Easter Sunday

I know this post is a little late, but we had a busy blogging week, and I want to document our very full, very fun Easter Sunday.

Hours before church, Jack found his Easter basket from the Easter Bunny

Silly Rabbit

After church, we headed to Ticonderoga Farms to meet up with Aunt Kimmee, Uncle Derek, and Channing for an Easter egg hunt and some playtime.  

Here's our little man listening to the ruckus caused by the chickens.

Walking down the ramp on the pirate playground

Snuggles with Daddy

One of my favorites from the day:)

Jack had the most fun at this spot - throwing rocks into the pond.  At one point, he lost his balance, took a little spill, and got pretty wet and muddy, but lucky for me, I had packed a change of clothes just in case:)

Jack and Mommy

Down the slide with Daddy

Worn out and ready for lunch

After Ticonderoga Farms, we headed to Famous Dave's for lunch.  It was so yummy!  Then we headed home for nap time.  The Easter Bunny had one more surprise for Jack - his big boy bed was all set up and ready.  

You can't really tell, but this is Jack jumping for joy at the sight of his big boy bed for the first time!

Posing for Mommy

While it took him a good hour to fall asleep (he jumped and played with the puppy dogs for a long time due to the excitement that comes along with a big boy bed), Jack ended up taking a great nap during our thunderstorm.  After his nap, we enjoyed an Easter Sunday steak dinner with Aunt Jessica to wrap up an already-perfect day.

My Little Helper

Today when I picked Jack up from school, I noticed on his daily sheet that it said he was a great helper.  On the way home, I asked him about it:

Me: Jack, were you a good helper today at school?

Jack: I helped pass out the napkins (is what I thought I heard).

Me: You passed out the napkins?!  That's great!

Jack: No, I didn't help pass out the napkins.  Taylor passed out the napkins.

Me: Oh.  What did you do then? (expecting something like, "I passed out the cups," or "I helped clean up."

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Jack: I ate cookies.

Lovely.  Perhaps his teachers were mistaken.

We Brake for Turtles and Thankful Thursday

Meet Fluffy.  

Fluffy is a turtle that Brad saw in the street on his way to work this morning.  While Brad had full intentions of taking Fluffy to a nearby pond and releasing him right away, the weather had other plans.  It started to pour, so instead Fluffy spent the day in Brad's car, and when Brad got home this evening, Jack got to see "Mr. Turtle," which is what he promptly renamed him as.  After dinner my boys took Mr. Turtle up to a nearby pond to release him so that he could "be with his family."  Brad said Jack was really excited about the release - until they actually let Mr. Turtle go, and then Jack said, "Get him back, Daddy!"  

Daddy explained that just like how Nemo wanted to go back to the ocean to be with his dad, Mr. Turtle wanted to go back to be with his family too.  That seemed to make Jack feel better, and as they walked back to the car, Jack waved and shouted, "Goodbye, Mr. Turtle!" until the pond was out of sight:)  I'm pretty sure my little man is going to love animals just as much as his daddy.

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It's been awhile since I've done a Thankful Thursday post, so here's a list of the things I'm most thankful for this evening:

* a sweet husband who brakes for turtles on his busy morning commute

* my sweet Baby Jack, who told me just this morning that my hair was pretty

* the healthy baby girl who kicks and squirms all day to let me know she's here

* Ryan and John, who sent me a gift card for another Mommy to Be massage today - what a wonderful email to receive halfway through my work day

* the green buds on the tree outside of our house - just last week, I was telling Brad I thought the tree was dead and hadn't lasted through the winter, but sure enough, it's alive and well today

* cheap, summer sandals from Target

* $4.00 girly dresses (with bloomers!) for Peanut from Target

* the Help menu on my Mac which promptly helped me to find our shared drive when I could no longer take the fact that it was missing

* the fact that it's Thursday because, that my friends, means that tomorrow is FRIDAY:)

Spring Break

Last week was Spring Break.  It was so nice to have the entire week off from work, and I decided to keep Jack home from school (and use our one-week vacation credit, YAY!) for the entire week so that we could spend lots of time together.  It was such a nice week, and we had so much fun each day.  Here's a breakdown of our Spring Break adventures:

On Monday...

• Grandma and Grandpa kept Jack in the morning so that I could go have my Mommy to Be Massage.  The massage was wonderful, and I loved every single second.  I think I'm going to go each month for the last three months of my pregnancy if I can work it out.  Jack got to play with his toys at Grandma and Grandpa's house and then they took him to Chuck E. Cheese (his favorite restaurant) for lunch.  After I dropped the puppies off for haircuts and did some Easter shopping, I picked Jack up and brought him home for nap time.  During the entire week, Jack and I napped together - it was so fun, and we both slept so well each afternoon.  That afternoon we just played around the house.

On Tuesday...

• we met Aunt Kimmee and Channing at Sport Bounce, one of Jack's favorite places to play.  While we were there, we also ran into Ben, one of his friends from school.  He was so excited to see his friend in a new setting, and they played hard together for a long time while his mommy and I chatted.  After Ben left, Jack focused more on Channing, but I noticed that he wasn't really playing with him so much as constantly running past him in the inflatables.  When I could finally catch up to him, I asked, "Jack, are you helping Channing or are you just paddling right past him?"  
  
  
  With complete honesty, he responded, "Just paddling past him."  Lovely.  We're working on how to be gentle and helpful to our younger friends:)
  
  
  After Sport Bounce we headed to the mall so that I could buy some new jeans, and we had lunch at the food court.  Before we went home, we took a ride on the choo choo train.   

On Wednesday...

• Jack helped me go stroller shopping in the morning, and we finally settled on the double stroller we'll be getting soon.  He wasn't quite sure what he thought about the baby seat right up front at first, but after a little push around the store, he seemed to understand.  Afterwards, we had lunch with Grammy at Red Robin and ran into John (my sister's fiance) and his mom while we were there.  We ended up all eating together, and Jack was excited to spend some time with Grammy and Uncle John:)  We came home, took a nice long nap in Mommy's bed, and then headed back to the mall to have our picture taken with the Easter Bunny.  Based on the evidence, Jack is clearly more fond of the Easter Bunny than Santa.  

On Thursday...

• we headed back to Sport Bounce in the morning and met up with Kimmee and Channing again.  I was a little stir-crazy and Jack needed to burn off some energy.  By the time we left, we'd both had a little break from one another:)  That afternoon, after our nap, we met Kimmee and Channing at Frying Pan Park.  The boys had so much fun with one another...visiting the animals, riding the tractors, and playing on the playground.  Here are some of our photos from the afternoon:

Baby Goats

A Bull

Jack on a tractor

Such a cutie

Visiting the bunny (Jack has asked to go back and see the bunny at least four times since then!)

Holding hands

A horse

Sheep

On Friday...

• we ended up having a lazy morning at home, and then we did some shopping and had lunch with Grammy.  Everyone was kind of grumpy - maybe it was the yucky weather!  We sure took a good nap later that afternoon:)

On Saturday...

• I cleaned the house like a crazy person (I think nesting is starting to set in) and pulled out some of our Easter decorations.  Then Jack and I went with Grammy and Grampy to visit Great-Grandma Stella for Easter.  Jack loved exploring the goldfish pond, looking at the garden bunnies, and watching the squirrels in the courtyard.  I love watching him explore - I imagine it's very much what his daddy was like as a small boy.  It's cute.

We wrapped up our fabulous Spring Break on Easter Sunday, and I have some great pictures to share:)  More on that later...

27 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 27 weeks (and 1 day)

Size of Baby: Peanut is about 15 inches long from head to toe and weighs a little over two pounds.
Baby's Developmental Milestones: This is the last week of our second trimester together, and by now she can probably recognize my voice and maybe Brad and Jack's.
Total Weight Gain: I'm going to say 28 1/2 pounds because I couldn't possibly have gained 4 1/2 pounds in one week, right?  My scale must be broken. 

Maternity Clothes: Yes - but it's finally warmer outside and I can start wearing some of my spring/summer maternity clothes, which I happen to think are much cuter.
Gender: All girl:)
Movement: As we speak.  And not just little thumps anymore, but shifting of body parts.  The belly is moving like crazy these days!
Sleep: The body pillow is helping, but I've had a couple of nights where my legs hurt so much it's hard to fall asleep.  And I'm definitely having to get up at least once, maybe twice to go to the bathroom.
What I miss: Going several hours without having to go potty.  I'm at the point where I can no longer avoid public restrooms if I choose to.
Cravings: Klondike Peanut Butter Cup Bars, smoothies, and milkshakes.  Might have something to do with my scale problem...
Symptoms: I'm just a little achy, but nothing that isn't totally worth it!
Best Pregnancy Moment this Week: Her little baby body shifting is pretty amazing.

Milestones and Mommy Tears

Last night, I snuck into Jack's big boy room, and took these pictures and maybe cried a lot a little:

{Updated pictures of the big boy room progress coming soon, I promise}

Happy Easter!

Just Like Daddy

These pictures were taken during Wednesday night's bathtime with Daddy.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do...

Just like his daddy

Very careful now...using the softer side of a comb

And some on the belly, just for good measure...

It occurred to me today when Jack said he had something on his ear and then announced it was "ice cream," that apparently that's what he thinks shaving cream is called.  How cute is that...

Big Boy Bedroom 102

This past weekend, Brad worked on Jack's big boy bedroom and managed to get a lot done before he hurt his back bringing all of Jack's furniture upstairs and putting it all together.

Here's the room with the finished paint and completed chair rail.

Brad brought all of the furniture upstairs - a dresser, a headboard, and a bed frame.

The furniture all put together - and dresser attached to the wall so as not to fall over:)

Jack's big boy bed frame, which he loves!

I can't wait to get the mattress and start moving Jack's things into the room.  I'm hoping to be completely finished by Saturday night, so we'll keep you posted!

Wordless Wednesday

{Can you guess what we were getting ready to do?}

26 Weeks

(look who decided to join my photo shoot today)

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 26 weeks (and 2 days)

Size of Baby: Peanut weighs a full two pounds and is now over nine inches long.

Baby's Developmental Milestones: She can now open her eyes and could possibly react to bright light and loud sounds from inside the belly.

Total Weight Gain: 26 1/2 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I'm reaching the point where my non-maternity shirts are becoming not quite as adorable as they were.  I'm starting to feel like a "fat guy in a little coat" (Tommy Boy reference...if you haven't seen it, you need to). 

Gender: A girl...we still can't quite believe it.

Movement: Yes, although Jack does not understand enough and/or isn't patient enough to catch her on the go.  When I tell him she's moving, he says, "But I can't see her!"

Sleep: I can definitely still sleep, but I'm in search of a full body pillow because now I'm needing a pillow between my knees to be comfortable.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach.

Cravings: Marshmallows.  Chocolate-covered Peeps - heaven, I tell you.  Salad.  Banana smoothies.

Symptoms: I've had some growing pains this week.  I have to go to the bathroom constantly.  Bending over is not as easy as it used to be.

Best Pregnancy Moment this Week: My mother-to-be massage...you never really know that your fingers or hips are stressed until someone helps you relax them.  It was so wonderful...I would go every week if I could afford it.

SoccerTots

Lately, Jack has been doing pretty well at SoccerTots.  When we first started, I wasn't quite sure that soccer would be something Jack would enjoy.  However, this is our second season, and I think Jack's skills have greatly improved.  In fact, within a few weeks, he'll move from the Teddies to the Koalas - a class that is not parent-participation!  Daddy and I will be able to watch and cheer our little man on from the "sidelines."  How cute that will be...

Working on his warm-up skills

"1, 2, 3, Go...SoccerTots!"

Helping Coach Len with the noodles

Running along with his BFF, Channing

Ice cream cones to the coach

These pictures were taken last Saturday, but this morning, I was incredibly impressed because Jack's "tick-tock" skills are getting pretty sharp.  He was able to tick-tock (dribble slowly all the way down the gym) and score a goal - three times, in fact!  He also did really well during a hoop game where I spin a hula hoop, and he has to chase it down and jump through it while it's still moving.  He made it every time!  I'm not quite sure what that has to do with soccer skills, but I'm hoping it's exercising his speed and agility:)