Easter 2016

This Easter was our best yet. While last year was special because it was Gabriella's first, having her get so excited over the baskets and hidden eggs was so much more fun!

The fun started on Friday when Gabriella went over to her Auntie Rachel's to dye some eggs with her cousins. She loves going over there so adding in messy egg dying only made her happier :) That afternoon we brought her to get her first haircut!! She didn't have long hair but it needed to be cleaned up and I didn't trust myself to do it. Local friends: my cousin Sarah recommend Karen from Kids Kutz in town and she is amazing!! So patient and sweet and super affordable. 

Both Nanas were scared all of her curls were going to disappear, but they did not and she looks so adorable!! 

On Saturday Sandy, Thierry and Ben came into town and as always, had a great time visiting! We had dinner at my parent's and dyed more eggs. Although I noticed that the guys disappeared to hit golf balls, grandparents disappeared to play with Gabriella and Ben, so the ones dying 90% of the eggs were Diane, Sandy, and I :) It's all good though, we had a blast and lots of laughs! 

The weather was gorgeous for Easter Sunday. March Easters tend to be cold and dreary but this year was an exception and was sunny which made the 55 degrees seem warmer. Better than hunting for eggs in the snow! Gabriella was up early and was very excited to see her Easter basket. The bunny was practical this year, bringing snacks, new Easter shoes, a book, magnetic letters, and eggs that make noise when you shake them (a favorite from her music class!). 

We went to Church at 8 and Gabriella saw a few of her friends from the library so being there not only with our family but some friends definitely put Church on her top places to visit :) She was getting a little antsy during a long homily so I had her out in the lobby where she was toddling around with other little kids and then she made eye contact through the glass doors with a little girl she has played with before named Sophia. She's a little older than Gabriella so all of a sudden, I hear "There's Gabriella!!!!" and next thing I know, Sophia and her dad are in the lobby too. It was really cute and funny.

After Mass, we hosted brunch for both sides of our family at our house. We keep it simple and buffet style which was relaxing and fun. I didn't take as many pictures as I had hoped (how did I not get any of Gabriella and Ben together???) but the few I did take are nice. We had an egg hunt in our yard and Gabriella didn't even know that there was candy in the eggs- she just liked collecting all the eggs in her basket!

It was a wonderful day with friends and family!
xo,
Mary

Weekend recap

We have had so many busy but fun filled weekends recently and this past weekend was no exception. On Saturday our Church hosted an Easter party for children so I brought Mom along for the fun :) It was incredibly cute- the youth group had craft tables and games while the women's club served coffee and breakfast. 

And because no Easter party is complete without a giant bunny and some eggs, the Easter bunny showed up. Honestly, I find the Easter bunny to be sort of creepy (I mean, a giant man-sized rabbit??) but Gabriella was bound and determined to meet that bunny. She didn't scream but she crept away after a minute:) 

On Sunday we spent the day in lower Connecticut for Ben's dedication. Sandy and Thierry's Church is a Congressional Church that does Baptism once the child has an understanding of the Church and instead does a dedication service for infants. It was sweet and special and Ben looked as dapper as ever in his white suit! He is just the chubbiest and most cuddly baby. 

As always, it was wonderful to have everyone together to celebrate a sweet baby. Now it's on to Easter planning!! 

xo,

Mary 

Weekend fun

We had a busy but fun weekend. On Friday night, we caught up with friends over dinner and drinks. We went out after  the kids went to bed so it was nice to be able to catch up and laugh kid-free. Saturday started bright and early with helping Diane and Alex move into their first apartment! We are so happy for them and seeing their apartment come together; filled with a mix of hand-me-down furniture and little things they've saved brought back so many memories of our first apartments! 

On Saturday evening we had our annual corned beef cook-off with some of our best friends. We've been doing this since we moved back to Connecticut and had a lot of laughs thinking about how it's evolved... The first years started with dinner and ended at a local bar, seeing who could actually drink Jaeger bombs, last year was our first with kids and both girls were little babies, and now this year we have toddlers who chased each other around. How things change!!

We had a quiet and relaxing family day on Sunday. We went out to breakfast and the diner made Gabriella a GIANT pancake shaped like Mickey Mouse. She loved it :) 

After that huge breakfast, we decided to go hiking in the afternoon. The weather was gorgeous and it was so nice to get some fresh air. We came across a farm and the owners invited us to come over so Gabriella could see the horses. It was the first time she's seen a large animal in person and it was so awesome! She was amazed! 

Happy Tuesday!

xo,

Mary

Five on Friday!!

Happy Friday! We had an exiting week here with Gabriella taking her first steps! She is such a cautious little thing and approaches every milestone the same way- she does it by accident first and then spends a week or so thinking about it and deciding if it's safe. She took another 2 little steps this evening but besides that has been cautiously holding on and reaching as far as she can to get to another stable object. It really is the cutest thing ever :)

1. Sippy Cups
I am pretty sure we own every single brand of sippy cup on the planet. We have one child and a whole kitchen drawer filled with a variety of cups, lids, straws, handles, etc. And 95% of them are never used. We have had 2 favorites, both with pros and cons. The first one that we use a lot is the Nuby cup that comes with 2 different tops, both are soft silicone, one is closer to a bottle nipple and the second is more like a classic sippy cup.

 

This cup has been a favorite around here but the downside is that even the "stage 2" top is very bottle-like. We still use this first thing in the morning and at bedtime but would like to move away from it. The second cup that has worked well is actually the classic tupperware brand cup. 

This cup is great; it is a classic sippy cup with no flow regulation so it actually has made Gabriella learn to drink properly. The only down side is that it is not no-spill so putting it in the diaper bag doesn't work and when she throws it, it definitely makes a mess. Then last week, one of my favorite go-to bloggers, Christina, wrote about the Munchkin Miracle 360 sippy cup. I kept it in the back of my mind and then just happened to see one when I went to buy diapers this week. I tossed it in the cart and decided to give it a try. Not to sound insane because I am declaring my love of a sippy cup, but it is amazing. Toddlers have to drink out of it like a regular cup, but the special top prevents them from getting flooded with water and it is no-spill. It's under $5 and worth every penny :)

 

2. Brick fireplace thoughts
We have a floor to ceiling brick fireplace in our den that we absolutely love. It makes the room seem so big and cozy at the same time. It is dark though and recently I've seen lots of DIY guides to whitewashing brick and the finished product looks gorgeous. All the guides I've read seem very easy and the cost is extremely low (usually less than $20!). Maybe I've been watching too many episodes of Fixer Upper but I am really thinking about this. Although I will say, I am a complete chicken when it comes to big changes like this so maybe it will never happen. We'll see.

Our fireplace

3. Minivan 
We recently did a little car swapping and took over my sister-in-law's minivan and our nephew will be taking Gianni's Saab. The minivan is super comfortable and has a ton of great features but of course, it did prompt some teasing from my siblings.  But luckily videos like this exist :) Cheers to all of my fellow minivan moms

4. Weekend fun
We have a full weekend ahead. Tonight we are having dinner with some friends that we haven't seen in awhile (even though they live 2 miles away!), tomorrow evening we are having our annual corned beef dinner cook-off with some other friends, and in between we are helping Diane and Alex move into their first apartment! Yay! (The cheering is happiness for them but also cheers for the excuse to dump boxes of extra wine glasses, old furniture, and basically everything in our basement in their apartment :))

5. This week's photos

Happy Friday!!

xo,

Mary
 

First Steps

Yesterday at the library, Gabriella took her first two independent steps! She has been so close for so long- standing up without holding on, cruising along furniture and walls, and lunging from one thing to the next. She was in music class and was holding my hand while standing up. Then all of a sudden, she let go and took 2 little steps towards a chair. I cried, the other moms clapped, and Gabriella wasn't sure what had happened :) I was able to get a little video of her trying again at home; it's not the best video because as soon as she sees the phone, nothing else matters :)

Last week's visit to the assisted living home for stories and music with the residents was adorable. The residents were thrilled to have a bunch of babies and toddlers crawling and running around and all of the kids were so silly. Gabriella took to one woman and was holding on to her wheelchair and "dancing". The woman was laughing so hard and we all got a kick out of it. I wasn't able to get any photos or videos but Gianni was able to get this video of Gabriella dancing the other morning- the girl loves to shake it :)

Happy Thursday!
xo,
Mary

Five on Friday!

Happy first Friday of March!! Typically March is one of my least favorite months, because it is usually filled with sloppy,wet snow and cold weather but this year is starting out really nice! Fingers crossed that it sticks!

1. Book love

I have been wanting to read this book for a while and was so excited to find it in our library this week! It has received great reviews and I can't wait to get started. I will definitely let you know what I think once I get done!

2. Necklaces 

Gabriella is getting some new teeth in and has been a bit of a pistol! She is past all the chew toys that helped when she got her first teeth in, so I decided to use some wooden beads and make her a necklace. She loves accessories these days (you'd think I am talking about a 12 year old) and will constantly grab at anyone else wearing a necklace so I figured it was worth a try to see if she would like one for herself. She loves it! She chews on it a little bit, but for the most part she just loves wearing it. It was easy to make so I may put a few in my etsy shop!

3. Spoons and forks 

I mentioned the other day that we were working on introducing Gabriella to spoons and forks. Just this week she decided that she loves her spoon and fork and wants to use them always. She sort of haphazardly stabs around her tray or bowl until she get something and then will eat. And as you can see some of it gets in her mouth :) What can I say, we are a work in progress!

4. Free photos 

I love free stuff :) Download the shutterfly app for your phone and they are currently running a promotion on free, unlimited 4x4 or 4x6 photos. All you pay for shipping!

5. Muffins 

This week I made some cinnamon muffins during naptime and halfway through mixing the ingredients, I realized we were out of eggs. I grabbed one of Gabriella's puréed apple pouches and used that instead. They turned out really really good! In fact I think I'm going to try them again, this time using different flavors of pouches. I'll let you know how they turn out!!

Today our library is having a baby and toddler reading and music class at a local nursing home so the residents can read to the babies. We are going and I am sure it is going to be adorable! 

Have a great weekend!!

xo,

Mary