Easter

Easter was a very fun, beautiful day in New Jersey.  We spent lots of time outside and with our friends, eating good food and letting the kids play all day.

(I asked Arden to let me take her picture and she threw herself down on this pillow as if she was posing for a glamour shot or bad senior pic!}

{Loot from the Easter Bunny!  All of her favorites: Bubble machine, Tangled doll, shoes, books and something to draw on!}

{As soon as she saw this she said "Ohhhh boy, Tangled!" and gazed at her with a huge smile on her face}

{Truly so happy to have a Tangled doll...good job Easter Bunny!}

{Let's draw!}

{One of my favorite pictures of the day, she was SO proud of the eggs she found}

{First bite of a bunny marshmallow...}

{She didn't end up being huge fan of the marshmallows, especially after she found chocolate in the other eggs!}

{Meg and Arden at the Drew's for Easter lunch and an egg hunt}

{Team Brendan}

{Brendan was kind enough to ask Arden to be on his "team" - his older brother Owen helped the other little girl Bridget, how thoughtful are they?!}

{Brendan was the spotter and Arden picked them up and put them in the basket.  Her little feet couldn't quite keep up with him though!}

{A big discussion about who had found what}

{Still looking!}

{Time to open the eggs and check out the goodies!}

{Arden, Bridget and Meg}

So thankful for the holiday we shared with our New Jersey family!

Hugs!
Hillary

Trick-or-Treat?

This year, Trick-or-Treat has a whole new meaning!  I say that because it snowed, yes you read that right snowed, on October 29th.  And not only did it snow, it snowed and snowed and snowed for hours on Saturday.  By the end of the day we had at least 10"-12" of SNOW!  When it started it was pretty and peaceful, I would call that part the "treat."  Around 3:00 that afternoon we lost power.  That was definitely the "trick."  I have lived through the Texarkana ice-storm without power.  That was an experience in itself.  This was a different type of experience.  As the mom of a toddler all you care about is keeping them warm and entertained.  Arden didn't seem to notice we had a candle-lit dinner of chicken and baked potatoes (thanks to Kevin who dug his grill out of the major limb that landed on our deck) and no TV, which is a good thing, and she didn't complain that she had to sleep in her pack-and-play in the living room for the first night but by nap time on Sunday she wasn't a fan of "camping."  Overall, it could have been worse (in the end we did get power back and we were all happy in our own beds again), I think, but it tested our limits :).

{Not really sure what is going on outside}

{Climbed onto the window seat for a closer look...and yes that is a shovel in her hand, she is ready to shovel the snow!}

{When we asked Arden what she saw outside she would say "Snowman!"  Luckily, she didn't ask us to build one!}

{This picture is just sweet to me...just trying to get a better view of the snow!}

We didn't actually Trick-or-Treat tonight but Arden did get to sport her costume today at school and she strutted her stuff!  Her school put on a Halloween parade where all of the students (from baby babies to 6th graders) wore their costumes and did a lap around the parking lot.  All of the parents lined up like papparazzi and "ohhhhed" and "ahhhhed" (as we should) because it was really stinking cute!  Granted it was cold, really cold, and there was snow that they had to walk around but for the most part no one seemed to mind (it was hard on the younger ones to see their parents and try and stay in the parade!)...

{Our strawberry all ready for the parade}

{Here she comes, the line leader for her class!}

{Once she saw me she took off running and yelled "Mommy" - it got lots of "awes" from the other parents, I loved every second of it ;)!}

 {Why will she wear this on her head and not a bow or headband?!}

{Parade line leader}

{Everyone still back there?!}

{Arden and her bestie at school, Eliza (on left), little Leah on her Dad's knee on the  right - she did not want him to leave her!}

{We went back inside after the parade and looked in the window of Arden's class to find her standing on top of the slide as if she was making sure everything was ok below...oh my, my, my}

I didn't take any pictures of our house in the snow, probably should have but I have a feeling it won't be the last snow of the year ;).  All of our neighbor friends have assured me this isn't normal (snow this early in the year) and that the only reason it was so bad this time was because most of our trees still have leaves and with the weight of the snow the branches couldn't hang on causing all sorts of damage.  There are A LOT of trees down, and our backyard has it's fair share of large limbs everywhere but we are warm and safe and have power so we are all ok BUT we hope the snow doesn't come again for a long while!

Hugs,
Hillary

Here we are!

In case anyone was worried, we are still here!  We didn't get washed away at the Jersey Shore...in fact we haven't even been there yet!  July has flown by.  It is August which means it is wedding month for Doug and MB...I am SO excited.  A little stressed about Arden and what mood she will be in that day.  Will she be a sweet flower girl that smiles and makes it down the aisle?  Or is she going to be sassy and not want to mind?  We shall see!  Either way, it isn't about her and Doug and MB will be so pretty that day (well, Doug will be handsome!).  I will definitely have a wedding post and let you know about Arden and her performance.

Speaking of Arden, she is doing great but has definitely come into her own with her personality!  She is definitely opinionated (can't imagine why she is like that, have you met us?!), sassy and loves to say NO but I think it is a combination of things:  1.  She can't really communicate too well yet so that really causes her problems 2. she is tired!  Definitely the evenings after school are the most trying.  The positive side of that is that she loves school and plays hard and has the scrapes and bruises to show it. 3. She is a toddler!  So really she is just doing what she is supposed to do.  On her good days she is as good as gold and is as sweet as she can be.  She gets more cuddly and laughs more.  Her other days just tend to be fussy days that end up with a little bit of an earlier bed time or an extra nap.  Either way she is my BFF.  I love her so much it hurts.  Since being here I have really realized how much strength she gives me.  If I am homesick I can't have pity parties because she is making me laugh or dragging me to the pantry to pick out a snack.  I am so thankful for her.  Truly blessed.

July has been our first month that we feel like we can relax on the weekends and not really run a ton of errands to get things for the house or unpack another box...you know all of those things that end up being weekend projects.  We bought Arden a blow up pool for the backyard (our backyard is fabulous if I do say so myself) and lounge chairs for us so we sit outside most Saturdays while she plays in the pool and we "lounge."  Here is our month in pictures...

{A pic before church...with her muffins in my face!}

{Kevin didn't get the muffins in his face}

{This look says I am cute and I know it!}

{A sweeter smile}

{So cute!}

{Kevin's parents came to visit in mid-July, it was so hot so we went to a Children's Museum.  Not really what Kevin and I had in mind for a Children's Museum, a little outdated, but Arden loved it!}

{Of course she really wanted to play with the computer at the museum...go figure she would play with something there that she has at home!}

{Driving the ambulance}

{Catching a fish with Dad}

{Back in the ambulance pushing buttons - she loves to push buttons, literally and figuratively ;)}

{Laying on the ambulance "gurney"...this grossed me out}

{This was Kevin and I's favorite area - a live TV news desk!  Arden didn't appreciate it, there weren't any buttons to push or toys that made noise}

{Playing the drum in the teepee}

{Drawing pictures in the Caveman cave}

{Cooking in the kitchen...the oven mitts were her favorite!  She sort of looks like she has lobster claws!}

{She liked the cash register...}

{...especially when she found the money!}

{By FAR her favorite exhibit - the life size Light Bright.  We could not get her to leave it!  We would take her somewhere else and she would run back to this!}

{Was so happy to find this step stool - it only made her hang around longer!}

{I'm definitely getting her a light bright for her birthday or Christmas...shhh, don't tell her ;)}

{Love this smile!}

{First train ride to NYC!  Some of our favorite people, the Roarks, were in NYC for 4th of July weekend so we went to see them!  So fun hanging out with everyone!}

{First NYC taxi ride}

{At a yummy Mexican restaurant before we headed to Central Park Zoo}

{Arden's new BFF and big sis Olivia.  They were fast friends that day.  Olivia was a HUGE help that day.  Thanks Loddy!}

{How cute is this?  All three of them watching the sea lions and Arden is hanging on every word Olivia says.}

{Aunt Denise helping her out}

{Ginormous polar bear!  He swam laps all day}

{Such a cute trio! }

{Arden was so funny about things swimming close to the glass but this buoy didn't bother her all!}

{Polar bear doing the back stroke.  He was truly ginormous!}

{I think Arden was passed out in the stroller by this time but Ryan and Olivia made cute rabbits!}

{First pool day}

{This day she loved the camera and learned 1, 2, 3 cheese!}

{She LOVES her sunglasses!}

{Not sure what to think of the pool just yet}

{Here she is in ALL her glory!}

And that is that folks :).  Hope everyone is doing well, having a great summer and staying cool.

Hugs!
Hillary