Strawberry Patch

One of our favorite things to do in the Spring is to go pick strawberries at a local farm and then make lots of strawberry shortcake and strawberry pies.  We have done this every year since Kate has been born and every year she gets more and more helpful.  Just a side note, yes Kate is wearing Oakley sunglasses and no we did not buy them.  Jeff found them at a soccer field and unable to find the owner, brought them home.  So now, Jeff and Kate have matching sunglasses.  Who knew they made Oakleys for 3 year olds?!  Being curious, we looked up how much they cost- let's just say they are about 4 times more expensive than what I would pay for sunglasses for myself because, unlike Jeff, I don't spend half of everyday in the sun.

Taste testing the produce.

While Kate and Jeff did all the work, Matthew slept and I watched. 

Success!  Kate helped me make some great pies.

Goodberry's and National Boards

Summer is almost here which means it's time to take advantage of a great ice cream/frozen custard place we have-Goodberry's. This stuff is awesome and is a favorite place to visit when it gets warm outside, lots of people even go in the middle of winter. The four of us went to celebrate the completion of my (Maria's) National Board exam-Jeff took the day off to stay with the kids. The exam, which is all essay writing, was interesting. Some questions were no problem and some questions I wasn't too sure about, but the important thing is that it is done and I don't have to stress over it for a while. Here I am celebrating.  I look pretty tired, but that's what happens when you've been studying, getting up every few hours during the night to take care of your little guy, and getting up at extra early to get to an exam on time.

Kate loves to throw pennies in the fountatin and make wishes.  Luckily, her Daddy is very generous so she makes multiple requests.  We asked her what she wished for-these were her responses:

1st wish-"That Precious and Max (our dogs) stop barking."  (We didn't know this was a problem for her.)

2nd wish-"To help Grannie get better."  (Such a sweet, empathetic kid)

3rd wish-"Mommy, I can't tell you" (Who knows what she wished for-this conitnued until Daddy was out of pennies,)

Family Bath Fun

We gave both children a bath together in th e"BIG" tub, as Kate says, for the first time this weekend (with Mommy in the tub and Daddy playing lifegaurd outside the tub).  It was fun family time.  Kate and I had a pretty awesome squirt gun fight before Matthew joined us.

Two pics of Kate & Matthew because getting both kids to smile at the same time is just not going to happen.

Matthew and his Giraffe

Matthew is two months old today and he has already changed so much.  We don't go to the doctor until Friday so I don't have a weight and height update, but I can tell you he is wearing 6 month size clothing already.  He is starting to smile more and more, especially when he sees this giraffe or a ceiling fan.  He loves the fan in our family room.  He smiles and talks to it.  I think he is asking it to be his friend and gets his feelings hurt when it doesn't respond back- it is so cute and innocent.  He is saying agoo and ohh and is noticing the world around him.  He also likes being outside and looking at the trees and plants.  He has just started sleeping for a four to five hour stretch at night, which the experts say is sleeping through the night, but when he is waking up at 2 in the morning it is not sleeping through the night in my book! Happy Two Month Birthday to our sweet boy.  

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mothers out there!  Here are my precious little ones playing under Matthew's activity gym-one of their favorite things to do together.  It is the pleasure of my life (along with being married to my hubby) to care for and love on these two blessings.

We went to BC to visit the family.  Here is Kate on the porch of the playhouse at Grandaddy & Grandma's.

Group Hug!  Kate and Scarlett love Bear and each other.

Kate joined Jeff for an overnight soccer trip to Charlotte with his high school team.  It was her first solo trip with Daddy.  She had a wonderful time riding the charter bus with the girls, cheering on the team, and doing her first bit of coaching (more on that later).  She was her Daddy's shadow and little helper.  These pictures were taken by the father of one of the players who made the trip to watch the team.  I'm so glad he took these pictures.

One of her favorite things to do was to get water from the water cooler.  Jeff said she was a little beaver going back and forth to get water.

On the bench with Daddy 

Jeff let Kate talk to the team at half time after he and his assistant, Coach Casey, had spoken to them.

Kate's half-time speech: "Kick the ball to your teammates, but not too hard. Stay away from sharks and watch out for Swiper!"

Daddy's team scored in the second half and won, 1-0. Good coaching Kate!  Here she is celebrating the victory.  Can you tell Mommy was not there to deal with the hair?!

First Dance

Kate and Matthew dancing.  Kate is rocking pink umbro shorts Daddy bought for her on his last soccer trip.

Cinderella

Kate and Nana are off to see the play Cinderella.  Kate really enjoyed getting ready for the "grand ball" and wearing a "bEAUtiful" dress.  She loved to play too!

Daddy's Soccer Game

There was a time, not so long ago, when I would attend all of Jeff's soccer games come rain or shine, sweltering weather or freezing temperatures, home matches or those that were hours away.  It didn't matter how stressful the day had been or what was going on the next day, I was always there.  It was great.  I loved supporting him and enjoyed getting to know his players and their families.  However, when Kate came along, I became a little less inclined to go to every game.  Now, the weather has to be good, the start time not too late, and the day not too hectic, but when we go we have lots of fun.  Although I miss being as involved in the soccer aspect of Jeff's life right now, I wouldn't change it for anything.  When we do get a chance to go to a game, seeing Kate (and eventually Matthew) running around, not so patiently waiting until they can run across the field to Dad, is the best.   So we made it to our first game of the spring season this past Friday and had a great time.  Kate ate her Chick-fil-a dinner, cheered for the team, and played soccer; Matthew had a bottle and slept; and I monitored the kids more than I watched the game, but at least we were there!  Here are a few pics... 

This is what Matthew did most of the game.

On the field with Daddy after the game.

Setting up to score a goal!

A Day at the Park

We had a picnic at a local park last weekend.  We had beautiful weather and Jeff had a rare spring weekend with no soccer-so we took advantage.  I was proud of Kate because she walked around almost the whole lake (there are a couple of nice walking trails around the lake).  She didn't get tired until the last curve so at that point we put Matthew in the bjorn with Jeff and I held the infant carrier so Kate could sit in the stroller.  Needless to say, we need to get a double stroller soon-that infant carrier was heavy!  We had fun exploring the walking trails, feedng ourselves and the ducks, chasing butteflies, and playing soccer. 

Feeding the geese and ducks!

Picnic time, KFC style

Chasing a butterfly-what joy that brings!

Matthew is somewhere under that hat.

Matthew's 1 Month Birthday

Matthew turned a month old on April 10th.  Kate was more than happy to blow out a candle and eat a cupcake in his honor.  At Matthew's 1 month doctor's visit he weighed 11 pounds 7 ounces-a four and a half pound increase over his birth weight!  That's in the 80th percentile while at 21 inches he is in the 25th percentile for length-wonder which parent he is taking after?!?  He is a pretty solid boy.

Things we know about Matthew:

1. He likes to eat.

2. He pays close attention to his big sister.

3. He knows when Mommy has left the room-he doesn't really appreciate it.

4. He likes to sleep on Daddy's chest and not so much in his own crib.

5. He is no drama queen, but he is a grunter.  He is usually a good baby, but makes some funny noises.

6. He doens't like his swing too much yet, but is very content in his bouncy seat, on the floor, or his car seat.

7. Changing his diaper is much more challenging than it was with Kate-you have to be quick.

8. We love him and life is good!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter spending quality time with family and watching the NCAA Final Four games.  We had a lot at stake in the games this year, with Uncle David coaching soccer at Butler University and Jeff being a long-time Duke fan.  For my part, I chose Butler as my team for the tournament as my beloved tarheels suffered through a terrible season and failed to make it.  I think I chose well, but I did not take sides in the final game.  Folks, I have seriously grown as a person if I didn't fiercely cheer against Duke for the sake of my husband!  Okay, back to the important part of this post-

Here is Kate enjoying the bunny cake Nana made by getting an early taste!

Nothing better than cake and ice cream!

Enjoying our first dip into Papa Tom and Nana's pool this spring.

Great Aunt Gina was visiting and here she is bonding with her "little man".

Getting ready to watch the games!

Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandaddy's House!

Can I eat this one, Mommy?

My Guys

Thanks for a wonderful afternoon!

Matthew's First Bath

Not too sure about this...

Happy now, he actually really likes taking a bath.

Kate's Date with Daddy

While Jeff was on paternity leave, he and Kate went on a couple of outings.  Here they are leaving for the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaurs-Kate LOVES dinosaurs.  They also went to the megalodon shark exhibit (a prehistoric shark, the largest shark thought to exist) and stood in the mouth of a megalodon shark.  Kate thought that was pretty cool.

The next day, they went to play "golf" and ride go-karts.  It sounded like they had a pretty exhilarating ride around the track and knowing my husband, I'm sure it was.  Glad I wasn't there to see it-my protective instincts might have ruined the fun.  Kate really enjoyed her days out with Daddy.