Vegas (May 15-19)

We took a trip to Las Vegas to visit Gram/Great Grandma Marcia. Gramps/Great Grandpa Glen was away on a work assignment, which we were bummed about, but we were able to spend a lovely 4 days with GG Marcia.

The flight down was Noah's first plane ride and he was an absolute angel. He didn't make a peep! Esme was the difficult one as she was 17 months old and didn't want to be contained in one spot for 5 hours. Luckily, we got one of the only spare seats on the plane and Esme was able to sit between us which gave her a touch more space. You don't have to buy seats for little ones until they are 2 so this was a big bonus!

View of the Strip from Gramps and Gram's House


We decided to go swimming on our fist day but it was very cold! Esme loved it, despite the freezing temps, and didn't want to get out! I think we nearly gave her hypothermia! I don't think we managed a temp greater than 70 our entire trip!



*** Grandma Marcia asked me not to put pictures of her on the internet, just in case you're wondering where she is!

We took a day trip out to the Hoover Dam. It is something that I have always wanted to see and I thought it would be a nice family day out. Gram decided to stay home so the four of us ventured out on our own. We had a great day looking around the Hoover Dam and enjoying the scenery. It really is magnificent- the view from the new bridge is amazing!



The fam on the bridge



Lovely view


The reservoir


That evening, Gram took us to the Freemont Street Experience. We knew Esme would love it as she is a dancing machine and absolutely LOVES music. Noah just rode around in his Ergo baby carrier- everyone told us what a beautiful little girl he is! I think it is the hair :)





We also took a day trip out to Death Valley. We weren't expecting to love it as much as we did- it was spectacular! We didn' give ourselves near enough time to see everything we wanted to see and want to go back.






The sand dunes were definitely our favorite part of the day. Esme was able to run around and climb the dunes and the scenery was breathtaking.



The fam at the dunes




One of my favorite pictures from Death Valley




During our visit, we spent time doing what Gram and Brie do best: shopping! Gram took us to Kohl's and got the kids and I some new clothes. We also went to Dillard's! Gram filled our bags with treasures for our birthdays and we couldn't be more thankful. We are really lucky to have a gram/great gram like her!

Gram also encouraged Stephen and I to go to a show while we were in town. She even offered to babysit! After a lot of waffling, we decided to go and see Beatles LOVE at the Mirage. We have always wanted to see a Cirque Du Soleil show and this was our perfect opportunity! The show was remarkable and definitely worth the money!



It was very cute coming home from the show to see Gram sleeping on the couch with Noah and little Miss Esme asleep on the floor beside them. So adorable!

Here are a few pics of the kids during the trip...



Esme was taken with the fly swatter...



Handsome little Prince




One our final day, we went into town and met up with Jeanne and Larry. I have very fond childhood memories of Jeanne. We would always bake cookies together when I went to Michigan on Christmas. It was really lovely to see her again and to meet her husband Larry. I am glad our holidays intersected!



Gram was a great host. She spoiled us with lovely meals and presents and we had a fantastic time. We got to meet her new puppy, Randall, and see all of my other "Aunts and Uncles" aka the Heelers! We are grateful to have our Gram in our lives and look forward to a trip to Las Vegas in the near future...and hopefully Gramps will be able to be there this time!

Godmother Abbie comes for a visit! (May 5-10)

One of Esme's Godmothers (and one of my best friends), Abbie, came for a visit! Abbie and I met in mortuary school and have been close friends ever since. She lives in a suburb of Chicago and we don't see each other as often as we'd like but we make it work! She has been an amazing Godmother to Esme.

The first thing we did was go to brunch at the Brownstone diner which was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We ordered lunch and had their famous pancakes for dessert! We had the black forest pancakes and they were yummy!

after lunch, we made a trip to an old local cemetery. We both love looking around old graveyards and this one was no exception! Esme loved being able to run around!





We also made a trip to the Bronx Zoo. We really love it there and Abbie seemed to enjoy it, too! It was super busy because it was Mother's day and we waited a crazy long time for our food, but all in all it was a good time.

The butterfly garden was beautiful!


Daddy, Abbie and Ezzy


Cheeky Peepers!


Tiny Noah


Esme and Abbie


That night, we went to dinner at Ten East, a really cool hibachi grill next to our apartments. Esme loves the fire and enjoyed the show that the chef put on.


We spent a day walking around the city (NYC) and really got our exercise. We went to FAO Schwartz and Esme had a go on the famous Big Piano! We had to wake her up from a nap so she could play on it. She wasn't sure at first but when she finally woke up she had a good time!


Esme on the Piano


No day out is complete without a trip to the park in Hoboken. Abs had fun chasing her goddaughter around and pushing her on the swings.


Handsome little man at the park- chilling in the shade!


All ends have to come to a visit but this one had a bit of drama to it! On the way to the airport, I hit a major pothole and completely bent the rim on my car. Stupid Jersey turnpike! I was able to get Abs to the airport and limp home but my tire went flat and the whole rim had to be replaced. Thank god for AAA! To make matters even more interesting, once I got home I noticed Abbie had forgotten her phone and because of the pothole, I had no way of getting her phone to her before she took off! I ended up overnighting it to her and everything was ok in the end!



We are lucky to have Abbie in our lives and Esme couldn't have asked for a better Godmother (other than Tiff!). Thanks for coming to visit us, Abs!

Photo catch up

Here are some photos from some of our fun times between end of April and the beginning of May. We had a lovely trip to the park in Hoboken with Krystal, Savvy, Jill and Cassius. It was on this trip that we learned Savannah was going to be a big sister :) Such exciting news!



Savvy and Cass


One of my all time favorite pictures!


It is in this trip to the park that Esme found her passion for slides!




During this time, Esme was getting cheekier and cheekier!


And started to love slides more and more....the bigger the better! No fear!


Stephen took a trip to Gettysburg with our good friend Jim Hennig and one of his mates, Mike. They had a really great time exploring the battlefields and hanging out by the bonfire at night.






Noah is growing like a weed! He is such a big boy and barely wears clothes once before he outgrows them! At three months he is wearing a six month size!

He smiles all the time


And makes the funniest faces!


Noah slept through the night from about five weeks and is an absolute angel! He was always a good sleeper and only woke up once a night for a diaper change and a feed but now sleeps in until around 9:30! He knows the way to his Mama's heart :)

He has the best pouty lip- I have never seen a baby do this so often. If he gets upset, he sticks his lip out as far as it will go before making any noise!


He also loves to sleep on his tummy. This is a no no at bed time but If I am next to him I let his sleep on his tummy at nap time.


We bed share and it is obvious that Noah sleeps like his Mama- he tosses and turns and kicks! He makes bed sharing a challenge at times but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Easter (4/23/2011)

I really need to get caught up! As a result, the next few blogs may not be as detailed as I would like! It is currently mid August and I am just now getting around to writing about Easter!

We started the day off opening Easter baskets at home. Esme had a lot of fun digging through hers and then moved on to Noah's. It was very cute- she would pick things out of his basket and lay them on him- she understood that they were his presents!

Here is a picture of Noah with some of his presents on him, courtesy of Esme!


Their Easter baskets


Easter Bunny Picture


We are very fortunate to have become close with my extended family in Philadelphia. They invited us down for Easter Sunday and we were very pleased to accept the invitation. They were all very keen to see Esme again and to finally meet baby Noah! Dick and Miriam have 9 grandchildren of their own and treat Ez and Noah as if they have been around forever.

All of the kids


Uncle Dick and Noah


Daddy and Peepers


Mommy and Noah


Uncle Dick and Aunt Miriam with the kiddos


A video of Esme on her very first Easter Egg Hunt


We are truly grateful to have such a beautiful family that has so lovingly welcomed us into their lives xx