Spring Break--In 2 parts

Sorry I have been absent from blogging for a while. I have discovered that it is easiest for me to blog later in the week...after the week starts rolling and many of the must-do items of the week have been ticked off the to-do list. It has also been a bit of a challenge to get back into our routine after a FABULOUS Spring Break. Both boys are napping, so I finally have a moment to catch up.

Our Spring Break was indeed, fabulous. It was broken up into two parts. The first part was spent in Dunedin as half of our Canadian family members were down for a visit, and the second part was spent at the lovely, St. George Island. To recap both trips in the same post would be insane (you know me...I took a buncha pictures), so I'll take them one at a time.

Part 1: Family Fun Time

Matt took a half day at work, picked up Eli from school, and we headed down in time to meet up for dinner on St. Patrick's Day. It didn't take much convincing once we got there, but I managed to twist Matt's arm to stay until Monday morning so we could spend more quality time with the Canadians. We only get to see them once a year....and that is if we are lucky. Our time was filled with swimming, watching baseball games, hanging out, and of course...eating. It was a joy introducing Jude to everyone, and he got lots of loving from lots of folks.

It was also Aunt Debbie's birthday while we were down there, so of course we had to get birthday pedicures. Our feet needed to be pretty for the birthday dinner.

No pedi for Jude, but he was sporting his Gator gear in honor of the NCAA tourney. I heart baby shoes (but always forget to put them on....)

Lots of fun in the pool at both Pap Pap's house (heated to 90+ degrees, of course) and at the hotel. I think Eli's lips turned blue every time, but that didn't stop the little fish. He didn't miss a beat with his swimming skills, but the cousins were always sure to help him if he needed it.

Even Jude got in the pool....but only when it was heated up to bathtub-like temperatures...he cried otherwise.

My only other group shot is blurry, but I really liked it anyways.

MLB is currently in Spring Training, so it wouldn't be a trip to Dunedin in March without taking in a Blue Jays game or two.

Eli was not in the mood for a picture with Uncle Kenny. Hilarious! It was a very hot and sunny day, and my baby is uber pale fair skinned, so we watched most of the game from Pap Pap's balcony in the shade.

Do you see the shoes on Eli's feet? Borrowed from Brayden. Haha. E had an incredible time playing with all of his cousins and spent most of his time with Brock and Brayden. Our last night there, he was thrilled to go back to the hotel with them for a sleepover.

This was Eli's first sleepover (that wasn't for babysitting purposes.) He was very excited and did great. I have a feeling this is the first of many sleepovers in his future. He looks so grown up.

Again, it was a fabulous time. We packed up and hit the road pretty early Monday so Matt could still get in a half day at work. It is always fun spending time with family, and we feel blessed to have such a wonderful, fun(ny) bunch.

As a side note, a friend gave me the idea a while ago to get a white board and markers to use as entertainment on long car rides so that it isn't always about watching movies. We got washable dry erase markers (the real ones stain clothing and don't come out with anything but Murphy Oil Soap), an inexpensive white board, and an old sock as an eraser. It worked like a charm. Eli spent the last hour or so of the trip creating a map to Pap Pap's house.

So cute I just had to share (with labels to clarify, of course!) On the way home there were several renditions of Eli and his cousins in the pool. It is a great way to pass the time and a lot of fun too. Figured I'd pass on the awesome travel tip.

After returning, we had a couple of days to unpack, do laundry, and repack for a trip to SGI. But that is another post. Hope to be back to share Part 2 tomorrow.

A Birthday Shoutout

Stopping by to quickly wish Aunt Kristi a....

HaPpY BiRtHdaY!

We celebrated with a yummy dinner at Ted's and Cake Shop cupcakes. It was her final birthday as a single woman because next Saturday is the

BIG DAY.

Such an exciting (....and busy) time!
We love you, Kristi!!

4 Months, Already!

Hard to believe that another month has flown by. I definitely still feel like time is passing more quickly with two kids than it did with one. Jude was officially 4 months old this past weekend.

He continues to be a very happy and content baby. If only he'd sleep...

Thank goodness he's cute, that's what I always say. When I'm tired and frustrated about getting up in the night or his lack of naps during the day, he can quickly make me forget all of that with his giant grins and his full out giggles.

We have found some tickle spots this month and the giggles are the sweetest sounds.

Jude had his 4 month appointment last week, and he is doing great; hitting all the necessary milestones and then some. I always hate when it is time for shots, but he barely cried at all. A champ for sure!

He weighed in at 15 pounds, 2 ounces....a little below the 50th percentile, and was almost 25 inches long. He is still a little short for his weight, but it just makes for super edible thighs. They are HUGE. Love them! And of course, the Carson noggin is dominant again, as his head size was the 75th percentile. Gotta hold all those brains, right? And for a fun comparison, we looked back at Eli's stats at 4 months...Eli had nearly 2 pounds on Jude at this age. Crazy. Eli was definitely a chunk.

This month, Jude has continued to be vocal and loves to have all out conversations with anyone who will listen. He loves to scoot and squirm and enjoys being put down to play. He is still silly about rolling....he can do it tummy to back, but seems to be scared of it. The smarty pants has learned how to stop himself mid-roll.

He loves to interact and play with others. Eli is a favorite, and he loves his Daddy too.

Toys are becoming a bit more interesting to him now that he has more hand control. I got out the exersaucer this week, and he seems to like it....but quickly gets overwhelmed with all there is to look at and do.

Of course, Eli had to get in (while I was washing the seat) and check it out too. Goof ball!

As I've already mentioned, sleep is elusive and inconsistent. Gone are the days of 6-7 hour stretches at night. I got a 5 hour stretch last night for the first time in over a week, and it was glorious. More typically, he is doing between 2-4 hour stints; getting up 2-3 times a night. Mama's tired. Like I said, it is a good thing he's cute. We are still swaddling him at night, and it doesn't look like he'll be ready to give that up anytime soon.

Naps are short and random. He sleeps whenever and wherever, but never for very long anymore. The paci rarely works anymore either. It was nice while it lasted. He still loves his hands and his fingers (or knuckles, or entire fist) are often in his mouth...not usually sucking on them, but gnawing away. Teething has begun. And oh the drool.

Such a sweet age and the personally is blossoming. There are sure to be more fun adventures in store this month, but more than anything, I hope he learns to sleep more! Here's hoping...

E-Mealz

***** ALERT *****
Baby boy is taking a morning nap....not in the car and not in my arms. Time for celebration and time for getting things done, like blog posts I've been meaning to get around to for a while now.
*********

Good morning friends! Hope you all are recovering from the loss of an hour with DST this weekend. I'm dragging, but hanging in there. It was beautiful here this weekend. We made the most of the lovely days and went to the Red Hills Horse Trials (insert pictures here....brought the camera, but left the memory card in the computer. BOO!) and the boys planted a spring garden. Loving springtime already!!

I have a fun time-saving tip to share this morning. We have been trying something new to get out of our dinner time rut around here. I know I've mentioned before that I feel like I cook the same things all of the time. After getting a tip from Aunt Ann (THANKS!!!), I discovered E-Mealz, and I love it. It is so reasonably priced and it takes all of the thinking out of meal planning and shopping.

Each week, I go on and download the menu and shopping list for the week. That is it! We tweak it to our family's preferences and such, but not much. The meals have been good....some are GREAT, and they are all easy. It doesn't take a lot of time to prep each one, and I'm adding a lot of quick and tasty meals to our permanent recipe collection.

Here's the low down: It is $5 a month, and you have to sign up for a minimum of 3 months...so $15, but I used the code DAVE (Dave Ramsey is a huge proponent of it and advertises for it on his radio show. We are Dave fans here!) and only paid $12.50. That is only a little over a buck a week for all of my meals being planned and my shopping list made for me. Totally worth it, in my opinion. The meals usually align with sales and deals at a few different grocery stores. You can pick what grocery store and what type of meal plan you would like. There are also several options...meals for 2, meals for a family, low fat, low carb, etc.

We are two months in, and so far we have definitely gotten our money's worth. I have been saving the meal plans and shopping lists for future use too. Yay! Can you tell, I'm pleased? Check it out!

Peek into our Week

Jude has been on a "sleep strike" this week. The naps he has taken have been short and are usually in the car. This makes for an unfriendly blog week. Jude "the Dude" will likely wake up momentarily, so I must hurry. A picture post....on your mark, get set, GO!

Decent Chili was deemed, once again, as nothing more than decent at the Annual St. George Island Charity Chili Cook-Off. We didn't place, but it was well worth the effort and fun. Maybe our team name does not have enough confidence in it....hmmm....but I still love our logo! It was great having friends, new and old, stop by our booth to say hi, root us on, and sample our new recipe.

Too bad, Jude didn't turn out to be a good luck charm after all. And I think Eli brought home enough dirt and filth for us all. The bathwater that night was gray. Ick!

This week, we hit the 1 month mark for these two lovebirds. They will be married in, that's right, less than a month. In the words of my nephew, Asher, "Yapee!!!"

Trying to enjoy the earlier than usual spring temperatures by getting outside for some painting and fun. I feel like Eli is always choosing to wear these shorts (with stripes!)

While E man created watercolor masterpieces, the J man loved watching the wind in the tree tops.

The boys took sweet baths together this week. I adore the preciousness in the moments right after tub time. This frog and penguin love each other.

Favorite recent quotes from Eli about his brother: "Don't you just love having a baby, Mommy? I love having a baby." And while peeking in Jude's cradle one night. "Isn't he so sweet?"

I love that Eli has turned out to be an awesome big brother. He did try to pick Jude up this weekend while we were loading up to come home from the beach. I heard Jude crying, and when I got to the door, Eli ran to meet me in tears. "I hurt my brother." Turns out, Jude started fussing, and Eli wanted to help (once again, trying to be a good big brother.) When Eli tried to pick him up, Jude arched back, knocking Eli off balance and the two fell. Jude bonked his head. Eli said, "He was too heavy so I thought I could put him in his car seat and carry him around." Oh, the logic of a 4 year old. Thankfully, Jude was no worse for the wear. I found the little dude screaming with a paci hanging out of the corner of his mouth (sweet Eli tried to soothe him down with it...) Just a little scared. Eli now realizes that this was not a good choice, and you can bet we had an intense "Never pick up your brother!!!" kind of talk.

I'll leave you with one final picture from our week:

Darth Spidey!

So many things wrong with this, but a whole bunch of AWESOME all at the same time.

Enjoy your weekends, and I hope they are filled with laughter.

Beginning Reader

I am just so proud, I could burst! Eli is beginning to sound out words and read!!! I try not to OVERTLY brag, but I can't help it. Eli is (kinda) reading!

Great job, Buddy! So proud of you!
sorry it is sideways....

For those interested, we have been using this book:

We started using it this summer, and though Eli liked the idea and was excited at first, he quickly lost interest. I backed off, but after reorganizing our workbooks and crafts last week, we found the book and started up again. Eli is so into it that we often do 2 or more lessons each day when we get home from school. Some of the words repeated in the lessons are actually becoming sight words for him. He is very proud of himself and loves showing off his new sounds or words for Daddy when he gets home from work.

Go, Eli, go!

......and Go DECENT CHILI.

If anyone is making a trip to SGI this weekend, team DECENT CHILI will once again be competing in the Annual St. George Island Charity Chili Cook-Off. Be sure to stop by and taste our new (and hopefully, improved) chili.

Go Climb a Tree

One day with extra time before gym class, we met up with friends for a picnic and fun at Lake Ella. Before leaving, Eli and I strolled around the lake with Jude to the climbing tree. Pay no attention to Eli's *slightly* scared face while climbing.

Once he got the hang of it, I had to drag him away so we wouldn't be late for gymnastics.