Easter

We had a great Easter!

Okay, that photo isn't the best representation of our weekend but hilarious nonetheless. Calvin enjoyed battling hundreds of kids on the playground for an Easter egg hunt before meeting Mr. Bunny. The meeting went just as expected, with Calvin glued to Jakob's hip as he screamed for help. I should have known since the same creepy bunny was at the park last year but Calvin insisted he wanted to see the creep. Let that be a lesson learned.

A much cuter bunny visited our house Sunday morning and left eggs and baskets for the boys.

Calvin loved playing with his new sandbox toys (sandbox coming soon to a patio near you!- and by you I mean us!) while Rhys drooled happily on his new bibs.

We enjoyed a nice Easter service at church followed by a little playtime with the Johnson cousins. 

This year in particular, we are reminded of how incredibly blessed we are for our health and our wonderful, wonderful families.

And of course, our little family too.

So thankful. So blessed. 

St. Patrick's Day

I promised you a few Rhys smiles and I'm not one to break a promise.

Our little St. Patrick's Day photo shoot prompted me to pull up Cal's photos from St. Patrick's Day two years ago. This is the first time I have put their photos side by side. The verdict is still out but I'm going to go ahead and say..

Eyes: similar

Everything else: totally totally TOTALLY different

You be the judge.

 Cal is on the L/top and Rhys on the R/bottom, although I don't think I need to help you too much.

I love my Irish boys!

(I also love pretending they are super Irish one day a year when in fact they are 1/16 Irish and 15/16 lots of other great stuff.)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!! 

Our Christmas

We had a lovely little Christmas at home this year. In the past, I have either worked on Christmas or we have traveled to be with family. This year we were just home. No work, no snowy drive, just our little family of three. And it was just as I had pictured it- with lots of laughs, coffee, and relaxation. Speaking of relaxation, this little pant-less wonder slept in until eight before joining us in bed and tearing through his stocking.

As for the rest of the gifts, Calvin dashed down the hallway at the speed of light to see what Santa had brought him (no, he really doesn't get the whole Santa thing yet). 

We were pleasantly surprised as Cal patiently opened one gift at a time, giving us plenty of time to listen to Christmas music, sip on coffee, and exchange our own gifts as he "Ooh and aah'd" over his new train tracks. 

Besides his train set, the other favorite of the morning was a big transportation book. I can only hope he is always so thrilled with a book for Christmas!  

But to no surprise, the biggest hit of the day was the new Strider bike he received from his Grandma and Grandpa Ondrey. He jumped on the bike immediately and hasn't been away from it for more than five minutes ever since. He now uses it as his only form of transportation in our house. Why walk to the dinner table when you can ride a bike? Time for a bath? Simply park the bike by the toilet. It's hilarious. 

Marshall was in on the day of relaxation as well. He spent the majority of the day gnawing on a new antler bone by the fire. Spoiled pup.

Later on, we enjoyed a Christmas brunch with Sarah, Craig, and cousin Jack. Did I manage to get a photo of everyone? Of course not, but I promise the boys were sweet and the food was delicious.

We spent the afternoon lounging with bowls of ice cream as we watched Christmas movies with our boy and  found ourselves crashing our friends' annual Christmas day, pajama required, Chinese food extravaganza that evening. It was the perfect ending to a lovely day! 

Hope your Christmas was merry indeed!!

My Baking Buddy

I have always loved to bake. I distinctly remember being in 5th grade and having to teach my class how to do something via presentation. I'm pretty sure the purpose of the lesson was not to actually teach 30 other kids how to do something new but to force each student to stand up in front of their peers after days of nervously waiting for their name to be pulled from the hat and present something without bursting into tears. (As you may have caught on, public speaking was never my thing.) We were encouraged "teach" anything- a cool new way to tie your shoes, how to care for a dog.. absolute randomness.

I taught everyone how to make cookies. Chocolate chip, of course. 

Much to my delight, my son has decided that he loves to bake as well. And right in the middle of the holiday baking season- such perfect timing. Not only do I get my holiday baking fix but Cal remains occupied and in my line of sight (which is necessary for his safety and my sanity). That being said, we have been spending hours in the kitchen together lately. Scooping, measuring, mixing, rolling, batter-eating.. he loves it all. There's even an apron involved to up the cute factor that much more..

The chubby cookie loving 5th grader inside of me is bursting with pride.

Cal's Wonderland

If you know me at all you know I am an absolute Christmas nut! The scents, the baking, the music, the quiet Advent moments at church.. I can't get enough! And although the chances of an almost 2 year old not loving Christmas are unbelievably slim, I couldn't help but do my part to make sure that didn't happen. With Jakob and Cal out running errands last weekend, I took the opportunity to decorate Calvin's room. 

Here is a little tour..

"Lights!! Snooooow!! Wooooooow!!" He was so excited! 

Even Marshall likes to play in the wonderland.

As if the decorations weren't enough, it snowed Monday, giving Cal the perfect reason to stand at the patio door in awe. We definitely have a Christmas lover on our hands. My heart is so happy (insert cheesy line about seeing Christmas through a child's eyes here).

Today I am one pie in to a three pie day with lots of other baking and preparations going on before we celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends, co-workers, and family over the next several days. I love this season!

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving weekend with those you love most!!

Trick or Treat

I think it's time to close up Halloween and get these last few photos posted so I can officially move on to the next season. At this very moment in our home the Christmas music is playing and a candle appropriately named "Winter" is burning. It's definietly time to move on! But before I do, I would like to show off our adorable Halloween raccoon..

Last year we took Calvin to Lincoln Square for a little trick-or-treating. We pushed his stroller up to the store window, collected the candy on his behalf, and later went home to eat every single treat our costumed baby collected for us. This year was a different story. Calvin ran into each store with outstretched arms as he politely demanded a "tweeeeet", said a quick "thank you", ran out, and promptly devoured his goods. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.. until the sugar high was too much to handle.

(Our raccoon's top three favorites: Dum Dums, M&M's & Smarties)

(Cal & his pals)

(How adorable is cousin Jack's spider costume??)

Grandma and Grandpa were in town this year and got to spend the day trick-or-treating with their grandsons. They loved it!

As for the actual holiday, Jakob took Calvin around the neighborhood. Just as expected, Calvin went right to work proudly walking up to each door just like the big kids. Even the rain couldn't keep him from collecting so much candy he could no longer physically carry his little pumpkin bucket home. But rather than admit defeat, he chose to drag the pumpkin down the street until Dad called it a day and carried his sweet little wet raccoon home. He has been enjoying a lollipop every day since. 

Now that Halloween is behind us, let the countdowns begin..

19 days til Thanksgiving!!

46 days til Christmas!!

61 days til baby!!

Halloween Overload

Things have been pretty festive around here lately. Festive, and crazy! Pumpkin picking, jumping in leaves, and cookie decorating sandwiched in with a nasty fall cold, some major appliance drama and lots of visitors. We have been busy busy busy to say the least.

As for Calvin, he has had the best week of his life! He spent the beginning of the week running around with cousin Sawyer and showing off for cousin Hazel. As if that wasn't enough, he spent the entire weekend being spoiled by his Grandma and Grandpa. What more could a tot want? If you ask Cal the answer would be PUMPKINS!!!- and that's just what he got. A weekend of pumpkiny, Halloweeny, sugary goodness. After weeks of being on full pumpkin alert and pointing out every "punk" he lays his eyes on, a bit of an obsession has formed.

(Displaying some serious pumpkin love.)

He hand-picked two pumpkins a few weeks ago and has been lugging them around the house ever since.  After rolling the large pumpkin to his room all by himself, it now lives next to his bed where he can look at it before he goes to sleep. At one point this week I even found Calvin and Sawyer playing soccer with it in the hallway.

The smaller pumpkin was used for an art project this weekend.

An edible one.

 Thankfully, the finished product turned out quite cute.

Much to his sprinkle loving delight, he also spent some time making Halloween cookies with Grandma and cousin Jack this weekend.

(Gotta love little Jack snacking on a yummy dough bat.)

(Cuties and their baking noses.)

As for myself, I am more than ready for Monday. After a crazy (and fun/busy/frustrating/long) week, Calvin is quietly tucked in for the night next to his pumpkin, my nasty cold has taken a turn for the better, the new washer and dryer are finally up and running (and I immediately did 7 loads of laundry to break them in), and I am sitting on the couch watching Scandal and browsing through potential Christmas cards. Bring on the week!

The Fourth

Vacation hangover. It happens every time. After six days of relaxation and fun the real world is feeling pretty blah today. I have decided to perk myself up by reliving our 4th of July weekend. Due to the massive amount of photos taken, this may very well turn into a four post saga.

On the actual holiday, we kicked the day off with a parade. 

Sure, every other "float" was a local firetruck but Cal didn't seem to mind. Loud noises, candy, and a little chaos- the kid was in his element.

And by a little candy, I'm talking handfuls and handfuls of candy.

The majority of the parade was spent prying candy out of Cal's death grip and chasing him up and down the street as he attempted to join the parade. The boy never stops.

We enjoyed the afternoon poolside as Cal and cousin Sawyer splashed and tackled each other in the backyard. 

Before the sun went down, (I couldn't bear the thought of keeping Cal up until 11pm to enjoy the actual fireworks) we enjoyed some awesome moderately cool fireworks in the backyard.

And ended the day with a few sparklers. Although I could not get a single photo of our boy smiling (typical), I promise you he had the time of his life!

Hope your fourth was fun!!