Raising a Toddler

We have not baby proofed our house. We did not feel we needed to. Magnolia never 'got into' anything before, but now she is becoming a toddler! She is a full blown toddler and we are loving every single second of it. Just this week she ripped up part of Toller's homework, she took silverware out of the dishwasher while I was trying to load it, she opened the cabinet under the sink and unrolled our roll of garbage bags and she stuck her feet in the running water while I was doing dishes.

She is into everything.
She is everywhere.
She is all attitude.
She is extremely communicative!
She is spoiled!
She is amazing!

Hanging with T

Playing with her toes

What? Can't everyone do this?

Water Water so much fun in the water!

Easter 2013

Family Farm

One of our family traditions is to go to my hometown every year for Easter. My small hometown has a huge Easter egg hunt that Toller looks forward to all year. After that one we have another egg hunt at my mom and dad's house, which is on our family farm that has been in our family for a hundred and thirty three years. We all love spending time at the farm and seeing our family and we always have a great time. This year was no different.

Sitting in the car with Papa before the hunt

The boys have been taking a picture like this every year for many years!

Magnolia hunting eggs

Meeting the Easter Bunny!

The boys!

Putting the egg in the basket

About to take the egg out of the basket

Papa, Nana and Magnolia

Magnolia and her wonderful Aunt/Godmother

The boys had fun at the egg hunt and Magnolia actually got into it as well.

Isabella and Magnolia relaxing

So pretty

The girls had fun taking pictures

While the boys had fun playing baseball

Dyeing eggs

M with her dyed egg

Grandparents and grandchildren

Godparents

Every year we have fun hiding Toller and Jack's Easter baskets. The older they get the more complicated the basket hunt becomes. This year was hilarious. It started with them finding a note from the Easter bunny telling them they were going to have to go on a scavenger hunt to find their baskets. They instantly took off.

Literally took off

They were told the pink flags would hold the clues

This clue told them to look for the pyramids! The Easter bunny is clever!

The last clue told them they were going to have to dig for their treasure

Big boys supervising the dig

Found!!

2 1/2 years old

Magnolia Bell turned 2 1/2 today. The reason we realized this (we stopped counting months awhile ago) was because we had her first transition to school meeting. In six months she will be in school! Wow - ok, that is too much to think about right now so let's just focus on her being 2 1/2.

She weighs 14lbs!!  She is 29 inches long.

2 1/2 years old and nine years old

Toller 7 and Magnolia two days old.

So big!

So tiny

What a happy 2 1/2 year old

Toller cooked us dinner tonight

Magnolia is everywhere! She loves loves loves books and loves to have us read them to her. This week Magnolia did something that really shocked us. She butt scooted over to the couch and pulled herself up and pushed one of her books off the couch, she then sat down and got the book and butt scooted over to Brian and put the book in his lap. She sat there until he opened it to read and she started clapping!! I was not sure if that was intentional so after Brian finished reading the book he tossed it back up on the couch and she went to get it. She did it over and over again. Tonight I was trying to get it on tape (I figured it would be perfect because she is 2 1/2 today) and she decided to shock us again. She cruised on the side of the couch. It was not far and it was far from pretty (her poor feet) but she cruised!!! And I caught it on tape.  Stick with it, she cruises near the end of the video.

Spring Break 2013 NYC

We love our family tradition of spending spring break in NYC. We missed it last year, for the first time in several years, and we were sad about it all year. We decided to fly this year. We left on Saturday, March 16th, 2013, and flew home on Friday, March 22nd. We had an amazing time. We visited old friends and saw family. We ate delicious food. We saw incredible things. It was a fabulous spring break.

New York City

Having a delicious brunch at the eatery.

Moments later - enjoying the first, of many, hotdogs!

Grand Central Station

When we first moved to New York in 2001 we made some wonderful new friends, friends that we have kept for years and friends we will keep forever!

Our dear friend Mish

Soooo very happy to see our friends!

Brian, Mish and Cameron met us in the city to spend a few wonderful days!

MaKenzie met us at Mother Burger

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Brian, Cami, Magnolia, me, Ryleigh, MaKenzie, Brian, Mish, and Toller having a wonderful dinner at a great Turkish restaurant.

A very happy little girl with her big brother

Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful Friends! photo by Toller

MaKenzie met us for lunch and then gave us a tour of her office. So cool!

Who doesn't love FAO?

Even Magnolia loved making the piano light up and play.

We started a tradition many years ago. Every time we leave town (for someplace cool) we buy a book and write in the cover of it when and where we were when we purchased the book. We have books from the UAE, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and of course New York City. Well this year we included Cami in our tradition. She had so much fun picking out her book and Toller loved reading it to her and Magnolia.

Reading to the girls

Toller was so exhausted he fell asleep reading his book.

Sleep overs are so much fun with friends!

I love this little girl!!

Such great friends! Cami was an amazing help with Magnolia!

We met a great friend, through our friend Oz, when we first moved to New York in 2001. We have been friends with Amihai ever since. His birthday always falls during our trip to the city. Brian joined him for birthday drinks with his friends and then Amihai joined Mishelle, Cami, Magnolia and me for lunch the next day.

 Such great friends!

Breakfast in bed

Mish loving on T and M

Family photo

Magnolia Bakery

Relaxing on the subway

Brian and Toller had a wonderful time at the Natural History Museum.

I have been taking pictures with my kids in Central Park ever since Toller was one month old!

If you look closely you can see Toller on top of the rocks!

Central Park bridge

Enjoying Central Park

Family photo under the bridge

We stumbled upon this adorable delicious bakery on the Upper West Side - Sugar and Plumm

Toller reading to his sister in this cool reading spot in the bookstore, Posman Books, in Chelsea Market.

We left Chelsea Market and climbed onto the High Line - we walked it to the end at 30th street. 

What amazing views from the High Line!

It was so gorgeous up there.

While walking back to our hotel from the High Line we stopped for sushi.

Three years ago when we were in NYC, and I was pregnant with Magnolia, we went to see the Broadway show Mary Poppins. It was incredible. The next year, Magnolia was 5 months old, so Brian took Toller to see Spiderman After Dark (the original before the rewrite). That meant that it was my turn this year! We went to see Annie. It was wonderful!

On our way to see Annie on Broadway

In front of the theater (the next day)

Getting ready for the day

We ate breakfast at my favorite deli, Carve, almost every day. The guys working didn't even have to ask our order halfway through our trip, they just knew. Ohh there is nothing like two eggs on a roll! Magnolia enjoyed watching the traffic.

We all had to come up with a list of things to do this trip and two of the items had to be something we had never done before. Brian and Toller found a science museum in Queens. It was very cool!

It was very hands-on and perfect for kids.

MaKenzie joined us for a bit!

We stopped at St. Andrew's, a fun Scottish restaurant, for a quick dinner.

Toller was so into his book he carried it with him to read on the subway and any other time he could find. Riding the elevator down from the 17th floor was a perfect time to read.

Toller in heaven with all the Reese's at the Hershey's store.

I love all the bridges in NYC

Amihai stopped by to say goodbye.

All packed up and ready (not really) to go home.

Hanging at the airport waiting for our flight.