Happy Birthday Levi!!

On the day that I went into labor with Levi, I took my usual morning walk at the mall with Caleb and Adelina. Last year Caleb wanted to repeat our "labor day" walk at the mall and so we had to do it again this year. I guess it's officially a tradition. This year the whole family got to go...even Grandpa...and the kids had the best time riding the train! 

 We also splurged with a bunch of quarters and the kids got their pick of mall rides.

 They also spent a while running around this activity mat. It brought back lots of memories for me since I spent so many hours walking the mall when I was pregnant with Lina and Levi and in their early days when we just needed to get out of the house.

 A trip to Dick's Sporting Goods completed the trip...with lots of time playing ball in the store. I'm a little surprised we weren't asked to leave!

 Finally it's Levi's second birthday!! He was pretty excited for the day even though I don't think he fully knew what was going on. He talked a lot about it being his birthday and eating cake and blowing out candles. He had some phone calls and enjoyed having Happy Birthday sung to him. Lina and Caleb tried to spend a little special time with and they both read him books. We also played his favorite game: putting on music, Levi wearing gloves and carrying a football, and we run around the house.

 For dinner we ate eggs and grits and fruit...one of his favorites!

Finally it was cake time. Lina told me that I made a carrot cake last year, so I did the same again this year. 

 

 Present time!! Levi loved opening up his presents and it was very hard for Caleb and Lina to keep their hands of his gifts! He got some new ball sheets and pillows for his bed and a baseball piggy bank. He was very happy.

 It was a great day for our special little boy!!

Vacation Week

We spent the first part of Vacation Week dealing with the painters and having our house partially torn up. We planned a fun day on Tuesday complete with a morning trip to a gymnasium with bouncy houses and an afternoon play date at a bowling alley. The kids were so worn out after the gymnasium that they didn't last long bowling. In fact, Levi slept for part of the time bowling. But everyone had a great time and I think we'll go bowling again soon. 

 On Wednesday, Grammy and Grandpa arrived! Grandpa hadn't been to our house in about a year, so there was lots of excitement for him to be here. The kids had a great time enjoying their grandparents and we all enjoyed lots of good Grandpa cooking. I'm not sure how I didn't get any pictures of Grammy.

 Grandpa had a magic sleep touch one afternoon. Lina feel asleep in his lap and then later in the day Levi did the same.

Here are the kids running around the house, with Grandpa collecting a toll. 

Lots of Changes

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of change here. We ordered a new couch in January that won't arrive until sometime in April, so we wanted to do a little painting in preparation for its arrival. The pictures don't quite do the colors justice, but you can get an idea. For you Benjamin Moore fans, we painted the dining room Stonington Gray. This may be my favorite color and it's the one room that's completely done....furniture in place, curtains up, etc...

The living room is Buxton Blue. The curtains are still a work-in-progress and the old furniture doesn't match, but we all are happy with the color. It's supposed to be calming, which we can all use!

 The hallway, stairs, and foyer/office are all Windham Cream. It's not too different from what we had before, but it's nice and fresh!

 We also made the last minute decision to have our kitchen painted...and I'm so glad we did. The room is so bright and cheerful now.

And as an added bonus, we had the little wall between the kitchen and the office painted with chalkboard paint. So far, it's been a great addition and the kids love it! I'm hopeful that it will occupy Levi while I cook dinner....but I will admit that he's very prone to wandering away with the chalk and coloring where he shouldn't!

 And lastly, Levi has graduated from crib to bed! So far he's doing okay....except that he prefers having company in the middle of the night. So I'm just happy that it's a comfy place to sleep!

Happy Birthday Adelina!!

It's shocking...but Adelina just celebrated her fourth birthday! She was very excited for the day and enjoyed every minute of her day. She was lucky enough to have school, so she was able to share cupcakes with her classmates. Her teacher Mrs. Endicott made her a birthday crown that she wore for most of the day. 

 She had lots of phone calls for her birthday and she enjoyed every one!

 Adelina was hoping to get a big doll house for her "bunny family" and almost couldn't stand waiting to find out if she got one. Her wish was granted and she was thrilled to open up her gift.

 Her other birthday request was an ice cream cake, which we all enjoyed. It was a great day celebrating our spirited little girl! It's amazing to think about how much she has grown and changed over the past year. We are all looking forward to seeing what this year will bring with her!

Blizzard of 2013

Last Friday brought our first big snow in about two years time. Grandma GiGi and PaPa were also lucky enough to make their flight into Boston on Friday morning and got to be snowed in with us for the weekend. The kids were very excited about the snow and couldn't wait to get cozy and watch the flakes fly. 

The kids didn't have school and by early afternoon, we had a good couple of inches of snow to play in. Of course we had to warm up with some hot chocolate. There was also plenty of time to work on valentines and read books with the grandparents.

It was snowing hard when we went to bed on Friday night and we awoke to mounds of snow. The prediction for 2 feet was spot on. I measured about 25 inches of snow in the morning and it continued to snow on and off for the rest of the day. I've seen "official" reports of 26.5, 28, and 30 inches of snow for Melrose.

Caleb was pumped and ready to get out in the snow. We spent hours and hours shoveling, sledding, snowshoeing and just enjoying the snow. Lina did a pretty good job getting out and being adventurous in the snow. It was just about too much for Levi, but we did manage a little sledding and of course he was happy to play T-ball once we cleared the driveway.