4th of July

What better way to spend the 4th of July weekend, than picking blueberries at a pick-your-own farm in NJ?! Beth was going to come down from New York for the weekend so we drove out to Princeton to pick her up, and on the way we stopped at a blueberry farm. Nicole had a blast picking berries, and we found a few "presents" in our pockets later that day. She thought it was so funny to pick the not so ripe green berries and put them in our pockets.


Nicole loved playing with her "Bethy."

We hit the Glenside parade and Nicole still talks about it every time we drive through Easton Rd. We decided to let her stay up for the fireworks that go off behind our house. She was pretty excited, but I think the fireworks scared her a bit. She just cuddled up with her daddy, and she wanted to go back in before they were over.

We're gonna have a baby!

We found out yesterday that we're going to have a baby boy, and we couldn't be happier! I'm due December 11, so it should make the holidays pretty exciting!

Ireland Trip 2010

I don't know why I've been avoiding this post, but I have. I feel like there is so much to catch up on! But I decided to bite the bullet today. We went to Ireland for a week in mid-June for a family vacation. My parents were there, my brother Dan and sister-in-law Ashley and their kids, and then of course Megan and Andrew. Here's a picture of the gang, minus Megan and Andrew. Quite a group!


Nicole was such a trooper the entire trip, considering that she was SERIOUSLY lacking sleep. She'd fall asleep anytime we were in the car, probably because she figured that was the only time she'd get a chance to nap so she'd better take advantage! The sun stays up until after 10, and then rises before 6 so we just kept playing the entire time the sun was up.

My favorite memory of Nicole falling asleep was our first day there, and we stopped at Bunratty Village and Castle. We went across the street for some pub grub, and Nicole was sitting on my lap eating chips (Ireland's french fries) and while bringing a chip to her mouth, she zonked out. I was laughing so hard! Poor girl just crashed.

Some highlights of the trip included driving the Dingle peninsula - beautiful, scenic, and something we had never done before; picnicking and playing soccer on the beach; the Cork city festival that was going on while we were there; the walkie-talkies (we had 2 vans to transport all of us around and my dad brought walkie-talkies so we could communicate); gelato, the chocolate candy bars, and of course, shopping!

Alex, Nicole and I stayed a couple of days longer than everyone else, so we hit the Shandon Bell tower and Nicole got to ring the bells, and we also went to the Cork City Gaol (Jail). We all had a great time and the weather was sunny the whole time! Here is a slideshow of our adventures.

Nicole is 2!

I can't even believe my little girl is 2! She seems so grown up, learning new things every day and talking my ear off. Nicole loves to sing and dance. She's a big fan of Mickey Mouse and Curious George. She's so smart, understanding emotions like "sad" and "happy", and she knows that Daddy has to go to work. She loves to be outside playing on her slide and running around. Her favorite food right now is mac and cheese and she asks for it about every meal. She is by far the most righteous in the house, always saying impromptu prayers and reading the scriptures any chance she gets. She's my little buddy and I'm so lucky that she's mine.

Her birthday was a lot of fun this year because we've been reading books about birthdays, and she understands that it's a special day. We started it off bright and early by taking some balloons into her when she woke up. She was so excited! She kept saying, "My balloons" and "It's Nikki's birthday!"


I took Nicole to the Please Touch Museum in the morning to celebrate. We had so much fun painting and playing. Nicole loved going down the slide and playing with the dolls in the hospital. And of course, she always loves shopping in the grocery store. Here's my favorite shot of the day.


Alex came home a little early so we could do cake and open presents. Nicole thought ripping off that wrapping paper was pretty fun. She couldn't even eat any of her birthday cake because she was too excited to play with her new toys.


Family shot with the birthday girl. Happy Birthday, Nicole! We love you!

Memorial Day Weekend

Alex's sister Beth came down from New York to visit on Memorial Day and Nicole played and played with her all day long. I think she was a bit exhausted by the end of it all! Nicole got to try so many new things out this weekend:

Riding a bike

Playing t-ball

Playing in her new swimming pool

Sparklers!

Hanging with Auntie Beth

And my favorite picture of the weekend

Slowly but surely

A year ago we started our main floor bathroom remodel. I am now happy to say that we are finished! Hooray! A lot of rebuilding walls and scraping paint went into this room, but we did it. Here are the before and after pictures.



Alex built this awesome closet frame so that instead of a curtain hanging in our bathroom, we now have a door!


We also decided to knock out the den/guest room. We needed a change from the cream and tan all over the house. We wanted a calming atmosphere, and we love the blue with the white trim. So, guest room's open! Come visit!

The reason that being a mother is so great...