It's the most wonderful time of the year

Christmas is now over, 2016 will be here in no time. I am finally enjoying the pregnancy relative to my first few months. I had a horrible scare September 30th. I had Matt take me to the hospital and despite everything seeming to be leading in a bad direction, we found out, miraculously, that everything was fine. A follow up appt at my Ob's confirmed the ER doc's diagnosis. Now that I have reached viability, I feel more comfortable discussing it, although my worry is not completely gone. It probably won't be gone until I deliver a healthy baby. We also found out around Thanksgiving that we are expecting a girl! While we both had an inkling we were having a girl, the ultrasound confirmed this!
Sean and Bradley have been playing so well together as they get older and older. Over xmas break so far, they have been starting light saber battles and play fighting. They are definitely in boy territory. We thought Sean was old enough to actually see Star Wars with Matt at the movie theater. I reserved seats for them at the Emagine Rochester. Sean loved the movie and couldn't wait to come home to tell Brad and I all the plot spoilers! haha
Before Christmas, we had a mini vacation planned to go to Traverse City. We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge and loved every second of it. They upgraded us to a Wolf Den Suite because our room wasn't ready at check in. The bunk bed room within a room concept was a huge hit. Sean loves the water so he enjoyed splashing around the water park. Brad hasn't really had a lot of experience with water, but he loved the Lazy River and Lily Pads. We also visited our friends, the Cannons, who recently moved from Bloomfield to Traverse City. It was great to catch up with them. We intend to go back to Great Wolf one day :)
Christmas Eve was spent with the Hersteins in Ann Arbor and Christmas was spent with the Guptas in Troy. It was so great to catch up with family. It truly is the most wonderful time of year!

 Ultrasound was taken in November. What a beautiful profile!

 We upgraded my Pontiac G6 to a Chevy Traverse. I LOVED my Pontiac but it did not fit 3 cars seats. I have never had an SUV, but it was an easy transition.

My 2nd trimester bump with my 1st SUV.

Halloween and Diwali

A post about two very different holidays!

Sean was Frankenstein and Brad was Darth Vader. Here are our adorable villains.

 Sean is pretending to be "zombie" like

 Diwali took place in early November this year. My friend Sheena put together a kids dance group to perform at a Diwali festival. The kids practiced every week for months and were GREAT! I don't have any footage but here they are before the performance.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween and Diwali!

Easter 2015

We skipped out on the Easter Bunny this year. Every weekend has been busy with events or just me too busy with lesson planning. We still had a great Easter. The kids and us parents found our Easter baskets the morning of. Bradley got a bigger present than usual with a Spider Man bike. Sean got a mini cash register and calculator. Both boys got candy of course and a few books.
Matt was given the first season of House of Cards. We started it last night and it's pretty intriguing. The politicians are just as calculating and sleazy as they are in real life so I would say it's a pretty accurate depiction.
I received a presto pop lite popcorn popper. It's supposed to be healthier than those popcorn bags. Can't wait to try it!
We celebrated Easter at the Herstein house in Ann Arbor. Below if the pic. I am biased, but I think our boys are so handsome :)

Cookie Exchange

Dana hosted a cookie exchange at her house. I brought the kids with me since it was going to be a bunch of moms and kids. The cookies we brought home were so good. I think most of the weight gain over Xmas was from the cookies. They are my weakness. I have never been to a cookie exchange before, but I highly enjoyed it :)

Below is a picture one of the kiddos took of all of us.

Whirlwind Christmas Break

The boys and I had two weeks off for Christmas break and Matt had several days off. We saw both Sean and Bradley's Christmas plays, celebrated Matt's birthday, went to the Hersteins on Christmas Eve, my parents' house on Christmas (they had just come back from Dubai and India!), went up north after Christmas, and enjoyed a quiet evening at home for New Year's.

Bradley's play was adorable. He was one of the youngest students up there. He just stood there and didn't move his mouth while the other kids sang around him. haha. I am just glad he didn't cry and run off the stage. Bradley was brave for his first time up there! He is in the front row below third from left.

Sean's play was great. They learned three songs and stood on risers. Sean sang through all the songs and did all the hand movements. He has come a long way from preschool to kindergarten! No stage fright anymore!

The kids really loved Christmas because they both understood Santa Claus and the story of Jesus. It made for a special, magical holiday. They both loved seeing Santa Claus at Somerset and obviously loved opening presents on Christmas Eve and Christmas.

Up north, Sean went skiing for the first time. He was hesitant but after trying he didn't want to leave the bunny hill. We will be going up north several times this winter to get more practice in. Bradley wanted to ski, but we thought he was too young. Luckily, we found strap on skis that he could try in the backyard. We bought Sean some too so they can both "ski" in our backyard in Troy when we can't hit the slopes.

New Year's was just the 4 of us at home. The kids made it to 9:30pm. haha. I am surprised Matt and I made it to midnight! We had our traditional PF Changs carry out.

Here's hoping 2015 will be even better than 2014! Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving and Diana's Bridal Shower

Both the Hersteins and Guptas (and all our siblings) were out of town so the 4 of us were on our own for Thanksgiving. We went up north and tried to make our own feast. The food wasn't bad but I have to say that Thanksgiving at my parents or Matt's parents is much tastier! However, the boys loved being up north since there are so many toys and games up at the condo. It's like our home away from home.

Right before Thanksgiving break, Matt's sister Diana had her bridal shower. It was held at Aunt Pat's house and was a lot of fun. Sean played with his cousins below and we were able to fete Diana a nice shower. We can't wait to see her and Brian get married in the spring!

Sean with his cousins Anya and Nora:

Halloween 2014

While I am posting, here is a picture of my boys Darth Vader and Buddy.

Sean and Bradley had a wonderful time trick or treating. It was pretty cold again, but they braved the wind and were able to get a decent stash of candy. Our neighbors are very nice, but we may venture out to a sub with more kids next year. I always remember a lot of kids out, which made it more fun to go house to house. We saw 2, maybe 3 families. However, our neighbors do give out big candy bars and mini-bags of crayons/ books because they get so few visitors. It's a trade off, but at this age I think the boys would love trick or treating either way.

Easter Week

We had a fun-filled Easter weekend. It started off with a trip to Buddy's Pizza the week before Easter. Jessica and Len told us about this event where the Easter Bunny comes and gives each child a basket of goodies, plus each person gets a lunch deal out of it. We all signed up together and it was pretty fun. Since we didn't get to see the Easter Bunny at Somerset this year, this was the perfect opportunity to have a meet and greet with virtually no line. And the pizza is always good! Here is Sean with the Easter Bunny, Bradley was a little too scared:

The Saturday before Easter, we invited the Sackins and Salazars over for brunch. We were excited to show everyone our new house and to meet baby David, Erin's new baby son. I made eggs Benedict, french toast, fruit salad, coffee and mimosas. We also bought some fresh bagels and cream cheese. The kids had a fun time eating and playing outside and us adults got to catch up!

  

On Easter Sunday we headed to the Hersteins in Ann Arbor for our Easter tradition- church, brunch and an egg hunt. This year we went to St Mary's Student Parish because Jenny sings with the choir there sometimes. Brunch was yummy as usual. And all the cousins had fun looking for eggs and opening Easter baskets back at the house. Here is a family pic:

Santa Visit

Last year Bradley was deathly afraid of Santa while Sean nervously smiled not knowing what to do. This year, I prepped Bradley beforehand, reminding him that we will only see Santa for a few minutes and Mommy will pick him up right away. He refused at first but after Matt and I told him he could ask Santa for dinosaurs, he changed his mind in a split second and happily sat on his lap. He also asked Santa for toast, while Sean asked for a flying pig and a window shield. I later asked Sean what that was, and he was describing the window guard that Matt put on our kitchen window to keep out the cold. What funny kids we have! Here are my adorable, funny kids.

Mother's Day

The boys and Matt took me out to Ocean Prime, one of my favorite restaurants. They were very well-behaved and Matt and I were able to enjoy some yummy food. I splurged and bought a mocha capp complete with a sugar stirrer. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. We have the best and hardest job in the world!

Christmas Festivities

We had a lot going on this holiday season! We had many parties to go to, including Matt's work party, a play group party, and a friends' party (with Erin and Steph's families!). There were a few other get togethers and it was great seeing everyone! Sean had a Christmas pageant at school that told the story of Jesus' birth. It was so cute watching the infants, toddlers, and preschoolers attempt to tell a story and act out a play. At one point, a toddler grabbed the baby Jesus doll from the manger and tried to run out of the chapel! Sean was a camel in the nativity scene. He performed well and he may have an acting career in his future! =)

Sean, center, as a camel

 Bradley and I watching the play

I was very excited to celebrate Christmas this year just because I was excited to give the kids their gifts! Santa did not disappoint (and neither did the grandparents!). Our boys must have been very good this year!

We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Hersteins and Christmas Day with my parents. We had our first snowfall and Brad was able to play in the snow for the first time. To the left, you can see a huge smile on his face, which was a little different from Sean's first time, two years ago, which you can click on here. We went up north for the weekend of New Year's and rang in the New Year at home with our tradition of ordering in PF Changs. I had a wonderful 2012 and hope 2013 is even better!

Thanksgiving 2012

We went to Ann Arbor to spend time with Matt's family for Thanksgiving festivities. My parents met up with my sister and her family in Orlando while my brother celebrated with med school friends. We had a wonderful time with the Hersteins, eating a lot of food, including Matt's buttermilk pie. yum! Family picture-

Beautiful decorations by Charlene-

Halloween Fun

About a month late on the blog post, but still worth mentioning, is that Sean and Bradley loved Halloween. Sean was loving all of the Halloween episodes on Disney Jr with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Doc McStuffins, and of course Jake and the Neverland Pirates. On one of the Jake episodes, there was an evil sea witch and he STILL talks about it now (see bedtime story post). He was so into it that we had him watch the Little Mermaid a few days ago and he watched the WHOLE MOVIE. It is one of the best children's movies of all time, which helped, but he was really into Ursula the Sea Witch. For Halloween festivities, we went to zoo boo at the zoo, a friend's Halloween party, the pumpkin patch, and of course trick or treating. Here is zoo boo below-

Sean on Thunder, the pony, at the pumpkin patch/farm.

And here are the boys on a chilly Halloween night. They loved trick or treating.

Sean's Valentines

I got creative, thanks to Pinterest. It says "Happy Valentine's Day! Glad you're in my school Love, Sean".

Matt's Birthday and Christmas

Matt had some days stored up so he was able to take a few days off in addition to the days off he had for the holidays. We celebrated his birthday on the 20th, Christmas Eve with the Hersteins and Christmas Day with my parents and brother. On the 26th, my sister and her family came into town so we had another week of family fun! I pulled Sean out of school last week so we could maximize our time with Matt and my family over the holidays.
Sean received so many new toys from us and both grandparents that we had to put half of them in the basement and will have to bring them out throughout the next few months. Although this is a good thing because every month I have been rotating toys so Sean doesn't get too bored. He will play independently all day by himself and I have to make sure I get in there once in a while to play with him! He does ask questions all day and tries to pack in as much information as he can. His memory is amazing.

Sean opening up his Green Lantern - Planet Oa.


I didn't have too much time to see any friends over the holidays, but a friend of mine arranged a Troy High playdate. It was really fun to see some old friends and meet their new babies.
On New Year's Eve, Matt and I ordered in from PF Changs (a tradition, three years running!) and spent a relaxing night watching movies and seeing the ball drop. I'm surprised we made it to midnight!
2011 has been a wonderful year and I hope 2012 is even better!

Rolling Over and Sitting, Sean's Art Class

Brad has become more animated. He talks and makes funny noises all the time. He has also been rolling over and tripod sitting. He first rolled over, intentionally, on December 4th from back to front. He has rolled front to back before, but now has decided he is stuck when he rolls back to front so we have to rescue him every so often. He can also tripod sit, but eventually leans too far forward to try and get whatever is in front of him. Sadly, he also had his first cold this past week, but he is on the mend and is almost back to his loud, active self. Above is Brad in his Santa hat, which is the picture we used for our Christmas cards this year.
Sean and I completed his art class last week. We could only go to half the classes because we were pretty busy this month, but they were very fun classes. Sean painted a clay snowman, painted a plate with his hand-print that was then glazed later, and lastly, decorated a gingerbread house. He wanted to eat the candy afterward, but had enough self control to wait for the teacher to give him a lollipop (sucker) after class.

Thanksgiving 2011

We celebrated Thanksgiving at the Herstein household in Ann Arbor. Sean asked every day leading up to turkey day if we were going to Grandma and Grandpa's house and I had to tell him in 4 days, or 3 days, etc. When we got to Ann Arbor, Sean was so excited to play with Grandma and the millions of toys they have at the house. I kind of understand why Matt wants to keep his childhood toys now...kind of. If we had a ton of space, and maybe we will someday, it seems like a good idea to keep the good quality things.

Thanksgiving morning, we drove in and were driving home by 5:30pm. It was perfect timing both ways because Brad took his morning nap in the car on the way there, and both boys were exhausted and sleeping in the back on the way home (with Brad taking his afternoon nap at the Hersteins).

We didn't celebrate with my parents because they are in South America! They are visiting Rio and Argentina. I can't wait to see pictures. My brother decided to spent Tgiving with friends, but I was able to see him the day after when he was in town. Mona stayed in Mississippi this year, but is planning to bring her family to Troy after Christmas.

The background is not fake! It really was a gorgeous fall day outside.

The big 3-0

I turned 30 on October 17th. On October 16th, my parents came over to watch the kids so Matt and I could go out to eat. I had been craving Mongolian BBQ throughout my pregnancy so I finally got to go. The food and sauces are completely different from the last time I went. I think I did a pretty good job with my dish. Matt bought me pajama jeans for my birthday gift. I have been wanting a pair and can't wait to try them out.
The day of my birthday was a Monday so I took the kids to our weekly playgroup. My friends are so sweet; they all sang Happy Birthday as we walked in to Julie's house. What a nice surprise! Later that afternoon, I got another surprise! Flowers were delivered to me from Matt and were waiting on the doorstep! That evening, Matt brought home a purple cake. Sean liked that gift the best =)

Ready to go out

That night, Brad gave us the best present. He slept through the night with no feedings. What is really strange about that is Sean did the exact same thing on my birthday two years ago. I blogged about it here: Reena En Vie: Birthday Weekend