BiG tHinGs are HaPpeNinG

It has been an action-packed couple of weeks in our household. Exciting and milestone-like events have been happening left and right.

This precious thing has been learning to sleep better. I am thrilled to report that after less than a week of "training" (and I use that word very loosely) Jude is now (usually) taking regular naps in his crib and is doing pretty well at putting himself to sleep. I lay him down, twist up his "Jesus Loves Me" lamb, give him a paci, hold his sweet face for a moment, and walk out. He fusses, but more often than not, will put himself to sleep. I do have to go in from time to time to help settle him, but 2 out of 3 times, I walk out of the room before he is asleep. This is big stuff.

And at night, he is out of his swaddle and just in a sleep sack. Instead of waking up 4-6 times a night to eat twice, we are down to 2-4 times a night and eating only once. Baby steps. I am so happy that he is doing so well. It just took a little bit of effort, but it was as if he was ready for this step. So proud of our littlest man.

He has also figured out how to get water up the straw of his sippy cup. He had been playing with the cup and gumming the straw, but early this week, I heard gulping sounds and found his chest soaked with all of the water that didn't get swallowed. Haha!

Other fun news is that he continues to sit very well and can even sit himself up from an incline. Last week I found him like this in his bouncy seat:

Thank goodness I had him buckled! Needless to say, it has been packed away. I even had to take away his sleeping wedge, but thankfully his reflux has really started to settle down. I had read that it often is gone by around 6 months, and it looks like that may be true for Jude. I have given him his meds only a handful of times in the past month.

Now, I can't forget all the exciting stuff happening in Eli's world too. Trying to focus on all the good stuff going on with this kid and quickly move on from and forgive the disrespectful and disobedient-type behaviors that have spiked in the past week or two. It was exciting last week when E finally mastered skipping (he has been working on this for soooooooooooo long!) and snapping within days of each other.

He is overjoyed and can be seen skipping everywhere he goes these days. Sometimes even snapping while skipping. Fancy stuff.

And after many many MANY trips to our local library to check out books, Eli got his own library card. A privilege that he is very proud of.....but now we have to work hard NOT to lose it!

Last but not least, the kid can count to 100!! And he successfully did so several times on his car ride down to the beach with his grandparents, Aunt Kristi, and Uncle Steve last weekend. They said he talked the ENTIRE drive down. (Why do you think we offered to let him ride with you? heehee! With Jude asleep, our car was quiet. Ahh!)

It has definitely been a week booming with energy and excitement.

He's Alive! He's Alive!

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead
He's alive! He's alive!

I haven't stopped singing "Christ is Risen" by Matt Maher all week long. True chills every time I hear/sing this song. I adore it. It helped put me in the right mindset for a thoughtful and reflective Holy Week and Easter.

On Holy Thursday, Eli and I used our lunch time to reenact the washing of the feet and the Last Supper while reading the story from our Bible.

We also made a "crown of prickers" (as Eli calls it) that afternoon in preparation for Jesus' arrest in the garden that night.

It was a very VERY messy activity...not for the faint of heart. Ha! And Jude had to watch all of the action from his Bumbo. To say he was a little miffed by the time we finished is an understatement.

Eli has added more details to his Easter story this year. We used Matt's Picture Bible from his childhood to look at the Passion story and talk about the Stations of the Cross. Eli was ready to attend the stations on Good Friday. He wanted to go and was looking forward to it. The stations were appropriately held at 3 o'clock...smack in the middle of our nap time around here, so Eli had a tough time during the reflections. I was proud of him for wanting to attend at all though.

Then it was off to the beach to spend Easter weekend with family. On Holy Saturday, we made time to dye eggs. We used crayons on warm eggs trying to get the colors to melt on vibrantly....i think i waited until the eggs were a little too cool.

They still turned out beautiful and fun. Eli learned the double dip technique...and even quadruple dipped a few.

Always so much fun! And the beach was absolutely glorious. Truly perfect weather: warm with a slight breeze. Just enough breeze for Eli's first kite flying experience...thanks to Grandpa. E had a look of pure joy on his face.

Though the air was warm, the water was still chilly, but Eli had fun splashing and running in the waves. Both boys had a ball playing in the sand. I think we've got another beach lovin' baby on our hands.

Easter morning, Eli was up early with anticipation. Both the boys seemed to like the goodies in their baskets, and Eli found a bunch of eggs around the house.

After all of the eggs were found, Eli was back up at the counter making Resurrection Rolls. A delicious and really cute idea reminding children of the meaning of Easter.

They were a delightfully tasty addition to a yummy Easter brunch. Mmmm! And we transformed that Lenten crown we made into an Easter nest.

We headed back to town that afternoon with just enough time to clean up and go to mass to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.

I was thrilled to snap a few pictures outside our house that evening....and to get one with both boys looking and smiling. I just wanna kiss both those faces. I could eat them up! Love these boys! I had hoped to take some pictures of Jude in his basket and with some eggs like I did with baby Eli, but it didn't happen. Oh well. It was still a wonderful weekend. Happy Easter to you all!

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Hunting Easter Eggs

Saturday, we enjoyed a local church's Easter Egg Hunt and fun. It had poured rain hours before it was set to start, but it turned out to be a beautiful day for Eli's first Egg Hunt with other children. He took it slowly at first, showing off his first egg....

while others quickly hunted and gathered around him. Then he got the hang of it and took off!

Eventually, he had had his fill. He and his buddy, Mabry, had a conversation amid the madness. It cracked me up.

Eli was incredibly proud his eggs, and then he realized that there was candy inside of them. We don't do a lot of candy on Easter, so all the chocolate and surprises inside were super exciting to him. He had to use his will power to not eat the candy bars, as he has given them up for Lent.

.....a little back story here:

Early in Lent, Eli offered me a bite of his cookie (such a sweet boy!), and I politely turned it down, explaining that I had given up treats for Lent. His little brow furrowed with worry. He was concerned that he hadn't given anything up. That is when his eyes filled up with tears. "I like treats too much! I don't want to give them up." Of course this led us to a conversation about sacrifices and the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus' death on the cross. We also talked about how Eli could maybe just give up one kind of treat....like cake, cookies, or pie. "I will give up pie because I do not prefer pie." The little goof....or should I say smartie? Haha! So, it was decided that he would give up pie and candy bars. We added the candy bars because even though we don't have them often, Eli really likes them, so it harder to give them up than pie. This egg hunt was his first true test as he was faced with many candy bars inside his eggs that could not be eaten until Easter. It was hard, but he didn't eat any.

In addition to the egg hunt, there were pony rides,



an amazing BBQ lunch, face painting,

Hello, Batman!

and bouncies.

Eli had a blast, and our baby bunny enjoyed being outside all morning; taking in all that was going on around him.

We are in the middle of Holy Week with today being Holy Thursday. I have several activities planned for the remainder of the week for Eli and I to do as we remember what Easter is all about. Hope your Easter is joyous and blessed!

Adventures in Gardening

After taking a year off from gardening, Eli and Daddy are back at it again this year. A trip to a local gardening shop resulted in:

3 blueberry plants,

3 strawberry plants,



and some tomatoes.

So far, so good. A month or so in and we've got "fruit" on each one. We've tasted the strawberries already, and they are tasty. It is always exciting to eat food from your own garden.

Marry Me

Christmas Eve wasn't that long ago, but that is when Steve got down on one knee after the midnight mass and asked my sister to marry him. Since then, the planning was fast and furious...and I liked it that way. Kristi made decisions quickly and efficiently. And then the final weeks arrived and the pressure was on. The preparations left until the end were piling up....

from decorations to hotel bags, jewelry, shoes, centerpieces, oh my! But it all got done and the wedding was beautiful and perfect. All weekend, hiccups and all (what wedding weekend doesn't have a few hiccups?), was perfect. A perfect whirlwind wedding weekend.

It kicked off Thursday night with a cocktail party with family members and dear friends. A fabulous way to begin such a gorgeous weekend.

After that, we headed back to the home of the bride for a little sister time. Wine and cheese...and some extra goodies for the bride.

Friday was full of some final last minute errands, but making time for manicures and pedicures, of course.

The rehearsal was laid back and fun.

Dinner didn't go quite according to plan, but everyone managed to enjoy the company and the food.

Beautiful people, funny faces, strawberries (AHHH!! The bride is allergic! oops!), and just plain fun!

And finally, the big day arrived. It began bright and early with a trip to the salon for the ladies (and Jude) to get beautified. At this point, I handed my camera over and quickly realized that I was not going to be taking many pictures on my own. Juggling a-nearly-5 month nursing baby and a camera...along the all the responsibilities of a bridesmaid....was not easy. I did the best I could and captured some of the fun and excitement.

Time to get ready...set up, flowers, getting dressed, and pictures.

The reception was held in my parents' yard on a beautiful spring afternoon.

The party went on into the perfect evening. No one really wanted the night to end. It was a joy to celebrate the newlyweds. I don't think they could have looked happier.

Once again, congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Costa!
We love you Aunt Kristi and *Uncle* Steve! What an honor and a blessing it was to celebrate this sacrament of marriage with you both. Enjoy this new season in your life.