Family Time

We had a great weekend - with good friends and families.

Here are some pictures from Friday night's PotLuck dinner!

Here is the Matarese Family - they hosted us at their house...and made a delicious dinner for us all! Yum...

Fun at the GYM!

Drew has been going to GYM classes since the Fall. He really loves it...and it's a great way to exercise (aka - release energy) especially during the cooler months. Here's a sample of a typical class.

Easter 2008

We had lots of fun - coloring eggs, hunting for eggs, eating eggs :) and celebrating with family!

Egg Hunt (# 2)

The thing I love most about the holidays are the traditions. It's so exciting to be able to create traditions now for my own kids. Some are traditional (I made cornbeef and cabbage on St. Patty's Day); some are new (our special Christmas morning breakfast with french toast which soaked overnight...delicious); and some are just fun (egg hunts!). This year Drew will participate in FOUR egg hunts. It's a bit excessive, but hey - it's fun for the whole family! Last Sunday Drew went to Luke's house for an egg hunt; today we met Wendy, Dan, and Trent for an outdoor hunt. Tomorrow he'll find what the bunny has left him at home...and then he'll have another hunt at grandma Kardos' house with his cousins. Whew. I'm tired just thinking about it! Aside from this morning's melt-down...Drew did not want to wait to gather his eggs...we enjoyed seeing friends and celebrating Easter.

A typical Sunday

Weekends have such a different vibe when you've got kids. I love it. In my twenties I lived for the night; and now I live all day. We wake at 7am and so begins the chaos: changing diapers, tossing aside pjs, dressing two little guys, making various breakfasts, and FUN. Every weekend we embark on a new adventure. Whether we are hiking, exploring a new park, collecting bugs, working on "projects" with Drew (arts&crafts), or just jammin' in our living room...we enjoy our family time! The video is a typical early Sunday morning snapshot - enjoy.

Daddy and the boys.

Don't you want to just squeeze them all?

Sorry, they're mine!

xoxo

Lovies

Since Drew was an infant, he has been sleeping with lovies. He is especially fond of "Bubby," a little tiger blanket. Along the way, he's added lots of friends to the crib world. But one by one, he's throwing them out. I've never been able to part with anything so I think it's kind of healthy. It's good to recognize what you and need and what you don't. It's nice to be able to let things go. But it also concerns me a bit. Has he no loyalty? Did those nights of cuddling not mean anything to him?

The puppy was the first to go. Followed quickly by "Bubby's brother". (Bubby's identical twin brother was originally intended to rotate with Bubby, but Drew immediately recognized the impostor! So, we played him off as Bubby's brother which seemed appropriate as Drew had a new brother of his own, so why shouldn't Bubby?!?) Third to be tossed aside was Ducky, received last Easter. And today, he let go of "Blue", a tiny giraffe with a rattle inside - one of the first friends he slept with. Now, only Bubby and Ellie (a gray elephant) remain in the crib.

Does this sound normal?

What is everyone else's experience with lovies...as a child or as the parent?

I'm going to put Dean in a freezer...

and take him out every few days to enjoy him..and then freeze him again. Do you think it'll work? That way I might be able to enjoy this age of 8 months a little longer!! I want to stretch out the days...the minutes...as long as I can.

And while I'm freezing kids, maybe I'll freeze Drew too. And defrost him on the days I feel rested, patient, calm, and ready to deal with chaos.

On a hike...

Mama and Drew...running ahead

Mommy and sleepy Dean

We finally arrived at the beach...

looking for seals...

but more exciting was throwing the rocks into the ocean!