a visit from my sis

I haven't updated the blog in a few days, for good reason! My sister has been in town! Let me just say, I've laughed a lot in the past few days, and I've probably laughed harder than I ever do. I love having company and especially when it is one of my sisters!

She arrived on Wednesday, I drove to Columbus to pick her up. We had a great ride home, chatting and eating snacks the whole way! Thursday, we didn't waste anytime and took off to see the sights! We took a tour of Cleveland Clinic, headed up the Lk. Erie coast, stopped off at the beach for a little picnic and some pictures, then stopped off at Kirtland on our way home. Will absolutely loves Kirtland and wouldn't let us leave without showing Krista and doing a tour. The weather was great, so I spent a bit of the tour out on the lawn feeding Eli and watching Will run around.

Will loved the beach, digging for rocks and picking up sticks. Eli wasn't so sure he liked the beach. I think the combination of sun, wind, and being tired wore him out. Still, he's pretty much the best baby on earth and hardly fusses, even when he's tired.
Here we are, enjoying the snacks and the sun. It was a gorgeous day, and great to be out in the sunshine!
On Friday, we did some shopping, ran around here and there, and got stuff for Will's tadpole that finally came in the mail! Friday afternoon we played here at home, Will was loving having his fun aunt here to play with him non-stop. We had a yummy dinner and then watched a movie after the kids were in bed.

Saturday was such a fun day. Will was supposed to have a soccer game, but the rain washed it out. So, instead of heading to soccer, we headed to Chagrin Falls. It's a quaint little town that sits above some really pretty water falls. They have a yummy popcorn and ice cream shop, lots of fun restaurants, and some really fun shops. The thing I love most is to walk around, window shop, and look at all the really cool doors to the shops. Each one is a different style and a different color, I loved it. Some day, I'm going to have a picture of all of them to hang in my room!
It was rainy when we left home, but cleared up a bit while we were in Chagrin Falls. Will still thought it was absolutely necessary that he carry the umbrella around all day.
A quick family pic at the falls. Yep, my boys are still cute. Okay... moving on.....
Sisters. They are the best. We sure had fun!
Will and Dad down by the falls.
After Chagrin Falls, we headed back into town and made a stop off at the B Spot for dinner. We've heard great things about it and it did not dissapoint! It was so good. Best hamburger ever, and really really good fries! While we were waiting for our table, we ran into Trader Joes (one of my favorites!) and Anthropologie (another fav!). While we were inside, the rain started pouring! We were soaked by the time we ran over to B Spot, but once my food arrived, it didn't matter, I was so happy to be eating! :)

We also went to Kirtland a couple times. The temple is gorgeous, and the weather has been so great. I'm so glad it has been warm and sunny while we've had company, it made it easy to go out and do a lot of stuff!

Saturday night we hung out at home, made some jewelry, and watched another movie. Sunday was a great day to relax and hang out, go to church, and watch the season finale of LOST! :) Today, we tried to squeeze in everything we didn't get done.... but ended up letting the boys nap while we chatted and hung out here at home. After all is said and done, we love having the company and we are going to miss Aunt Krista! We were looking forward to her visit since last Fall and now it has come and gone. Will told her to go home and pack more stuff so she could come back!

Now we don't know what to do with ourselves.... who's going to be our next visitors?

just some weekend thoughts

First of all, this may be a boring post to most of you, but it's journaling for our family, so I'm still going to post it. Also, there probably won't be any pictures, so sorry if it is really boring to you all.

I've been thinking a lot lately about our family, and truly how blessed we are. It seems like when you are going through something difficult, you never see the light at the end of the tunnel. Then, suddenly, it seems like things change rapidly for the better. At least in my life, that is how my trials or difficulties have been. So I've been thinking about how lucky I am and how blessed my little family is. I have two of the sweetest boys on earth, really, I do. If you've ever met them, I'm pretty sure you'll agree. I have a wonderful supportive husband who puts up with me and my crazy ways. We have a wonderful ward family, a wonderful FAMILY far far away from us, and great friends who love and support us.

A year ago this time, I was right in the middle of some really intense fertility treatments. I would never wish the trial, disappointment, or frustration of infertility on any woman or family. I can say I honestly feel your pain if you've ever had to do any sort of fertility. It is hard. It's hard on your mind and body. It's physically painful and limiting, and it's emotionally draining and often unbearable. BUT, this is not what I set out to write...... sorry, I'm digressing. Thinking back to a year ago and comparing it with the here and now, it's pretty unbelievable that my baby turns 7 months old this week. Did the fertility work? No. Did Heavenly Father work? Yes. He always does, and he answered prayers for us that we never really even thought would be answered.

The whole reason I'm writing this long wordy post is because of an experience I had this weekend. We decided on Friday to go out to eat. Shocking I know..... but for us, we don't go out, hardly ever, unless we have visitors in town. So, I picked up Scott from work and we decided we wanted to go out. We went to Red Robin. It was pretty yummy, I got a Peachy Soda thing that was awesome. While we were sitting there waiting for our food, I saw a table full of ladies come in and sit down just across the aisle from us. I couldn't help noticing the very large pregnant belly of one of the girls. She had to have either been having twins, was over-due, or about to burst any moment. They had to slide the table in the opposite direction so she would fit. She was cute, and I kept staring at her. She kept staring at us. It's not unusual for people to stare at us..... we are a racially mixed family, a very cute one at that! :) Eli always gets lots of attention whenever we go out, and people don't usually seem afraid to approach us or comment on us. So, we were sitting there, Eli was bouncing up and down on Scott's lap, I was talking and playing with Will, and we were having a nice time.

The pregnant girl kept staring at us, and soon her mother (I'm assuming) started staring at us. So I just kind of sat there and did my own thing. Then I started feeling really overwhelmed with gratitude and thinking about my family(the whole reason for my post). Yes we get some people staring, but in that moment, I couldn't have been happier. For two reasons. One, Will. And two, Eli. I felt so much gratitude that I am a mother, and have I been through the long nine months of pregnancy and all that accompanies it, I've given birth, I've had an epidural, I've gone through labor, I've pushed for almost three hours trying to bring our son into this world. I've also healed from labor and delivery while nursing my sweet little infant, I've woken up at night, excited to see my brand new baby boy. Then I started feeling gratitude that I was a mother who on baby number two, saw a whole new side of motherhood and got a completely different perspective. I still got to see my baby boy #2 be born, be the first to see him, hold him, kiss him, watch his first bath, feed him his first bottle, change and put on the first diaper, all the while, free of the pains of pregnancy, labor, and delivery. I'm SO lucky. Just think about that, I've experience the best of both worlds. Some people say I took the "easy" way out with Eli. Well, they don't know what they are talking about.

With Eli, I was there from hour one of his birth, just like I was with Will. I still got up in the night, excited to get to know my little gentleman. Though I didn't have the labor pains, and even though I bottle fed with Eli, it was still a healing process for me. With Will, I had to heal physically, and with Eli, I was healed emotionally. So.... back to the girl staring at me that brought on all these thoughts of mine. I can't say for certain what exactly she was thinking, but I bet she was looking at us and thinking "they probably adopted that cute baby....." along with all the other thoughts and questions a pregnant woman might have about that. She was probably also thinking "I wonder if that older boy is adopted......." Even though, I laugh when people think that because he looks so much like the two of us. I don't know what else she was thinking, but I couldn't help thinking about my situation myself while looking at her pregnant belly. I've been there, I'm happy and blessed to have had that experience. I'm also happy and blessed to have had the other experience.

Basically, I've had the best of both worlds. I will be eternally grateful to my loving Father in Heaven for giving me those two amazing experiences. Count your blessings, they are there, even when you think they are not! Don't give up, the light at the end of the tunnel will come, it always does.

And, thanks for letting my write a few thoughts, if you made it to the end, you're a trooper.

too cute to not share

I know you've seen lots of pictures of Eli, but I guess you'll have to get used to it because I'm not stopping anytime soon. These are the latest of Eli and his little buddy. They are just a few weeks apart and I think they would be great pals if they weren't moving in a year..... sniff sniff.

Enjoy!

My favorite part of these pictures if thinking about what the parents were doing to try to get them to smile. Our little boys are so dang cute I almost can't stand to look at these pictures. This next picture is a great shot of E's teeth. If you click on it and make it bigger, then you can really so those pearly whites. I especially love his whole mouth in this picture, his bottom lip looks too big to hold itself up, and his teeth are so fun!

I also love that in every picture, Eli's friend is smiling so sweet and Eli is sitting there with his mouth open, like he wants food or something. Speaking of Eli and food, I only spent a mere 40$ on baby food today. Want to guess how long that will last us? About a week. Yep, he's not missin' any meals!
And look how cute and straight "A" sits up! He is doing so good. Eli is still folded in half in order to not roll over. I sometimes feel like Eli could roll end to end in no matter what position we put him in. He is rolling around though, I feel bad for him, he has such a big head and such big fat cheeks, I'm sure it is a lot of work! Maybe that's why he eats so much?

it's more to be four

What does "it's more to be four" even mean? I'm not sure, but it rhymed and we've been doing lots of rhymes around our house lately. Will is always coming up with words that rhyme. He's getting really good at it too! He used to say things like "Ba ba ba.... house!" Now he says things like "ba ba ba ball!" So..... he's come a long way in the past few months!

Anyways.... on to my birthday boy. I don't think I have enough time or energy to relate all the ways Will brightens my days. He is a little ray of sunshine, a happy child, tender hearted, sensitive, energetic, loves to laugh, playful, shy, and smart. And now, he's four. F-O-U-R. Four! I don't believe it. Except that on his birthday he actually cried and said "I don't WANT to be FOUR! I want to be FIVE!" Sorry bud, one more year to go. And please don't go too fast this year, because when you do turn five that means you'll be on the brink of kindergarten and I know I'm not ready to cope with that yet.

This is Will the morning of his birthday. The essence of my little baby boy still in that sweet face. He IS still my baby, still loves to cuddle, sit on my lap, hug, and kiss, and be with mom. We are buds.... most of the time! :)

For his big birthday day, we went to the Arboretum out by Kirtland. It is SO pretty. We had fun walking around, but I decided we needed to come as a family with a baby backpack so we could really dig in and do some walking/hiking around. The stroller just wasn't cutting it for me. It was really pretty though and it was Arbor day and we got a free tree seedling. Will loves being outside so much I thought it was the perfect place to go on his day. On the way home, we had to make a stop by Old Navy. Will was in some serious need of new clothes. I let him pick out a couple outfits and he did a pretty good job. Now he has some summer clothes that fit him instead of wearing shorts that are a little too short.....

After Old Navy, we went and picked up Scott from work. Then we headed to the Cheesecake Factory! It was awesome as usual. It was great too because we were almost the only people in the restaurant. We didn't wait to be sat at all and it was so pleasant. Will loved it. He ordered fried macaroni and cheese (I know it sounds disgusting, but I'm pretty sure it is heaven on earth, and a party for the arteries!). Every time we go, we get the fried mac and chz appetizer and every time I'm eating it, I think of the Minnesota State Fair, where it is a goal to get EVERYTHING fried and on a stick. I'm sure you've heard me talk about it before, but you can literally find everything fried or on a stick at the MN State Fair, they pride themselves on it.

Okay.... on to the birthday! I had the BBQ Ranch Chicken salad to share with Scott and a cherry coke of course. A REAL cherry coke, made at the bar, the best way to go! Then we had to order cheesecake. Will got a raspberry lemon. He loved it. Went straight for the huge pile of whip cream and just started licking it like an ice cream cone. He is his mother's son....
He's showing you proudly that he is four. Look at his cheesecake, it is as "wide" as he is in this picture! It was pretty tasty!
Diving in for the whip cream! Go Will!

After dinner, we headed home. We watched Princess and the Frog, which Will thought was the best movie of all time, solely because there are frogs, bugs, and a really weird scary bad on it. We blew up the air matress, ate more of our cheesecake, and just hung out. We love Will and we had a great time celebrating his birthday. Thanks for being an amazing boy Will!

Our Sealing

Utah day three. Definitely the best day of our whole trip! We woke up early..... this was a trend while we were in Utah, to bed late, and up early, not so easy. We got everyone all spiffy and ready to go to the temple. Little E looked so cute in his white clothes, I can't even tell you how much fun it was to see him in his sealing outfit.

When we got to the temple, it felt a lot like it did on our wedding day, they usher you around, little old ladies telling you to go this way and that. The only difference is that our wedding was almost 7 years ago and now we have two kids! :) We took the boys into the "nursery" where they got to stay while we changed our clothes. Will was doing a great job, got a little teary when we left him there, but still did wonderful. The temple worker took Eli and his clothes and said she would change him and get him ready for us.

Scott and I went and changed into our clothes and then we waited. I got to wait with my mom in the bride's room. Again, it brought back a lot of memories. I saw another young bride, waiting for her sealing, it was great to reminisce about that day seven years ago! Once everything was ready to go, they called us up to the sealing room. Just outside the dressing room, we got to wait for Will and Eli to be brought to us. When they brought the boys to us, Will was very sad, he didn't want to take his shoes off! He was crying and crying and border line hysterical. I think he had been keeping it all together so well and that was his breaking point. He said "mom, I don't need to take my shoes off! They don't have mud on them!" It was so sweet. I finally just took them off and we headed up to the sealing room.

It was a wonderful sealing, so special and so sweet. Eli did great, he was so tired, but still did great, didn't fuss or cry at all. My dad did a great job as the sealer and I was so happy that he could do it. Will did great too, just sat on his chair and watched everything, a little shy, but quiet, so that was good! :)

After the sealing, we headed back to change clothes and get Eli in his blessing outfit. Our family was waiting for us outside. It was such a great experience to see all of our family members there to support us and be with us and Eli on such a special day. I've never NOT felt like Eli was a part of our family, but after our sealing, it really made it feel official and permanent. I'm so glad for that and for eternal families.

We took a couple pictures (down below) and then headed to the church for the blessing. Scott gave Eli a name and blessing and did an amazing job! The Spirit was so strong for us that whole day. It was again, great to see and be with all our families. I feel so lucky to be able to talk to Eli about his special day and his family that loves him and supports him. Of course, we had to snap a few photos so, here they are!

The entire Mortensen family. All six kids, all 11 grandkids and one on the way!

Our little family. Complete. Outside the temple.

Us and both sets of parents/grandparents. Thanks for all your support, we LOVE YOU!!!

My cute cute cute boys. Aren't they handsome?

It wouldn't be a true picture of Will without a funny face these days!

This is my great nephew! Crazy I know. Look how cute he is! These boys are just 9 days apart! In the next picture, if you look close, you can see that Eli and Carver are laughing at each other, it was pretty cute! Go here to see the last time these little men saw each other. Quite the change, I can't believe how they change in just a few months!

Our sweet friends the Labrums.

Our MN (and Utah) friends. Thanks for coming and supporting us guys!! We love you! I especially love the thumbs up from Marcus and Will, they will always be good buddies!

Last but not least, the Mortensen grandkids... minus one that is due any day! Hang in there Kari! Thanks again everyone for coming and supporting us. I know it wasn't easy, a lot of you had to travel and take time off work. I can't even tell you how appreciative we are and how much we love you and think about all of you. Friends included! We felt really blessed on Saturday and had an amazing day. Thank you again!

Utah day two

After we finalized Thursday morning, we drove up to Logan. We spent the afternoon at my parents new house and had a great time! My brothers and their families all came for dinner Thursday night. It was fun to see them, let Will play with cousins, and let everyone see Eli.

On Friday, we headed over to the Mortensen's and spent the day there. Mostly getting ready for everything on Saturday and getting ready for a birthday party for Will. We have the greatest family, they were all so happy and excited for Will and made him feel really special. I'm glad they were able to come! Will loves his cousins and talks about all his cousins constantly. He played for hours and hours with them, I hardly ever saw him the entire time we were in Utah. He was loving it.

Grandma made a watermelon cake per Will's request. I have no idea where this request came from, that's just what he chose, so that's what she made! It turned out really cute, and Will thought it was great!

We also had ice cream cones with our cake. We lit the candles, but Will didn't want anyone to sing to him or to even tell him "Happy Birthday!" So we didn't. We just lit the candles and had him blow them out, then we ate cake, had ice cream cones, and Will opened some presents. He was so spoiled, he was just loving every minute. I was glad we could do this for him before our big day on Saturday, I think it was good for him to have some of the attention!


Will loved his party. He got a frog habitat from Aunt Krista and loves it! Thanks again!! We are waiting for his real tadpole to come in the mail.... it said 4-6 weeks. It's is going to be a long wait, because Will has asked several times, several times a day when it is coming.....

Thanks for making Will feel special everybody for all you do for us! We had a great time! I'll be back tomorrow to write about our sealing!

final

We have lots of pictures of our trip to Utah for our finalization.... so I'm going to try to take it slowly, one day at a time, one post at a time. It was a great trip, we had amazing experiences, saw lots of family, and loved every minute. Will slept in until 10am the day after we got back.... just shows you how exhausted we are!

We arrived in Utah on Wednesday night. Spent the night with my sister and her family and woke up at 5am the next morning to get ready, get kids ready, pack our suitcases up (we stayed at a different house each night), eat breakfast, and drive up to Salt Lake.

We got to the courthouse and both our parents met us there, along with Liz and Devin who flew in the night before. We are so grateful for such wonderful, supportive parents. They do a lot for us and we are very lucky. It was also so fun to have Liz and Devin there. They had never met Eli, so it was fun to introduce them to our chunky man.

Just outside the courtroom, waiting to go inside. I've never in court before. It was pretty cool, very formal, and I had no idea what to expect. Our attorney said that the judge we had was very nice, but very formal and hardly ever smiled. So I was a little nervous. I didn't feel nervous about the finalization at all, I knew things were going to work out, I just had NO idea what to expect. I didn't know what they would ask us or say to us, in order to make our adoption final.

Once we got inside, we waited a while for the judge. He got there, we had to stand up and be sworn in. That was pretty cool, and intimidating. Then they called a "witness" from our agency to testify if all our paperwork, case worker visits, and family life were in order. They also asked her if she thought we would make fit parents to raise this child. Have you ever had someone testify if you are a fit parent? I'm just glad she doesn't see us at home, when all is falling apart about 4pm everyday while I'm pulling my hair out just trying to keep it together! :) Needless to say, she said she thought we should adopt Eli and make him a permanent member of our family. Whew.

Then they talked to Scott, and asked him all sorts of interesting questions. Like "Scott, do you want to adopt this child?" And "Do you feel like this is your child, is there a bond between the two of you?" Also "Do you want to allow your wife to adopt this child?" Of course he answered and expounded YES on all of these. They also asked us if we realized that if we make this adoption final that it means that Eli is ours for the rest of our lives, come what may, death, divorce, hard times, sickness, etc. That is a bit intimidating too, no one ever says that to you when you have a baby of your own making! :) They also said "You know he's going to turn 16 one day, and you'll be responsible for him, right?" That's when I suddenly got nervous thinking about raising ANY child when they are 16. After they asked Scott questions, they asked me the same questions. It was humbling and I couldn't help but be a little tearful answering them. They asked me the same things as Scott but also asked me if there was love in our family. Not just between Eli and me, but between all of us, big brother Will included. I was happy to say yes and that we were very happy.

Then it was the judge's turn to speak. He was very friendly, and very emotional. He said "I don't know why I'm emotional, but seeing this family, and seeing what a good thing is happening here makes me really emotional. There are a lot of not so wonderful things that happen in this courtroom and it is great to start the day with this experience." Then he "declared" our adoption final and let us take some pictures, shake his hand, and even told Will he could sit in his judges chair. Will said no.... of course! :)


It really was an amazing experience. I hadn't expected to feel any different after our finalization. I already knew Eli was ours, I knew I loved him, and I knew he was going to be part of our family always. But for some reason, after the finalization, I felt totally different. I loved him more, felt more connection, and felt closure. It was a great feeling.

Having been through adoption, I know that EVERY adoption is a miracle. It is the best thing that has ever happened to our family, and I wish everyone had the chance to experience it. You never know what love you are capable of until you receive a baby through adoption. We love you Eli and are so proud to be your parents.... even when you turn 16. We love you too Will! You did a great job in the courtroom, minding your manners and being so polite. You are a great big brother and Eli is lucky to have you!

lazy days of summer

Okay, technically it is not Summer, yet, but yesterday sure felt like it! It was warm and sunny, and we were spending the day outside. So, Will and I decided the weather was warm enough to fill up his pool. The hose water was freezing but he didn't mind, until he got his belly wet. Then I don't think he set foot in the pool after that. It was a wonderful sunny day and we loved enjoying our backyard and our patio. I sat there imagining all the beautiful things I'm going to do to our little patio/deck. It was fun. Then I worked on a couple projects before Eli was up from his nap. Here's a few pictures of fun four year old!

Obviously the most exciting part of filling up the pool is getting to play with the hose! I used to LOVE playing with the hose when I was younger, I don't know why, but it was always so interesting. :)

He's such a cutie in his swim duds!

He's also pretty goofy sometimes.

And not too shy apparently. I guess when you gotta go, you GOTTA go!

I'm loving the nice weather, it makes everything in life that much better when you add a little sunshine to it! So, bring on the summer, we're ready for the pool!

pillow talk

Last night, I had one of those conversations with Will that I don't ever want to forget. Eli was already wrapped snug in his bed snoozing away. Scott was gone to a church meeting. So, Will and I leisurely got ready for bed. We sat on my bed to read scriptures. After reading scriptures Will asked me a couple questions and we laid there and talked for a minute. Then I said "Okay, let's go brush teeth and then I'll tuck you in...." Will looked at me and smiley said "Okay mom, but then can we just lay in bed and talk?" How do you say "no" to that? Or pass up that kind of opportunity? So, did just that. Brushed teeth, said prayers, and laid in the guest bed (remember Eli was asleep) and talked for awhile. Will asked me all sorts of questions, from how many temples there are, to if I remembered President Hinckley, then asked me what President Hinckley taught us, then asked all about Satan and his many intriguing personalities and names, then talked about family, cousins, and all sorts of stuff. He was so funny, and so sweet. He didn't just lay quietly still listening to all my answers, he was rolling around the bed, playing with his feet and playing with my hair and face. I didn't care, I just love my sweet little Will. He has such a tender heart and it was so fun to just lay by him and chat.

I hope it's not the last time..... this was one of those moments as a mother that I could relive everyday. And today, I was glad I had that moment, especially while he was throwing our garden shovel at the neighbor's house while screaming at the top of his lungs. Yep, it was one of those days.... but that's okay! Because I have these sweet moments to remember what life and mothering is really about.

The photo is from almost exactly a year ago. A few days after Will turned 3. I can't believe he's just days away from turning 4. My baby has gone, and here comes "boyhood." Oh dear, I hope I'm ready for the next few years!

hoppy easter!

And "HOPPY" Easter it was!! This Spring in Cleveland has been beautiful. I don't think I've ever experienced a Spring like this. The trees are blossoming and the grass is getting greener and greener. It really has been so pretty. The temperature is perfect too, not too hot, just right. So on Easter SATURDAY :) we really got to enjoy the nice sunny weather. The boys hunted for eggs inside the house to find their Easter basket, and then did an even bigger hunt outside in the back yard with REAL eggs. Will was very excited that the eggs we had dyed earlier in the week were the eggs he was hunting.

Isn't Will's outfit great? He's at that age where is wanting to be very independent.... even down to his clothes choices. Tye dye green Costa Rica shirt with sweats, awesome.
Yep, Eli is still the cutest baby ever. Just thought I'd give you more proof, in case you weren't convinced. He had fun looking for easter eggs too. Or more like watching Will run around like a crazy person.
Eli is growing so fast! He's moves all over the place, and starting to sit up! He eats like a champ.... as you can see. And has been sleeping great. He doesn't wake up to eat, just to get his binki put back in his mouth. He also jabbers and "talks" a lot. He's laughing and smiling and just lovin' life. He's so sweet, our family is lucky to have him!
Here's Will showing off his pro-Easter egg finding skills.


I love this picture. The basket is almost as big as Will, and he's so proud of himself for finding such great eggs. Then there's Eli, just staring at Will like he always does, and then there's my handsome hubby in his bball attire. I love my family, they are the best.
Here's my sweet boys in their Easter PJ's. Aren't they cute? I thought monkies with bananas were perfect. They are two little monkies, and I'm usually going bananas. :) I mostly love their cute bellies and little bums in these PJ's.
Here's my Will, being a goof, and I love it. He takes after his parents, always being goofy. He is constantly saying "Mom! Let's laugh!" So we try to do silly things to make each other laugh, and it works, just a couple of goofy faces and he has me laughing pretty hard.
Yep, I'm lucky. Check out those cheeks. I'm putting this picture up, not because my hair looks so cool, but because everyone always wants to kiss Eli's cheeks. Now you can see that we kiss them enough, plenty for ourselves and enough for everybody else too! They are SO kissable!

lately....

We've had lots of goings on around here lately. We had a great Easter and have had a busy, exciting week after. We had preschool at our house this week. That is always an adventure! I'm going to miss these little kids, but we are excited for Summer to come and have lots of sunny, do-nothing days!

Most of the week was sunny and warm. It was lovely. One of the favorite things about my house is that the morning sunshine comes right into my kitchen windows. It is bright. I'm talking really bright. I love eating breakfast in the warm sunshine, and just taking a few moments in the morning to stare out the window. It's the best way to start my day! Our sweet friend brought us Lilies when she came for Easter dinner and they look so pretty sitting on my kitchen table in the bright sunshine.

With the warm weather has come the warm weather apparel. I love that too. I love that Will is in and out the door a 100 times a day. He's been digging for worms galore, and loving every minute. These cute flip flops we found at Old Navy in Chicago. Will loves them because they have sharks on them. I love them because he can put them on, himself, in about .2 seconds. Summer is the greatest!
And of coures, I have to leave you with a little glimpse of one of the loves of my life. I know I say it over and over, and it is probably getting old, but this boy has completely captured my heart. I just love him to bits. I can't go a moment without squeezing him, kissing those cheeks, and smiling at him. He's been really liking his toys lately, and he's just started the rambling "da da da da da !!" over and over and over.... all through the night, every time he wakes up, he's talking. But he only says "dada dadada....." and it starts really loud and serious and goes quieter and quieter until he's just whispering it. It is super cute, I need to see if I can capture it on video. I guess for now, you can just stare at a cute picture......
Man, I have cute boys in my life. How did I get so lucky?