Easter Weekend

This past weekend was great! We celebrated with Amy...so overall it was quiet and relaxed...which was perfect!! We took Jack to the pool so he could show off his new swimming skills, gave the boys Easter baskets Saturday morning, went to an awesome service at our church Resurrection Sunday and Troy and I even snuck out for a date night while Amy watched the kids! The only casualty was Jack's nice collared shirt on the way to church. He started choking on a veggie stick and threw up all over his shirt. The poor kid had to wear a dorky backup onsie that I keep in the diaper bag for emergencies with his nice khaki pants for church! Oh well...it was memorable. We changed him for pictures when we got home so all was well... Sam also decided to throw up during the church service but I caught all of it in the bib and my hand...no outfit ruined!! :-)

We are so incredibly thankful for the time we've gotten to spend with Amy these past two years and are so sad it's about to end! We hadn't lived that close to each other in over 8 years when we moved here and who knows if we will again. So, we have been blessed and haven't taken it for granted!

Here are some pictures from the weekend...enjoy!

Me and my boys...I love their love!!

Easter baskets!

A Sesame Street bus!!

Sam and his gifts

Jack's helping himself to Sam's presents now...

Super cool Sam

Jack's first taste of a chocolate Easter bunny

Yep...he liked it!

Jack wanted to teach Sam how to "watch for trains"

Date night!

Daddy and Sam on Sunday

Jack loves to hug Sam

Amy and Sam

Family picture!

Couldn't quite capture the "perfect picture" of the boys...but we tried hard!

Sweet Sam

Mommy and Sam

Amy, Sam and Katie

Amy and Jack

Mommy and Jack

How cute is this...Jack found my bible and was "reading it" by himself

A few updates on our boys...

Well the past few weeks have been cold, windy and more like February than the end of March and beginning of April! Needless to say, the few nice days we've had have been spent outside! Jack is loving the park even more this year than last since he is so much more independent now. He also just loves the sand...luckily we have endless amounts of sand and beaches right next to us. We bought him a few sand toys and I'm pretty sure he would sit in the sand all day if we'd let him! Yesterday he even found a big deep hole someone else had dug and had fun falling into it and then climbing back out over and over and over again! He'd also swim in Lake Michigan right now if we'd let him despite the fact that the lake is still freezing cold! Bubbles are also an absolute obsession of his right now! And when we don't blow bubbles while he's taking a bath, he blows them for us in the water! Yes, he can really blow bubbles in the water...and better than I can I'm pretty sure!

Sam is still a snuggly little cutie pie. Super smiley and loves to soak up all the attention he gets from Jack. We are pretty sure he is going to be our talker. He has a very loud voice for a 3 month old and babbles a lot of the day! It's so fun to hear! Sometimes we look at each other and are amazed that "that sound" just came out of our little guy. He's also such a good sport...going on our endless adventures with Jack each day. So laid back and happy! He is very good at napping in his car seat luckily! :-) We are SO blessed by these two boys!!

This past week, Amy and Isaac paid us a visit for the day. It was a nice day out so we were able to spend it at the park and up on the roof top playing soccer. We also took a trip to the pool to show off Jack's new floaty. So fun!

Life is busy but great! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Trying to sit on his basketball...

Playing in the shower "washing dishes"

Happy little Sam...

Love this one!

Jack's new big boy backpack!

Spaghetti Night!! He liked it in case you can't tell! :-)

Still likes to snuggle with Mommy!

So fun to play in the toy box!!

Watching the trains on our rooftop!

Sam's first "sun tanning" experience...he wasn't a big fan...

Still loves his panda and reading books...

At the park!

LOVES the slide!!

Auntie Amy was there to play at the park too!

And of course...Sam was content sleeping through it all!

Auntie Amy and Jack on the swing

Oh Sammy...Gotta love his facials...he's just so cute!! :-)

Spring Break...or Just Break...

Well tomorrow is April and spring has still not sprung here in Chicago!! I'm SO over winter...I refuse to wear a winter jacket-I'd rather just freeze! We have our moments of going a little stir crazy in our condo and are REALLY going to appreciate the warm weather when it decides to get here!

Troy started his final quarter of classes this past Monday...it's hard to believe how close we are to being done! He had spring break last week and part of the week off before that too since he only had one final during finals week. It was great to have him home so much! We tried to do some fun family outings but the weather did prevent us from doing much of anything outside. I think we got out for a long run/park outing only once in a period of two weeks! We made it to the children's museum, made a few trips to open playtime at gymboree and also made a few trips to Home Depot and Lowe's doing research for some things we would like to buy when we move back to MN. We also took Jack outside one day upstairs to the big balcony and played soccer with him. He had so much fun! He actually gets the concept of kicking a ball...but mostly just had fun running around freely and watching the trains go by. All the other day's were spent inside at home or at our pool....

One of the reasons I love our condo building - among many - is that we've had a pool and workout room to use. That has saved us from having to pay for a gym membership these past two years and has provided endless hours of entertainment for Jack!! He LOVES that pool! He asks to go swimming multiple times a day now! He is fearless (which we realize isn't the best thing) in the water. This past week we got him this flotation device that he wears which gives him a little more independence in the water. It's basically two boards strapped onto him. He still needs help to keep his head out of the water but it allows him to move around by himself a little more freely.

Some other fun facts about Jack at 17 months...

• He loves going around the house and picking up any diapers that haven't been thrown away. He can't stand to have dirty diapers lying about!


• He loves my hair brush but hates hair! He will pick each hair out one by one and throw them away before he plays with the brush. Same with the bathtub...he hates hair in there and will pick it out!


• He knows how to give Sam a nuk all by himself and he seems to take great enjoyment in trying to make Sam happy


• Today he figured out how to turn on the tv all by himself...watched it for 5 minutes then said "bye bye" to the tv, turned it off completely and put the remotes completely away! Who knew he was that self sufficient! :-)


• He likes to clean up after himself - he takes a wet paper towel and wipes the table after he eats


• Basically he's got a little bit of Troy and my OCD going on...


• His favorite songs are "Itsy bitsy spider," "The Wheels on the Bus," "The ABC's" and "Rubber Ducky"


• He loves his brother more than life itself and can make Sam smile anytime/anywhere

Sam turned 3 months yesterday! I can't believe how time has flown! He is a rockstar baby...we are so blessed! He slept over 12 hours straight the other night!! Most nights now he will go at least 10 hours so Troy and I are feeling really caught up on sleep and even managing to wake up to exercise/have quiet times/do homework before the boys get up!

Some fun facts about Sam at 3 months...

• He loves his playmat!! He was not a fan at first but now he will play for 30 minutes straight if we let him! He coos, smiles, kicks and squirms while interacting with the octopus and the bug hanging above him


• His lovee!!! He has a little frog lovee and snuggles with it all throughout the day! We noticed one day that he was holding a burp cloth up against his face while riding in his carseat so we decided to try the lovee and he is so happy sitting in his boppy and snuggling up to the lovee for as long as we'll let him!


• He is a big eater!! The kid loves his milk! He drinks 4 five oz bottles and 1 eight oz bottle per day and sometimes more!


• We think he must weigh about 13 pounds, has fully transitioned into 3-6 month clothing and is already to long for some of his jumpers and pajamas


• He loves to smile! Seriously you just have to make eye contact with him and he bursts into a huge smile!


• He still loves bathtime everynight and never cries even when we take him out and put lotion on him


• He's super laid back...happy in pretty much any situation


• He is taking about 3 naps a day and some are over 2 hours!


• He is starting to sit in his bumbo...his head isn't quite strong enough yet but he tries. When he isn't sitting in it, Jack has made it into one of his favorite chairs too!

Below are pictures from the last few weeks...hope you enjoy them!

Sam in the bath! Jack playing with Tad who sings "Itsy Bitsy Spider" Listening to my shuffle His new favorite hangout...the boppy with his lovee! Playing soccer on the roof outside!

Sam is hanging out too while Jack plays soccer...so relaxed...

Watching the train! (on the right side in the middle)

Hanging in the boppy again...

With his lovee...

Trying the bumbo seat out!

My boys...

Brothers snuggling on the bed together

So happy!

And now Sam is being used as a table for Jack's cracker...

Kisses for Sam!

One of Jack's new favorite stuffed animals...a Panda Pillow Pet

Jack's new favorite chair...the bumbo

Swimming!!

Swimming to the ledge almost all by himself!

Hanging on the ledge by himself!