Three day weekend!

It is always such a treat when we get a long weekend to spend together as a family. This weekend was especially needed after Spaz had such crazy work hours the past couple weeks. It was so nice to focus on us and not have him worrying about all the work stuff he had to deal with!

We had a fabulous day on Saturday at a local festival. Lava got an "unlimited ride" wristband so he went on everything! His favorite was the "fun slide"...you know, those super tall slides you sit in a potato sack to ride down. He is too short to go solo, so he sat in Spaz's lap and wanted to go over, and over, and over! It was just too much fun. Another favorite was one of the bounce houses with a slide!

While Lava went from activity to activity, Macaroni napped and snuggled up with me, as per usual.

You can't tell from the photo, but he was wearing the same 4th of July romper that his big brother wore in 2007. So fun to get to re-use these things and see them on Macaroni!

After all the fun and excitement of the rides at the festival, we went back home and got Macaroni to bed. Afterwards, we took Lava to his very first fireworks show (while Grammy & Papa stayed home with Macaroni)! He was a bit apprehensive at first, but soon shouted excitedly and pointed at all the fireworks as they went off. He's been talking about them ever since!

After a mellow Sunday, we decided we needed to figure out a good outlet for Lava to get some energy out that didn't require going out in the 90+ degree heat with little Macaroni. We decided to go to an indoor playground that I had taken Lava to a couple times before. It's a bit of a ride, but Spaz wanted to see what it was all about and Lava just loves it! We spent a good couple hours there Monday afternoon and decided to spring for a 3 month membership so we have a fun place to go during the summer heat.

Lava really enjoyed another opportunity to go down big, fun slides!

Macaroni enjoyed the cool, comfortable air conditioning and playing with his Daddy! All in all an absolutely delightful family weekend!

Lunch with Grammy and Water playdate fun!

One thing I'm really pleased about since re-dedicating myself to blogging is that I'm taking more pictures! Woohoo! I have a great little point and shoot camera in my purse at all times, yet I so rarely even think to use it. Now that I have this blog going again, it's not far from my mind to photo document what I want to write about!

We've had a nice couple of days! Lava went to camp yesterday and then we went to lunch with my lovely mother! Since I'm making a conscious effort to eat well, one of my meals of choice is a gigantic egg white omelette, so we went to a restaurant I enjoy. Next time I'm totally taking a picture of the omelette, too! It's epic. We also have a rare shot of Macaroni content in his bucket seat while we eat!

Lava has always loved eating with his Grammy. Even now when he can eat totally independently, he still insists on her assistance. He just loves it, and it's super cute.

Today we had such a fun time going to a play date with the local mom's group I'm in. They are such a nice group of ladies with darling kids, and Lava had so much fun playing in the water with them. As per usual, Macaroni was happily snoozing away in the Ergo. It is a perfect set-up for when we go out, so I can't complain. I just never get good pictures of him!

It's been a long couple of weeks at work for Spaz with a new launch that went out today. So glad he's going to be less stressed out now that it's done. Definitely looking forward to our long weekend! I think we might hit up Lamb's Farm like we did last Fourth of July weekend. We might also try to get Lava to his first fireworks!

Fun with the cousin!

After not having gone to this particular indoor play/eat establishment in AGES, we decided to meet up with my nephew and sister and let the kids romp and enjoy one another. So off we all went!

Lava and Bucket had a grand old time. It was super duper cute...wherever Lava went, Bucket was soon to follow. They spent a good portion of our time there in this "make believe" area. It's the only place I got decent pictures, to be honest. There are all kinds of fun areas here to explore. They also enjoyed the train table area. Bucket was especially smitten with the "Bee" trains. So cute!

Unfortunately I only got one photo with little Macaroni, but it's super cute with his Titi! Other than this brief moment, Macaroni was very contentedly snuggled up to me in the Ergo. I can't get over how cuddly he is! I just eat it up....

We absolutely had a great time, and have already made plans to come back very soon. It was just the perfect environment for all the boys to play and enjoy themselves and each other. Oh, and the fact that someone else cleans up after all of it? Bonus!

Some changes...

After my friend Erika had some scary stuff go down with her blog a while back she made a list of suggestions on how to protect yourself and your family when you blog. I didn't do this sooner because I was a totally inactive blogger, but now that I am once again making an attempt to do this regularly, I decided it was time to implement her suggestions.

SO! You will now be seeing different names for the members of this family. I'm still Elizabeth, but my hubby is now known as "Spaz", my first little guy is "Lava", and our sweetie baby is "Macaroni". Just thought I'd make a public post explaining this so nobody is confused when all of a sudden there are no longer real names for most of the blog's starring players.

Six months later...

It is so hard for me to believe that six months ago today, this is what I was looking at:

... and six months later I now see this:

Happy six month birthday to my amazing baby boy, I love you with everything that I am.

Another futile attempt, no doubt...

Every so often I get the inclination to actually stick to blogging. I feel like it would be such a good way to chronicle our lives as a family, and really fun to look back on in the future.

Here is another attempt!

Since my last blog, we have added to the flock! Macaroni was born on December 28 and has been an incredible source of joy for us all! Aidan has done an INCREDIBLE job adjusting to having a little brother. It's been amazing to see him blossom into the role of big brother with little to no jealousy issues. The biggest struggle to date was having a brand new baby + potty training Lava. Thankfully that was a relatively short process and he is now bathroom independent and has very very few accidents (knock on wood). Macaroni is a happy, delightful little person. He is very different from his brother in so many ways, but I'm having such a blast with this small person being around.

Unlike Lava as a baby, Macaroni is very snuggly. He loves nothing more than being held (especially by mama) and he is a huge fan of being worn. He is happy as a clam in our Ergo or BabyHawk. One thing he does have in common with Lava is horrible sleep issues. Being our second child, we have done some things differently which has made things a bit easier, but he's still up many times a night at almost 6 months old. I do miss sleeping, but I know how fleeting this part of our lives is, so I try to enjoy every moment with this little guy...even at 3AM!

Ch-ch-changes...

It's been quite a while since my last update...and honestly not too much to report, other than the fact that I'm now over 21 weeks through this pregnancy. Oh, and it's another BOY!!! ;)

I am struggling with the idea of adjusting to being a mom of two. I'm excited and thrilled, please don't get me wrong, but it's a foreign concept to me at the moment. It's the unknown that makes me uneasy. I'm very much looking forward to meeting this spectacular life that will be joining our family in about 18 weeks (I pray). It's hard to imagine I'll ever love another person as much, or the way I love Lava. I know I will, I know I have the capacity to do so, I just can't fathom how that will feel.

I don't want my relationship with Lava to change, or suffer. I know change will happen (as my child runs in the room in footed pajamas with lime green crocs over them, just to be funny). It's just moments like those that I fear will become less appreciated or noticed. I love every second I spend with him, and soon that will be mostly shared time. I'm afraid he'll feel neglected, or replaced. Thankfully he's a mellow kid who has never really displayed major jealousy with me being around other kids, but this will be a different story.

I'm glad Lava is starting pre-school in a few weeks, I think having a regular source of social interaction and structure will be so good for him. I'm also glad it's happening 3.5 months before the baby comes so he doesn't have a negative association. I can't believe he'll be THREE on Saturday!

Ok, so this was a bit of a ramble-fest, but that's the biggest updates. New baby boy, pre-school, Lava's third birthday on Saturday....off to watch True Blood! :)