Fast Friends

After another rainy weekend we are counting the days until the May flowers arrive! The temps soared, but the rain was relentlass, so we were home bound for much of the weekend (AGAIN!!). The silver lining? We had a special visitor straight from Minneapolis who found some time to hang out with Sam. They were fast friends, which is no surprise considering Sarah was one of the first visitors we had after Sam was born. My how times have changed!

Easter = Exhaustion

The Easter Bunny really hit one out of the ballpark this morning when he surprised Sam with his very own car. Sam spied it from a distance, ran for it and once he sat down, he didn't want to get up. After lots and lots of laps around the kitchen we finally distracted him with his Easter basket, which was full of more goodies (but let's face it, a new book doesn't really compare to a new car).

The Egg hunt went off without a hitch too. Sam is going through a stage where he thoroughly enjoys picking things up and putting them away, so he was all too eager to find the eggs and squirrel them away in his basket.

After that excitement wore off Sam literally asked for a nap. I said, "Sam do you just want to go back to bed?" He shook his head vigoursly and started climbing into his crib. I gladly obliged and he went down for a nap at 8:35.

We spent the afternoon at the Damasks who were gracious enough to host a group of us for lunch and another egg hunt. Sam was thrilled to join the other kids (and the Easter Bunny) and after a few hours of running around like mad, it was time to head home for another nap.

All in all a really great day full of fun and laughter.

Hop To It

Our Easter celebration started early tonight when we went to Bubbles for an Egg Hunt. We joined what felt like a thousand other kids, parents and grandparents for singing, dancing, cookie decorating and a good old-fashioned egg hunt. The Easter Bunny made an appearance too, and after some initial hesitation, Sam gave him a big wave goodbye as he was leaving.

The highlight of the event -- at least for me -- was when Sam came running across the room to give me a flower. Absolutely, positively adorable and something I'll remember whenever I see big, fake flowers.

Tomorrow will be even more jam-packed with Easter fun. Sam's been sleeping for more than an hour now -- time for me to hit the hay too.

Easter's On Its Way

My parents came to babysit Sam for the weekend and brought this amazing Easter basket with REAL GRASS! We've been watching it grow all week, running our fingers through it and dreaming of summer time. The Easter bunny has a tough act to follow, but I'm confident he'll live up to the challenge!

Giddy Up

We discovered The Right Start about two months before Sam was born and it was instantly our favorite baby store. It's about five minutes away from our house and there is free, no-fuss parking (virtually impossible to find in the city). It's also has a perfectly-edited selection of everything from strollers and car seats to bibs, blankets, books and toys as well as truly knowledgeable salespeople. It is pretty close to perfection, so when I discovered they're closing due to bankruptcy I was super surprised and disappointed. But the upside is there are good deals everywhere, including Paco the Rocking Pony. It required some minimal assembly, but we let Sam take a quick, first look right before bedtime. Needless to say, it was a big hit. Giddy up!

Days Gone By

A colleague at work had a baby boy a couple weeks ago and she writes a terrific blog all about her foray into parenthood. It’s made me think a lot about the first few weeks after Sam arrived on the scene. It’s amazing how quickly the details slip away – blame it on sleep deprivation -- and hearing her talk about labor and delivery, their hospital stay and the first night at home has brought back a flood of memories.

The early days are amazing, and looking back they really do set the tone for parenthood. You revel in the small victories and you can literally feel a fountain of love springing up inside you. At the same time, the exhaustion is so overwhelming, it’s sheer will that gets you through some of those first days and nights (I’m told the teenage years will be another test of our will).

I guess I’m just suddenly struck by how fast you go from perfecting a swaddle to chasing a toddler! I wish I could press pause for a little while.

For those who haven’t seen enough of our vacation, here’s more (apologies about the music choice).

Life's Not a Beach

Our vacation is over and we've been welcomed back to reality with a hectic work week and a flu bug. But good memories abound and I keep finding myself glancing back at our vacation pics. What a great time we had!

I hope the luck of the Irish is with you today - it's not with me. I spent 21 of the last 24 hours in bed. As I'd say to Sam, "that's yucky."