Easter Sunday

Happy Friday, and congratulations! We've both made it to the end of Massive Easter Blog Week. Today is the last entry, and like the days previous, it will be a big one. So, buckle your seatbelt! Here we go...

Easter Morning

Easter morning was quite a thrill this year. It was the first year Brady semi-understood the deal, which meant when he saw that Easter basket, he made an excited beeline straight for it. The Easter Bunny was very generous this year, and he must know Brady and Brynne pretty well, because their baskets were Disney-themed! They were OH-so-excited to rip into them. Little did they know, this early morning (the Tods woke around 6am that day) would be unlike any other in their little lives so far...

Holy Saturday at Veranda

Every year right before Easter, we take Brady to Lancaster for the Annual Veranda Egg Hunt in my dad's neighborhood. In past years it has been bitterly cold, but this year it was held on the Saturday before Easter and we finally got some good weather. It came at the perfect time too, because Brady had been practicing his egg hunting skills in our backyard the day before, so he was primed and ready to go when the hunt took off! Baby Sister was determined not to miss out as well, and she was loving picking up eggs. We love it every year, but this was the best Veranda Egg Hunt yet!

Baby Sis was ready to go when we go there, but Brady was not quite sure what was going on yet.

The Tods (Finally) Meet the Easter Bunny

This was Brady's 3rd Easter and Brynne's 2nd, and I suddenly realized in the wee hours of the morning on Good Friday (when Miss B awoke us in the night) that neither of them had ever seen the Easter Bunny. What a tragedy! So, when morning arrived, I resolved to pack them up after egg painting and take them to see the "Boo Bunny", as they called him ("Blue Bunny" is a favorite character on a Disney show they both love). Daddy had to work, so I called Gaga F. to plead for assistance, and she was happy to tag along. Thus we headed for Bass Pro shops, where the visit and photo are as they should be--FREE! Luckily we got there right before the Big Man himself arrived, so we only had to wait in a short line for about 10 minutes. Brynne did well, but Brady started to get very hungry ("hangry" is more like it, he is his mother's son!) right at the end of the line before we got to the Bunny (they really shouldn't place a display of cheese curls next to the Easter Bunny--I blame them!), and what ensued, well, I'll let you see for yourself....

All well and good at this point sitting down. Brynne went first and she was fine...

Baby's First Egg Paint

Since I was off on Good Friday, I thought it would be the perfect time to introduce "the tods" (as I call them) to the good old fashioned art of Easter egg painting. I had especially been looking forward to it this year, as Brady is finally old enough to understand it (to an extent), and he LOVES art projects. As I was boiling the eggs and preparing the paint cups, the anticipation was growing! I squared him away in a makeshift smock (a garbage bag with arm and head holes), and so it began...


"Ok Mom, what's the deal here?"

Unexpected Sick Day

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I thought "Both kids finally seem to be feeling a little better, this might actually be a healthy week!" That optimism lasted all of about 90 minutes. I had barely swallowed my coffee and was meeting with my assistant to discuss the week's outlook when my cell phone rang at 9:45am. It was Brynnie's teacher calling to tell me that Brynne was vomiting repeatedly, someone needed to pick her up right away, and she was banned from the daycare for 24 hours. My poor baby! So much for a "healthy week"! Her Daddy hurried to her rescue, I came home to do what mommies do when their babies are sick, back to work Daddy went, and now here we are...

I know she's sick, but I can't help smiling. It's not every day I get to have a peaceful snuggle like this with her anymore. She's getting big and is eager to explore her world nowadays, so sleeping on Mommy's lap is becoming a thing of the past!

Unfortunately this means no Easter pics today. I have tons of good ones to show you, but sick babies do not  allow much time for photo editing!

Hopefully tomorrow, so check back soon!

Happy Monday!

#TBT - Brady's 1st Easter, 2012

Happy #TBT! Today we are remembering the Easter of 2 years ago, right before I got preggo with Brynniedoll and around the time Brady was 6 or 7 months old. It was only 24 months ago, but I can barely remember it at all (prolonged loss of REM sleep will do that to you), so I am glad I have these pics to prove it happened! What a little goober he was, right?! Enjoy!

Outside!

I'm calling this post "outside!" because that seems to be all I ever hear anymore from the mouths of babes. As soon as they wake up and as soon as they get home, it's "outside!" from both of them! I am fairly certain that Brady would live out in the backyard if we let him. He has lost interest in all other things (except, perhaps, cupcakes), and only wants to be outside all the time. He loves it so much that tantrums ensue when it's time to come in at night. He doesn't even care about eating, and if he MUST eat, he wants to take a cup of snacks and his sippy cup OUTSIDE! with him. Because Baby Sis must do everything her brother does, there is no longer just one tiny tot running amuck in our backyard, but two....

On the move. He loves his hat.

#TBT - Sibling Day

Happy Sibling Day! We are throwing back some sibling goodies to celebrate. Jason and I love our siblings more than they will probably ever know. They are our other halves, and without them, we wouldn't be ourselves. There are some things in life that only your sibling can understand, and I for one am super thankful to have a handsome, smart and successful brother with whom to share that bond (even though I spent my childhood pining for a sister :), hehe). I am lucky enough to have a wonderful sister in-law as well who is always there for us no matter what! Garrett and Courtney are about to have a BIG year getting married to awesome people, and we couldn't be more excited to be part of their weddings!

PSU vs. UMD Men's Basketball, December 2010

Baaaaaa!

Here it is, the "springiest" of all SPRING blog posts! Ha. Last April, when Brynnie was just 6 weeks old and Brady was about 19 months, we were invited out to Aunt Jamie's family farm to see the sheep. It was springtime, some babies had just been born and we all thought Brady would enjoy it. Well, it turned out that "enjoy" was an understatement--Brady totally LOVED it! So, in what is becoming a nice little annual tradition, we were again invited out there this past weekend. When Sunday arrived, off we went to "Aunt Naynee's" to "SEE sheeeeeep! Baaa!" Brady's excitement started in the car, and he kept straining to see out the window during the drive to see if we were "there" yet. As predicted, a great time was had by all. I'll stop stalling now and unleash the adorable pics!

After missing the turn on the way there, we re-routed ourselves with the help of a familiarly-named road... :)

Spring Weekend Fun

This past weekend was a nice little family weekend. We did some stuff and nobody was too stressed, so that's a WIN for us! Saturday was pretty relaxing (as "relaxing" goes around our house), actually. There was a box, some stickers, some crayons, and some bunny ears. I'll let you see the rest for yourself...

My little artist LOVED this project!

Playing Catch-Up

Since yesterday was the first post in like 3 months, I decided to post some photos "catching up" with what should've been posted while I was wiping noses, rocking sick babies and attempting to disinfect my home repeatedly (while working a stressful full-time job). Here's a photo essay to get us caught up. It will be a big one, so brace yourself!

My Sweet Baby Brynnie Turned One!

 

I Know, It's Been Awhile

Ok, I know it's been awhile since there's been a post here. The fact is, this long, hard, cold winter full of sickness and snow and ice and all that stuff simply zapped my energy for blogging. There has been enough stuffy noses, infected ears, fevers, sour stomachs, coughs, cries, and new teeth happening the past few months in our house to last us for the next few years! We're on a once-a-week rotation with the pediatrician that we hope to break soon (although not this week as we've already been there with Brady). With all the winter weather that just won't seem to quit, there wasn't a whole lot of fun stuff to take pictures of, frankly. Nobody wants to see the snotty tissues on the floor or the sick child on the sofa with his blanket, after all!

However, over the weekend it *finally* managed to warm up to civilized temperatures (if briefly), and we unleashed the kids out of the house as I imagine the bulls are unleashed at Pamplona. It was nice to finally breathe some fresh air, and Brynnie got her first taste of walking around outside ever (she learned to walk when it was about 3 degrees outside, for reals).  As predicted, she LOVED every second of it! Brady was, as always, extaordinarily hard to get back inside when it was time to go. He is definitely an "outside kid"!

How is she 14 Months old!?!