. The toddlers were released first, followed by kindergartners and then older children who madly dashed about collecting their bounty of plastic candy-filled eggs. Carter was far more deliberate in his egg identification and acquisition process, prompting us to conclude that this Sunday comic is predicting our future. Afterwards, Carter had an opportunity to meet the Easter Bunny. Instead of posing, however, Carter would only offer his bag of eggs as a tribute. He was rewarded the next day with an Easter basket full of train tracks, as well as One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and a little bit of candy. Carter was a real trooper this weekend, handling basketball, a crowded Easter mass, and lots of other action like a pro.

A final note: Carter once again made it into the local paper, this time in a photo with Erik at the Spring Slavic Festival (the chocolate pie on the plate is for Carter, not Erik).

Gold Medalist in Training?

While Carter's future does not include a trip to the 2024 Olympics, he has shown an affinity for gymnastics. Today was "parent appreciation day," so all of us participated in the festivities and Erik snapped several photos of the action. The rest of Carter's busy day included a trip to the park, and a date with his mom (sharing a banana split at Dairy Queen).

Leap Day

Since Leap Day comes but once every four years, we wanted to mark this special extra day. We could not think of any particularly unusual jumping activities, and we did not want to dine on frogs, rabbits, or grasshoppers (a Bistak family tradition is to eat appropriate foods on all holidays, like heart on Valentine's Day). Although not all leaping foodsources are prohibited on a Lenten Friday, we decided to pass on the holiday cuisine.

Instead, we just made sure to have some fun. Lea and Carter went to the lake at Prairie Park since it was seasonably warm (this winter has been unseasonably cold, so a day with normal temperatures felt downright balmy). Erik and Carter made banana bread later in the day and Carter was a great sous chef, mashing the bananas, grating the zest, and stirring all of the ingredients. His verdict on the final product? "This is awesome!"

We wish a Happy Leap Day to everyone!

Carter and the Dinosaur

Inspired by dinosaur-themed birthday gifts from cousin George and the song "Nine Bowls of Soup" from "Here Come the 1,2, 3's," we decided to visit KU's Natural History Museum today. Because Kansas was a shallow sea millions of years ago, the KU collection features fossilized remains of many aquatic creatures. The mosasaur above is the most impressive, complete skeleton, but it is joined by several other displays on the dinosaur floor. We explored the animal exhibits, including the impressive, huge display of stuffed animals that was the centerpiece of the Kansas pavilion at the Chicago World Fair in the 19th century, and also spent time in the bug room (you can see Carter crawling out of the larger-than-life worm hole below).

It's Not Easy Being Three

Today we are celebrating Carter's third birthday (or as his uncle Scott puts it, the completion of his third trip around the sun). Unfortunately, everyone in the Herron household has been struck down by a nasty respiratory infection at varying levels of severity. Poor Carter is so uncomfortable, he did not want to open presents or eat the simple, frosting-less cranberry cake that he has been requesting for weeks. But, he was a real trooper, opening the present that his visiting Bistak grandparents brought and blowing out the candles on his cake. Here are photos from today, and one from a healthier time a couple of days ago, with Carter frolicking in his eagle hat.