Happy Easter

Dennis and I used to have an Easter tradition of going on a picnic. However, since we've lived in Ohio our picnic plans have been foiled. Last year they were foiled by a break-in to our storage unit and we spent the day waiting for the police and filing a police report and this year mother nature had other plans: snow! We ended up having a nice warm meal sitting at our table with Grandma and Grandpa before they headed back to ND.

Oh, the joy of a first Easter Egg Hunt. Eli got the hang of it pretty early, but got distracted easily. It's really easy making an Easter Egg Hunt hard for toddlers. You just have to throw them out in the yard and they still can't seem to find them.


Eli with his basket full decided he should mow the lawn instead.

Eli loved dying eggs. His favorite part was throwing the eggs in the cup and yelling, "Splash!".

On Sunday morning, Eli woke to find that the Easter Bunny had hidden plastic eggs all over the living room. Eli knew it was going to be a good day when he got to eat jelly beans for breakfast.

The Easter Bunny also left a tee-ball set in Eli's Easter Basket.

He has really bad form (this is a good shot), but has the general idea of how to get the ball off the tee. And don't try to help him; he can do it all by himself.

I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of Sadie in her Easter Dress. Oh, my, gah... she was too cute. Maybe grandma will be a dear and send one to me and I can post one later (hint, hint). I'm just adding this so Sadie doesn't feel left out with all the pics and talk of Eli. She has been working really hard on sitting up straight. Her balance has really improved and I think she will be erect by the end of the week. Go, Sadie, Go!

Playing With Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa have been visiting for over a week and are staying until after Easter. I'm not sure who enjoys who more. Grandma and Grandpa sure get a kick out of Eli and Sadie, but Eli and Sadie sure do love having their Grandma and Grandpa around. Every morning when they walk in the door from spending the night in the hotel, Eli does this happy little dance where he kicks his feet, twirls in circles, points his fingers in the air, and says something that only he understands.

Eli and Grandpa monkeying around.


Eli cooking for Grandpa.


Sadie and Grandma at the Easter Egg Hunt.


Sadie and Grandpa enjoying each others company.

Sadie's Firsts and More!

Sadie has been busy trying out all sorts of new things. You've seen most of these firsts with Eli so they will look familiar. In fact, I think Sadie is wearing some of the exact same clothes (poor thing, it's so hard to have to share your wardrobe with your brother!) as Eli was wearing.

We started Eli on a sippy cup around this age. She doesn't get anything out of it, but she loves to hold it.


The weather was in the 70s this past weekend so we enjoyed the great outdoors a little bit. We are patiently waiting for a little green in the trees.


Eli leading the way.


Sadie's first picnic. If you recall, Eli's first picnic was when he was 10 days old. Sadie's got a lot of catching up to do.


Sadie's reflux has been terrible lately so the doctor recommended cereal in her bottle. Why give her cereal in a bottle when she can have cereal on a spoon? She didn't enjoy the first bite too much but really got into the next several bites. (That's Eli's arm; he's such a good helper.)


Doesn't everyone have a picture like this?


Sadie loves the bumbo seat.


Sadie sitting without the bumbo: the gorilla sit.


Sadie playing in the music center.

Another Trip To Cincinnati

Dennis is on spring break this week. This is the first time since we've been married that we haven't done anything exciting over spring break. I feel like we're letting the kids down somehow. But, Eli has just settled into his sleep schedule again after being off for awhile (he was getting up really, really early!) and Sadie is sleeping very well in her crib for most of the night and we decided we just didn't want to have to start all over again with the sleep training and decided to not do any over-night trips. We thought it would be fun to spend the day in Cincinnati going to the aquarium and children's museum again as Eli loved them both the first time we went.

Eli loves to sleep in the car.


Sadie, not so much. (At least she's past her scream-bloody-murder-every- time-we're-in-the- car stage!)


Eli enjoyed the aquarium, fish, bubbles, sharks and penguins. But it was very dark and he was a little scared of that. He didn't want to sit still as he always wanted to see the next thing that was around the corner. Although, he had to go through the shark tunnel twice!


Sadie was pretty fascinated too.


Look at the teeth on that shark!


There was too much to see and do at the children's museum. He loved every minute of the whole thing and I must have been too busy chasing him down as this is the only picture I took while we were there!

Sadie Went Swimming

We went swimming this weekend and decided that Sadie was old enough to join us. She was a little shocked at first, but she ended up having a great time.

Brother and Sister Hanging Out

It's been pretty uneventful around here, but here's some highlights:

• Eli and I were sick for a couple of days last week, which was difficult on all of us. Luckily, I have a wonderful friend who took the kids and risked her family's health so I could be sick in peace and so Dennis could take a test.
• Finals are next week, so Dennis is busy studying. And that means that spring break is coming up. I don't think we're going to do anything too spectacular this year. We finally got Sadie sleeping decent in her own crib and I'd hate to throw all of our hardwork out the window. Although, a fun trip to North Carolina would be nice.
• Both kids had drs. appts. and are healthy and growing. Sadie's weight is in the 80th percentile while Eli's is only in the 5th. Eli better hurry up and grow or Sadie will be outweighing him really soon! Eli, if you haven't noticed, has his father's figure and appetite!
• We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa Zeman in a couple of weeks. They are going to stay for several weeks and (I'm sure) spoil the grandkids rotten.

Sadie laughing at her silly, silly brother.


Eli reading to Sadie.


Going for a walk in the double stroller.


A piggy-back ride.

Sadie In A Dress, Saying "Cheese!", and More

I realized this weekend that I never put Sadie in a dress. In fact, the only dress she has ever worn was her baptism dress. She looks really cute in dresses too. I might have to put her in them more often.

Eli has learned to say "cheese" with a really cheesy grin in his face whenever I have the camera out. I don't know if I'm going to get a normal smile out of him ever again.

Ahhhh... A tender moment.

Aunt Pat came to visit and I snuck in a few shots of her and Sadie. We all love when Aunt Pat comes to visit because she is really good at playing with babies. And she watched the kids so Dennis and I could go to a hockey game. Nice!

Wow! I think Eli looks just like his Grandma Zeman in this picture. Too cute. Oh, and this is how I know he's tired: He lays on the floor and plays with his cars.

Sadie is already a good reader.

Auntie Mia Came To Visit!!!!

Guess where we went? You got it, the zoo! (Note to all future and returning visitors: we like to go to the zoo. If you come to see us, we WILL take you to the zoo for free!!!) It was sort of cold, but not bad. If we lived in ND (or Alaska), we probably would've worn shorts and t-shirts, but when you leave ND your ability to tolerate cold leaves quickly. There are plenty of indoor exhibits (elephants/rhinos, aquarium, reptiles, gorillas and manatees) to keep us busy for several hours and there were hardly any people (we got to park really close). I can't think of a better way to spend Eli's half-birthday (yes, Eli's already a year and a half) and Dennis' (35th!) birthday. And then Thai take-out afterwards. Yum!! And Dennis beat Mia and me really good at trivial pursuit. Now I remember why I hate playing trivia with Dennis.


The kids had such a great time with "My" as Eli called her. And I loved having her around too. She just knew what to do and did it without me having to ask. It was like having my own personal nanny. It was great. We were all spoiled except Mia who had to sleep on the couch and get up when Eli and/or Sadie got up! She was a great sport.


Eli loved having "My's" attention the whole time and kept her entertained by reading to her, dancing for her, playing catch with her, etc. And she happily played along. We miss her already. We all hope she comes back soon.

Top 10 Things To Do On A Cold Winter's Day

It's been pretty cold around here and we've been spending a lot of time inside. (OK. Too much time inside.) What do we do all day to keep ourselves from going stir-crazy? Well, I'll show you.

10. Read the paper with dad.


9. Play in the sink.


8. Make pizza.


7. Have tummy time.


6. Build a tower.


5. Play "So Big".


4. Wash all of the toy trucks (and Eli's mouth too).


3. Sit in a box.


2. Laugh.


And the top thing to do on a cold winter's day...

1. Bundle up and go outside anyways!!

The Greatest Kids In the World

I have to admit that I have been blessed with two great kids. They make me smile, laugh, think, and enjoy life. What great gifts!



We got the snow I requested so we took Eli and Sadie out to enjoy the simple pleasure of sledding. Sadie is nestled in my coat and Eli was enjoying the ride.


Eli's big grin.


Eli's favorite past time--reading!