Maggie and Billy's Graduation Party

Yesterday we drove out to Lancaster for Maggie and Billy's graduation party and had a fun afternoon visiting with lots of relatives and also meeting Billy's family for the first time. Here are some photos that were sent to me from the day.

Here, the two boys are in their matching outifts with their dad and grandpa. For waking up at 6:00am (the latest trend, God help me!) and having basically no naps, they did really well and were fairly content for the entire day.


Cheri with the boys...

Ben was the big helper for the day and got to help Cheri cut up the cake (and then got to have his choice of a very LARGE piece!). As we were leaving, he thanked her for helping him with the cake - ha ha! He also was a big helper when Maggie and Billy opened their gifts and is quite the self-professed clairvoyant - he predicted that several boxes would contain large construction trucks (ha ha!). Much to his dismay, they didn't actually contain anything quite as exciting to a three year old boy, but he still enjoyed helping to open them :).

As Billy opened this bottle of reserve liquor, Ben saw the gold packaging and asked if it was a Bible! LOL! Helping Maggie with her cards...

Nate was his usual jovial self during the gift-opening and entertained the masses. Here are a few candids of him.

Apparently, he didn't want Stacy to take his picture but did want her camera!

Stacy entertained him for a long time with high-5's. The photo is between giggles, but Nate was practically rolling on the floor with laughter at this little game!

Ben always loves the three French Bulldogs, and here he is with Joey, Maggie's "baby."

And last but definitely not least, here is the piece de resistance for the day - as we were leaving, Cheri bent down to hug Ben, he said "Ben loves you, CC!" and as he went to hug her, he sneezed all over her!! BOYS!! This photo captured the Kodak moment perfectly - lol!

Pregnancy Update - 16 weeks

Not too much news to report this month but I did go for my routine OB checkup on Friday and through I'd give my monthly pregnancy update. All is well, the baby is active and the heartbeat is strong and I am measuring as I should be for 16 weeks. I have been feeling better in terms of nausea and just have a relapse every so often, which is manageable. My diabetes seems to be under control now and has not been giving me too many problems, other than some lethargy. All in all, the second trimester has been going fairly well and we are eagerly awaiting our level II ultrasound on June 2nd so that we can hopefully find out the gender of the baby. I'm glad to see that so many of you have voted on my little poll I posted to the blog so make sure to check back on June 2nd to see who takes home the prize! :) Andrew and I are not in agreement over what gender we think the baby is so we are both greatly anticipating the news (hee hee...) :)

Here I am at 16 weeks:

Chang's Shower

Last weekend my mom and I threw Chang a bridal shower at my mom's house in NJ. It was a tea party theme and turned out quite lovely! Here are the few photos that I managed to take, the first of Chang with her faux bouquet I made for her while she opened her gifts and the other three of our food table, tea cart, and dessert table. Now that the shower has passed we are all eagerly anticipating the big wedding day on August 7th!

Just Like Big Brother

Recently, all Nate wants to do is copy Ben and be exactly like his big brother (sometimes welcomed, sometimes to Ben's chagrin!). He also has recently started to enjoying coloring so here he is giving the easel a first try while Ben is using it. A little short (ha ha!), but he can reach the bottom of the board and had the biggest kick using the chalk anyways.

Two Picassos, busy at work!

Captain Nemo's Aquarium Superstore

Today my friends Amy, Aimee and I took the kids to Captain Nemo's Aquarium Superstore for our weekly playgroup and then had lunch afterwards. What a fun time! I had heard great things about this place, which is actually a fish store, but is known for it's over 300 tanks of freshwater and saltwater fish and several special exhibits, such as some sharks and a two-headed turtle. So, basically, it is like a small aquarium, which is perfect for a group of young children.

Here are a few photos of Captain Nemo's itself. First is the shark tank and below that is the waterfall wall in one of the rooms.

The kids had a blast running around the store looking at all of the different fish and sea creatures. Ben and Tyler couldn't get over the sharks and all of the kids seemed to get a kick out of seeing "Nemo" and "Dory" from the film, Finding Nemo. Even the three babies were mesmerized by the larger tropical fish since they are so brightly colored. There were honestly so many different fish of all shapes, sizes and colors that the kids were occupied for quite some time.

Here, Ben and Nate check out the open tanks of carp and other similar fish. Nate kept doing his "fishy face," which is the baby sign he uses for fish whenever he sees them.

Most of the kids (minus Samantha and Brianna who were off looking elsewhere) looking at some of the tropical fish.

Here, the two little men, Jonathan and Nate, stare at one of the tanks together in their overalls :).

Jonathan and below him is big sister, Elaina.

Nate loved the fish and kept pointing at all of them saying, "Dat." (That)

Ben and Tyler looking at some little blue fish. These two guys had a case of the sillies today on our outing and kept cracking up the entire time at things the other would say!

If anyone is interested in visiting Captain Nemo's it is in East Norriton on DeKalb Pike and the web site is: http://www.nemosaquarium.com/

Pregnancy Update - 13 weeks

Happy 2nd trimester to me! The past week has been quite a bit better in terms of illness for me. I am still feeling nauseous but it is not all day long and not quite as severe; it usually comes on suddenly and is gone once I get something into my stomach, so that is a great improvement. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will feel 100% better; I am already noticing a slight increase in energy again, which is also quite refreshing.

I went for my first level 1 ultrasound and fetal distress test for gestational diabetes monitoring on Tuesday morning. All looks normal and I am measuring just right. The baby was moving all over the place! The heartrate was 153, right in the middle of the 140-160 range. I will be going for these monthly and will actually have a level 2 ultrasound on June 2nd for a more detailed check-up. This is when we will hopefully be able to find out the gender of the baby if we have cooperation. I will be about 18-1/2 weeks.

I have been having a lot of complications with the gestational diabetes this time and have been diagnosed as being hypoglycemic, meaning that my blood sugar runs on the low side. This is unusual for me since I had to carefully watch to make sure that my glucose level did not go too high for the other pregnancies. So, now it's the opposite and I have had several low blood sugar attacks when I should not have been experiencing them, given my recent food intake. So, the doctor has altered my diet slightly and is monitoring me; if it does not improve, I will see an endocrinologist. On a positive note, I have already seen improvement since we modified my routine, so hopefully this will help me to get past this without complications.

And finally, after much begging and pleading from several of my "blogger fans", I have succumbed and will try to post periodic pregnancy pics, or "belly shots." Ugh, peer pressure :)

About 13.5 weeks:

Outdoor Fun

The weather has been beautiful here for the past few days so we have really taken advantage and spent much of our time outdoors. Today we hosted a playgroup with my MOPS group from church and approximately 12 moms and their kids showed up. What a great time! All of the kids had fun playing in our yard and the boys just loved having their friends over.

Ben was on the go the entire time so unfortunately I didn't get any photos of him, but Nate found his happy place in one corner of the sandbox with his new buddy - little Evan Moyer, my friend Melissa's little guy who is only about 6 weeks younger than Nate.

Here's Melissa with the two little men. They literally looked like little old men, sitting together, socializing and filling a large bucket up with sand together :)




And here's Nate stopping for a snack on his kid-sized yard chair.



After naps, I broke out our sand and water table and filled it up with just water since we already have a large sandbox. What a blast and a great way to cool off in this high-humidity-upper 80 degree day. In the first photo, Ben is probably in the process of splashing Barney with some water, if I know that mischievous face of his!

This is a funny face that Nate makes when he wants us to do something or get something for him. He has dropped his toy and wants me to go and get it so he gives me the sad eyes and says "dat" while pointing at his stray toy.

We think it's so funny that Ben could probably fit in Nate's shorts, they are so long on him (even though they are his size!) :)

Bedtime Routine

Tonight was bath night so the boys always look forward to that, especially when Daddy gives it to them. The result? Daddy + 2 boys + shampoo = 2 very funny mohawks :)


Storytime and "baba" time for Nate. He is getting to the age where he has started to enjoy stories, especially animal ones. He makes all of the animal sounds when he sees them and just loves to read the Touch and Feel books.



Of course, Ben has always loved storytime. His latest love is nursery rhymes so here is Andrew reading him Little Red Riding Hood before bed tonight. Mr. Bear always has to take part in the storytime as well :)

Beautiful Spring Day

Today was absolutely beautiful weather so I felt bad when Ben was fussing during his naptime, only to find him sitting on his windowsill peering outside when I went in to tell him to stay in bed. So, I caved and let him come out from his quiet time after only a few minutes and we went outside. Of course, now I am paying for this since I am utterly exhausted after running around all morning, not resting at all, and spending four hours in the sunshine. But, we had a fun time enjoying this beautiful weather so that's what matters.

Here is Ben, Mr. Outdoors himself, enjoying a snack on his picnic table (as Barney mooches Goldfish pretzels in the background!).

Ben using his CAT excavator, a Christmas gift from Grandpa G and CC. Finally, it is nice enough to take it outside! Plus, he is starting to get the hang of it and can navigate it himself. Hours of enjoyment for a three year old boy :)

Nate's up from his nap! Here he is enjoying his snack while sitting on the garden bench I put together myself as Ben played. Are you impressed? I am. Ha ha! It really only had a few screws and snap together pieces but I am glad that I tackled it without having to bother Andrew for help. It's nice to have a bench to sit on when the kids are playing and it is a toybox under the seat so we can store all of our small outdoor toys in there. Perfect, multi-functional purchase :)

Barney loves spending hours in the fresh air. He especially loves finding oversized sticks to bring to me. Does he expect me to throw these for him? Probably! But instead he and Ben run around like Lord of the Flies together until one of them (aka Ben) gets knocked down!

Nate's done eating and is now exploring all of the toys, most of which we just today got out of the basement after being away all winter. Here he is taking his brother's wheels for a spin while Ben is occupied and does not notice :). Does this little guy look guilty or what? Caught red-handed by Mom with the camera!

Finally! Nate is beginning to show some interest in wanting to walk. He uses a sturdy wooden walker in the house but all we have for outside is this flimsy one, which Ben basically only used once he was able to walk on his own, as a push toy. Surprisingly, though, this one seems to work out great for Nate because if he uses it in the grass, it doesn't go quickly and Nate can "keep up." Hopefully soon he will start to walk!

And here is Nate again, this time using the little baby trike that we have. He was basically obsessed with this thing and sat on it most of the afternoon after discovering it. How cute does he look on his own little tricycle? Of course, he cannot move it on his own yet, but he loved when I pushed him on it (after learning that he has to hold on tight to the handlebars!).

The boys and their trikes. Ben is still yet to master the whole idea of pedaling but I think he is getting very close and will soon be off on his own.

And after a long afternoon of playing, it's time for another snack. Here are the boys relaxing together on the bench eating...and one final photo of Nate reminiscing about his day in the sunshine :).