Spring!

It's cold... Now it's warm! Oh NO! Now it's cold again. Such is spring. It makes me so antsy to get outside and play, which we were able to do a bit last week and this weekend. Now it is cold again, and we head to TN this week, where there is promise of more cold weather. But I do love Easter, and that is right around the corner. YAY!

Everything here has been going well... growing fast and staying happy. Poor Bren had a nasty virus when we got home from Karen's wedding, that put him in the hospital for a couple days, so that was no fun. But he has rebounded quickly and is just like nothing ever happened. Thank goodness!

Ava has been smiling up a storm lately. Oh how I love those toothless grins.

You can almost see the spot where a tooth is just about to pop through the bottom gums in the above picture. She's been drooly doo and gnawing on her fingers.

YUMMY!

Her eyes have pretty much decided to be brown, just like her brothers. Guess I'm the minority in this family with my blue eyes...

The boys are learning to ride their bikes. Nicky is doing great and gets the pedaling thing most of the time. Bren, on the other hand, must be pushed to go anywhere.

Bren is great on the scooter, when he's not aiming to run me over. HA!

So, that's the update for now. Had a couple of cute videos, but they're not uploading and I've got other things to do. They might come later. Happy Easter everyone!

This Morning

Nicky and Bren were in the kitchen and I was in the living room with Ava.

Nicky: MOM! Bren pooped!

Me: Bren, come in here and get your diaper changed.

Nicky: BUT HE DOESN'T HAVE A DIAPER ON!

Me: WHAAAAAAAAT?????!!!!!

That's all I have to say about that.

The end has come...

The end of my maternity leave, that is. I have mixed emotions about the whole thing really. I really enjoy my work, so I'm looking forwrd to getting back into it, but I'm worried about how crazy busy life will be with a full time job and 3 kids and all that goes along with it. I need to take some time this weekend to plan out dinners and get some stuff in my freezer. The most stressful time of day is early evening, when I'm trying to break myself away from my work and making dinner while hungry boys circle me like sharks. So, anything I can do to alleviate that madness will make everyone in this house happier. I just have to remember how lucky I am to be able to work from home with somewhat flexible hours. I'm keeping Ava home with me for her first year, so she can help me get my work done. Just think of all she will learn about corporate travel management and procurment before she can even walk! Ha ha!

In other news, Nicky had ear surgery yesterday to remove a tube that had been put in when he was a baby. It had started to come out and was lodged in there crooked or something and has been constantly infected for the past year. So they had to go in and remove the tube and plug up the hole. He now has stitches behind his ear and is quite proud of them. Yesterday, when we picked Bren up from daycare, he was showing off his stitches to all of his friends. He was a great patient and the nurses couldn't stop bragging over what an angel he was. Only bad part was the fit he threw when he was coming off of the anesthesia...a nasty potential side effect apparently. Luckily (or maybe unlucky, now that I think about it) we were at home for that ordeal. This morning he told me that he had ear drums in his ear and they hurt. Yay for pain medicine! Poor boy.

I hope you all are well! Get those blogs updated when you get a chance. Aunt Nita has been showing us all up with her updates. I love the pictures you've posted Aunt Nita!

Of course I'll end with a couple of pictures:

Ava giving us a little grin:

Getting ready to yodel!

Watiting for the performance:

Sweet brothers laying on the couch together:

Imediately after this picture was taken, Bren fell off the couch and said, "Oh MAN!".

TTFN (ta ta for now)!

Time Flies

 Can't believe Ava is already a month old! Been enjoying my time off work, but feel a bit lazy, even though there is still so much to do. I start working again in mid-feb. Thank goodness for being able to work from home.

Anyway, here's a couple pics of Ava:

And now for a couple of videos... Remember in the movie Dirty Dancing at the end when the mother say's "I think she gets this from me"? Well.....

Monkey See, Monkey Do (crazy boys):

Shake It Like Jello!:

Oh! one more thing... Did you see Aretha Franklin's hat when she sang for the inauguration? Ava is such a little trendsetter already!

One busy month!

 Carving lessons w/Granddad during Thanksgiving visit.

Bren fell asleep at the dinner table during Thanksgiving dinner.

The proud birthday boy turned 2 on Dec 14th!

The boys got bikes from their Gramma and Papa for Christmas!

Cheerio Elfie was back this year and found some pretty sneaky observation points, including the lamp over the dining table and on one of the blades of the ceiling fan! Of course he left on Chrismas eve to go back to the North Pole. We sure will miss him until next year...

Ava Noelle made her arrival just in time for Christmas and we were able to come home on Chrismas Eve.

Christmas morning

A proud big brother taking a look at his new baby sister

Thanks so much to Karen who was able to come visit for 10 days and take care of us and spend Christmas with us. Too bad we had to send her home with a cold. Hope you feel better soon Karen!!!