children's museum visit

trey had his two-year check-up on friday (all went well, by the way), so john took the day off to join us at the doctor. we decided to make the most of this time with daddy and headed to the children's museum in grand rapids for a couple of hours. it was our first visit with trey, and he had a great time. it's fun that he is finally at an age where he can really enjoy things like this, and we love to watch him explore and discover new things! we were all tired by the time we left, but we bought a membership so that we can go back again and again!

here is the rundown of our museum whirlwind...

we started in the kitchen,

then went to play with the blocks.

from there it was off to the spin table...

...and then to the bubbles. oh boy, did we love the bubbles!

see? i said we. 

we made sure that we enough time for the piano...

...and the mirrors.

and trey was so excited to see the yellow car!

(he always points out every yellow car to us as we drive.)

we ended with the trains.

rowan had fun too. can you tell? :)

can't wait for our next visit!

this is the life...

photo catch-up

it's been a gloomy couple of days here, but i was so productive this morning while trey was gone with my mom for a few hours (thanks again, mom!). i was WAY behind on organizing photos and getting prints made. fortunately, rowan was a good sleeper this morning and i was able to get 101 photos cropped and organized. it took forever, and i thought that my hand might cramp up a few different times :), but it's done now, and feels so good! i had been putting it off because it just seemed so daunting (you know how many photos get taken with a newborn around!), but it feels great to have it done. it was way overdue, considering that every time i've taken pictures lately, i've had to delete a few off my memory card to make space. now we're good to go for a while at least!

here are a few photos of what we've been up to lately...

rowan has really begun to love her baths. she is so content and stares at herself in the mirror almost the entire time. i love her bath time too -- trey helps by getting the soap and towel. i know that she will outgrow this little tub all too soon, so i will enjoy these baths on the bathroom counter top while i can!

she began smiling consistently about a week ago, and every time it just melts my heart! oddly enough, she is quick to smile right before she eats -- trey was always screaming uncontrollably when meal time was near. when she smiles her whole face lights up, and then i can't help but smile too! i haven't gotten a great smile picture yet, but you get the idea!

here is rowan sleeping in her swing. yes, i do it. she is a great sleeper once she gets to sleep, it's just getting her to sleep that can sometimes be difficult. so, she naps in the swing. not always, but often. i never would have done that with trey -- funny how the second child changes you... :)

her first choice would be to be held while she sleeps -- such a little diva. she'll sleep forever if she's snuggled up next to someone. usually i give her five minutes after being set down and she's awake. like i've said before, she's a little high maintenance, but i never complain about having to snuggle with my baby!
bright eyes...

and our little man...
we have finally gotten to play outside over the last week! trey is absolutely in his glory outside. last week i pulled out the sidewalk chalk (now that he's a big boy he can do things like that), and he loved coloring on the driveway.
he laid still so that i could trace him! :)
he went around our whole yard and collected these sticks. he didn't want to let them go! :)

not too much else happening around here....just waiting for the temperatures to warm up later this week. i'm thinking that i need to schedule a few play dates over the next couple of weeks to help break up our days a little. if you are interested, let me know! :)

Easter fun

just wanted to quickly share some photos from Easter. we had a wonderful Easter sunday with lots of family time. the weather was beautiful and it was special to have trey at an age this year when we could actually talk with him about the true meaning of Easter and why we celebrate.

can i just say, though, that this Easter totally reminded me that i am new to this whole "mom of a girl" thing??? seriously, dressing a boy is so easy...not quite as fun, but much easier! pants and a shirt and they are set to go. we had gotten this adorable dress as a baby gift for rowan (thank you scott and stacey!), and i found the sweater a while ago. i thought that i was set, but i had completely forgotten that her poor little legs would be exposed and that she would be freezing all day! trey got by with just socks or bare feet for the first nine months of his life, but socks with a dress just wasn't going to work :), so a few days before Easter i became a crazy mom on the hunt for tights and shoes. needless to say, right before Easter is not the best time to be looking for tights and/or dress shoes. i did end up finding some tights at a department store on saturday...i called around in the morning and had them held for me -- i was completely desperate! the tights i found were for ages 0-6 months. well, rowan is only 6 weeks, so obviously they were a little on the big side. that seems like quite a wide span of ages to me....babies grow just a little between 0 and 6 months! we never did find shoes, but i was satisfied just having her legs and feet covered. poor thing....i'll figure it all out eventually, i hope! :)

trey was looking as handsome as ever, and rowan survived having him hold her while i tried to get a photo of both of them on their first Easter together!

we actually got together with john's family a few days before Easter for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. trey had a great time collecting his eggs and opening each one to see what was inside!

all of his eggs were shaped like footballs -- very fitting for our little sports-lover and so cute too!!

i hope that you had a blessed Easter as well! i absolutely cannot fathom the depths of His love for me, but am so grateful for what He did.

birthday weekend

i have been meaning to put together a video all week to share some of our fun from trey's birthday weekend, but a video just isn't going to happen, so photos will have to do! :) john has been home this week...you'd think that would give me more time to get things done, but actually we have been busier than normal all week. it's been great to have another set of hands around to help with everything, and it has made it easier to be out and about, so we've enjoyed being able to do some fun things this week while dad is around!

trey had a great birthday weekend, except for the fact that he was a little bit under the weather. nothing too serious, but he just wasn't quite himself for his party. i know that he still had a great time, though, and if he understood how long it would be before he gets another birthday he would probably be a bit bummed out now that all the presents are done!

his day started with opening his gift from uncle mark, auntie abby, and nolan. it came all the way from colorado!

they sent him some awesome colorado rockies gear! he has already sported his new t-shirt and baseball cap proudly, and can't wait to wear them when we visit denver this summer!

we had john's family over for a party on saturday night. trey loved having his cousins over to play with, and was great at opening presents this year. he got tons of fun stuff for playing outside this summer!

our handsome two-year old!

it is getting harder and harder to get a good family photo! it was always hard enough for me to get john to cooperate...now that we've added two kids to the mix it is nearly impossible!

we got trey a cool baseball cake from coldstone creamery. it was adorable -- unfortunately, because he wasn't feeling quite like himself, he only ate one bite!

it was a big night for rowan and i too -- her first time in a dress! she looked beautiful, so i had to get a picture with my pretty girl!

as if trey hadn't already been spoiled enough, we had my parents over to celebrate on sunday. this, of course, meant more gifts. trey didn't complain!

he should be all set now for lots of fun this summer! it was a joy to celebrate our little guy and to thank God for the blessing that he is to us! we pray for many, many more years with him!

birthday boy

two years ago today, we welcomed trey matthew into the world. little did we know that day how much he would change our lives. our hearts grew exponentially the first time we laid eyes on him, and our priorities changed instantly as we began life with him.

today, we celebrate our first baby...our little boy, who really feels more and more like a big boy all the time. we marvel at the miracle that he his. this silly, energetic, smart little guy who teaches us more than we could ever hope to teach him, and loves us with a love that is so pure and sweet. his smile makes my heart melt, and his giggle....well, there are few things that match it. he is a little piece of john and a little piece of me (oh, who am i kidding? he is almost identical to his dadddy in every way possible!) he is strong like the uncle he was named after. he is a tender big brother and a tough, rough and tumble little boy.

happy birthday, trey-trey. i will never be able to express with words how much i love you. and the tears that are falling right now? well, they come from the joy i have at watching you grow, but also from the heart of a mommy who just isn't ready for 1 to be done yet. you really need to stop growing so fast, please.

okay, enough of this....let's go celebrate!

birthday treat

trey's birthday is coming up on saturday and he wanted to be able to celebrate with his friends at toddlerville (okay, i wanted that...). i was excited to be able to make my first ever birthday treat! we went out tuesday morning to get all of the ingredients for our cookies (when trey says it, he really stresses the first part of the word... "coo-kie"). then, while rowan slept, trey helped me make two batches of cookies. we counted the eggs, he watched me stir, and he got to add the sprinkles! then he waited patiently for the cookies to bake, and we both enjoyed trying them when they were done! trey spent the morning at toddlerville yesterday and was able to share his birthday treat with his friends. he got to wear a special birthday crown and everything! just had to share some photos from the fun!

trey loved adding sprinkles to the cookies!

sneaking a few for himself...

turning the oven light on is a great source of entertainment at our house! he watched those cookies carefully.

when we got home, i tried so hard to get a cute picture of him with his birthday crown, but this is all we got. couldn't get the almost-birthday boy to cooperate at all!

i just can't believe that he is almost two!