The Great Outdoors

This spring has brought more rain and less sun than we're used to in Chicago, but we're playing outside every chance we get. The kids have had lunchtime picnics, done lots of gardening, and even helped Erik mow the lawn. Here are some photos of our fun times outside this spring!

Easter 2011

The kids woke up bright and early on Easter Sunday! They ran into our room shrieking with excitement and started pulling our arms to get us out of bed and go check out the family room to see if the Easter bunny had come while they were sleeping. They were beyond thrilled to find that he had, in fact, been there! They each found a basket filled with goodies, and that tricky Easter bunny had hidden plastic eggs filled with jelly beans all around the house. Once they were all sugared-up, we got dressed in our Easter clothes and drove to Grammy and Grandpa's house to spend the day. We started with a wonderful church service and then found that the Easter bunny had visited Grammy and Grandpa's house, too! They found special treats hidden all over the house. Such fun! We had a delicious dinner, joined by that time by Aunt Mel, Uncle Aaron and Cooper. We were grateful to spend such a special day with family.

Preparing for the Easter Bunny

In the days leading up to Easter, the kids had a lot of fun preparing for the Easter bunny's visit. We decorated eggs, had an Easter egg hunt at church, and even got to hug the Easter bunny in person after the hunt. We made a special cake in the shape of the Easter bunny to bring to Grammy and Grandpa Brown's house on Easter Sunday. The kids loved decorating the cake with candies - most of the candies went directly into their mouths rather than on the cake. By the time Easter Sunday rolled around, they were ready!

Brown County 2011

Last month, we took our annual trip to Brown County, IN to catch up with our best friends from college! We got together with Jamie, Meg and Tara along with their husbands and kids to enjoy 4 days in a beautiful cabin in the woods. We took turns making big meals for the group and at night once the 8 kids were fast asleep we broke open the wine and whipped up some desserts to enjoy while we lounged on the couches or out in the hot tubs on the deck. It's so fun to see all the kids playing together and it's wonderful to get to catch up with everyone in person. I just love my girlfriends and get so excited each year when this trip rolls around!

Our Latest DIY Project

Last weekend, we decided to tackle the installation of a backyard playset for the kids. It came with a 60-page manual and roughly a zillion parts to assemble - eeek! Erik spent probably 12-13 hours on it in total, and we had some great help from his parents for the final few hours. The Sunday that we finished it, it happened to be a beautiful 80 degree day and the kids played on it for hours - made the project feel well worth the effort! Erik and I are looking forward to the many years of backyard playtime that lie ahead for the kids, and it always feels good to work hard on a DIY project and see it all come together in the end. Now, we just need to bring on the warm weather (we woke up to snow today - isn't it mid-April?)! Anyway, lots of fun in store for the kids this summer!

The empty spot where the playset would eventually go

Erik and his best helper starting the assembly

The assistant crew!

The final product

Casiddy loves the "big kid" swing...

...and Gavin loves the toddler bucket swing. Happy kids!

Gavin Turns 2!

We had so much fun celebrating Gavin's 2nd birthday! We had a party with family (all 4 grandparents along with Aunt Mel and Uncle Aaron!) that got its theme from Gavin's favorite movie, Disney's "Cars." Cassidy helped me decorate with checkered race car streamers and balloons, and we made a figure-8 race track cake for his die-cast "Cars" characters to sit upon. (We tried making his cake with fondant icing this time. It was fun to try - but we all agree it doesn't taste nearly as good as delicious buttercream!) We started the party with brunch, then opened some presents from family and ate some cake. Gavin caught a glimpse of his cake after it had been cut to pieces and was nearly in tears. I think he thought the cake was a toy that had gotten demolished somehow. He was yelling from his crib at the start of naptime, "Where's my birthday CAKE???" Anyway, we were so thankful to spend the day with family and we had such a fun celebration. The following weekend, on Gavin's actual birthday, we had some good friends and their kids over for a casual BBQ dinner and we had birthday cupcakes for dessert.

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring!

Cassidy and I have been talking for weeks about the tulip bulbs we planted last fall and how long it might be until we start to see them grow. Well, the snow has finally melted away and we now see the tiniest little buds popping through the dirt! We first noticed them as we were getting in the car for school at 9am yesterday morning. When I picked her up from school two and half hours later, the first thing she said to me was "Mommy! Did our tulip flowers open up yet?!?" I tried to explain that it might take a few weeks until we see the real flowers, but I promised we could check every morning.

We've kept ourselves busy over the last few weeks. Erik is wrapping up a project at work that has been over a year in the making, so he's very excited to see that come to a successful conclusion. However, since he's in the home stretch, he and his team have been putting in long days and weekend time, so he's looking forward to taking a few days off next month and relaxing at home with me and the kids. We're excited for that too!

At the end of February, I had my final round of oral surgery to place the dental implants into my upper jaw. It went very well and as soon as the bone is strong again (10-12 weeks from now), I can have the final crowns put in place. So sometime in June, I look very forward to ditching my retainer and saying goodbye to weekly dental visits! It will feel wonderful to have this 9-month process complete, and I am so grateful to my fantastic dentist and oral surgeon for all they have done for me. I will be smiling big this summer!

The kids are doing well. Gavin turns 2 in just a few days! We took a chance with potty training him at 22 months (I read a book that suggested that was an ideal age to train) - and it worked like a charm. We still have maybe 1-2 accidents a week, but for the most part he's got it down. Potty training has been a challenge with Cassidy, so it's nice to know that the next one is already done! Cassidy is making progress though, and I have a feeling we'll have both kids feeling confident with the potty by summertime. (Fingers crossed for that anyway!) Cassidy had a fun date with Erik last month when they went to see Toy Story 3 on Ice. They loved it. This photo from the event makes me smile every time I see it - such genuine, 3-year old anticipation and excitement!
More to come in the weeks ahead!