Some updates to the house!

We are continuously working on this house. It is a never-ending job and I am pretty sure that we will be working on things until we move from this house:) Some of the things we have done recently:

Updating the mantel for the spring! I made these birdhouses and the glass vases that hold the eggs. Now, I have to start thinking about what I want to do for this summer:)

Adding an accent table in the dining room. I love these baskets because the signs on the front are chalkboard so you can label them. We use one for magazines and one for kids' books. And I just love everything that I got for the table and it all came from Homegoods, one of my favorite stores!

These AMAZING curtains! My mom made them and I am in love with them:) They match everything in the room perfectly. Thank you, thank you, thank you Mama!

And she made these curtain valances too! Since I took the picture, I have nailed the curtains back so they hang much nicer then they do in this picture;)

And Chris added the edging, mulch, and solar spot light to the backyard. It looks SOOO much better!

I am plannin to post pictures of our master bedroom that we redid, Andrew's nursery, and our basement playroom that I just LOVE very soon!!!!

Some Easter Weekend pictures...

So I finally have uploaded some Easter pictures, ENJOY!

Look who celebrated their first Easter!

Aiden loved playing with his cousin, Jackson

Jack and Aiden-It's not easy to get a picture of two 2 year olds. Just a few M and M's were used to bribe them:)

Happy Easter from Andrew!

Look who got an Easter bucket this year!

Searching for some eggs...

Look, I see one!

I love, love, love these two!

Happy Tuesday!

What a gorgeous day we are having! We enjoyed the morning at the park with some friends and I think I may have to pull out the water table this afternoon to cool off:) We love, love, love this warm weather in this household!!!

I performed my first tweezer surgery yesterday. Aiden was snacking on grapes in the afternoon. Before I could stop him, he jammed the grape stem way up his nose! I am glad that I was in the room and saw him do it because then at least I knew it was there. Thank goodness for some tweezers to help pull the inch long stem out. Let's hope that doesn't happen again!

These are some pictures from last week:

Daddy with his boys

My smiley boy, Andrew

Look who loves to wear his hats now!

Enjoying the swing

And look who else enjoys the swing now!

Giving his brother a push:)

Swinging together

Our Happy Easter!

We had a great time visiting Aunt Jill, Uncle Tom, Jackson, and Meme this weekend!!!!!! Our weekend was filled with delicious food, a birthday celebration, an afternoon of shopping, and a fun Easter morning. The boys searched for eggs filled with goodies and enjoyed some special treats from the Easter Bunny!!!

We are back in NJ and I am in recovery mode-unpacking, getting organized for the week, catching up on sleep:) I will post more pictures once I sort through them!

What a Week...

Thank goodness for nap time around here! I just woke up from a short nap myself and am sitting amidst a HUGE HUGE mess:):) Laundry needs to be done, the table needs to be cleared, and toys are EVERYWHERE. But I just need to chill for a few more minutes before I get myself motivated...

Our week started out with a beautiful day on Monday! We spent the morning playing around here and enjoyed a visit from some friends in the afternoon before heading out for an evening walk to get some exercise. I am so, so, so anxious to start running again after breaking my ankle but am waiting for my doctor's clearance before I get back into it so the best exercise I get are my walks with the boys!

On Tuesday morning, I ran some errands with the boys which is ALWAYS an adventure! We survived, got home for lunch, and took a good nap before our friends, the Amorinos, arrived from out of town! Liz and I went to high school together and thankfully, we get to see her a couple times a year since she is living on the East Coast too. She brought her three kids (7, 5, and 1) and what a fun, crazy time we had!!!! (Just imagine what five kids can do in a little house in two days) Aiden loved having some new playmates and I so enjoyed catching up and having a familiar face around!! Pictures to come later once I have time to upload some...

They left this morning and we headed to the park to meet some other kids in town for an Earth Day celebration. While the other kids did a scavenger hunt and made a craft, I will have to say that Aiden just enjoyed some relaxing time on the playground and chomping on some pretzels (which were really meant to make a bird feeder!). Since our early bird Andrew was up at 5 am, he took his second nap in the stroller the whole time!!

Now, I probably should head to get cleaned up and packed as we are heading down to my sister's tomorrow to celebrate my nephew Jack's birthday and enjoy Easter with their family and my mom! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our happy, happy Andrew:

Loving his swing:
And loving the playmat:
I love our little bug!
Aiden loves to do tummy time with his brother:
Someone thinks this baby stuff is pretty neat:
And look who loves, loves, loves his rain gear:
Did I tell you how much we love our rain boots? We wear them even when it's sunny!
And someone really likes to sing the ABCs around here:

An "Egg"Cellent Weekend!

Our town holds an annual easter egg hunt at one of the big parks here. We headed over on Saturday morning, despite the gloomy weather, to enjoy Aiden's first Easter Egg hunt! When we got there, the wind was blowing hard and it was freezing!!!! But Aiden collected a few eggs, saw the Easter Bunny, and gobbled up his prize winning fruit snacks! Shortly after we arrived back home from our big adventure, the rain started! It rained and rained and rained so much that we collected a little water in the basement-oh no! During the big rain storm, Chris and the boys all took an afternoon nap while I took on the daunting task of reorganizing our closet so we can donate some clothes and transition our clothes for some warmer weather! We are now prepared-summer, please come:) The rest of rainy Saturday was spent inside playing, playing, and playing!

Chris and the boys heading to the hunt:

Finding eggs...

Checking out the easter egg hunt...

And back at home, Andrew loves to do the "Superman" where he lifts his arms and legs on his belly...

Learning to sit up on his own...

And every once in awhile, I get in a picture with my boys...

Yesterday started promptly at 5:30 am with a wake-up call from Andrew who is our little early morning nightowl! Aiden woke up shortly after at 6 am:) There is NO sleeping in around here! We had a super productive day: church, running errands, planting flowers, vacumning, mopping, five loads of laundry, cooking dinner, and sorting through files!!!! I'm still tired from all that we did. Spring has arrived-isn't the tree in front of our house lovely? And look at the plants that we planted and the bricks that Chris laid out in front-it's so much better then the railroad ties that bordered a bunch of weeds and rocks:)

Loving the Park!

When the warmer weather arrives, our favorite thing to do is go to the park!!!!!

Someone is always carring around his John Deere lunchbox (Aiden calls it his suitcase)!

Having a blast

Sliding with Daddy

And nothing is better on a warm, sunny day then our first trip to the ice cream truck! Aiden got a yummy Dora ice cream treat to help cool him off after running around outside:)

We have had a busy week between playdates, park visits, errands, and getting together with a few friends. I'm enjoying a double naptime and looking forward to Chris arriving home soon on this Friday afternoon!

First Meal!

This video is especially for the grandparents, who miss most of the "first" moments:) Andrew had his first taste of real food on Sunday, enjoying some delicious rice cereal! (While Aiden enjoyed some delicious shepherd's pie in the background)

He seems to be getting used to the idea of food and starting next week, I am hoping to start introducing him to some fruit and vegetables. Since I am hoping to make his baby food, I have to get myself to the store and start whipping up some purees this weekend!

We started out this week with some gorgeous weather! We spent almost the entire day on Monday outside: going on a walk, trip to the park, playing in the backyard, and Aiden's first trip to the ice cream truck where he picked out the Dora ice! He LOVED it!!! It was a fabulous day!!! On the contrary, yesterday was a rainy, cold day where I was at my wit's end by 5:00 pm. Aiden was in one of his funky moods where everything was a battle-eating, getting dressed, playing, everything! We did make a short trip to the library to check out books and were thankful that Chris arrived home earlier than usual!

Off to the library for a special music time today... (Can you tell that the library is one of our favorite places to be?)

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny:)

We enjoyed a nice breakfast with the Easter Bunny on Sunday at the community center here in town. Someone was very excited for his first Easter Bunny sighting:

Aiden was a bit nervous when he first was introduced to the Easter Bunny...

While Andrew took a good nap during the breakfast and craft...

Then, someone got very excited about the Easter Bunny and enjoyed some fun games of peek-a-boo...

And finally, our two boys together got to have their moment with the Easter Bunny!

We are loving the Easter season and this springtime weather that has arrived today!!

Happy Weekend...

Just wanted to post a picture before we head out for the day!! We are off to have breakfast with the Easter Bunny and enjoy a beautiful spring weather:)

Beginning of the Week...

Chris headed back to work on Monday and we do miss having him at home:) It's been a pretty chill week as I am still wearing the big black boot and am trying to get this fibula bone healed so I can get the boot off tomorrow!!!!! (Cross your fingers that the doctor says my bone is healed as I am SOOO ready to get back to normal!)

Our days have been filled with crazy morning playtime...

cooking some Easter eggs...

reading many books...

and playing outside (FINALLY spring is coming!)...

our non-stop rolling machine...

and smiles...

and more smiles...

and more smiles!!!!!