Easter

Holden woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had visited his house. When I when in to get him from his crib I said, "I think the Easter Bunny came to your house."

He replied with joy, "HAVE A BASKET!"

We went downstairs to see the goodies. I asked, "What did the Easter Bunny bring you?!"

He yelled, "A DOG!" (It was a stuffed bunny.) In his Easter basket, he got new toothbrushes (one electric!), a monster hooded towel, a stuffed bunny with a book, and a bath toy. Then he hunted for eggs filled with fruit snacks, cereal, and goldfish crackers.

Later, we headed to the park and played for a good hour or so. We came home and Holden took a great nap. Around 4:00, we went across the street to the Wojtkowski's house and the boys had another egg hunt. Holden loved the eggs filled with jelly beans! In fact, while the other kids played, he sat on the grass opened each egg and ate all the candy. The best part was Daddy arrived home from his week long trip to Washington D.C that afternoon.

The night ended with a scare. As Holden was getting in the shower with his Daddy he slipped and hit the back of his head on our tile step going into the shower. We thought we were going to have to make a trip to the E.R., but luckily we got the bleeding to stop. It wasn't bad enough to require stitches/staples, but it sure was scary for his Dad and I. What a way to end Easter Sunday!

Egg Hunt

Our community, Pacific Highlands Ranch, held an Easter egg hunt for the kids at our recreation center on Saturday, March 21st. There was an egg hunt for 2-4 year olds, jump houses, and the Easter Bunny himself. Holden and I went with our neighbors, and had a great time. Holden actually got the concept of finding eggs, and even got to say hi to the Easter Bunny. The highlight, however, was the jump house. He spend at least 35 minutes straight jumping with his friend Aidan. They went in all by themselves, and came out when they were ready. It was a great time!

BEFORE THE HUNT

I tried to capture the cute Easter picture with Holden sitting with his basket, smiling ever so perfectly. But guess what, it didn't happen. He did everything but look at the camera and smile.

TH HUNT

Holden loved the egg hunt. He got a little side tracked with the water toys for a minute, and wondered why they weren't working.

AFTER THE HUNT

The best part was coming home and finding the treasures in his eggs.

Our Grown Up Boy

Holden is becoming less and less of a baby, and more and more of a big boy! On Thursday after school, I picked him up a little early and we went to the mall to buy shoes. It was the first time I tackled it alone WITHOUT a stroller. He did great. We only had one almost escape to the escalator in Nordstrom. I had to drop everything to catch him before he got on. Luckily, that was the only incident. He walked around the mall with me, and carried bags and everything.

He also just told me he was sick for the first time - and was RIGHT! On Thursday night while he was falling asleep, he said, "My ear hurts." I really didn't think much of it. Then on the way to school on yesterday (3/21) morning, he said it again. I wondered then if he was right. When I picked him up from school they said he was fussy and clingy all day, so I took him to the doctor. Dr. Wilson came in and asked Holden which ear hurt. He said, "This one," and pointed to his right ear. The doctor looked and confirmed that he did indeed have an ear infection. Such a big boy!

What hasn't change is his pickiness in eating. Last night, he had the most bland dinner ever: grilled cheese sandwich, bananas, yogurt, and baby food veggies. When he doesn't like something he will move it off his placemat. When I saw that he had done that to his baby food veggies, I asked him if he was going to eat them. Like such a big boy, he replied, "No, too spicy. No like it. It's too spicy." Anyone who has ever tasted baby food knows that it is the most bland food available. I thought it was funny though - he's coming up with excuses now for not eating. I do have two tactics right now that are working in my favor though. When he wants to get down to play, I tell him he needs to eat two more big bites, and he really does take big bites. I also tell him he has to have XXX if he wants to grow big and strong like Daddy. Works like a charm!

Lastly, he's a very verbal little fella. Right now he just came up to me and said, "I want more juice please Mommy. I drank it all." As I went to fill his cup he added, "I want ice Mommy." Now he's pulling spatulas and ladles out of our kitchen drawer, and saying, "That's for eggs?" (Holding up a spatula) "That's for soup?" (Holding up a ladle) "That's for chicken too?" (Holding up a different spatula). He's always been a talker, but now he's coming up with his own opinions and ideas. It's really amazing to watch him learn and grow.

He's the cutest thing ever, and being his Mommy is the most fulfilling thing in the world!

Eating dinner in all his cuteness.

Do you see his "too spicy" veggies pushed off the placemat?

He got sick of me taking pictures, so he said "Say Cheeeeessseeee" and showed this face.

A Chip off the Ol' Block

Holden is becoming more and more like his daddy; he looks up to him, and wants to be just like Dad. Last week Trey installed overhead storage in our garage, and Holden was in hog heaven playing with all his tools and "helping out". Holden even sits like Trey when he works on things, it's almost frightening how similar it is. Those of you who have ever seen Trey work on things will be able to see the similarity in the sitting on one bent leg position. Trey definitely has a fan, and will have a buddy to work with in the garage for the rest of his life!

TWO!

Holden turned two on February 24th, 2008! We planned to not have a formal celebration and just do "something small", maybe a cupcake with a few of our friends over. A week before his birthday, we decided to send out an Evite to our neighbors for an afternoon of bike riding and scootering on Sunday, Feb. 24th, Holden's actual birthday. Everyone responded yes. We were officially having the party we planned not to have. The morning before the party we checked the weather to see rain forecasted for all day Sunday. We didn't know whether to cancel or to reschedule. Trey thought it would be weird to just cancel so we postponed it to the following Saturday, March 1st.

Since the party was postponed and it was a rainy day, we stayed in all day. He opened presents from his grandparents - they were a huge hit. It's actually really great to have your child's birthday fall on a rainy day because there is plenty to keep them entertained. New toys equals happy child. We decided to go to dinner and asked the Conley's and Sammis' to join us. I baked cupcakes and brought them along. We went to Chief's in Solana Beach, a little restaurant that has a dive bar feel to it. We sang happy birthday and Holden got to blow out his two candles. We headed home for bedtime (school night) after cupcakes without opening presents. At the end, I felt like it was a perfect celebration for his birthday, but we still had this party planned for next weekend. During the week, Holden opened the presents from the Conley and Sammis families. Loved them!







On Saturday, March 1st, Holden's party went off without a hitch. Around 35 adults and kids came to play in the street. The kids were biking, scootering, and riding quads up and down the street. It really was a lot of fun!






It's ironic that our "No Party" plans for this year turned into TWO full birthday celebrations with gift opening lasting over a week. It seems a little excessive to me, but hey you only turn two once. Holden fully understands the meaning of presents now, and sings "Happy Birthday" multiple times a day to himself.