Happy Napper

My boys are similar in so many ways. They are both stubborn. They both love to bust my chops. They both love me, Matt and each other (among others). They both open their mouths to give kisses (Matthew is getting better, but it's still a slimy experience).

One area where my boys are total opposites - napping. Not so much in the taking of them (Matthew gave up on naps years ago), but more in the way they wake up from them. IF IF IF Matthew takes a nap, there's a good chance he's going to wake up cranky. It's not pretty. But Noah, he's a different story. When he gets in some good napping, this is how he wakes up.

And he'll hang out and talk to himself, play with his crib toys, and generally just be a happy baby when he wakes up. It's a nice change.

Now, the other way that my boys differ is in sleeping through the night. Noah needs to put in some serious work on that.

Wordless Wednesday: My latest Pins

 All of these Pins are on my Kid Stuff board.

Party on down to Noah town!

 The weather held out. It was supposed to rain late afternoon on Saturday, but we had sun, a breeze and temps in the 70s. The party gods came through for us! Noah had a blast. As did the all the guests - little and big alike.

The cake was quite yummy - though the birthday boy wanted no part of it. That's okay - more for me!

Matthew took it all pretty well. He understood the party was for his baby Noah Bear. But now he thinks his super hero birthday party is imminent. He wakes up every day asking me if it's his party day. It's going to be a long five months for him! I haven't told him that I've already started planning for it. I've bought party favors, cupcake wrappers, and have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to it. It will be here soon enough!

Happy 1st Birthday Noah Frederick!

You're a funny little monkey. Smart. Stubborn. You love your big brother (and all his toys). You're a good eater. You will climb anything and everything. You are independent. Your smile melts our hearts. We love you Noah Bear!!!

Wordless Wednesday: 1st Time On The Slide

Random Instagram

Matthew watching a movie. Scooby Doo to be exact.
A close up. Can you tell if this is Matthew or Noah?
Playing on the new bean bag chair.
I've discovered a new app that works great with Instagram - it's called Pic Stitch and it lets you do things like this to your pics:
I'm still playing around with it, really haven't figured out its full potential yet, but I think it's a pretty neat app. That's all I got for now. Pretty boring, I know, but I'm trying to balance my job hunt with spending more time with the boys, getting the house in order and prepping for Noah's 1st birthday party. Hopefully I get the hang of multi-tasking all this soon.

Wordless Wednesday: Noah Bear

Easter

The Easter Bunny stopped by. He dropped off some neat Super Hero books, a Veggie Tales coloring book, a Captain America action figure...
...and one red Angry Bird bunny. Matthew's new favorite. He's snuggling with it in bed at this very moment.
Noah's basket wasn't as full, but he was just as impressed with his haul.
New bath books to chew on were just what the doctor ordered.
There was a group meeting over Matthew's new Matchbox car set.
I wasn't invited to the meeting. So I had my breakfast - cheese babka and coffee. That's all I need on Easter morning.
In the afternoon we headed over to my parents house for Easter Part 2.
This year included an egg hunt with Matthew's best pals.
Alex helped all the little ones collect the 5,000 eggs that my parents put out on the lawn.
Even Noah got into the action.
And he was quite happy with the two eggs he "found".
Matthew left the lawn a happy camper too.
We tried for a cousins picture in front of the swings. This is the best we got.
Then it was back inside for yummy desserts and a chorus of Happy Birthday for my niece Annalise who turned 3 earlier in the week.
Later on, back at home, Matthew took a few trips down the slide and a few minutes on the swing to wind down the day.
Then both Matthew and Noah lost their minds from a combination of no naps, lots of sugar (for Matthew) and lots of activity. Bedtime was a little earlier tonight. But that's how you know just how good the day really was.

Happy Easter!

Pre-Easter Cookie Fun

Matthew's best pals gathered over at grandma's house to make some Easter cookies today.
Matthew enjoyed spending time with them. And eating all the decorations meant for the cookies. Don't be fooled by the "Who me?" face - he knew exactly what he was doing.
Alex helped him stamp out a few cookies.
A good time was had by all. And there are dozens of some crazy-chocolate-chip-filled-sprinkle- overloaded cookies for all to enjoy!

Deck Races

The weather has been nice lately. A little cool, but very "Spring in NY" - which is great for outdoor play. For some reason, Matthew and Maryann like to race each other. I don't know why - it's the same outcome every time!

Random Monday

Last week I was laid off from my job. The job I held for 10 years. I have not sent out a resume in 10 years. I have not been on an interview in 10 years. I have not searched for a job in 10 years. I'm learning the ropes rather quickly. But, job or not, life goes on.

This guy is keeping everyone busy. Walking like crazy, babbling up a storm, smart as all get out.
This one - non-stop action. Although I was able to capture this rare still moment as we waited in the lobby of my husband's job.
We had a little spring Friday lunch date in Brooklyn.
The house - continues to look like this on a daily basis. But I'm trying my best to get things in order.
Because this date is approaching fast!