33 cupcakes

i turned 33 this week on wednesday, april 22nd. sadly this is the only picture from that day. declan shoving the entire cupcake in his mouth in one bite, too funny. maybe he was nervous we were going to steal it from him or something if he didn't put it away fast!

i very much enjoyed my birthday, although this was the year i stopped counting! i had to actually do the math from the year i was born so that means it probably doesn't matter anymore...

i have wednesdays off from work so that was the best part! it started off great because declan slept until 8:15 - completely unheard of but what a great day for him to do it!!! d and i played in the morning, had lunch together, and went to his gymboree class. our sitter jane came in the afternoon so i could treat myself to a nice haircut appointment (i got my hair chopped to a long angled bob, something i've wanted for a long time). and then tim and i got take-out thai food and fancy cupcakes. throughout the day i received many nice calls, cards, emails and facebook wishes which made me feel special despite my not counting!

home improvements

as all you homeowners know, owning a home is a constant investment of time and money that literally never ends. especially the money. we don't have a money pit house, but a spacious newish one that we need to furnish, decorate, paint, landscape and some nips and tucks to make it homey for us. always something to be doing/buying/fixing/cleaning/beautifying... but we always enjoy the end result!

project #1
we recently completed tim's home office. poor guy had been working out of a starkly bare room with chalky white walls and a mission-style desk we picked up for his apartment a few years ago, i'm not sure which one of us was into mission-style at the time because we certainly aren't now.

the only thing it is missing is artwork, but i have my eye on some items so it won't be too long. also, the paint in here was supposed to be a medium gray, think "flannel suit gray" for a clean yet masculine look. it is hard to choose paint from small swatches, the one i ended up selecting appears slate blue and not very gray. we are a little disappointed but for now it will remain because it does look nice. we just can't get past the fact that it is not gray.





project #2
we expanded our patio by almost 200 square feet by having tan cobblestone-style pavers installed all around the existing cement slab. it looks AWESOME and exceeded our expectations. we are so happy with the look and functionality that we plan to do phase 2 later this summer which will be a path which will connect the back patio through the side gate and connect to the driveway out front. that way you don't have to trample on tim's pretty grass on the way to the front yard. also a few more beds were cut out along with tons of fresh, dark, beautiful mulch. we planted a lilac bush and two azaleas this weekend in the new beds in back but didn't get pictures of those yet.

oh and the two new green adirondack chairs from smith & hawken. i have always wanted some, yeay! they really complete the look and add some lounge-ability as well.

uncle andy's visit this weekend and declan's new pint-sized chair. he is very into the cupholder for his sippy cup!

a fun saturday night

we had the stewart family over saturday night to hang out. we couldn't have ordered better weather, it was in the 70s all afternoon! we enjoyed watching the little boys play in the backyard. we think it is funny that they still only somewhat notice/recognize each other though they have spent a lot of time together since birth and are in neighboring classes at school!

i regret not getting any of the adults in the photos, maybe next time!

pbj please

i have held off giving declan peanuts or peanut butter for a long time just to be on the safe side with the prevalence of peanut allergies. our pediatrician has always maintained that since he was about a year old he can eat anything we eat and encouraged us to provide a wide range of foods to develop his palate.

on saturday i decided it was time to try peanut butter & jelly. i made him a sandwich on wheat bread and cut it into mini squares. he made the funniest prune face (wish i had captured that on camera)but then continued to gingerly pick at the pieces until i noticed he was devouring them as fast as i could put them on his plate.

because our friends the stewarts found out the hard way about how severe peanut allergies can be, i watched declan very carefully for any adverse reaction, hives, swelling, difficulty breathing. it appears we are in the clear and for that i am grateful.

i can't even think of an appropriate title

sometimes between diaper changes, declan sneaks away and runs around naked until i come get him. this afternoon i had quite a laugh when i came looking for him in the other room and he had gotten on his firetruck naked, with a measuring cup in hand nonetheless.

and his look is priceless, "lady, what are you laughing at... what i'm doing is completely normal in my mind"

happy easter!

we traveled to michigan to visit family for the long easter weekend. it was a great trip and our little bunny was an awesome traveler!

getting a bath at grandma's house on friday night

my mom put declan to bed so we could go out. we ended up catching a movie, gran torino - wow, what a cool movie. hilarious, thoughtful, poignant and heartbreaking all wrapped up in two hours.

playing around after church



he is non-stop, just runs everywhere!


cousin hannah (he would not stop holding his ears while she was holding him!)

delaney, declan and hannah

cousin delaney

saturday night in grand haven with grandpa doug, mimi and cousins olivia and avery



first egg hunt!

the blue and purple eggs were for declan. the girls were so sweet and would point them out to him or just bring them over for his basket. they contained cheerios!

cousins olivia and avery (busy scrambling for eggs)


he wanted to climb up in the chair with avery and they stayed there for quite awhile playing


avery, declan and olivia

pizza princes

we joined our friends brad, jenna and parker at the pizza king this weekend. while we are both in a phase where we do not take our boys out to restaurants because it is just not relaxing and enjoyable, we found a destination dinner place that works! they introduced us to pk so they get all the credit! pizza king is not fancy, in fact it might be slightly divey depending on which location you go to. they have delicious pizza, cold pitchers of beer and old fashioned plastic high chairs on wheels with saran wrapped trays for the babies. the high chairs reminded me of russ' restaurant in grand haven(only locals will understand that one)! plus you order via the telephone at your table which i predict will be a hit someday with our telephone-obsessed son.

the boys did great, not a restless peep from either one. i think it was b/c we parked them next to each other. parker kept grabbing food off of declan's tray, and as you can see from the pictures, he held on to declan's tray and made sure he didn't roll too far away!

stewarts, thank you for introducing us to the pk! we look forward to more kid-friendly nights out with you.

parker is not so sure he wanted to share his ronald mcdonald toy