Easter Weekend... A Week Late...

We spent Easter Weekend at my parents in NH.  It was a nice break from all the craziness here in NY and MiniM.E. had a blast.

The weekend BEFORE Easter, we went to an Easter Egg Hunt in Malta... but somehow the photos never made it to the computer, so a quick flashback...

MiniM.E. and my parents (especially Gram) are inseparable... so when we're there I usually feel like I have few photo opportunities.  I expected to come home with nothing but this photo to show for our trip:

MiniM.E. got some bandages from Dr. Gram

But this time around we did lots of fun things as a family and there was plenty of time to spend with MiniM.E.

The first day we were there, we drove down to IKEA (not so fun for MiniM.E.) and stopped at the Boston Aquarium on the way back (VERY fun for MiniM.E.)

watching the seals

 We gave Gram a break (to work on Easter dinner...) and took a Mommy-Daughter trip to the Monkey Around Playground:

And Daddy met us for the weekend and we met up with C. & H. at the NH Wild day where there were lots of wild animals, and MiniM.E.'s favorite activity, fly fishing!

By far, the best part of the weekend was when Daddy and Grumpy put up the trampoline...

Sunday morning we went to church, dressed in our Easter best (after a 30 minute tantrum).

van photo-- I was worried the dress would come off RIGHT AFTER church 

sunny yard photo!

jumping "like a jelly-fish"!

After church, we opened the Easter Basket:

visited Auntie Jen's condo to see her puppy and her kitty:

and had yet another Easter Egg Hunt:

Thanks for having us Gram & Grumpy!  We had a great weekend!!

What We've Been Up To

The weather has been beautiful lately and we've been spending as much time as possible outside.

feeding ducks at the park

petting the "puppies" with a friend at the park

all day at the playground

pumping on the swing

playing in the yard with E.

BBQ with baby O.

car trip with E.

with A. at the Peerless Pool Playground

Of course, in typical upstate New York fashion, one day it was 80 and the next it snowed... perfect weather for an Easter Egg hunt with our playgroup.

decked out in ears 

hunting eggs in the snow

 Wednesday we left for NH and will be here through the weekend.

HAPPY EASTER!

Spring is Finally Here!

We celebrated by spending lots of time outside at Congress Park with friends on Wednesday and Thursday.  The ducks sure were happy to see us!!

Yesterday we saw some April showers and spent the day playing inside.  After two days of playing outside, MiniM.E. seemed happy to have a relaxing day.

Our Weekend in Photos

Saturday we took advantage of the spring weather (Hello, low 40's!!) and drove up to Corinth to take part in the Maple Open House Weekend at Maple Valley Farm.

Despite the oodles of mud and melting snow, it was a nice activity to get us out of the house.  We were a little disappointed with the bee exhibit (the only thing MiniM.E. was excited about- seeing real bees!), which ended up being a few poster boards about bees.  The kids' play area also left a lot to be desired- it was just a few upturned milk crates, a video and a few blocks.  

Fortunately the food was good (none of us had pancakes but I had a fantastic maple cinnamon bun!) and they had a hayride that MiniM.E. loved, a pony ride and some goats to pet.

We also toured the Sugar Shack, but the process of making maple syrup is not so exciting for a two-year-old.

pretzel on a hayride!

pony ride

watching the goats

hayride #2!

It was nice to get out and enjoy the fresh air.  We spent the afternoon downtown taking in more spring weather.

I can't say anything for Sunday because I couldn't keep anything down and spent most of the day in bed.

So I'm calling yesterday another weekend day... just because weekends are better than weekdays!

MiniM.E. and I grew some beans last week.  Need an activity to do with your kids (or by yourself? because seriously, I think I am more excited about it than MiniM.E.)?? Grow some beans.  Most. Rewarding. Project. Ever.

This plant grew in 5 days.  And we saw roots sprouting after just one!

so proud!

our little plant today

Yesterday the spring weather came back (after a day of rain and temps in the low 30s yesterday) and it was sunny (windy) and in the mid 40's!  MiniM.E. and I walked over to the playground down the street.  Despite more muck and guck and giant puddles, we had a great time.

Maybe it really IS spring now.

Where Have We Been? (Part 2)

Every few days the past couple weeks we've gotten a teaser of spring.  A day in the 40s or 50s.  But so far each nice day has been followed by days of snow or freezing temps or a morning of snow and sleet (like today).  I think I've been saying this for months, but we are SO DONE WITH WINTER.  Come on spring!!!

We have utterly exhausted all indoor activities for toddlers in the Saratoga area.  MiniM.E. has also lost interest in the majority of toys we have for her to play with inside.  Of course, the few things that I cannot stand playing with still make a daily appearance (oh, inventor of play doh accessories: why make things kids can't use by themselves?)

In addition to our cabin fever, I have reinstated the NAP.  Most days this is achieved by conveniently being in the car around 2pm.  Other days I throw in a DVD from the library on repeat and make MiniM.E. lie on the couch with me until she falls asleep from boredom.  This has its benefits and drawbacks.  Benefit: I get a nap.  Drawback: MiniM.E. is up until all hours of the night.  Conclusion: She will play with Daddy in the evening- NAP WINS!!

I have NOT been good at planning fun seasonal art projects.  I have NOT been good at finding fun new activities to keep her entertained during the day.  Most days I try to keep us busy out of the house in the morning and muddle through the afternoon.

We have been spending a lot of time out with friends.

This has NOT been a good month for feeling like Mom-of-the-Year.  Forced naptime.  Unhealthy diet (hello sharing-sized boxes of cheddar bunnies and mac and cheese).  No fun projects or activities.

lots of "quiet time activities"

BUT, I have an excuse.

Lazyness + naps + diet of unhealthy junk food like Pop-Tarts + going to sleep as soon as MiniM.E. is out + no photos and blog posts can only mean one thing...

MiniM.E. is going to be a big sister!!  We are beyond thrilled (though my level of excitedness will increase dramatically when the first trimester symptoms fade).  MiniM.E. can hardly contain herself- I am 100% sure she is the most excited of the three of us.  She is constantly referring to the baby as "her baby" and has already declared it a brother.  Despite her excitement, she refuses to make me a cute Baby#2 is on the way announcement video or even let me take a photo of her with an ultrasound picture.  Oh well...

Crazily, Baby#2 has the same due date as MiniM.E. so she's getting just what she wanted for her birthday.

We're past week 12 and I was hoping to be gleefully entering the honeymoon phase of pregnancy. Instead I'm still nauseated, starving, cursing heartburn, rocking the stretchy maternity pants over my Pop-Tart-Bump and counting minutes until I can fall into bed at night.

It's all okay though because I'm growing another itty bitty awesome human.  MiniM.E. will totally understand when she looks back at the start of 2014 and there are only seven photos of her, right?