matthew's first easter (photo dump)

This year Easter was not only special because of it being Matthews first easter (and we all know my obsession with "firsts"), but it was also special because it was our first easter as a family. The first easter I got to start new traditions with my son. And let me tell you, the Easter Bunny, he was good to our family ;)

We started off the day with an absolutely beautiful church service at 8am that was held in the park across the street from our actual church. The park is beautiful, especially that early in the morning. Right on the water. And with such enjoyable weather. We were running a little late (as per usual) but this particular service is a great one to bring kids to because its outside and has so many things for them to be amused by. In our case it was the boats passing by, the birds chirping above, the green grass below, and a stroller tray full of puffs!

 

 

We followed up the service with a nice little drive down by the beach. When i say it was absolutely gorgeous out, I am by no means exaggerating. This view, this ocean, these palm trees, this is why i love living in south florida.

I think what also made this years easter so memorable, was that we didnt really have any plans to be anywhere until about 4pm. Usually we are scrambling to get from hubs familys house to my familys, and rarely have anytime to enjoy the day. But this year we kind of just went with the flow. We decided at the last minute that we would head over to my sisters house to dye easter eggs with them. And of course, since it was so beautiful out, what better place to do the dyeing than outside! Matthew even got to take part too! (even if it was just to observe and chew on a spatula)

 

 

 

 

Somehow, Matthew ended up taking all the credit.....

After my sisters house we came home to let matthew take a nap before the evening filled with family and great friends. I headed over to my moms a little early to help out since she had gotten off work a little late. This year I actually got to help my mom make the riddles for the easter basket hunt. I remember fondly all those years that "EB" (easter bunny) left my sister and I little riddles that we had to figure out to lead us to our baskets. They were funny riddles, and I swear we always ended up finding our baskets in either the dryer or the shower. My mom even made a comment about how the last riddle needed to lead my neice and nephew to the shower. I laughed at her and said this year it was going to be a different place to really fool them. Best part was when my nephew, as he was reading the last riddle that lead them to the shed, said "but this doesnt take us to the shower." I about died with laughter.

 

 

 

The rest of the day was spent just hanging out with family and close friends. It was so relaxing. The kids got to enjoy their easter baskets. The adults got to enjoy a few good beers and delicious food. Matthew enjoyed observing everything and everyone between the pack-n-play, swing, and being carried around.

 

We got a few good family pics squeezed in there too!

love his expression in this one, such a goofball, takes after his father in more ways than one ;)

You know, I knew I would always love having a family of my own, i just never thought about how much I would enjoy all the holidays with my own kids.

Well, I hope you all had as nice and relaxing of an Easter as we did!

here comes peter cottontail

now if these pics dont make your day, i dont know what will.

HaPpY EaStEr!!!

my lil bunny's easter basket

A tisket, a tasket, ideas for your little bunny's Easter basket!
Matthew is still to young to really understand or enjoy Easter this year, and probably next year too, but I just couldnt resist putting together an awesome 1st Easter basket for him. I figured Id share with all of you whats going in it in case any of you are having trouble figure out what to get your baby younger than 1yr old.

Jellycat Bunny // Caterpillar teether // Bunny Bowl // Peach Puffs // Easter book
easter basket // basket liner // pacifiers // Sippy Cup (similar) // mickey easter book
runaway bunny // peter rabbit // what is easter book

Easter Basket itself. I knew I wanted it personalized and Ive always loved the classic Peter Rabbit opposed to the cartoonish bunnies. So I turned to Pottery Barn Kids. I know i show the white basket here, but I actually got the Chesnut version. And I just have to say, PBK has awesome customer service. I ordered both the basket and the liner, and then the following day I got an email saying all the easter stuff was on sale. So i quick called them and they gave me a refund for the difference. Score! Something you may notice, there isnt any candy or sweets. I decided I didnt want to include these for two reasons. One being hes too young to have candy, and two being I want to save his first time ever eating sweets to be his smash cake at his first birthday (t-minus 67days and counting). But i did want to put some kind of treat in there for him. So thats where the Puffs come in handy. Im actually going to use them to fill the easter eggs we will be hiding around the living room too.

You also may notice, i went a little crazy on the books. I just cant help it. I love books and I hope to pass that love on to all my children. I got a couple classics like Peter Rabbit and the Runaway Bunny, but also included a book about what easter really is, as well as his favorite Mickey Mouse themed Easter book. And the little green easter book is really small and plastic. Great for him to hold and chew on in church service on Sunday morning.

I also included an easter bowl and a new sippy cup. The sippy cup is not only easter but also Mickey Mouse so it was a win win in my eyes. The pacifiers arent easter but they are spring colors ;)

And last but not least i had to include a stuffed bunny. I was going to just get one from CVS but then i saw this craze all over Facebook about a Jellycat. So i looked it up on amazon and i found a tannish colored one i thought was cute. They come in a bunch of colors and 3 sizes and i got the large one. Im so happy i did, it could definitely in my eyes become a stuffed animal that matthew will carry around as he grows up.  

 

spring is here! what were lovin, lil man style

So, Ill be honest here for a sec, I always get a wee bit jealous when I see people posting about their cute outfits inspirations for their daughters. All the dresses, all the bows, the little shoes, pink, pink, purple, and some more pink. Im envious. So I decided to round up some of my own inspiration for my lil man.

Hubs constantly teases me on how I try to match everything for matthews outfits, but until I one day have my own little girl to play dress-up with, Im going to have to rock all the baby boy outfits. And with all the new spring colors and clothes, im totally gushing over this seasons picks. Here are some of my favs.

1. guayabera one-piece  //  2. braided-canvas flip-flops // 3. baby mustache onesie 

4. happy hoppy easter // 5. hooded one piece // 6. just hatched onesie // 7. plaid romper 

8.  chicks bodysuits // 9.  plaid shirt & jeans // 10. canvas boat shoes

You might see a theme here....we tend to shop at old navy & target. ALOT. but at least they are both cute and inexpensive. win. win. ;)

As for Easter Sunday, I already have Matthews outfit all picked out. As well as his easter basket goodies, but Ill share that in another post. We're going for a very simple, bright, and cute outfit. (i know in the pic below it doesnt look like it, but the shoes do actually match very well)

1. white polo // 2. plaid pants // 3. bunny bib // 4. mustache shoes

And, just so you know, there are actually a few pieces I didnt include here, that I would have totally picked, however they are long sleeve, and that just doesnt cut it here in south florida. But if I was up north, where theyre all getting snow in march (crazy) i would have picked these two adorably cute outfits 1. Peter Rabbit and 2. sweater vest outfit

Well, thats it, short and sweet little post for ya today!

fridays letters (giveaway winner announced)

 

dear hubby, i know this week was a hard week for  us, but i think after sitting down and having a civilized conversation we made some real progress. there are things that still need to change, for both of us, but im just glad that we were able to see each others points. just know, I may not like you some days, but I always love you.

dear matthew, thank you so much for sleeping through the night last night! mommy needed some sleep, badly, and so did you. today you woke up in such a better mood. Smiling at me as I walked through your door, i knew today was going to be much better than this past week

dear hair, what is up with you lately? i just cant seem to figure you out. youre kinda too long, but i dont want to cut you. bangs overgrown, do i really want bangs? you've been incredibly greasy lately and I dont know why. so greasy that last night i didnt even put conditioner in (something Ive never done) and yet this morning you still feel yucky. what the h-e-doublehockeysticks is going on?!?!?! get it together. any suggestions on making my hair not so greasy, would be greatly appreciated.

dear reese's peanut butter eggs, you will be the death of my. ive already eaten 2 and its not even 2pm yet. i bought you to pt in hubs easter basket, but it doesnt look like youll be making it that long in our house.

dear pottery barn kids, thanks for making such cute easter baskets! i got matthew the peter rabbit one and it came this week. i die of the cuteness!

dear spring, im so glad youre finally here! its beautiful outside (although a lil overcast today) with the windows open and the wind airing out the house. if only someone else could do my sping cleanign for me ;)

dear previous employer, thank you so much for the surprise performance bonus check that came in the mail. i was not expecting you at all, but you came at just the right time, as i needed to order a new convertible carseat for matthew and was dreading the $250 price tag. This makes it so much easier.

dear old navy, why must you have so many cute dresses? i want all of them! i only bought 2, but i might go back for more colors. hehe

dear hubby, i didnt expect you to meet me at matthews pedetrcian appointment on wednesday, but Im actually kind of glad you did. it was great to have the doctor tell you that nothing is wrong with matthew and that hes just teething and acting like a normal baby. i already knew this, and have told you multiple times, but i guess it took a professional to tell you for you to actually believe it.

dear matthew, im so proud of how good youve become while eating at restaurants. wednesday night it was well past your bedtime by time we got to the restaurant and I was for sure that we would have to leave early due to you being up for so long with no nap. but you surprised all of us by being extremely well behaved, eating dinner, and just playing with your toy while the rest of us finished. you only started getting cranky when the bill came. thank you for being such a good boy!

And before I forget, the winner of the CROODS giveawy is:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats again Allison!

You must be one lucky lady, as you won my last giveaway too!!

And i know I usually leave you with a photo, but i thought this little video was better. We gave Matthew a lemon at dinner wednesday night and he loved it, although his face may tell you different ;)

Hope ya'll have a great weekend! And dont forget to link up with Ashley for Fridays Letters!