So spring has sprung. Matthew has decided that outside is great. He got his first skinned knee. He was really cute too. He fell down, cried for just a minute, asked me to kiss his knee, and continued playing.
Such a trooper.
William is starting to sit up and it is a whole new world. Matthew is not very pleased with this new accomplishment and pushes Will down frequently. Will also is grabbing for more toys, another annoyance for Matthew. He is adjusting to his developing brother.
We planted flowers, I planted 2 trees in large terracotta planters and 3 bulbs in another planter. To keep Matthew occupied during this process, he got his very own "build your own sunflower" kit. It comes with dirt, sunflower seeds, and a trowel (a small kids sized one). Side note, I did not realize sunflowers grow from the sunflower seeds you eat. It was interesting to me.
Anyway, as I was planting my bulbs, Matthew was trowling his dirt and shoving his seeds into the dirt. I looked up a few minutes later and saw to my surprise Mathew eating dirt. The kid sized trowel does look very similar to a fork, but to eat dirt. I give the kid steak, he throws it on the floor, but give him a trowl and some dirt, and he's in business.
Oh well...

Guess William or Matthew

Can anyone guess who's who?







In the top picture, William is on the bottom, Matthew is on top and has the duck.



In the Christening gown picture, Matthew is on the white background, William is on the red.
In the last, Matthew is eating carrots and William has the spoon.

We had William's Christening in late February. It was very nice. He wore the same gown Matthew wore. It is beautiful. The little bonnet barely fit his big head though. We shoved it on for a few pictures then took it off for fear of squeezing his brains out in the middle of mass.
Everything was great except Will's Godmother was not able to make it due to school and work. We totally understand, but she was missed :) We love you Elizabeth!

Here's some pictures:

sledding

In late February, we had a pretty decent snow and decided Matthew should sled. At first he was totally apprehensive, but as time went on and he got used to Chris pulling him around in the sled, he braved down a small hill. He loved it!
William felt so left out, we thought he should give it a try too. The outcome was priceless. Here are some pictures. Just look at Will's face. So funny, but Matthew was really protective and held on tight.





So then Chris had to use the snow blower to clear the driveway and Matthew had to participate. I was terrified of limb loss, but all went well. Chris was just happy Matthew was interested in something more manly than the vacuum cleaner.

March is birthday month, AKA March Madness. Chris and Matthew have back to back birthdays so we do a whole lot of celebrating. Since we had just done Will's Christening, we decided not to do a big party. Chris' mom came in town and I made a cake. Yes, I really made it and I iced it too, which is why it looks they way it does, but it was made with love and that is all that really counts.









William loves balloons. He is absolutely fascinated by them. He looks like a drunk lunatic with his party hat sliding off his head, like he spent the night partying with the balloon in the French Quarter.




Matthew loves singing "Happy Birthday" but it comes out "Ha bur da to yew" He sings it frequently.

We had a great time.

Mardi Gras

We were in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

The second night we were there, my sister had a get together at her house for friends and family to come visit. It was great to see everyone. It seems like my group of friends is having it's own little "baby boom" as most of us are all having kids at the same time. We had 9 or 10 kids from 3 months (William) to 3 years running around. It was really cute to watch them all interact. I really missed my friends and family so it was wonderful we could all get together.

The next day Chris' mom had a little party at her condo so all of her friends could come see the kids. She pretended it was so they could see Chris and me, but we know the truth. Nothing like showing off your grandkids, and we think it's really cute. My mom came too, so we had 2 proud grandmom's there.

Thank goodness Chris' aunt lives on the parade route because I don't know how people go out there with children and don't have a home base. I guess it's easier when they are still in diapers as they can just pee and you don't have to worry about finding a bathroom or getting arrested for letting your kid pee on a tree.

We had so much fun. Matthew was there last year but he was little and really didn't participate in it. This year he was dancing when the bands played and was raising his arm up and yelling "hey" in his precious little boy voice. A rider on a horse handed him a doubloon and he just held onto it like it was a piece of gold.
So cute.

William liked all the commotion too, but eventually fell asleep at the first parade in the baby sling. Skylar came with us for the first parade too and it was really good to see her. Matthew loves her so much.




We took our big old double stroller out to the Endymion parade route the Saturday before Mardi Gras and showed off our kids. Matthew had a meltdown and we left before the parade. We parked over a mile away so on our journey back to the car, we passed by all the floats and bands as they were lined up on their way to the route and we got to see the GoGo's up close and all the floats. Matthew really liked that.

Sunday was a big day. Chris rode in Bacchus that night so I was on my own with the kids (of course I had Chris' mom, aunt, cousin, and 2 of Chris' mom's friends to help me). Thank goodness too because it was hectic.
I am somewhat ashamed, but I put Matthew on a leash. They don't call it a leash to make you feel better about it. They call it a baby harness, but we all know what it is. He runs away from me and all I could envision was him getting kidnapped or run over by a horse or float. I leashed him. I actually don't feel nearly as bad about it anymore. It kept him safe and we had a better time. Everyone took turns "walking him" and he felt rather independent as he thought he was just leading the way. William slept in the stroller most of the time.

We got to see Chris ride on the float and he was able to stop long enough to give Matthew a teddy bear. I still don't think Matthew believes us that it was really Daddy on the float (he was wearing a mask and hat costume).





So it was a good vacation. Tiring as neither child slept well being out of their beds. The day after we got home we sent the kids to daycare and Chris and I slept and watched mindless TV all day. It was the best day of the vacation :)

Flight from ????

Things have been wild and insane and busy. I have started my new job at CHOP and love it. We are busy with 2 kids.
We did go to New Orleans to visit over Mardi Gras. The plane ride down was great fun. You hear about kids reacting opposite to drowsy medications and becoming hyper, but you really never get the true meaning of that until you are stuck on a plane for 3 hours with a cranky, screaming, hyperactive 2 year old on a Benadryl high.
No one was happy. Matthew screamed for 2 hours. Most everyone around us was nice saying they have been in the same situation and not to worry about it. Except for the man right in front of me. He found absolutely no humor in the situation whatsoever. Halfway through the flight, when I had both kids on my lap trying to protect William from Matthew's thrashing, the jerk pushed his seat all the way back crushing my 2 kids into my chest. Chris and I, as usual, just looked at one another and laughed.
Matthew finally stopped screaming as we began our initial descent, just in time for his ears to start hurting ~ More screaming, but at least time all the kids on the plane were screaming because everyone's ears hurt.
The plane ride back up was better. we used Tylenol instead of Benadryl ~ He slept the entire flight. it was lovely.