Just can't get enough of his cute smile!

This smile made getting up 7 times last night all worth it!

Nemo's Near-death Experience

Do you remember this guy? We have had him for over a year now and he has survived all sorts of things. He's been on numerous vacations with us because for some reason it seems easier to stick him in the cup holder than to ask a friend to babysit. On the way home from one of those vacations we stopped in Lake Placid and decided to walk around the town for a few hours. Since it was a hot day I felt bad leaving him in the car so I stuck him in my purse and he sloshed around Lake Placid with us. Also sad to say we often forget to feed him and change his water, even more so since Ethan was born. And Cala is constantly tapping on the side of his fish bowl!

As if all that wasn't enough for the poor little guy, a couple nights ago Mark was cleaning out the bowl, and Nemo was hanging out in the little plastic cup we bought him in. I fed him and then forgot to snap back on the plastic lid. A while later I went back into the kitchen to get a drink and noticed something black in the middle of the floor. I was about to nudge it with my foot to see what it was when I looked up at Nemo's empty cup! It was Nemo! I was sure he was dead and screamed (yes I'm a little dramatic sometimes) for Mark to come get him as I ran out of the kitchen.

To make a long story short, Nemo survived flopping around on the table (there was a wet trail from his cup to the edge of the table), the four foot fall down to the floor, and flopping two more feet across the kitchen floor. We are shocked that he is still alive, and I have made a personal resolve to do better at remembering to feed him everyday :)

Happy Birthday Cala!

My baby girl is 3 years old! I can't believe it! We celebrated her birthday a little early while family was in town. We had her favorite spaghetti made by Papa, princess cupcakes, and presents.

A lot of her presents were Barbie/princess-related items which she is very into right now and she has been playing with them ever since.

Then on the morning of her actual birthday we gave her another Barbie! She was thrilled! (notice that even her PJ's have princesses on them, thanks Kristina!)

That morning she got to see friends when she went with me to a craft fair for a few hours.

Later that day we took her to Build-a-Bear. She was a little shy, but she loves the bear she got. As you can tell the bear is a girl and Cala named her "boy".

Here are some fun facts about Cala at 3 years old...

Favorite Color: Pink

Favorite Foods: Pizza, Spaghetti, Grapes, Candy (that one is totally my fault)

Favorite Phrases: "Sorry mom I didn't mean to", "Not quite"

Big Accomplishments: Potty training, becoming a big sister

Favorite Pet: Nemo (beta fish) who recently survived a near-death experience

Favorite Hobbies: Playing with barbies and princesses, helping mom bake

Best Friends: Georgia, Emry, Ruby, Maddie, Camden

Favorite TV show: Curious George

Talents: Making people laugh, mixing brownie batter, cheering up her little bro when he cries

We love you so much, Cala! Happy Birthday sweet girl!

NYC Girls' Trip

I have made some great friends here in New York, and last weekend we all decided to get away to the city for the weekend.

We said goodbye to our husbands (they were so good to watch the kids for the weekend!)...

...and we said Hello to New York City!

First thing we did was to eat some of the amazing food that you can only find in New York City.

Then we checked out Times Square (the place we stayed was only a few blocks away).

We even got in a little trouble from the security guard while posing for some crazy pictures... oops!

I don't think any of us had been out this late in a LONG time!

The next day was gorgeous, and we had lots of things planned.

First, we headed to Central Park for a run and tandem bike ride. What fun!

Later in the day, we stopped by Doughnut Plant for some DELICIOUS doughnuts! (yes, there was a line! I think we waited about 20 minutes to get some doughnuts, but they were worth it!)

They were huge! This is the fresh blueberry doughnut.

Then we shopped 'til we dropped (literally)!

We all bought purses. Mine is the green one, I love it!

We saw some things that you only see in New York City, like a gigantic purse covering a store front during remodeling.

On the way to church the next morning we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was hot and I ended up with blisters, but I'm glad we did it.

We got to attend church in Brooklyn where one of my friends served her mission.

We took a taxi to rest our tired feet.

Then on to Greenwich Village and more good food... pizza baked in a coal-burning oven. It was the freshest-tasting pizza that I have ever had.

And who could pass up a bakery window that looked like this!

After a weekend full of shopping and eating (every girls' dream, right?) we wondered how in the world we were going to fit in the car to go home... somehow we did!

Happy First Day of School, Mark!

Yesterday was Mark's first day of his last year of law school! Hooray!

I wasn't even mad...

I wasn't even mad when Cala unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper because I was too excited that she's now potty trained!!! Woohoo! I have been trying to potty train her off and on for months. This time, I "threw away" her diapers, so then she threw a big fit. But I guess she realized there wasn't any other option. It took about a week and she had a couple accidents, but now it's done. I do think I'm going to be nervous to go anywhere for quite a while, though, and I'm thinking I'm a little crazy for doing this with a 7 week old baby, but... Wish me luck!

Two Weeks Old

Ok, so he's more like 6 weeks old, but I just had to post these pictures that we had taken when Ethan was 2 weeks old. My friend Angie took them and she did such a great job! Mark says that one day Ethan is not going to be too happy about having naked pictures in a basket, but I don't care I think they are so cute!