Spring Fever

I don't know about you all but we are so ready for Spring to get here! It was in the 70's a couple of days ago and we took full advantage. Van and I dined alfresco for lunch then we went to the park where he throughly enjoyed the sandbox!

We are counting down the days until we go to the beach. We have three trips planned with friends, one at the end of February (next weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!), one mid-March and another at the beginning of April! Even though it will probably only be in the mid-to-high 60's it marks the start of our spring/summer vacations!!!!

We have a major case of spring fever. : )

Table for two and a half please.

The hubbs and I took Van out on our date Saturday night. We went to one of our favorite sushi places and I can't tell you how good Van was at dinner.

He is such a people watcher and while another little boy in a booth not too far from our own was having a bit of a breakdown, Van just watched the drama go down. And he ate edamame! The boy can really surprise me with his eating. Sometimes he refuses everything, even the things I know he likes. And others, well, other times he makes me think maybe I don't have it all wrong afterall and I can feed my child.

So, this week I discovered that Van likes hummus, edamame and cheddarwurst. Thank goodness he's a healthy eater..........with some exceptions of course. I am just adamant that he eats what we eat and I don't start the bad habit of making a "kids" menu everyday. You all know I'm not much of a cook so that would be even more work than I want to do!

While at dinner I couldn't help but snap a picture of my two boys who are looking more and more alike. So sweet. LOVES!

And just like his daddy, Van was distracted by the tv above our booth!

van's new face.......

go ahead, eat it up. i know i want to!

thank you lawton

this thursday we celebrated the one year birthday of my dear friend brooke being a mommy to a handsome little boy lawton. brooke and i met when we were 12, just starting out in the ever-so glamorous life (enter sarcasm here) of being a model. we quickly became great friends. but, going to different schools and taking different paths in our modeling we lost touch along the way. if only we had cell phones with email back in the day! and blogger!

fast forward 17 years. we are both married (to amazing & handsome men) and preggers (with baby boys)!! we got back in touch on facebook (imagine that) and had lunch. the rest as they say is history! we hit it off like we hadn't missed a day and she's been a constant support in my life (and it's even better that our boys are friends too). from all the talking about what the heck our bodies were doing when we were pregnant to the bbming during all those middle-of-the-night feedings. it was comforting to know my close friend was up at 4 am with her baby too. we bbm (blackberry messenger) so much that our husbands get jealous!!

happy birthday and thank you my sweet, handsome lawton for bringing your mommy back into my life. i am very grateful for her friendship. she is a rare find, not only gorgeous on the outside but gorgeous on the inside as well. she's pretty funny too! you are one lucky little man to have such an awesome mommy and amazing daddy.

our boys when they were brand new: van on the left & lawton on the right (keep in mind that they are 7 weeks apart!)

van now

lawton now

we went to the park to celebrate lawton's birthday with our playgroup. i of course forgot my camera (doh) but thankfully brooke was able to capture a few of van being sneaky with his girlfriend leighton.

caught in the act. wonder if he yawned before he threw that arm around her shoulders?

"uh oh. they see us, van."

"it's ok leighton. let me give you a bear hug."

i don't think i deserve this but thanks B. i heart you.

Thanks to my bff Brooke at Life.Love.Lawton for awarding me the Stylish Blogger Award! I am way behind in reading my blogs and just noticed that she did this!! She is so incredibly sweet and I love that our little boys are growing up together! You should go check out her blog if you haven't already!

Here are the rules:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award

Seven Things about Me:

1. I do not think of myself as stylish.

2. I eat an avocado almost every day.

3. I am addicted to coffee.

4. I want an iPhone.

5. I didn't have very many girlfriends growing up but now I have the greatest group of women that I call dear friends.

6. I married my best friend. He used to be my ex-boyfriends best friend too.

7. My favorite flowers are orchids and I had a bunch in my wedding.

8. I am a beach bum. Or I wish I was.

9. I grew up in CA part-time. We lived there until I was 7 then went back every summer until I was 16.

10. I've had a trainer for the last three years and he makes me write down everything I eat.

I'm going to pass this along to all of my readers! I would love to know about all of y'all!

he's a hugger

van will be 14 months old on february 11th and i have to say........this is a really fun age! he is all over the place and super busy but everyday he seems to learn a new word or action. he started clapping mid-january and now he's trying to snap his fingers. he's really copying a lot of our behavior so we need to make sure we are putting our best actions out there!!

van is such a great helper. he can put his dirty clothes in the hamper, his dirty diapers in the garbage and when it's time to go bye-bye he knows exactly where his socks and shoes (and jacket) are to be found. if we are anywhere and he wants to go home, he'll grab his jacket and start waving bye to everyone! he did this once at playgroup, once at the free play at mygym and again when we were at mimi & papa's house and it was past his bedtime!! he can find his milk, water or snacks if you ask him where they are and he loves to share them with you!

helping cole drink from his sippy cup

he's also become more snuggly. he loves to crawl up into your lap to read a book or just to play with one of his favorite toys (he loves to stack). AND, he gives the best hugs. if you squat down he'll take a running start into your arms, giggling all the way! it's super sweet and cute. we can't get enough of his amazing hugs. he's also very into hugging his friends!!!!

van also has a shy side. when we go to playgroup or his mygym class, he stands off to the side until he feels comfortable then he jumps right in. the books say this is completely normal for his age but i still approach new situations like this so it could be genetic!

one of our favorite parts of the day is when daddy comes home from work. van gives the best receptions. here is one of his more mild welcome home parties!!!!