Catching Up - Visit from Mimi & Grandpa and Easter

I'm finally getting around to updating our blog. We've been incredibly busy lately with the house selling / buying process and birthday celebrations! It's all good news, though, and hopefully we will be in our dream house very soon!

Here are pictures from Easter weekend. I had Good Friday off and Anson took a vacation day. We hung out with Mimi in the morning and met all the the family at Hartville Kitchen in the evening. On Saturday, we went to the Hartville Marketplace for photos with the Easter Bunny and to walk around. Then we ate lunch at Chipotle. Sunday morning we spent with the kids. Then we went over to Uncle Jeremy's house for Easter dinner and fun. It was a busy, but nice weekend.

Cute outfit from Brent and Megan :)

Friday Morning - Coloring Easter eggs with Mimi

Cute, random photo of Samba resting on Dillon's pillow pet

A picture of the Easter Bunny picture :) The photographer normally takes 3-4 shots and lets you pick which one you want. But he could only get this one because 2 seconds after he snapped it Dillon melted down.

The Easter Bunny came to our house and left a bunch of new outdoor toys and candy!

New Yo Gabba Gabba undies!

Pickle with a new ball

More undies

A new spinning toothbrush. She doesn't like it, though, when it spins.

Sitting at their new picnic table for the porch

Easter Egg Hunt

Lily found almost all the eggs. But she shared with Dillon. He just wasn't into the hunt.

I love her pose!

Looking at fake bugs with their new magnifying glasses. Those bugs look real, though, and have caused some scare while laying around the house on several occasions.

3 month old photo! Our bunny turned 3 months on Easter. Hard to believe she will be 4 months next week!

At Uncle Jeremy & Heather's house - Easter Bunny Heather hid about 40 plastic eggs for them :)

Dillon was more awake for this hunt and he found a lot more of the eggs.

I should merge these 2 photos together to get them both looking at the camera at the same time...LOL.

Heather bought Lacy this adorable hat!

She wasn't impressed...

Baby's first Easter

Opening gifts from Mimi

Lily opening Lacy's present from Mimi

Lacy hanging out with Daddy. It looks like she was watching him play games on his phone.

Lily fell fast asleep while watching the Cars movie...

Last but not least...A walk in Daddy's shoes...

A walk in Mommy's shoes...

We celebrated Lily and Nana's birthdays on Sunday. Nana fell again last week and broke her wrist! Papa stayed home this week to help with the kids. She got a cast on yesterday, though, and she's feeling really good. She's able to take care of the kids just fine. More updates and photos to come soon!

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Anson let me sleep in until 9:15 (THANK YOU, BABE). And when I had got up he had made pancakes and bacon. Then, I opened my cards and he and the kids got me a gift certificate to my favorite spa. I can go get another massage :)

We went over to my mom's for the afternoon. We picked up lunch from Belgrades - chicken and strawberry pie - on our way. We ate and then relaxed in their new hot tub :) On our way home we went to the grocery store, but now we are home relaxing. Great day with my awesome family. I am so blessed!!

Our Computer is in the Shop!

Our computer is in the shop because the backlight for the screen is out :( Some of the photos from Easter are on the computer, so I am waiting until I get the computer back to upload Easter photos.

But, I thought I would update everyone on our life, and especially on the kids!

Everyone is doing very well, and we are so blessed. I try to take time and pause to think about my life and how grateful I am to have my family and friends.

Work is going very well. I’ve been back for 3 weeks now and it’s as if I never left. I really do love my job!

Lily Anna
· She turns 4 in a few short weeks!
· So animated and entertaining!
· She loves to sing, especially in the car. She will sing to Lacy if she starts crying, usually Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She doesn’t like it when Lacy cries.
· She got up in the middle of the night a few weeks ago and went poop in the potty. So we are encouraging that behavior, but so far she just pees in her pull-up.
· She cares so much for Dillon. She’s always watching out for him and tells me when he needs help.
· She’s my Dillon translator. “What did he say, Lily?” Every Mom needs one!
· She loves Yo Gabba Gabba. Nana & Papa bought Lily and Dillon Yo Gabba Gabba t-shirts with their names on it for Easter. They love them!
· Her dance recital is coming up. It’s on June 5 at Lake High School. She has two routines – one ballet and one tap. Tickets are $12. Let me know if you are interested in going.

Dillon James
· He’s two and he acts it!
· Loves the word “car-car” and always says “car-car.” We try to tell him that there are so many cars in this world, but he still likes to point them out to us.
· He puts his hands over his ears when Lacy cries.
· Follows Lily everywhere and wants to do exactly what she does.
· He fell into Nana & Papa’s hot tub the other day (4/25/11). He was reaching over the side to touch the water and slipped right in. The water was still cold, too. Nana grabbed him right away. Since then, it warmed up and the kids have went into the hot tub in Nana and Papa almost every day. They love it!
· Pronounces Barney: Barn-key.
· Named his little monkey “Bo-Bo.”
· If he gets in trouble, or if Lily yells at him or tells him no, he’ll run away and cry and scream.
· He did not like the Easter Bunny (can’t say I blame him).
· He is infatuated with our neighbor’s basketball. He always wants to look out the window to see it.
· He gives the best neck squeezes (hugs)!
· He loves the “How big is Dillon” game. He stands on his step stool and stretches his arms above his head. We go through it with the entire family. When we get to Lacy, we say “Soooo little!”
· He went pee in the potty at Nana’s house yesterday for the very first time!

Lacy Lyn
· She’s such a sweet baby. Always happy and usually content.
· She coos and “talks” a lot!
· Smiles and giggles a lot!
· Holds her head up very well for a 3-month old!
· Already fills out her 3-6 month old clothes.
· Between 9 p.m. – midnight she is Daddy’s buddy.
- She keeps him up a little too late, but I know he enjoys the alone time with her.
- This is her cranky time, though, and she does best when she’s sitting up. Otherwise she cries.
· She’s been sleeping through the night! Daddy puts her to bed between 11-12 and I wake her up to feed her at 5:45.
· Perfect addition to our family!
· My mom says she looks the most like me when I was a baby :)

We put our house back up for sale! We are selling it For Sale By Owner and listed it on owners.com. Check it out! We have updated photos, but since the computer is in the shop, we had to use older photos.

http://www.owners.com/oh/akron/130-swartz-rd/tmp4624?sch=z%2b44319%253bn%2b70000&fp=3

That's about it for now. When we get the computer back, I'll upload some photos of Easter and the kids.

The End of Maternity Leave :(

My last maternity leave from work is coming to an end tomorrow, and I have mixed emotions about it. I'm very sad to leave Lacy already. I've really enjoyed every moment of being home with her and the days I had with Lily and Dillon, too. But, I know I could never be a stay-at-home Mom. I love my job, and I'm looking forward to my return. Here are some photos I took over the past week of the kids. They are such good kids, and I can't believe they are mine! I love them so much!!

Playing Little People on the table - one of Lily's favorite things to do!

Pickle playing Kitchen A walk in my shoes It's hard to see, but Lily has a black eye. Her and Dillon were running at Nana & Papa's and collided last week and she ended up with a black right eye!

Can you spot the dog in the mess of toys?

Arts and Crafts time - making foam bunny pictures

Lily's finished picture. Dillon didn't actually make one. He got bored and started tearing the little foam stickers apart.

Passed out! She sleeps a lot during the day. She is awake from about 6-midnight, and she eats almost that entire time. She's been sleeping longer and longer at night, though, so I hope it continues.

My precious boy. He is so adorable. We've been letting him have a binky now and then during the day. It's easier than putting up with the crying, screaming and tantrums. It instantly calms him down, so we think it's worth it.

Playing Barbies

Lacy by the scrapbook I made for her.

She's such a happy baby!

Video of Lacy playing with her bouncy seat toys!

Video of Lacy smiling and sitting up like a big girl!

My life is about to get much more complex. I fear I won't have time to do some of the things I enjoy - like updating this blog! Forgive me if the posts get fewer and farther in between :)

Lacy is 2 months old!

Lacy is 2 months old already. I can’t believe that! She is such a sweet baby. I took her to the doctor’s yesterday and she checked out well. When I placed her on the table so the doctor could check her out, she followed me with her eyes. Every time I spoke, she would look at me. The doctor was impressed and said that was unusual for a baby so young. She said she definitely knew I was her Mommy and wanted to keep an eye on me. That really warmed my heart!

She gained 2 pounds since her 1 month check-up, and a little over 4 since she was born. She’s a healthy baby! Anson and I are so blessed to have 3 beautiful, healthy children!

Weight: 12.9 pounds = 90th percentile
Length: 22.25 inches = 50th percentile
Head: 15.25 inches = 50th percentile

And a photo of Lily. She loves Yo Gabba Gabba and especially Toodee. She didn’t have a Toodee doll, so she was carrying around a picture of her. She would play with this piece of paper. She would sleep with it and take it everywhere. So, we bought her this pillow for her birthday. But, I couldn’t wait until May to give it to her. We had to get rid of that piece of paper! Anson said we could save a lot of money by printing the kids off pictures of toys instead of buying them the actual toys…tempting since our house is so small and crowded, but no!
Video of Lacy…tried to get her cooing and smiling

Lacy and I went to GOJO this morning for a visit. It was good to see everyone and hear the latest office gossip. I go back to work on April 7. I have mixed emotions. Looking forward to getting back into a routine, but I'm definitely sad to leave Lacy. At least I know she will be in good hands. That's always made going back to work easier. I love my Mom!