Sunshine

We love Arizona in March and April! We headed south to soak up some rays, take a few pool dips, and spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa. Troy is off to NYC for two weeks and I decided that I didn't really want to spend that time alone with a newborn and a two year old. So, we all came here together this week and then I will happily accept help from eager grandparents while Troy works in New York. I am loving that it is warm enough for short sleeves, shorts, and sandals. I really love having my baby's smooth little arms and legs exposed. It just makes me want to cuddle him even more. I took some pictures of the boys tonight right before eating dinner on the patio. We overlooked the desert, fountain, valley, and mountains in 80° weather. It doesn't get much better than that.

Blake plays with his mixer like a real boy. His fondest memory of his grandparents' house (from Christmas) is standing on a chair in the kitchen and helping his Grandma make cookies with a mixer. He asks about six times each day to make cookies, and his pretend play frequently involves cookie making.

My Vice

If it weren't for these:

...maybe I'd be able to fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans. Once a bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs is opened, I finish it off. I think that they lace those crunchy shells with something; they should be called Crackbury Eggs. We're headed south for a few weeks, where I'm hoping to incorporate lots of outdoor walks and yoga classes to help with my waistline. But, if the Easter Bunny brings me more chocolate goodness in sweet crunchy shells, my jeans may have to wait until May June.

M&M's

How do children learn so young that candy deserves anticipation and excitement? How could I possibly resist this conniving request?

Big & Little

Auntie

I happen to have a super chic and beautiful sister-in-law, Tricia. She is currently living in the heart of New York City pursuing her master's degree in Social Work at NYU. We miss her! She came to visit during her spring break this week and she met her newest nephew.

Our boys L-O-V-E Aunt Tricia.

We went on a double-date with Tricia and her boyfriend Jacob (who we also love). Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa who watched the boys, we were able to go out to dinner and see "Fiddler On the Roof" at the Hale Theater. It was so nice to get out! We are excited for Tricia to graduate in a few months so that we can see her more. We would also welcome cousins for our boys at any time...

Go Green

I thought this would be appropriate for St. Patrick's Day and March Madness. To my fellow college Spartans, here is a future Spartan:

Ya-Ma

Guess who came to visit her new grandson and coordinate outfits with him?

It was so nice to have my mom around for awhile, especially to entertain the toddler. Blake baked all sorts of treats with his "Ya-Ma Youlie" (Grandma Julie).

Grandma taught Blake that cookies were a breakfast food. That makes for a fun morning battle each day.

They colored pasta together.

They painted beautiful pictures.

And what would a visit from Julie Nash be without some crafting? I'd like to take credit for these projects but all I did to contribute was pick out and purchase the fabric. Here is the car seat canopy she made:

I found this awesome vinyl fabric and had the idea to recover our dingy looking highchair cover. Before and after:

More vinyl fabric projects:

Finally, my mom whipped up these cute aprons in just a few hours. I wish I had inherited some of her amazing sewing skills!

It was such a relief to have some help. I was pretty spoiled during my mom's stay; I don't think I unloaded our dishwasher or prepared Blake's breakfast once! I will be missing the little extra sleep I received and the company we all enjoyed. Thank you, Ya-Ma!

Blessed

We blessed baby Nash today. Troy gave him a beautiful blessing. I actually need to go back and read the written notes (thanks mom² and aunt Torri) since Blake was being loud and needy throughout the blessing. I am sure the blessing was beautiful though. It was a perfect day and we are grateful for friends and family members who joined in the celebration of baby Nash. We had a wonderful brunch at our house after the blessing. Babies in white are just so sweet and innocent that I couldn't narrow down the pictures.

The M & O, the Wash, and the Sheeps

While stalling for naptime, Blake always tells us the exact same stories from his keen memory. He tells us about events that have made a significant impact in his life. The stories always include genuine concern and fear of events that were chaotic in his limited two-year-old mind. He mentions every detail relating to the events until he is completely satisfied that he has recounted the stories successfully. He will not lay down until this daily process is complete. The first story that he recalls is related to an event that happened well over a month ago.

He was throwing a little fit about something and started kicking the wall in his bedroom. A couple of the alphabet letters that were hung on the wall fell off due to the kicking. One of the letters hit his head. It hurt. This tragic event has remained dominant in his mind ever since that fateful day. What is hilarious to me is that he remembers exactly which two letters fell off the wall, and has mentioned them every day since the incident. I think he may associate the letters "m" and "o" with this event for the rest of his life. I can just imagine him recounting the entire incident to his kindergarten teacher on the "letter m" day.

Here is Blake's account, on several different occasions:

The second story that is always shared relates to a car wash experience gone wrong. My mom took Blake to the car wash while I was home with the baby, which happens to be one of his favorite activities. However, the credit card machine wasn't working properly. Grandma fixed it by using a different card. Then, upon entrance to the wash, the lights indicated "pull forward." Upon pulling forward, the lights indicated "back up." Blake was in the backseat shouting "green light," "red light." This process occurred several times until my mom got the car into the correct position. This disorderly event has also remained dominant in Blake's mind. In fact, not only do we hear this story before every naptime, but since we live around the corner from the car wash, we are also privileged to hear every detail recounted as we daily pass the scene of the crime.

Blake's account:

Blake also adds a third story to his repertoire of chaotic events. Most young children are worried that there might be monsters in their beds. Blake's concern, however, is that there might be throw up under his blanket. This is due to the fact that for about a week straight (conveniently just after we brought our newborn home), he threw up in his crib almost every night. Now, he checks under his pillow and blanket daily to make sure that there isn't any throw up on his "sheeps" (sheets). Isn't it sad that a two-year-old is so aware of and concerned about the presence of throw up?

Yet again, this event has made a deep impact on Blake's orderly routine:

Is it at all surprising that Blake's first word was "uh-oh?" He continues to be one very concerned little boy.

One Month and Rollin'

That's right; today Nash turned one month old and he made his rolling debut! He was having tummy time while we were eating breakfast and when I looked over, he was on his back. I knew I didn't flip him over, but I was so puzzled as to how he got on his back. Then I thought, wait, did I flip him over? I am pretty tired and forgetful these days. However, when I put Nash back on his tummy, he performed his rolling ability twice more in front of our eyes. He has a strong neck and a tiny body, but I was still shocked to see this trick so soon!