i do

If I have seemed distant recently, it is because I have been utterly absorbed with my friend(of 20 years)'s wedding. I was her matron of honor and seamstress of accessories (I sewed the bridesmaid sashes, groomsmen pocket squares, and ring bearer vest & tie). The lovely bride was popped the question a year ago, so it always felt like the wedding day was worlds away. My how time flies...Rehearsal dinner was Mexican food. Guedo's Taco Shop. Delish!My little man was the ring bearer! It was adorable (until he screamed... luckily not while walking down the aisle). And I would have posted a picture of the me with the bride, but I looked relatively ridiculous in the photo. Generally, I take about a thousand pictures at events... there were only 21 on my camera from the wedding. Sad day.The bride was smashing, the food superb. Wonderful night for a dear dear friend.

party, play, park

Party:

Saturday was our niece, Taylor's 1st birthday party. I helped with the party; pink and green polka dots. Though several cute decorations were made, few were used. The wind decided to blow and tear through the little park ramada - just during the length of the party, of course. The cupcakes, however, prefect! Joel devoured most of his cupcake... that is, until mommy accidentally bumped his hand and made him drop it on the asphalt. Uncle Jess made Joel go from screams to smiles within seconds. The birthday girl enjoyed the yummy frosting.

We stuck those circle stick things in the cupcakes. It was cute. And yes, it was planned for my niece's dress to match. That is where the inspiration for the theme originated.Play:Sunday, Joel began pulling his helicopter around by the string. He has had this helicopter for the past 6 months, but he just figured out the purpose of the string. Despite a rough morning (he burned his hand on my flat iron an hour or so earlier), he pulled his little helicopter 'round and 'round the house. He went so far as to upright it when it tipped over. I am in LOVE with these jammies. They came in a 4 pack; 2 tops and 2 bottoms. Size 2T. Sad thing is, Lucas was wearing the other half when this photo was taken... my 6 month old... wearing 2T...Park:Today, Monday, I decided to take the boys to the park. Just to get out of the house. Stir crazy. We went to Chaparral Park. Joel figured out how to climb up the steps and go down the slide all by himself. He does not need my help. Nor does he want it. He probably went down that slide twenty times. The swings, not as fun. So where did we return to? The slide. Another five times. Lucas just chilled in his sling. LOOOOOVE this last photo. More than words.

6 and 18

Lucas is 6 months old. Joel is 18 months old. Where is the time going?!(I know, this photo was in my last post. We are doing family pictures Saturday)
JOEL:Weight: 28 lbs, 1 oz (78%)Height: 32 1/2 in (57%)Head Cir: 47 cm (28%)
Words Joel knows: hi, bye, night-night, uh oh, mama, dada, baby, Lucas (comes out "du-da"), mimi (my mom), gigi, (my grandma), T.C. (future SIL's nickname), Amy, Beth, kitty, doggie, bunny, wolf, bear, apple, banana, broccoli, cheese, shoes, happy, yes, no, eyes, nose, ear (comes out "or"), mouth, done, ball, bath, boo, up, go, please. Whew. While he knows 30+ words, he mostly just babbles. The kid talks a lot; I don't know what he's sayin', but he talks a lot. The doc had a blood allergy test done. The poor guy has the worst eczema. Hopefully something will turn up on the test. It would be hard if he had an allergy, but at least we would be able to combat the eczema better.
LUCAS:Weight: 18 lbs, 1 oz (62%)Height: 26 in (36%) Even though in the 36%, he wears 12 month clothing...Head Cir: 45 cm (83%)
Lucas is on the verge of sitting up on his own (about a month behind his brother). It looks like he is going to skip sitting and move straight to crawling. The other day he scooted forward to get a plastic baby spoon. I thought it was just luck. I placed the spoon two feet in front of him. Sure enough, he scooted to it again. I moved it over and over and over. Each time, Lucas would scoot forward to get the spoon (happy-screaming the entire time). Within two days, Lucas began pulling his knees up under himself to help propel him forward. WHAT?! Joel didn't do this until nearly 8 months; I wasn't prepared for this! My little bity baby is mastering movement.
Ps. Notice how Lucas' head circumference is just 2 cm smaller than his brother who is 12 months older than him. Creepy big head? I think so.

April

On April Fools, Robert and I found out we WOULD be expanding our family... just not with a baby. Robert went to a car dealership to LOOK at a possible vehicle and drove home in our new Toyota Highlander. STOP. Before you say ANYTHING negative about Toyota: First, Toyota has safely carried my family for several decades WITHOUT a hitch. Second, our new car was NOT among those recalled (and even if it were, we would have it corrected by Toyota). So, we would like to proudly introduce our REAL new addition, Crash (by the way, Babes, I named our car):I LOOOOOOOVE it. SO much more room. It seats 7 quite comfortably. Which means I can put 5 car seats in it without a problem. Just kidding. Maybe.This weekend was exhausting but fun. Saturday was Robert's family Easter get-together. My sis-in-law and I made delicious cupcakes for Easter dinner (the second photo is cheating... the cream didn't really turn out like that). After the feast, we went outside to talk and play. I put Joel on my lap while playing on the swings. He enjoyed himself. Easter Sunday was busy busy busy. The boys got their easter baskets first thing in the morning. They both received stuffed bunnies (which I made the day before). Joel got a little Magna-doodle and some marshmallow bunnies. Lucas got a crinkle lion and egg rattles.My family had Easter dinner at 11am. I made egg place markers (thanks to my BFF Martha). Joel went on his first egg hunt. The big kids then went on their egg hunt afterward (I will be knocking my kids over when they are old enough to join our hunt). There were three golden eggs, each with a good amount of cash; one of them had a $50. I found all three (smug grin). I kindly gave my cousin and my hubby each an egg before I found out they had different amounts of money in them. Luckily, the egg I kept was the one with the $50 (even smugger grin). We got a couple of family photos taken (speaking of which, Emily, we need to talk). We came home with 5 boxes of peeps and 2 gallon size bags of Easter candy. Ugh. I will be comatose by the end of the month.


Love Lucas' face in the second picture. Looks angry at the world.
I hope your holiday weekend was fabulous!

SURPRISE

So. Many of you have been waiting for an announcement from me. THE announcement. For the last two years running, I have been pregnant this time of year (3 months pregnant, to be exact). Everyone keeps asking, "So Leigh. When are you going to have the next one?" or "Are you pregnant yet?". Seriously. I get asked several times a week. I want to have my babies close. I love how close Joel and Lucas are. I don't mind one pregnancy right after another. My pregnancies are perfect; no real morning sickness or complications. My body rebounds very quickly; I have dropped below my pre-pregnancy weight after both Joel and Lucas. So without further ado, scroll over the black box to see our newest addition.Yeah. There are two. And I am further along than expected; just shy of 12 weeks. Due around October 5th (ironically, that was both Joel AND Lucas' due date). Looks like you can get preggo while nursing AND on birth control. I've lost weight, but my tummy is finally starting to round out. And before you get all mad at me for not telling you earlier or telling you in person, check today's date. Come on people. Really. April Fooling with you.