Birthdays All Around

We did a lot of celebrating this past weekend. It began with celebrating the bride-to-be, Kristi, at a shower hosted by some dear friends of hers. Can't believe how quickly her wedding is approaching...5 weeks from Saturday! Yippee!

After the shower, Eli had a birthday party to attend for two of his besties, Kent and Mabry.

I loaded up Eli and Jude and headed out to Black's Pony Farm for a rootin' tootin' good time. Lots of farm animals to see, ponies to ride, and friends to play with.

But Eli's favorite part, hands down, was holding the baby goat. Just too precious for words. Thanks for inviting us to such a fun party, Hanlon and Pope families. It was perfect! I couldn't help but share all of the pictures of our sweet kiddos. Always crazy trying to get a group shot. I adore these!

And then on Sunday, we celebrated Grandma Snyder's birthday with a yummy (though slow...ugh!) brunch and then back to the house for cake and presents. She's a Leap Year Baby, so no actual birthday this year, but happy we could celebrate with her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Grandma!

Fun in the Kitchen

Some of the most fun Eli and I have had together this past week has been in the kitchen. Our creations included peanut butter playdough (thanks, Jill!) and personal pizzas.

There was no school last Friday, so Eli and I got busy in the kitchen mixing and making delicious playdough. Fabulous, right? So easy and so yummy.

1 c. peanut butter
2/3-1 c. nonfat dry milk
2 tbsp. honey

E couldn't wait to use the roller and cookie cutters, but when he got tired of that, he quickly put his creative juices to work.

I think he was working on a cave here, and then he quickly destroyed that. Using his fists for destruction was as much fun (probably more) as creating in the first place. And of course, Mommy had to get in on the action. Since lunch time was closing in, I supplied snacks that go well with peanut butter to build with....

and then we ate lunch with it all. Definitely a perfect, rainy-day-home-from-school-got-nothing-else-planned type of activity. Do try it if you haven't already. Or if you have....do it again! So fun!

And then on Sunday, Daddy was working at the office and dinner time was fast approaching. We had the makings for personal pizzas on hand. Eli loved spooning and spreading the sauce onto the Mama Mary's thin and crispy pizza crusts (so good!). I made my pizza with onions, green peppers (I didn't know how much I liked these on pizza until now!), and bacon. YUM! Eli was not wowed by my topping choices and opted for the classic: pepperoni and cheese.

A pepperoni smiley tastes better than just any old pizza, I'm sure.

Sprinkle some cheese on and it is ready to go in the oven. Delish! And a fun way to get Eli involved in making dinner. I see less pizza ordering in our future.

Completely unrelated, this sweet baby boy has his first cold complete with a fever, snot, and a wicked cough that I find incredibly pitiful and cute all at the same time. Check out these sad sick eyes...

Thank goodness he doesn't let it stand in the way of playing with his friend, the monkey. Watch out, Monkey...Jude has figured out how to get his hands on you! Definitely hope my little monkey is feeling better soon.

Gone Fishing

Eli has been desperate to go fishing. For real. He has dutifully practiced casting and retrieving with a casting plug both on land (in the front yard) and in the water (at the beach last summer). His hard work was rewarded this Sunday.

The weather was gorgeous, so the boys walked down to the lake at the end of our street to go fishing. For real. With a hook!

He was eager to get outside, so he dressed himself in his finest fishing gear. :)

No nibbles. Shucks. Even though they didn't catch anything, Eli had a blast and will likely want to try again this weekend. Heck, playing in the water is almost as much fun (...if not more.)

This little dude was happy to be out in the sunshine too. The walk there and back soothed him so that he was ready for a long nap in the swing when we got back.

Precious Child of God

Hello everyone! I have not had a lot of time to sit and type at the computer lately. Hmmmm...wonder why? :)

I love it when they are sweet together, but these two definitely keep me on my toes. Feeding, changing, playing, cleaning, cooking, oh my! Nothing out of the ordinary in the life of a mommy.

Fun news! I have a new camera. The old one had taken a few tumbles, and finally suffered a fatal fall over Christmas. My dad was kind enough to lend me his so I was sure not to miss out on capturing moments in the fast and furious days of a newborn. I love the new one and look forward taking more pictures with it as I have barely had the chance to use it much yet. And I really want to get some help learning how to make the most of it.

It is also a pleasure to share that Jude received the sacrament of baptism this weekend. He is a sweet child of God now and forever.

It was wonderful to celebrate this beautiful sacrament with family and friends. Aunt Ann (Jude's godmother) and Pap Pap were able to make the trip up for it.

Jude was a sweet angel and almost slept through the entire service. He barely flinched when the water was poured over his head. And after several baths this week, it makes me smile that I can still smell Chrism oil used on his head.

Eli was a proud big brother and wanted to stand up with us during the sacrament.

Fr. Oscar did a wonderful job, and we could not be more thankful for the wonderful, loving, and faithful godparents Jude has.

Eli forgets to smile sometimes and instead, he gives his "pirate face." We promised that if he smiled for the first one, we could do another one with pirate faces.

So funny!

No group shot or pictures of my family. Bummer. But it was a precious day for this precious boy.

Remembering

A year has passed since we lost a precious woman to heaven. So much has happened, but I know she is proud of it all. What a legacy she left....

In memory of a FABULOUS mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother.

God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.

Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.

In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.

Amen.

No More Monkeys....

....swinging from table tops!

As we were finishing up dinner and getting ready to leave a restaurant on Sunday night, our CRAZY monkey decided he should try to swing from a table. Before anyone could jump up to stop him, the table pulled down off of its ledge and landed on Eli's face....along with all of the condiments on top of the table.

There were tears, fears, and panic attacks had by the boy (and his parents). Thanks to Aunt Kristi's calm, we were able to assess the damages:

This is the following afternoon, so the swelling was coming down at this point. It could have been SO MUCH worse. It is not a fun scene to play over and over again in your mind. It was an event that makes you question your parenting...."if only we had made him stay in his seat until we were walking to the door"...."if only we had made him get out from under the table"....."if only..."

He's been a champ, and despite a late and traumatic night, he was ready for school the next morning. He (a little too proudly) told his classmates what happened. They seemed to agree that it was not a good idea. Hopefully he learned his lesson as he only gets to eat soft foods until those teeth tighten up again. Time for Chef Mommy to get creative (...since he doesn't like soup or mashed potatoes.)

Again, we feel blessed that it wasn't any worse. Thank you, Jesus! Seriously.

Jude News

Hard to believe that Baby Jude is 3 months old already. Thankfully this month didn't fly by as much as the first two. Maybe that is because, what I like the call "the newborn time-warp," seems to be over. The haze is lifting, and I'm beginning to feel more like myself again. I am accomplishing things around the house, and I feel like I've slipped into the rhythm of being a Mommy-of-2.

Jude, "The Dude", has lost his newborn (alien) look and is becoming a chunky monkey. He is transitioning out of his 0-3 month clothes and just started wearing size 2 diapers. He is growing up! Based on my own measurements at home, he has grown another inch or so and weighs about 14 lbs (according to Wii Fit, fully clothed.)

His reflux was under control with some low doses of Zantac, but I believe he is going through a growth spurt as the barfies have picked up again. I also think he is going through a growth spurt due to the fact that he * HAD * (key word here...) been giving us 5-7 hour stretches of sleep to start each night, some nights only getting up one time, but has had a couple nights waking up every 3 hours this week. Makes for a super tired Mommy. Ugh!

When he's tired, he loves the swing and the paci. His favorites lately are looking for the TV (he loves the flashes of lights and colors), watching big brother, finding Mommy's voice, dancing with Daddy, and playing with his hands. He is getting more and more control of those hands and loves to stick them in his mouth.

He found his toes the other day while sitting in the Bumbo. It was too cute watching his eyes light up at the sight of them. He has had little to no interest in toys until this past week. He will stare and swat at them a bit more now, and every once in a while, he is lucky to make some noise with them or land one in his mouth to gnaw on.

Last week he decided to explore rolling and goes from tummy to back...when he feels like it. Sometimes I think he forgets that he can. He is ready to move, always arching his back, attempting to scoot, and rolling off of our laps. Slow down, little one!

Jude is very vocal and friendly, mastering flirting early. He broadcasts his mood with his tongue (if it is out, he is incredibly happy!) and his arms. I can read him like a book....most of the time. Overall, he is content and a happy baby. One of my favorite things he does is pat and pet me while nursing or for comfort when I'm holding him. It makes my heart swell with all kinds of love.

Jude, you bring us incredible joy, and we love getting to know you more and more each day.