Like Father, Like Son

Ohh I have so many good intentions of posting but this is all you get for now..

Mount Vernon

One of the fun parts about living in the East is the history that surrounds us. I grew up in New Jersey and had the opportunity of visiting many historical sites on field trips, etc and never really appreciated it until now. I hope my kids get the same opportunity. Anyway, we went to Mount Vernon last weekend which is the home/estate of George Washington. It was amazing - and I didn't even get to see all the interesting stuff! Our good friend Alicia attempted to take an updated family picture for us. Let's just say the chiclets were not cooperating AT ALL that day, but we managed to get a few where we are all looking at the camera (SCORE!) It was a beautiful day and a beautiful place, we can't wait to go back and really spend time learning about what is there.

Maci and Norah are best friends for sure. So sweet.

What Does Ivan Think of Solids?

Yep, We Moved. Again.

Move #8. If you're lucky, I'll post pictures once I get this place looking in the flesh how it looks in my head. It's a process, but I am so impatient! PS. Be sure to scroll down to read Norah's birthday party post!

Norah's Birthday Party

Norah had a joint birthday party with her best friend Maci who is 4 days older than Norah. We met Maci and her Mom at the library back in July. When I spotted Alicia (Maci's Mom), I just knew she was LDS and it turns out we have A LOT in common. So much it's almost freaky. Joe calls us twinners. Anyway, we love them and we're so glad to have them as friends. So the birthday party was kind of crazy because we moved out of our apartment THAT MORNING. CRAZY! Luckily my parents and Grandma were in town and were life savers. Alicia put soo much work into the party and it turned out so fun for all the girls. I was in charge of decorations and Alicia was in charge of, well, everything else (thanks Alicia!) Enjoy!

The girls had fun making foam tiaras.

Poor Norah had fallen asleep in the car right before the party so she was pretty cranky in the beginning.

The girls and the cute cakes that Alicia slaved over. I made Norah's pettiskirt and it turned out to be a BEAST. One of those never again moments for sure. Well, after I make one for Maci that is.

Norah wasn't afraid, she bit right in!

Maci liked to lick hers. She is so funny.

After everyone left the girls had so much fun playing together and with their Daddy's.

This is a really funny family picture. It was such a busy day and I can tell we were all exhausted!

Ivan is 3.5 months old!

Here are some recent pictures of our sweet little man. He is so much fun. He loves to snuggle. He is a chunk, he weighs 15 pounds! Oh my goodness, I love him. And to think I was ever afraid of having a boy... He just melts my heart.
Joe's mother saved some of his childhood clothes (amazing, right?!) so we were excited to start putting them on Ivan. They are authentic retro, we love them all (thanks Diane!). Ivan looks so much like his Daddy, I love it.

Happy Birthday to Norah

Norah, a few minutes old.

a few hours old

Six Months

One Year


Two Years Old!

ok, the table isn't dirty, even though it looks like it is. i bought that coffee table from someone who i believe thought the paint on top would look like marble, but obviously failed. it's on my list to refinish (along with about 7 other things)! Cute girl though huh!

A few fun facts about Norah at 2 years:

- She weighs 25 pounds. She has absolutely no baby fat left on her! The belly, the cheeks, they're all gone. She's a little skinny minnie.

- She is funny. Hilarious. She loves to make people laugh. The last time I visited New Jersey, my sister found my Dad's journal. In one entry he wrote, "Lauren has a remarkable sense of humor for a five year old." It was kind of special to read that because it reminds me of Norah. I have had several people tell me how funny she is after spending some time with her. She's our little comedian.

- She talks. A lot. She says new words and sentences every day. A few weeks ago she came into my room and said "What are you doing, Mom?" It took me back because I think that was the first real question she has ever asked me. When we asked her what she wanted for her birthday she simply (and seriously) said, "Blue candy." She got it.

- She can do a somersault. After she did it all by herself for the first time, she took a bow. We have no idea where she learned how to bow.

- She is a sweet, sweet girl. She truly believes kisses make it "all better now." She doesn't like to see anyone sad. She is also getting really good at telling us how she feels, instead of screaming and throwing tantrums. When Daddy leaves for work, she hangs her head down and says, "I miss Dad."

- Her favorite movie is Charlotte's Web (she would watch it over and over again if we let her) and her favorite show is Curious George. She has a serious crush on George and thinks he is the funniest guy around.

Happy Birthday sweet girl, we love you so much!

August & September iPhone Pictures

Ivan..

There's our sweet Ivan in the ER. Our pediatrician sent us there on Sunday night. It had been 9 days since little Ivan had a bowel movement and they spent the entire night doing Xrays, ultrasounds and other tests to make sure there wasn't any serious problem. He was a trooper and was flirting and smiling at all the nurses. Everything came back normal, but he is still having issues and we're not sure why. Nothing we are trying works (fruit juice, Karo syrup, suppositories..) so we are going to take him to a specialist. Probably TMI for all of you and he will probably be really embarrassed to read this when he's older, but for journaling purposes.. Spending the night in the pediatric unit of the hospital made me think about how grateful I am to have healthy children. I never want to see my babies sick.

Such a goofy face but it really shows his personality. Love him! He turned three months this past week and is now 14 pounds of chunky love!

Cute smile!

Norah..

Norah started gymnastics and she loves it. I knew she would. Unfortunately I was in the hospital with Ivan and couldn't go watch her but Joe said she was in heaven. She's such a cutie pie. She is turning TWO this week! Ahh!
Family..

We discovered Reston Town Center last month. They have a live band perform every Saturday night. The Town Center is filled with upscale apartments and shopping. It's good clean family fun.

After the band we got some (real) Italian Ice and custard. Yum!

Norah and Daddy. They are buddies for sure. Did you know Red Robin has free refills on their ROOTBEER FLOATS?

That's all for now!

Grand Re-Opening

One of the biggest blessings we've found from moving so many times is that everywhere we go, we add friends to our already established circle of friends. While in Utah, we made some great friends. Two of which include Justin and Ashley. They are two of the nicest people I've met (seriously). So sweet. We love and miss them dearly. On August 24th Ashley gave birth to their tiny little son, Keaton, 10 weeks early. The little guy weighed just 2 lbs, 10 oz. Luckily, he has needed little intervention and is healthy. When I heard I immediately started trying to find something I could do to help them! I have wanted to re-open my Etsy shop for some time and this is just the push I needed to do it! So from now until Keaton goes home, 75% of all sales from my shop will go to Justin and Ashley. I know it won't make much of a difference in any financial situation they may be in, but my hope is that they can at least buy a few dinners (since I can't bring them any, darnit!) or some snuggly clothes for little Keaton.

Isn't he so precious and sweet?

So you'll have to head on over here and see if there is anything you fancy, for yourself, your little one or as a gift. Check back too because I'll soon be adding more things - more (exciting) scripture covers and even pillow covers!

Jersey

So, my much-needed vacation turned out to be a not-so-vacation. Day one was fabulous. We went down the shore and the girls had a blast. I don't remember day two but day three we welcomed a virus into the home and Tatum and Norah both got hit with it. Considering this is really only the second time Norah has really been sick, she didn't do well. Understandibly, she just really wanted to be held by me the entire time. Fevers, rashes, bodily fluids coming out from various ends of the body, it turned out to be a pretty tough week. Regardless, we loved being able to spend some time with my sister and her girls and we're happy to be home now. I can finally say that I'm finally settling in to a routine and feeling on top of my life rather than buried underneath it. PHEW. Here are a few pictures that I didn't take, luckily my Mom did.

Ivan is Two Months Old!

Two months, twelve pounds and as sweet as ever!

July's iPhone Pictures

Here are the monthly de-uploadtion (I just made that up) of the iPhone pictures.

Boys will be boys.

Sales guys doing their job. Anyone home?

Thanks to Joe's cousin Jenny for the AMAZING chocolate ice cream cake! Yum.

This is one of our favorite recent pictures of Norah. She was thrilled about the sandbox. See the shirt she's wearing? I made it. See, I told you I'd be posting something crafty. Ha.

Little bean looking cute. He has very expressive eyebrows but they are so blonde that they just look like dimples. Reminds me of a little cartoon character.

The bug crashed.

I'm DONE with classes and the kids and I are heading to Jersey for a week.
HOORAY!
{we'll miss you, Daddy}