Spring has sprung.

No time to post much as SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

  It's warm, there's no snow on the ground and the kids want to be outside!

This will be Tommy's first real summer where he can walk around and enjoy it.

It was a beautiful day Saturday, and we took the kids out to play--running and blowing bubbles, riding bikes and sliding on slides--it was like there was 4 months of outdoor energy that had been trapped since Christmastime.  They had a blast.

 Tori made it her goal to pop every bubble Dani blew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And then it was Easter.

 Another failed attempt at a family photo!  Took a dozen--this was the best!

 We had a big ol' Easter egg hunt today.  I took the girls to one in the city yesterday, and it was mayhem.  Kids of all ages running and swooping in to grab eggs.  Dani and Tori each got 2; and that was with me, literally standing over each one so they could pick it up. I didn't care if they got a lot--but they needed something!

 Today, we had about 50 eggs, just for the three kids.  Much to Dani and Tori's delight, Tommy had only a passing interest at egg hunting.

 He did, however, just rock his awesome white trashy tuxedo tee!

Happy spring!  Happy Easter!

So behind!

Wow--I'm so behind in everything!  I have a lot of great excuses for it, though.  I tore my calf muscle over two weeks ago, and after a trip to the ER and an orthopedic doc, I have been in a walking boot.  That sure slowed me down and juggled our schedules, as Big Man had to be sure I wasn't home alone for the first week or so. 

You'd think that being laid up, I would have plenty of time to post--but NO!  The laptop wireless card had an issue, and then the netbook screen went on the fritz, so I was home, doing nothing--with NO computer!  And my blackberry battery would crap out within an hour or so.  All has been fixed--for now; laptop is back in action as of yesterday, and I got a smartphone last weekend.

In the interim--Tommy has decided he wants to stand up and try to walk--every minute he is awake.

 Tori has found a new love in broccoli.  Really.  How many 2 year olds do you know that repeatedly ask for more broccoli???  We're pretty lucky that the kids love all veggies.  The cry for "NINOS" (aka tomatoes in Tori-speak) is nearly constant, as are the requests for all manner of fruits.

 We had a fun Easter.  Just us.  The Easter bunny came, of course.  He nibbled on the carrots that were left out for him--much to Dani's delight.  We just had a lovely family day, with a big turkey dinner and lots of fun.  Here are some pics of the Easter egg hunt.

 The kids had a blast--although it was a bit hard to keep Tori focused on holding her bucket and finding eggs!

I could barely hold them still for a picture--and yes, this was the best one...

Almost spring.

Dani got a taste of spring when it was warm and now she's always begging to go outside. It's been cold, but I've been trying to take them out a bit every day. We're fully stocked on bubbles and sidewalk chalk. Today was Dani's first experience with chalk. I was standing on the wraparound porch pushing Tori on the swing. I told Dani to look up so I could tak her picture--she took the command a little too literally. Even bundled up, Tori enjoyed the swing!

Tori finally gets some fresh air!

It felt like spring today. I was up at about 4:30am headed to NYC for court, and basically got back to town about 12 hours later. It was so nice out that I had to let Tori have a few outdoor firsts, and Dani always wants to go outside, regardless of the weather.

Tori had her first ride in the little red wagon. We went up and down the street and they loved being in there together! We went to the "playground" a/k/a our backyard, but Dani calls it her playground. She wanted to help push Tori on the swing.

Tori loved her first swing ride! She laughed and laughed! The yard's a little too bumpy for her to be able to effectively walk, but hopefully by late spring she will be able to handle it.

It just felt so good to get outside tonight! Hoping to do it more often, of course the weatherman says snow? The nice thing about late winter storms is that they don't last.

And, 3d ultrasound is Friday; stay tuned for a baby peen update.

OUTSIDE!

This is what happens when you say the word "outside" at my house: A certain someone named Dani is obsessed with going outside. There's SO much cool stuff to look at...sticks, cars, cigarette butts on the ground, dogs, dog poop, flowers! And tonight's find, a fire hydrant! It was like a Dani magnet. She was absolutely fascinated by the hydrant, and despite my best efforts, kept dragging me back to it.

(love those front teeth!)
She also went down the slide for the first time today. Big fun. And another first--she climbed up the entire staircase this morning and at bed time. Much easier on poor, pregnant mommy than having to carry her. She thinks it's a blast!

Watering can--another big hit, as was the dirt in our flower boxes. My mom's coming to visit with my grandma on the 12th. Mom offered to plant my flower boxes when she comes. Hmm. A nice thought but I predict that, unless Dani has a really green thumb, they will be dead from lack of care by May 1 due to the new addition. So, we will have to find another project for the grandmas.

My camera battery died just as I got Dani to actually wear the sunglasses.

Trust me, it was mighty cute!

Gail and I went to see a medium last night--it was our second visit. Really interesting; lots of things she said last time were dead on. Example: the moment she said hello to me in November, she asked, "Have you ever thought about becoming self-employed?" and went on to make a number of predictions about my career...which, well, happened. She provided more detail last night and I can't wait to see if it happens.

She also predicts that this baby will be "masculine" and quite the tomboy. She said that Dani will be our girly-girl, and this new one will be playing ball in the back yard with daddy. When I asked her about the potential for baby number 3 to be a boy (should we give it a go) and she said that the little tomboy I'm carrying will be the closest thing we will get to a boy, no matter how many times we try. Unfortunately, Big Man has not yet accepted this to be sufficient proof that he shoots only x chromosomes to rule out another attempt...

Had another babydoc visit today. I've heard a ton of comments that I look much bigger this time than I did with Dani, but I had them look it up and my belly is measuring the same size this week as it was with her...and I'm 7 pounds lighter than I was at this time with Dani. Believe it or not, according to the doc, I am officially up two pounds from my 7 week visit. Yep, just two, which sounds impressive but I was kind of a fat bastid at the outset, so it really means I haven't reached circus freak proportions. I've got 3 weeks to go...bring on the ice cream! :) Speaking of ice cream, I can't wait to give Dani her first soft serve cone--soon!

Spring has sprung.

It's sunny and in the 50s. It's finally starting to feel like spring! I've been taking Dani out more, because she doesn't need to get bundled up, and just got a stroller from craigslist, the non-carseat kind so we can start taking walks when Big Man's sleeping. Here's Dani getting ready to go to the store:

She loves looking in her mirror:

She's really getting so big, and fun. I noticed that she can pick things up and hold them, move them, etc. I mentioned it to Big Man last night, as he was putting a rattle in her hand. He said, "I'm not a tard, mommy, I'm just little." and then told me that one thing he works with her on daily is holding things, etc., eye hand coordination type stuff.

Having a little fun with the sepia setting on the camera:

Dani really seems to enjoy being fed with a spoon--even if she doesn't really eat anything. She's still learning, but is just so smiley and happy and fun. She's had rice cereal and oatmeal so far, and I can't wait to start feeding her lots of new stuff!

In a rare move, last night we watched a movie! Big Man had gotten Stepbrothers on blu-ray from netflix. It was funny. We both agreed that it was much funnier than we thought the premise could be. The bar was pretty low, because Will Ferrell struggles to carry a movie, so we didn't expect much. Still, Dani slept/amused herself during the movie and we had some precious time together before Big Man had to head to work.

This morning when Big Man came home, he brought bacon, and proceeded to make us a big ol' breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, coffee! Dani and I went to the store again (where she was ogled by all) and had some fun with the camera. I should be working, but I'm not. Waiting to hear from my boss about what time we are meeting up today. I have a TON of work to do, but am really not so motivated to do any of it.