Winter Fun Ends, Ready for Spring!

This post is a random assortment of the fun we've been having this winter since they didn't really fit into another post. The combination of cold winter temperatures and exhaustion from pregnancy have kept us home much more than usual during the past few months. We've managed to find some creative ways to pass the time. And, since Spring is around the corner, we're now thrilled to be coming out of hibernation!

Play Doh is a fun way to keep busy!

Although Dylan enjoys playing with the PlayDoh, at some point in the activity he tries eating it and then it becomes a game to see if he can eat it before I notice. The activity just doesn't entertain him as long as Liam.

This is a much better way for Dylan to play with PlayDoh. It's safely in the container!

Mr. Potato Head is lots of fun but what's even more fun is when the boys pretend they are the potatoes.

It only snowed twice this winter (and once in October) so we rushed to get the kids outside to enjoy it each time!

Dylan seems to dislike hats and gloves. He would rather put his bare hands in the snow.

Liam loved the snow mountain! Even when it had almost completely melted, he asked if we could go outside and climb on the snow mountain.

Dylan's first day of school! Both boys now go to Happy Hearts two days a week for six hours. Neither of them wanted to pose for the photo. They just wanted to go to school! They have fun doing art projects, playing at the playground, circle time, learning numbers/letters/colors, storytime and making new friends. It also gives mom a break to get some things done around the house, to run errands and to prepare for the new baby. Once the baby arrives, I will have two days a week to bond with the new little one.

The boys visited the dentist! This was Liam's second check-up. No cavities! Dylan also had his first visit. His teeth are looking good and the pacifier at night isn't causing his front teeth to buck out. Yea! I don't have a photo because Dylan sat on my lap.

Whatever entertains them is fine by me. Playing with laundry dumped out of the hamper is definitely a fun activity. It kept them busy for quite awhile. Now I just need to teach them to help me fold the clothes!

The boys like to find hidden places to play. We have a tent that they love and we sometimes make forts out of blankets and the couch. On this day, they decided to move the chairs against the wall and dumped out some toys to make a small playspace. They were so cute giggling while playing together.

Lots of snuggle time. Daddy and his boys!

What's a house with two boys without some wrestling!

The boys enjoy visiting Nana Rudden!

Here's Dylan admiring one of Grandpa Rudden's paintings.

We still attend our weekly Playgroup at the church. With the baby coming, my duties as co-facilitator are about to come to an end for awhile but I'm sure we will catch a few more groups before the summer break.

This winter we've spent lots and lots of time reading books. The kids often bring books to us first thing in the morning, especially if we get new ones at the library. And, all day it seems that if I sit down, a book is brought over to me. Dylan now calls a number of books by name. Of course, the bedtime routine includes books too!

The weather in March has been really mild so the winter hibernation seems to be coming to an end. We try to get outside as often as I can muster up the energy. We had a picnic on this beautiful day and the kids ruled the playground since no one else was even there. We came back the next day with our sand toys since the sand was such a huge hit! They will have so much fun at the beach this summer.

With the nice weather rolling in, we've headed out to the farm twice now. Liam loves running around and is fearless around the animals. Dylan was so thrilled to see the animals live. He knows all his animals and animal sounds from the books we read so he ran around the farm pointing out animals and naming them. My favorite animal to hear him shout about was, "Chicken!"

Since it's not exactly a petting zoo, they couldn't touch the animals. However, Neil found some animals for them to pet. Our little pig wrangler!

Yee Haw!

Since we've been cooped up so much this winter, the boys can find fun as long as we're outside. They don't need any toys. They had a blast sitting on the manhole cover in our condo complex parking lot.

Winter seems to be officially over! We really can't complain because it hasn't been a snowy winter. Nonetheless, we are so happy that warm weather is finally here and that our new baby will be arriving soon to enjoy it with us!

And, Baby Makes...

No, the baby's not here yet! I just wanted to write a quick post to reflect on the time before each of our kids was born.

And, Baby Makes...THREE!
The day before Liam was born (seven days late), Neil and I took some photos at the Croton Dam. Although it was February, it was a beautiful, chilly day and we took a long walk hoping the baby would decide to come. And, he did - 24 hours later!

Ready to become a family of three!

And, Baby Makes...FOUR!
We wanted to capture the same photos when expecting Dylan. I also heard that being around water at the end of pregnancy could result in my water breaking. It didn't work. He took another 7 days to arrive after this outing. This time the photos are taken at the end of August and it was a very hot day.

Almost a family of four!

And, Baby Makes...FIVE!
Last weekend, we trekked up to the Dam for another round of pre-baby pictures. The baby was not due for another 9 days so I wasn't expecting that the waterfall or the walk would set me into labor this time. I just wanted to make sure we got the photos in case the little one decided to come early. These photos show us enjoying a beautiful, almost-Spring day in late March. It was so sunny the kids couldn't look at the camera.

Wow! Our family has grown so fast. I can't believe we're just days away from becoming a family of five!

Although we didn't do too much walking, after visiting the Dam I had to sit for the rest of the evening. Thank you to Neil for making a delicious pot roast and veggie dinner in the crock pot. At 39 weeks pregnant, I'm really uncomfortable and ready to meet this little person! One week (or less and hopefully not more) to go!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Taking great pride in our Irish heritage, we had fun celebrating St. Patrick's Day!

The weekend before St. Patrick's Day, we attended a party at our church. Neil was on the setup and cleanup crew but was able to join us for the dinner. Of course we dined on corned beef and cabbage and listened to festive music, including bagpipers. Neil drank Guinness and we enjoyed Irish soda bread. They had a room set up for the kids to enjoy chicken fingers and hot dogs, watch movies and do crafts all under the watchful eyes of the high school youth group. It was so great to socialize with our friends for the evening without the constant interruptions that typically occur while dining with kids. If we hadn't used the babysitting, we would have had ten kids at our table!

On the official St. Patrick's Day, my little leprechauns had fun dressing up!

We had a housewarming/birthday party to attend and although it wasn't a St. Patrick's Day themed party, we brought the Irishness!

I guess we aren't going to have a St. Patrick's Day baby. The names Patrick and Patricia are no longer in the mix. I can't wait until next year when I can enjoy a Guinness and some Bailey's Irish Cream! Wait, maybe I can have some next week!

One Month Countdown to Baby #3!

Can you tell that I'm trying to wrap up unfinished tasks before the baby arrives? I think this is my fourth blog post in a week after a 2 month break.

We are very excited to finally meet our third baby! I'm 36 weeks pregnant and the baby is due March 27th.

Since I didn't include very many photos from the pregnancy in the blog, I thought I'd put them into their own post. Here's a family picture from August when I was 7 weeks pregnant. Grandma Hunter took the photo when she was visiting. On this trip, we told her she was going to be a grandma for the 5th time!

This photo was taken in October at 17 weeks. I definitely showed a lot sooner with this pregnancy!

Here I am in December at 24 weeks pregnant.

And, here's the current BIG belly at 36 weeks. It's hard to believe that the baby is still going to gain approximately two more pounds over the next four weeks. I might tip over.

Although it's my third baby, my friends were so generous and threw me a surprise baby shower. They did a diaper drive and gave me an awesome new diaper bag. We now have enough diapers to last us through the summer! Here's the awesome diaper cake they made! 

It was a breakfast shower so we enjoyed scones, coffee and cake! Here's a beautiful bouquet of flowers that I got too.

A sneak peek of the baby. This is the 32 week ultrasound photo. At this visit, the baby weighed in at 3lbs. 13oz. We were thrilled by the surprise 4D picture that the technician gave us. Since I've been told it's hard to see, I included labels to help you visualize.

The nesting instinct has finally kicked in and we're starting to get the house ready for the new baby. One of the most pressing "to do's" is to pick the names! After reading hundreds of boys and girls names out loud from a baby naming book lent to me by a friend, Liam finally decided the only name he liked was Wilhelmina. At this point, all ideas are welcome!

Liam is 3 years old!

Just a quick edit to put this post in it's proper place behind the December/January posts.

Although I'm a few months behind on the blog, I wanted to prioritize this post since it was such an important milestone. Our big boy Liam turned 3 years old!

Liam's favorite breakfast is pancakes with syrup (must include syrup and low sugar syrup is not acceptable). So, of course for his birthday, I made him pancakes!

Neil worked from home the morning of Liam's birthday so we did presents first thing. Liam continues to love Buzz Lightyear and the whole Toy Story gang so he was thrilled with his new Potato Head pieces.

He also loved the camping Playdoh kit. Here he is roasting a marshmallow on his Playdoh campfire.

I have to say, the camping Playdoh set was a lot of fun for me too. I made bacon and eggs!

We attended many birthday parties over the past few months and after each one, Liam let me know that he was going to have a Diego birthday party. Here's the Diego cake (chocolate of course)!

We had 10 kids over to celebrate Liam's birthday!

Liam has a huge Diego coloring book so we had fun making our own Diego decorations!

Here's the Diego and Dora decoration made by Liam!

 "When is this party going to start? We're ready!"

Neil played the Diego Theme song throughout the party and the kids had so much fun running around the house, dancing to the song. One parent asked, "Are you going to play this song over and over? I just need to prepare myself." At least the kids loved it!

Blowing out the 3 candles!

Enjoying the birthday cake and chatting with friends!

Rocking out on his new doggy guitar. It actually woofs the notes.

Opening more presents the day after the party. Liam got his first digital camera. Here he is taking a picture of Neil. Also, notice the Lightning McQueen tent in the background. It was a huge hit with both boys. They played together in it all day.

It's hard to believe that our Liam is 3 years old already. But, then when we think about the fact that we're about to welcome our third baby into the world, it only makes sense that he's at least 3 years old! We are so proud of our funny, smart, active big boy and look forward to the next year of milestones and watching him explore the world through the eyes of a three year old.