A Busy Weekend!

Another busy weekend has passed!!!! We spent almost the whole weekend outside because it was SOO pretty here:)

I started off the weekend with a BIG grocery shopping trip since we were totally out of food around here. It's amazing how much easier it is to get groceries when you don't have two little kiddos in tow. I returned home just in time for Chris to help the neighbors move a swingset from one yard to another. I know he is SO thankful that I volunteered his muscles and time for this big endeavor. Little did he know that the swingset was massive and the job took five men almost all day to complete. I know that our neighbor is so grateful for the muscles needed for this big job! While the men worked, I got together with some of the wives with the kids. Aiden LOVES to play with the neighbor kids and was easily entertained most of the day!!!!! After a long day at work, we walked to downtown where we enjoyed a nice dinner outside right by the train station. It was great because Aiden was entertained the whole time watching the train tracks so we didn't have to worry about any major meltdowns from him. Andrew was content as long as someone held him!

Our big project that we started this weekend was replacing the shrubs in the front yard. We headed to Lowes and the plant nursery on Sunday morning to pick up our supplies. While I put the boys down for naps, Chris dug out the old shrubs. Then, he worked SUPER hard to plant the new shrubs while I tried to help where I could! We decided to call it quits from exhaustion after completing one side of the house. After naptime, Aiden met up with the neighbor boys again in the backyard, Chris cleaned up the old shrubs, and Andrew and I just chilled on the porch while watching all the kids. After grilling out, we had both boys down for an early bed time so we could clean up and collapse into bed!

Someone likes to mow the lawn just like his daddy!

Hello from Aiden!

Getting ready to scoot, scoot, scoot!

Tuckered out after a long morning of being outside!

Enjoying some Sunday morning television time together!

Check out our new shrubs!

Happy 5 Months!

Our little bug, Andrew, turned 5 months last week!!! It is awesome to watch him grow and develop, although it happens so quickly!

At five months, Andrew is SO active!!! He loves to roll around on the floor and has just started to scoot in order to reach toys that were out of reach before! Before I know it, this little one is going to be crawling! He is happiest when he is free to move around on the floor. I usually just move the coffee table and let him play, play, play on the living room floor surrounded by his toys! Other places that he likes to be are in his exersaucer, going for walks in the stroller, and his favorite place to be is still in someone's arms, usually Mommy's!

Andrew started to eat this month! He eats one meal a day and has tried several foods: rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, and applesauce. So far, he has liked all of the different foods and is pretty content eating unless we feed him when he is tired! Then, he is one cranky eater:) Andrew still refuses a bottle, although we haven't been as consistent with trying to use it daily between Chris' hours and juggling the two kids!

Andrew's sleep has been through ups and downs this month. He is a generally good napper during the day, usually taking 3-4 naps for about 45 minutes-3 hours at a time. Most of the month, Chris and I have enjoyed some SUPER early morning wake-up calls (between 4-5 am). Knock on wood, but the past few days, we have been lucky that Andrew hasn't been waking up unitl 6 or 7 am. He still feeds once during the night which doesn't bother me but I will not miss those middle of the night feedings one bit! And we have almost completely broken the swaddler that he has loved so much. Since he rolls around so much, I decided it was time to call it quits! So he has adjusted to life without the swaddler and has become a side or belly sleeper most nights:)

Andrew is learning about life all through being a second child. He attends library story time with his brother, goes to playdates with his brother, and most of the minutes that he is awake, so is his brother Aiden! He seems to love his "good morning" hug from Aiden and watches his brother all day long!!!

He is such a happy, sweet baby! I love his big giggles that he gives me when I tickle him or when he plays peek-a-boo. I cherish the moments when Aiden is sleeping and Andrew "talks" to me with his sweet bird calls:) I can't wait to see what another month brings!

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: