MATH

Baby J

+

JP

+

water

= one wet bathroom floor

CUT OUTS

For years, I've made sugar cookies with the kids from scratch for most holidays … the process always takes forever … and A always tells me that the cookies taste horrible. (I disagree).  But the kids love to decorate.  This year, I bought a box of pre made Easter egg cut outs for $2.39.  We opened up the package, put them in the oven, and voila! We had our cut outs to decorate.  Seriously, why haven't I done this before?

Eating the cookies is always the best part!

SHALOM

AA: Mamma, is Daddy going to bring his shalom on the-cation?

(translation:  is Daddy going to bring his cologne on vacation?)

RENDER

Me: Whoa, your room is a complete disaster (as I'm stepping on tiny little Legos).

JP:  Mom, just give me a little time to render this situation. 

STORY TIME

Seriously, I thought I was a creative kid, but these two put me to shame.  While Baby J was napping, I quick took a shower.  I told the kids to play something quietly.  Within minutes, I peeked out of my bathroom to see AA (the "teacher") reading to all of her students.  When she caught me looking, she immediately stopped cold with her imagination, so I had to carefully snap these pictures without her seeing.

Story Time then had a guest reader … "14 year old Iron Man" … 

I heard Iron Man tell the students that reading can be really hard at first, but if you keep trying, it is easy.  He then proceeded to read a 35 page story (okay, so each page only has a sentence or two, and many of the pages he probably could read without even looking at the words.)

These rascals can drive me crazy at times, but I sure am one lucky momma!

HEAVY LOAD

PILOTS

Daddy had a man date with our pilot neighbor, Mr. A, today.  They took the kiddos (minus Baby J) out of school to the MSP airport to view a brand new plane.  Pretty sure this was a dream come true for these kids … an Open House for VIP only, cookies, cake … and a real big airplane for the kids to explore.

I'm certain they lasted much longer than I would have!

IRISH

Not so sure what happened to my Black Irish heritage ...

Happy St. Patty's Day from my 3 blondes! 

KISSES

Yes, these,

 these are the moments 

 I will not

 forget.

SPRING

Spring is in the air.  Over the last week, the snow has melted.  The snow pants and boots are tucked away (but probably not officially put away) and all of the wheels and balls stored in our garage throughout the winter have been strewn across our front lawn.  We spent most of the day outside.  And it just felt good.  We were lucky enough to share the day with Grandpa A, Grandma K, Uncle M, Aunt J and cousin Kellen.

 Due to concerns about sunburns, we moved the babies inside. 

 But, maybe that wasn't such a good idea!

SLIDE

BABY

MONITOR

I really don't know how I survived with only an audio monitor with JP and AA.  Grandma K and Grandpa A gave us this video monitor before Baby J was born - we don't need that! I thought.  Ha!  I DEPEND on this spy system!  

This morning Baby J awoke while I was still getting ready for work.  AA had asked a few times if she could go in and greet him.  I finally agreed, but asked her not to wake JP on her way to get Baby J.  After a few minutes I heard giggles- looked on my monitor and saw THREE heads in the crib!  

THE BIG APPLE

For a few years, I visited the Big Apple on an annual basis … but until this weekend, my last trip was back in 2008.  

I still remember the trip as if it was yesterday  … A and I had planned to take my parents on a weekend getaway to NYC for a few months ahead of time, and we just so happened to find out we were expecting the day before we flew out.  What was meant to be a relaxing weekend sightseeing turned into a memorable few days filled with many happy tears from the new-to-be grandparents (and us!).  We strolled the streets imagining life ahead with a child and taking bets if those tiny flutters were from a baby boy or girl (I was right- hence the blue onesie!).  We met up with our dear friends E and N only to find out that they were expecting too!  Our due dates were only 10 days apart.  It was such a fun weekend. 

So after a four day work trip to NYC this weekend (without kids- thanks Grandma S and Grandpa J), we just had to buy a bigger version of the iconic tourist t-shirt … actually, we needed THREE of them. My, how life has changed!

11 MONTHS

 11 months!  

 Stats: 21.5 pounds, 6-12 month clothes, big brown eyes, big head (although maybe the rest of his body is catching up), nearly blonde hair, two bottom teeth and two top right teeth

 Sleeps: 7 PM- 7 AM (makes a few grunts throughout the night, but never cries for us), two 1.5-2 hour naps

 Eats: four 6 oz bottles of formula, solid foods with each meal (LOVES peanut butter toast, cheese, tomatoes, and graham crackers)

 Learning to: walk (probably walks about 30%/crawls 70% now), babble (really only says "Dada", but is ALWAYS talking), drink from sippy cup

 Loves: clapping, reading, pushing any large object across the floor, giving wide mouth kisses, reading books, playing with JP's Legos and AA's dolls, wrestling with daddy