Memorial Day Weekend

Dan and Carly came to visit from Chicago over Memorial Day weekend. We had not seen them in what seemed like forever, and had such a fun visit! We can't wait to see them again this summer!

 Playing outside....

At the pool....

And at the zoo...

Happenings

Even though it ended a few weeks ago now, I realized I never posted any of Nolan's soccer pictures from the spring. One game this season, Nolan actually stole the ball from the other team and took it almost all the way down the field! That was probably his only time touching the ball in a game, but Mike and I were very proud. He may not be the best athlete out there, but he sure does have fun!

I know I already made a Mother's Day post, but I didn't include any pictures from Nolan's school. The kids put on an adorable performance for us and then had breakfast. Here's a clip of Nolan dancing with one of his cute little girlfriends.

A couple weeks ago, we took the boys to their very first concert- the Imagination Movers. The show was really pretty good and the kids loved it (especially Nolan and his friend Audrey)!

I've been working on a home improvement project that has been very time consuming, but I'm finally almost done. I painted almost all of our brass fixtures (doorknobs, light fixtures, towel bars, toilet paper holders, etc.), with the biggest, most time consuming one being our shower surround. Now we just need to buy new faucets and the project will be complete....goodbye gold!!!

Nolan finished out his school year last week with a party at the park and a snow cone truck! He got an award for Most Improved in Spanish (not sure I believe that....), and we are very proud of his end of year report card. He'll be going to a couple different camps throughout the summer to keep him busy.

And last but not least, I converted Grant's crib to a toddler bed last week, and he's done great with it! Whether we like it or not, in his mind anything that makes him a big kid faster makes him happy. Nolan's been teaching him to use the potty, so fingers crossed that transition goes well also!

Happy Birthday to Nolan!

Nolan's 4th birthday was on Tuesday, but since Mike was going to be out of town we celebrated on Sunday. For months he'd been asking for a pink Batman cake and he was beyond excited to finally get it! 

Here's a video of the boys testing out one of "their" new toys.

On Nolan's actual birthday, after having some green heart-shaped pancakes (by request), we headed to the doctor for his check-up. I prepared him by letting him know ahead of time that he would be getting shots, and that turned out to be the right thing to do because he did great. With each shot (he got 4), he said "ow!", but waited until the nurse was gone to whimper a little bit and hug me. I was very proud of his bravery! He is now 34.8 lbs (40 %ile) and 39.25 inches (27%ile). Lately I've noticed that he's shorter than most of his friends/schoolmates/teammates, so I did ask the doctor if I should be concerned. She explained that as of his 2-year stats he should be at least 5'6" as an adult, and he may have a late growth spurt, so nothing to worry about at this point.

After the doctor, we headed to the park with friends to have some fun and eat more cake!

Finally, since Nolan didn't have school on his birthday, I brought cupcakes for his class on Wednesday. The kids were all very cute, and Nolan was thrilled to be "the king" for the day and have me there!

This boy (and his brother, too) has my heart wrapped around his little finger. He talks almost constantly and I adore listening to everything he has to say. His imagination and reasoning are so completely innocent and wonderful. I can't imagine anything better than the sincerity with which he expresses his love for Mike and me and the way he randomly says, "Grant is my best friend ever in the whole wide world!". He gets so excited over the smallest things- it really makes me wish he never had to grow up! He loves playing with his brother, dancing, seeing his Daddy after a week at work, birthday parties, playgrounds, picnics, movie nights with popcorn and chocolate milk, reading, watching videos of himself, wrestling, telling stories, playing with friends, seeing trains, and much much more. He is so very stubborn, but as his mother, I like to think it's because he's so smart. Nolan Michael, your Daddy and I love you to pieces and are so proud of the big boy you are becoming! Happy Birthday!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to me! When I got out of bed Sunday, I was surprised to find an empty house. A few minutes later, all of my boys walked in with my coffee, each carrying a flower for me. Nolan recited this poem he learned for me at school, and then Mike made me breakfast. 

Unfortunately, it was a rainy day, but the boys gave me time to workout, then brought me my favorite lunch (Jimmy John's!) and gave me an awesome new camera lens that I'd been asking for. I have the best boys ever and they gave me a fantastic Mother's Day!

Visitors

Mike's mom and her new husband, Frank, came to visit last weekend. Nolan was so excited to have them here, he woke up at 4am on Saturday! Which, of course, led to him needing a nap instead of going to his soccer game. After that he was ready for some fun, so we headed to the local Jonquil festival, then spent some time at the duck pond. Their visit was short, but we all had a great time and enjoyed getting to know Frank a little better!

Birthday Party!

This weekend we had a fabulous birthday party to celebrate Grant turning 2 and Nolan almost turning 4! Since all of their friends are the same right now, it made sense to pick a date between their birthdays and have a joint party. We held it at a place called Catch Air, which is full of pretty much every type of plaything a kid could want. During the party, Grant had moments of being overwhelmed, but Nolan could NOT have been more thrilled the entire time!

 Getting ready for the dance party with Buzz Lightyear....

Breakin it down

 Grant getting in a workout before pizza and cake :)

Family Photos

A couple weeks ago we had some family pictures taken at Marietta Square by Jnelly Photography. Here are some of them!