Friday morning

Nothing better than waking up, grabbing a beverage, stripping off your pants, and taking a stroll in the back yard, soggy diaper and all. Why not, right?

Happy Friday! Now, wave to your adoring fans.

Outdoor and Easter shenanigans

We had a lovely Easter weekend at home, just the four of us. We opted to stay home based on travel a couple weeks ago and more a couple weeks from now. Our weekends at home have been so few lately. We embraced it!

Photos from the last few days...

Front yard and garage shenanigans, Cozy Coupe riding, water bottle sipping, dirt digging...and standing-on-Daddy's-truck fun.

We took a family walk to the elementary school's playground.

(They have one of those odd-but-fun giant car seat-like swings. A got so comfy in it, she cried when we told her it was finally time to get down.)

Early morning snuggles with Lady EJ. She wakes around 5am most mornings and snoozes off and on for another hour or so. Since she doesn't fully go back to sleep, she usually gets invited to snuggle in bed with mama. 

Snugglebunny. A content little lady.

Reading a cookbook. She saw the stack of them in the kitchen - on a shelf where they have been for months - and suddenly decided she wanted to read them. And read them NOW.

The next day...more swings!

Smiling (and squinting) at the park. We were up early Easter morning, and decided to venture to the park. We had the entire place to ourselves on a sunny, breezy, 70-degree morning. It was awesome.

A visit to what we thought was a rainforest-themed restaurant in town...that was actually all dinosaurs. Miss A was a little nervous, but okay, until a costumed dinosaur walked up to our table. Yeah. NOT a fan. From then on out she would only sit on our laps, and barely touched her lunch. She had worried eyes the entire rest of the meal, and all week since then has repeatedly said, "Scawy, mama. Scawy." What's scary, Addy? "Dye-sores!"

Mama cooked her first big ham. Success. And we have leftovers for days.

EJ slept like this for five+ hours on Easter afternoon. All of that bunny stuff is exhausting!

Xoxoxo.

Little smiles

We had a big smiling session yesterday. By the time I grabbed my phone she was done doling out the big grins, but still complied with a few little ones.

We caught her first smile more than a week ago now, around 5 weeks. Not bad! We'll keep working on it. :)

Amnuls

A great birthday yesterday of a mocha delivery from a friend, time with the girlies, lots of cards and calls and messages, and flowers and chef skills from N was extended today with breakfast out,

a bit of shopping,

(Not pictured, shopping for new EJ-related charms for mama's bracelet. Yay!)

and a trip to the children's farmstead.

We talked it up all morning to A, and by the time we arrived she was pumped to see amnuls.

The pond was a favorite.

There was much discussion over the wader and the ooses swimming in it.

As always, EJ was a thrilling conversationalist throughout our visit. #notcomplaining

Can't remember what the discussion topic was here. Maybe the urkeys?

Plans are to veg out tonight with a few books and visit a few friends tomorrow. I will probably mess with a few decor-related things upstairs, because heaven knows I can't stay away too long. Perfect weekend!

Xoxoxo.

Window happenings, chair happenings, girly happenings

First, the little lady is completely indifferent during bathtime. She doesn't cry, like most babies. She just...sleeps.

Weirdo!

Second, we have been working on tiny projects here and there around the house, mostly related to decorating. It's been fun to do, but I keep jumping from room to room and it's making me feel kind of scatterbrained. And mamas with newborns typically don't need additional help in that area. I am simultaneously working on artwork for both girls rooms, office organization, a bit of decor for the basement, a rug and mirror for the foyer, tweaks to the sunroom, possible paint colors for the front door, and making plans for our dining room update later this summer. Pick a room already, Sorensen! Sheesh.

A recently helped me organize a bin of tiny baby stuff.

Which ended up not really being organized at all, but traipsed around the house. #muchmorefun

The accidental coloring station with a table and chair that we had in the dining room for a couple weeks was such a hit, I thought she might enjoy a similar set-up in her room.

The test was successful. Reading on the floor is sooo last week. I can't wait to paint/refinish those two furniture pieces. The chair I thrifted for $10 a few months ago. The seat has a hinge on it, and I think it would be fun to add a metal basket underneath it. We'll see. The side table I stole from our master bedroom, where it just collected dust as a picture frame holder. It will have a much more fun life in A's room, I hope. :)

The garden stool was used as a side table in A's old room, and isn't something I plan to use in the new nursery, so it makes the perfect mommy/daddy seat at the table. The accent rug is from Target. Oh, and look at those curtains! That bolt of fabric finally decided to leap up onto the windows.

Thrilled with how they look in both rooms. They are more substantial in A's room than the nursery, due to the window set-up, but that's okay. My first major forray into curtains...check.

And speaking of the windows, we have blinds!

No more hiding in the bathroom to get dressed in the guest room. Hunter Douglas faux wood 2.5 inch blinds. Basic and easy. We had them installed in all three bedrooms upstairs and the girls' bath window.

Finally, we moved the wooden table and chairs up from the basement and into the sunroom for the season. As expected, it's a hit.

The girl loves a good chair. (She even launched herself off of one at PBKids the other day, and has mentioned it every day since. "Chair, mama. Bump head!")

That sunroom needs a burst or two of color in the worst way. It's very tan on tan on tan right now. I've seen a couple tutorials for painting seagrass rugs like the one we have, maybe I'll look into that...

Little EJ and the canine say hello.

And, as A chanted during breakfast out with a friend this morning..."Mmm bakey (bacon) mmm bakey!"

Xoxoxo.