March Phone Favorites

 We are loving the warm weather! E's favorite thing is to play outside in the water!

 It is always fun to see your name on a street sign. :)

 E was just having one of those nights :). 

 It was so fun having my "sister" here visiting! I miss her.

 Duke got to experience the pool for the first time.  It was a bit chilly so we stuck to the hot tub.

 Nothing beats skinny dipping. For the record... never have I ever. 

 I packed our first box this month. It broke my heart a bit. 

 E has a new found love for toilet paper and blowing her nose. Oh boy!

We are so excited for summer and for some warmer weather. Bring on the pool and sunshine! I can't believe March is already gone! Time needs to slow down. Only 6 more week until we move out of the apartment! Good Gravy!

Finally!!!!

Well, it took them three months but they finally got here for "Christmas." We are having a blast and as always we are busy busy busy. I am so thankful for my parents and the joy and excitement that they bring when they visit. More photos to come!! :)

Moccasins

 I have been drooling over all of the super cute moccasins that have been popping up everywhere. So cute! I knew I had to get some for Duke Manfred. Good freaking gravy! I love them! I really think that he should sleep in them! I need some of these in my size.

 

Sick & Snuggles

Oh my dear blog, how I've missed you! Life has been a bit hectic here but now we're starting to get back into our groove which means it's catch up time for the blog! Last week poor Jakob caught yet another bug. I swear if someone sneezes in the same room as him he's sick. This guy can't catch a break. Ethnie really wanted some Daddy time so she climbed into bed and watched Elmo while Daddy snuggled her. I think it made both of them feel better. I know it sure brightened my day!

Mr. Leprechaun

 Our family has been sick so St. Patty's really didn't happen in our home this year. But that didn't stop us from rocking out a mini leprechaun shoot.

 This boy just makes me want to chase my very own rainbow. He's my pot of gold for sure. 

Happy First St. Patrick's Day my love.

Love Bugs

 One of my favorite things while the Houston Tobler's were visiting was watching the little people play together. There are many more pictures which are all on Mom's camera (I'll steal those later.) This one particular evening Lucia & Ethnie were stuck together like glue. They jumped on the bed, played follow the leader, ate snacks and played games. It was so cute so see how much fun they were having. 

 You can never get both of them to look at the camera at the same time...

I love family visits! It's totally worth getting sick! (Everyone caught Benicio's cold.)

Bathing the Boys

 I just love that Janet and I had boys so close together. These two are going to be crazy when they get older. I can just see it now. Stealing cookies, wrestling, making all sorts of messes just like boys do. It will be so much fun!

 Both Benicio and Duke love bath time. They were so cute scrub a dub dubbing. 

 Mohawks... well sort of.

Love these boys!

A Night with the Men

Thriller!

 Last week Jakob and I got Groupon tickets to see MJ Live: A Michael Jackson Tribute. This guy was fabulous. Once his voice got warmed up he was right on the money. I was getting my groove on. I think I may have embarrassed Jakob. It was a fun night! I love MJ!

Park Days

 One of my favorite things to do is go to the park with friends. It give E a change of senery and it gives Mama a chance to talk to grown ups. E's favorite thing to do is swing. Love her. 

 I just love these two. Match made in heaven. Zada was born 3 months premature which is why she is the same size as Duke at the age of one. Well that and Duke is ridiculously large. These two melt my heart. 

I am so glad that it's warming up so we can enjoy more days at the park!

It's Offical...

... we are moving. Jakob has been accepted into Vanderbilt and I couldn't be more proud of him. He will be taking a nine month course to receive his masters. I am a bit torn about this new adventure. On the one hand I am so very excited to start a new chapter, for Jakob to go back to school and for us to become "real people" once he graduates that may one day buy a house. I am excited for change and new beginnings. To explore another city and enjoy the excitement of it all. On the other hand however, Vegas has become my home (much to my surprise). When I left Canada I never thought that Vegas and home would ever be in the same sentence. I told Jakob that he had until graduation (from UNLV) then we were out of here. I didn't plan on falling in love with the heat, viewing his parents as my own, or making such incredible friends. I love it here and I will be very sad to leave Vegas. I am however very proud of Jakob and I look forward to making a new "home" where ever we end up. Life will change, it will take some getting used to, but in the end I am excited to embark on this new adventure and I couldn't have imagined a better man to have by my side. Go Commodores!

7 Months

• Height: 27 inches
• Weight: 21.9 lbs (92nd percentile)
• Head Circumference: 46cm (91st percentile)
• Nicknames: Uke, Little Man, Monkey, Most of the time we call him "Duke Manfred"

• I think he stopped growing. He has a ton of chunk still but he is starting to coast his he's so busy!
• Duke has got to be the happiest baby ever. He really enjoys his alone time to roll around and play with toys (and by alone I mean not sitting in my lap but we're in the same room.)

• Duke Manfred is CRAWLING! Okay, it's not 100% crawling with his belly off the floor but he's started to army crawl and scoot his ay forward on his belly! It's so nice having him mobile.

• We're converting to the two nap schedule and Duke is resiting. He usually wakes up at 6:30/ 7:00 a.m. then we keep him up until 10:00. He takes a two and a half hour nap and is up by 12:30. He goes back down again at 2:30 and sleeps until around 5ish sometimes more sometimes less. Then he has bath at 6:45 and is in bed by 7:15 p.m.

• He really likes to stand and hold your hands.
• He has become a bit more clingy lately. He wants to be right next to you if your on the floor and crawls up into my lap. It's strange but welcome. I love cuddling.

• This boy is a screamer! He loves to squawk and scream especially at dinner time. If you're not shoveling the food into his mouth fast enough he'll let you know!

•  Duke is getting much better at feeding himself and picking up things. He loves the veggie puff, Elf poops and Puff stars.  
• Duke is really not into veggies any more. He will tolerate them but usually cries if we try to sneak a bite in between bites of fruit. He really dislikes green beans. He has had his first taste of big people food this month on the form of grapes.

• My favorite time of day is tickle time and rocking with him in the glider. He still hardly falls asleep in my arms but when he does I have to take a moment to enjoy it.  He's growing so fast!

• Duke really loves to play Peek-a-boo, bounce and do shoulder presses with Daddy.  He also likes it when we sing and dance in the kitchen.
• Duke played Peek-a-boo barn on my phone the other day. Since then he has this fascination with hitting my phone. So cute!
• This boy is super ticklish. His armpits are the best but really if you tickle him anywhere he cringes. I love that laugh. 

 How can my little man be so big already? Time is zooming! This boy is my sunshine and I love him more than words!!!

Duke's Room

 About a month ago Duke moved into his own room. The only issue was that he wasn't exactly ready to move in with his sister yet and since I was crafting for E's party every night the office wasn't going to work either. So...

 ... he moved into our guest bathroom. At first I felt a bit awkward having my baby sleep in a bathroom but it has actually worked out brilliantly. Unorthodox yes, but for us it worked and he is none the wiser. 

No fear, I did bleach the bathroom thoroughly before he moved in. I think he'll be moving into sister's room soon. Love this little man.