Play Dates, Snow Dates, and not a whole more!

Well, I was on a roll with posting more regularly...  In the past few weeks, there has been a lot of time visiting my Grandma in the rehab facility, late night homework, and helping W get over his new fear of sleeping.  I think we are finally getting to the bottom of what is causing him such anxiety and while all he has really asked is that you sit in the room with him, allowing me a large amount of time to browse pinterest for decor for the home I do not have, clothes from a budget I cannot afford, nursery's for newborns not in my near future, and unrealistic wedding fantasies, it means I do not start my homework until around 9:30 which had become my bedtime.

We have had a few adventures in the past few weeks.  I was lucky enough to borrow my buddy Cutie for the day for a play date.  W and Cutie had a blast and I was glad to be able to help out the new Momma!  I must say it was probably the most quiet play date I have ever been a part of.  The boys ate respectfully with no mess or fuss, the toys were shared and picked up, and there was not one outburst, from anyone, for any reason.  It was really quite amazing!  It is that false sense of reality that tricks parents into thinking, "we could totally have another baby!  Look how awesome we are at this!"

Our other adventures have come from the "abundance" of snow.  W has become a master at throwing attempting to launch snowballs around the yard.

He loves to shovel the snow off the patio and has actually begun clearing paths on his own.  Although he would stay out all day and night if you let him, once our nose looks like Rudolph we head in for a hot cup of soup.

We have been eating a lot of chili in the past month or so and I am delighted to report that my former meat-hating toddler finally tried my chili and on occasion claims to LOVE it, Mommy:1.  More to come on some of our winter favorite meals.

I hope everyone is staying warm!  Can you believe it is almost time to spring ahead?  As much as I love a matching scarf, glove, and hat set I am looking forward to skirts, fresh air, and, knock on wood, a trip to the park.



Happy Valentine's Day!

A party, a horsie, a sucker and more.  We had a lot in store for Valentine's day this year.  

Ever since we left the parking lot to the United Center after Disney on Ice W has been talking about Maximus the horse from Tangled.  I think he regretted not snatching him up when he had the chance, but as luck would have it, the Disney store had all of their plush characters buy one get one free so Maximus was able to make a guest appearance this morning along with a few other treasures.

W had a party with his fellow classmates on Monday.  They passed out treats one by one and everyone seemed to enjoy our homemade cupcakes. 

I was lucky enough to share my Valentine's day with my favorite guys.  Tyler made it home from work last night, so we were able to just spend a nice day at home basking in all the love.

Hope everyone had a lovely day!

Happy Birthday to Papa!

No, it is not W's birthday take two, Little Man decided that Papa was 2 just like him!  We, or more accurately me, made a cake and chili for Papa's birthday!  Papa did not want anything for his birthday this year aside from an iPad, and since we did not win the lotto, Papa had to settle for some pretty kick ass cards and an iTunes and visa gift card.  W has been really into the birthday song for about 5 months now, but Papa's birthday was really his time to shine.  W sang happy birthday about 5 times and helped Papa blow out the candle at the end of each rendition.

Happy Birthday Papa!

It was a good weekend to be Little Man!

We all were in need of a good night out and what better family fun day than a trip to Disney on Ice!

W was very excited to spend an afternoon with Mickey and all his friends.  So after a pretty difficult lecture and lab exam, I raced home, we donned our Disney gear and hit the road.

The show was really great and although I thought W would like it, I was surprised that he sat in his own seat for about the first half hour enamored by the lights and ice skating.  It probably did not hurt that he had his own lantern to entertain between all the jazzy numbers. 

In addition to the lantern, W scored a coloring book and a Mickey figurine.  He now walks around the house saying, "See ya real soon, Pal," and, "Hiya, Mick!"  I highly recommend taking your kids to Disney on Ice; we all had a great time!

Rub a dub dub... my baby in the tub.

With everything going on lately I have not had a ton of time to take photos so what better time to bust out the camera than when there is a baby in the tub.  We love bath time so there was no whining about the camera snapping away.  Happy Monday everyone!

Baby Sloane!

Any time I get to spend an afternoon with a brand new baby I pretty much jump at the chance.  There is just something so precious about a newborn, especially when that newborn comes equipped with such a stellar wardrobe. 

I was honored to be able to take some photos of this sweet little one and her parents.  Although Sloane was not thrilled with the idea of leaving Mom's arms to be put in a basket posed for cutesy photos, we were able to capture some really sweet moments.

Parenthood is such a blessing.  Thank you for welcoming me into your home to spend time with your little angel!

Let's just pretend 2013 starts right...... now!

Hello all!  I feel like it has been ages since I opened my laptop, much less blogged about anything.  The year has been off to a rough start.  Although, we have had many great memories already, such as some friends and family boarding our party train

 

 to celebrate W's 24 months and counting much of 2013 has been trying to come to grips with my Grandma's failing health.  She has been in the hospital twice already and it just does not seem like that should be physically possible.  We are all hoping that if she is released tomorrow it can be the end of hospitals for a while.  

Although it has not all been bad, it has all been hectic.  W's birthday party came the day after my return to school for the semester and while I do like my professor, 6 hours of lecture is a lot of material.  As long as I can stay awake long enough after W goes to bed to open my lab book I should be fine.  I will keep my eye on the prize and hopefully in 3 years or so I will have a degree.  Unfortunately I do not need a degree for my dream job... being home with Little Man! 

W has also returned to his parent and tot class.  I was unable to find one for L and W to go to together, but I am hoping to find a class for them later in the spring.  W is pretty jazzed about returning to class.  Last week when his class got cancelled he not only told me it was a "bummer," but managed to remind me numerous times a day that his class was cancelled because Miss J could not make it.  I only hope this enthusiasm for education continues all throughout the next 20 years of his life. 

Despite the fact that it feels like we have been on the go every day since Tyler went back to work, we have found time to spend a few minutes relaxing in bed and enjoying, as much as possible, the few inches of snow.

Our super bowl Sunday was not filled with snacks or even TV viewing.  In the morning W helped his Papa shovel some snow and Papa helped W throw his first snowball.  In the afternoon we took the sled out and ran a few laps in the back yard.  We could see the grass through the snow by the end and I now know what it feels like to have icicles in my lungs but W thought "sledding" was pretty top notch.

I am hoping to catch up on my laundry and homework and regain a little normalcy in our lives over the next few days, but if that fails, I know I will enjoy all of the clever new things coming out of Little Man's mouth.  I am going to make an effort to blog more regularly for those who are looking for an insight as to what we do all day, but who knows maybe monthly snap shots can be just as exciting.  Stay tuned for pictures from our upcoming Valentine's Day Party.  Happy February everyone!