Easter Weekend Fun!

We had a great Easter weekend! Patrick's parents were visiting and we had lots of fun! There were multiple Easter Egg Hunts and a trip to the zoo before they left. The Easter Bunny made a stop at our house and filled the kids' baskets with gifts and candy! For more pictures, check out our Flickr Page.

The Big 4!

I can't believe Peyton was born 4 years ago! Life sure has been interesting with him, and I can't believe how quickly time has gone. Seems like just yesterday that I spent 3.5 hours trying to push him out and then spent the next 3 months trying to get him to stop screaming.

We celebrated his birthday this past weekend with a small party that was supposed to be at the playground where all of the kids could run around and wear themselves out. But for a few short hours on Saturday morning, Mother Nature decided it should rain down on our little patch of North Carolina right in the middle of party time. Did I mention the rest of the weekend was beautiful? So, we moved the party to our house and I was immediately grateful that we lived in a much bigger place that could accommodate the party animals. But the question was what to do with all of the kids. Then I saw a side of Patrick that I didn't know existed: Kids Party Extraordinaire!

He led the kids in the Hokey Pokey (you can see Elliana taking part as well):




And the chicken dance:



He also did a story time with them, which they loved. And a pinata, which was apparently made of steel.

We finished the festivities with food and cake, and I think all the kids had a great time!

For his actual birthday, I let him stay home from school for the day with me. We had a day of fun, with a trip to the library and the observation park at the airport. Then I took him to lunch at the General Aviation Terminal cafe, where we could sit and watch all of the private planes come and go. We even got to see the Hurricanes Hockey team plane as the players boarded it for a trip away. Of course Peyton expressed his desire to ride on one, but I explained to him that those were fancy planes and we needed to have a lot of money to ride on one. He asked if we had a lot of money and I told him no. Then came the question, "Why don't we have a lot of money?" Oh, it must be nice to be a kid and be so naive. We finished the afternoon off with a nap and soccer practice.

As he opened his birthday cards from family that night, a bunch of bills came pouring out of one. To him, the denomination didn't matter - it just mattered that there was a lot of them. He suddenly exclaimed, "Look, Mom! A lot of money! Now we can ride on the fancy airplane!" I tried to explain that it wasn't quite enough, but he wasn't buying it. According to him, there was a lot of money in that birthday card of his - enough to buy him a ticket on the fancy airplane. I hope he always dreams big.....

Peyton's First Soccer Game

It's no secret that Patrick and I aren't athletes. We're band nerds through and through. But we have this big energetic kid that somehow needs to get his energy out, so we signed him up for soccer this Spring. He had his first game this past weekend. Its hysterical to watch these kids play soccer. Some are clearly better than others. Peyton falls in this "others" category at the moment. Not to say that he won't be good one day, but he still has a lot to learn about the rules and purpose of the game. And while Patrick and I may not play sports, we do enjoy watching them.

But apparently we watch a little too much football - it looks as though Peyton thinks this soccer game involves tackling:



And maybe a little too much basketball. Here is Peyton on defense:

Family Update

I signed Peyton up for soccer this Spring and his first practice was two weeks ago. Unfortunately, the weather has been so bad recently that he hasn't been able to practice again and both of his games this weekend were cancelled. The field is a mess and I'm sure its going to take forever to dry up, if Mother Nature ever gives it a chance to do so. But here are a couple of pictures from his first practice. He had a great time! Afterwards, Patrick wanted to kick the ball around a little more with him but he said he was too tired. I think it wore him out!

And Elliana is starting to share some smiles. Holding her, holding the camera, and snapping it at the right time to get the perfect picture is proving to be a challenge.

But I managed to catch her sticking her tongue out:

The timing was a little off here too:

Here's a smile!

The House

Awhile back, I promised pictures of the new house. And then Elliana arrived and I never got around to posting them. So, here they are!

We live on a cul-de-sac with a nice big garage now. (I think I will forever need to live on a cul-de-sac in a house with a nice big garage now). Peyton LOVES to ride his bike in the cul-de-sac. There are two boys that live next door and he gets so excited when they come out and play. They've been very nice to tolerate him, since they're a little older, at 7 and 9 years old.

As you walk in the front door, to the right is our dining room.

You can walk from there into our huge kitchen! I will never be able to live without all of this counter and cabinet space! Oh, and a refrigerator/freezer with an ice maker, as well as an ice and water dispenser. I've never had those before and they're wonderful!

On the other side of the kitchen is an eat-in area, but we've made that into a play space for Peyton. It usually takes him no time to make a huge mess. Just like his mother :)

And that connects to the living room, which you can also get to from the front door by walking straight ahead. We even have a gas fireplace now, which means we can actually enjoy a fire without smoking up our whole house.

And we have a HUGE fenced in back yard, which has also been a big hit with Peyton and Nellie (again, I'm getting spoiled here!)

I don't think I ever posted pictures of Elliana's room once we finally finished it. I"m really happy with how it came out. I guess I kind of have a butterfly/garden theme going on.

I had drawn this picture in art class my freshman year in high school, so I had it re-matted and framed to match the colors in Elliana's room.

And this was a Pinterest inspired art project that I worked on for her room.

We have a nice big guest room too, which is great for visitors, so come visit soon!!!

One Month!

Elliana made One Month last Friday! At her well-baby visit last week, she weighed in at an even 10lbs., putting her in the 75th percentile. The doctor was pleased with her growth and overall well-being. She gave us a few suggestions about surviving the night with a baby that grunts and groans non-stop between 2am and 6am. Since then, we've been trying out the gas drops during night time feedings and trying to burp her really well. Sometimes it works, and sometimes we're just awake all night long (despite the fact that she sleeps through this nonsense.)

Hmmmm...

I'm not sure what to make of this. I asked Peyton to make a birthday card for his friend and he signed the back. But he wrote his name from right to left with all of the letters backwards. Just hope the kid realizes who the card is from.