Hop-Hop

Where do I begin??? We had a wonderful Easter weekend! On Friday night we celebrated at the Allen's house with dinner and Easter baskets. It was fun to see Leo and Ellie interact and open their baskets. They are so cute together! On Saturday, we went back to our old neighborhood for an Easter egg hunt. It was FREEZING outside so we had to really bundle the kids up. Leo loved running around looking for eggs or Hop-Hop's as he calls them. After he found each egg he wanted to open it right away and eat whatever was inside! We came home and dyed Easter eggs. Leo loved dunking the eggs in the dye. After we were done, Kevin decided to do a little science experiment and add some baking power to the vinegar mix and make lots of bubbles which Leo thought was amazing! On Sunday, Leo woke up early and came down and found his Easter basket. He pointed to it right away with a big smile. He only wanted to look at one thing at a time. Then we had a little egg hunt in our house. He was running all around with his Elmo Easter basket looking for eggs and eating M&M's and jelly beans at 7 am. What a great breakfast! He was sad after he found all the eggs and wanted more to Hop-Hop's! I made a yummy brunch and we played outside for awhile before getting ready for church. We met my family at Westwood and listened to a wonderful Easter service. Leo made it through the music and the first part of the message before Kevin took him out to the lobby where he could talk and play. They joined us again at the end. After Leo's nap, we had a delicious dinner at my parents house and then went outside for another egg hunt in my parents backyard. By this time, Leo was a pro at finding the eggs and eating the candy!!! He ran from egg to egg. Then he got a very special Easter present from my Dad- an old firetruck petal car! My Dad bought this a few years ago and restored it for Leo. It was a huge hit! Leo loved sitting in it and pushing it. He can't quite get the petals but it won't be long. He also opened an Easter basket from my parents and played with his new cars. We went for a long walk and ended the weekend with strawberry shortcake. It was so fun to watch Leo get excited about the holiday and participate in the activities. Thanks to everyone who hosted us and made things so special for Leo. What a great Easter!

Moving Day!

We moved into our new house on March 16th. One month later, we are still unpacking, organizing and getting settled. We love having more space and are enjoying all of the decisions we spent 6 months making! Our new neighbors are so friendly and have brought over cookies, brownies, flowers and gift baskets! Leo is adjusting well and likes having his own playroom and an unfinished basement to run and play in. We are waiting for it to warm up so we can pour the garage floor, driveway, sidewalk, paint the house, install the stone and sod the yard...The inside of the house is finished and beautiful but the outside needs some work! Our yard is mud and our driveway is rock. Hopefully the warm weather will be here soon and we can get started on the outside. Our actual moving day was a success thanks to our family and friends who spent their entire Saturday helping us move, clean and unpack. We couldn't have done it without them! We are still trying to rent out our townhouse and hoping to find someone soon!!! We have gotten a few new pieces of furniture and finally said goodbye to our folding table we were using as a kitchen table. If you live in the area, please stop by and visit us sometime, we would love to have you! P.S. I am having a hard time downloading pictures for some reason...it's either our new internet or blogspot. we are working on it!

Proud Mom Moment...

We have been working with Leo on saying "Thank you" to people when they give him something or help him with something. He doesn't know how to say the words so he does the sign language form of thank you. He is getting pretty good at doing it on his own witout being told. Well, today we were at the doctor for his MMR shot. It is a painful one and as the nurse said "it stings pretty bad." Poor guy. So I laid him on the table and the nurse gave him the shot and he started to SCREAM. I felt so bad for him. I held him as he cried and cried. The nurse pulled out some stickers and gave him a train sticker. He stopped crying, looked at her and said "thank you" in sign language. I couldn't believe that in the middle of his pain, he remembered to say thank you. I wanted to cry! What a sweet little boy. I love him to pieces!!!

Pack 'em up, move 'em out!

The time has finally come, one week from today we close on our new house! The entire process started 6 months ago when we decided to buy a lot and build a house. We have spent countless hours designing, discussing and deciding. Oh the decisions! I had no idea there would be so many decisions!!! But now that we are at the point where everything is in and finished, we are so happy with the final result, and are very excited to move in! Our new house is finished but we have just begun the work at our townhouse! My parents came over today and helped pack boxes and entertain Leo. We got a lot done but there is still a lot to do. I am trying to "purge" as I pack and get rid of things I haven't used in the 5 years we have lived here. It is overwhelming to think of the amount of work that still needs to be done...In addition to the packing, we are trying to rent out our townhouse and host showings for potential renters. We are hoping to find renters that will start April 1st. If you know anyone looking for a townhouse in Chaska, send them our way!

Although we are so excited to move into a house with more space, a yard to play in and a neighborhood full of kids, it will be hard to leave our townhouse. Kevin and I bought this house when we were first engaged and have had a lot of wonderful memories here. It will always be the first house we shared together and they home we brought Leo to after he was born. We have made wonderful friends with our neighbors and have grown to love living in Chaska. We are only moving 10 minutes away but it will be a big change for us. We wouldn't change anything about the time we spent in this house and are grateful for the memories we have.

Let the Sun Shine...

We spent a week with my parents in Naples, Florida. It was heaven. The weather was beautiful and we spent every minute of daylight outside. Leo woke up in the morning saying "Let's Go" and he would run outside to push his bubble mower or stroller around the sidewalk. He came inside to eat and nap and would head right back out. My parents were staying in a beautiful development that had a clubhouse with several pools, golf courses, a playground and a yummy restaurant. We spent a lot of time at the pool and went the the beach a few times. Kevin and I even got away for a night alone on Marco Island. We went to the Naples Zoo and saw many different types of animals. Kevin and my dad got a round of golf in and my mom and I spent a morning shopping in Naples. We went to some fabulous restaurants and were usually home by 7:30 for Leo's bedtime! Leo slept great and loved all the attention he got from Ammie and Papa (their new names from Leo). He LOVED the water and had fun jumping into the pool over and over again! It felt great to relax and spend the days being in the warm sunshine. We were very sad to leave and then we were welcomed with a snowstorm and 2 feet of snow in Minnesota :( A big thank you to my parents for hosting us and for taking such good care of Leo. Can we come back next year???

Valentines Day Party

One of the things I miss about being a teacher is the holiday parties! I loved the crafts, the food and the excitement of a classroom party. This year I decided to throw our own Valentines Day party- toddler style! On Monday morning we invited a few friends over and decorated cookies, made Valentines and played with toys. I filled the sensory table with pink heart marshmallows and the kids had a great time playing and eating lots of sweets.

Catching up...

We've had a busy start to 2011! The weather has been less than desirable, making outside activities impossible so we have found lots of fun inside activities to fill our time! Today we went to the zoo and had a great time seeing the indoor animals and walking through the Tropics exhibit breathing in the humid air. Leo was interested in seeing the animals but was even more interested in eating an ice cream cone and running up and down the ramps in the zoo. He also liked playing with the cars in the gift shop :) Did we need to drive all the way to the zoo to do that???

Our house is really coming along and we have set a closing date for March 18th. We were there tonight to check on the progress and saw the cabinets, doors and hardwood floors installed. It is so fun to see it all come together. It has been quite the process- there have been so many decisions to make!!! I didn't realize that we would have to choose every detail and that there would be so many choices. I started out trying to make all of the decisions myself but got VERY overwhelmed and enlisted the help of a decorator. She is amazing! She is able to narrow down the choices for us and help us decide what we really want. We are so excited to move into a bigger space and feel settled. The cabinets in our townhouse are over flowing and something falls out every time I open a door. It will be nice to have space to spread out!

We spent the past weekend in Houston at my cousin Erin's wedding. It was wonderful. The weather was beautiful, in the 70's, and the wedding was perfect. My entire family was there and most of the extended family on my mom's side. I was ANXIOUS about the flight, the hotel stay and the big events with a 18 month old but it all went smoothly. Leo was busy busy on the plane but was good and never cried. He spent most of the flight eating snacks, playing with gears and cars, doing stickers and playing peek-a- boo with auntie Molly who was sitting behind us. He did great in the hotel and loved running around exploring. He even ate dinner in a booster seat on the bed in the hotel room! I brought instant Mac and Cheese and made it in the hotel microwave, yummy! My cousin found a babysitter for us to use both nights so we put him down before the rehearsal dinner and were able to enjoy a kid free night! It was great to be able to chat with people and enjoy ourselves. On Saturday, he came to the wedding with us but Kevin brought him back after the ceremony and put him to bed at the hotel and he stayed with the babysitter while we ate, danced and had fun at the reception. It was such a beautiful wedding and we had such a great time. Leo slept most of the way home. I think it took me more time to pack and unpack than the time that we were actually gone. I have learned that traveling with a child is a "working vacation"! Now we are getting ready for our next flight in two weeks when we visit my parents in Florida for a week- yeah for the beach!!!

Sorry about the crazy mix of pictures! Something weird has happened with my blog and it won't let me organize or label my pictures...I'm working on it! Also, I do have more pics from the wedding, they are on my mom's camera so I will post those later...