Mother's Day 2016

Sunday was Mother's Day, and it was a great one! I got some flowers and a sweet card signed by Nick and the babies, and I didn't have to cook or prepare a thing the whole day! Nick went out and got us breakfast, we got fast food for lunch and took it to the park, and then Nick went and picked up sushi for us for dinner!

It was a beautiful day, and the kids loved exploring the creek after we ate at the park.

 

 After we left the park, we went to a local nursery and got some shrubs and finally replanted our front door planters. (And, now I realize my mat is off center, sheesh) I thought they turned out great!

 

I am so thankful to be able to celebrate Mother's Day. I have some awesome mothers in my life who set a great example for me! I felt very special and loved this Mother's Day.

Oh, and I almost forgot to share this little book Z wrote for me. It makes me melt!

 I love it when my mom: spins time with me. She plays with me. Helps me fugrie (figure) out stuff. Get ice cream and eat it before diner.

My mom is special because: She makes the best food. She lets us do fun stuff.

I wish I could buy my mom: a pet (yikes!) and coklete (chocolate) and an auburn shirt.

Lu's 4th Birthday Party!

We had a really fun and busy weekend! Friday morning was Lu's final dance class and party. After the party and lunch, we picked up Z from carpool and went to Lu's preschool for her Mother's Day program. I am pleased to report, there were no tears. In fact there were lots of smiles and waves (and maybe a tear or two of mine)!

Friday night, Z had a soccer game. It was a really pretty evening and we enjoyed it, even though the game didn't go our way. He has already learned a lot this year and has a great coach and team. I love the team huddle at the end of games!

Saturday was Lu's birthday party. We had it at her dance studio. Apparently, we can't get enough of that place!

 Not sure why the table is set up in front of a door and a fire hydrant, but what are you gonna do?! Haha

 

After the party, we went home and rested, the Lu played with her new toys. Her favorites were her jewelry and Belle slippers which made tapping sounds and were perfect for performances, which there were many!

 It was a low-key and very fun party. I really can't believe she'll be 4 in one week!

Z Loses a Tooth!

I can't believe I am reporting this over 2 weeks after it happened (my 2010 self would be so sad). Z lost his first tooth!

I noticed it was starting to feel loose probably a month or so earlier, then I noticed the permanent tooth coming in behind it. We wiggled, tied floss, stretched, pulled. He was such a trooper the whole time, even though I know he didn't love a lot of that, he was always up for it. I think he was really excited at the prospect of finally losing his tooth and the tooth fairy coming!

One morning, Nick said he thought it was loose enough now for me to do what I had been wanting to do for the last month, so I did, and Z screamed and I teared up, but a moment later we were both better.

I was so proud of how he handled it, and I can't believe my baby lost his first tooth!

Lu's First Dance Recital!

This weekend was Lu's big dance recital! She takes dance at this really cute studio that encourages the girls to "move to music." They have a live pianist who plays during every class and a large one-sided mirror so moms can watch. It has been so much fun watching her and hanging out with the other moms every week. The recital was an interpretation of The Very Quiet Cricket and Lu's class were the "apple snappers." We were really excited to see the culmination of such a fun year, but I was also a little sad that it was ending and also a little nervous after the Christmas show and the crying...

But, I worried for nothing, because she did awesome! We were on the front row (yeah, that's right) at both the dress rehearsal and the recital. Her little class did such a good job, and she smiled and waved and just had the best time the whole time! Some of these pictures were taken by Z. He grabbed my mom's phone and insisted he take pictures during her dance. He also said she was the best and prettiest apple snapper ballerina in the whole world.

 

 

 

They sang Three Little Birds by Bob Marley for the finale. Good Lord, that was a tearjerker.

The recital was the perfect finale to a fun-filled weekend! Can't wait until next May when we get to do it all over again!

Spring Break, Part 2

After one night at the Stone Mountain Marriot (double full beds, yikes!), we packed up and headed into the city.

First stop, Georgia Aquarium.

We walked right in to the sea lion show, which I think is a new attraction at the aquarium, and it was so cool! We all loved it!

We spent close to three hours there, including snack time, and even though it was majorly crowded and we couldn't get in to see the dolphin show, we had a great time! The kids were more than ready to leave after three hours, but not before a stop to the gift shop.

After we bought our stuffed sea lion and dolphin, we checked into our hotel and took the shuttle to Phipps Plaza (hello lovah!). We had lunch at Johnny Rockets, shopped a little, then hit up Legoland.

 

Instead of playing on the equipment, Lu decided to build a tower as tall as her.  It got knocked over a few times and let's just say Lu doesn't handle frustration well, but we finally got it standing and a smile to boot, so I say all's well that ends well.

That night, we walked to Maggiano's for dinner. Lu was in a MOOD, but we still managed to have a nice dinner.

After dinner we walked over to Lenox Mall and had Sprinkles for dessert.

 One night at the Embassy Suites (separate sleeping areas! Yay!), and breakfast buffet and we were on the road again.

We went to Alpharetta to check out the American Girl store. I think Nick and Z were in there about 2.5 seconds before they beelined to the Gamestop across the way (nice placement!).

Lu's not huge into AG, but she does have a Bitty Baby, who was in need of some new PJ's and apparently a food processor (which frankly does NOTHING, but Nunna gave them money to buy presents and that's what she wanted).

Z ended up trading in a couple of games and getting a couple new ones. We had a food court lunch and headed home! The weather on Saturday was gorgeous, which made driving a lot more pleasant on the way home. It was a nice weekend away, and I figure we have about 730 days before we have to make that "trip" again....

Spring Break 2016

Spring Break always seems perfectly timed, long enough after Christmas break, but still far from summer. This year, it was much needed, so we were glad we had decided to take a little weekend trip to Stone Mountain and Atlanta.

We weren't leaving until Thursday, so Z had Nunna camp Monday-Wednesday. Lu weasled her way in by running a fever the weekend before, little stinker.

Yay for Nunna Camp!

Thursday, we left for Stone Mountain and over half of our drive over, it was pouring rain! The plan was to eat a quick lunch and hit Stone Mountain Park as soon as possible, but the rain beat us there. They canceled the gondola rides to the top of the mountain, but we were able to do some of the obstacle course and geyser tower and ride the ducks, which actually turned out to be a lot of fun. Even Lu said she loved riding the ducks. 

They even took turns driving the "duck."

 We finally decided to call it a rainy day on Stone Mountain Park, and got checked into our hotel. We knew if all else failed, we could hit up the indoor pool. And that's exactly what we did. Then it cleared up a bit and we were able to got to the outdoor pool, which made up for what we missed of the park.

After we swam, we got changed and headed to dinner at the hotel restaurant. It cleared up considerably after dinner, so we decided to hang out and walk around outside for a while.

Once the sun set, we decided to get some snacks and head back to the room to watch some TV and turn in for the night. Even though our experience at the park was not what we had planned, Day 1 was still a fun day!