Holy Week Traditions

This week leads up to what has grown to be my favorite holiday -- this is mommy typing. We have several Holy Week traditions... some we hope to begin again next year (Seder dinner) and some we have continued... We color Easter eggs, we spend time with friends outside and playing in the grass at the park, and we will attend Good Friday services and Easter Vigil/Easter Celebrations. We enjoy a good 1 or 3 Easter egg hunts and J especially loves the eating of the candy. We also make Easter cookies... YUM! Who says baking cookies just has to be at Christmas? Not us!
Here are a couple pics from the fun we have had! J with buddies, Bella and Sebastian:

The babies!
Giules after one of our Springtime morning walks:
J at the Thunderbird Campus Easter Egg hunt:
And our two cuties!

Holy Week and Easter have become my favorite holiday because it is the crux of what we believe as followers of Jesus. He is God's Son, he gave up his kingship to be here on earth. He entered Jerusalem and was sentenced to death. On Friday we will reflect on his sacrifice.

14 Weeks and 14 Weeks

We thought it had been a little while since we had done a side by side comparison of the two Greto wee ones. I think these are a couple of the closest pics I can find of the two of them at about 13 weeks.

Do you think they are related?
Baby G #1:

Baby G #2:

The Weekend

The weather has officially become GORGEOUS here in the valley. We have been walking, hiking, and BBQing for about a week now. In fact, one day last week I actually got a bit of a sunburn on my shoulders (this is Meg, by the way, not J).

Weekends are great though because we get to spend time together all four of us! This past weekend, we went to Dim Sum with some friends:


We also love the weekends because we really enjoy our church. Gg went to the nursery too and had a great time. She was able to show off her new purple bow... mommy is trying to desensitize her to wearing bows since she is not really a huge fan:



And, since we are in the home stretch of time with many of our friends, we have started having weekly gatherings... here is a shot of the Daddies with all the kiddos:

Two Special Days in March

We know you have heard of St Patrick's Day but many people don't realize that similar to St Patrick's Day where the Irish (and those who wish they were) wear green, St. Joseph's day on March 19th is celebrated all over the world and folks wear red! Today is Joseph's Saint Day. In many cultures, your birthday is celebrated on this day and it is a holiday in Italy. And it is FEAST day!

Now, the second special event this week was Giules' 3 month birthday yesterday! Here she is! Growing like a weed as you can see next to her owlie toy:
We are pretty sure these baby eyes are staying BLUE!

Hello out there! Check out my crazy neck, tummy time skilz!
And lastly, here at 3 months, she loves to suck on her hands... we think she might eventually find the fingers she wants but we shall see

Big Brother and Little Sister hanging out

Here are a couple shots of the two of them. They have a lot of fun together and J really is a wonderful big brother! He is sweet with her and only when he hugs her too tightly do we have to intervene :-)


And watching Sesame Street together the other morning:



And lastly, J is developing a very sweet tenderness for friends when they get hurt. Just Sunday at the park his little friend got sand in his eyes and was crying. J stopped what he was doing and ran over to ask if Seb was OK? It was very sweet and melts our hearts to know that we have such a gentle souled little one. So, last night when he wanted to get his "owie star" for Thomas' friend I was a little puzzled. He ran to the fridge and grabbed his cold-pack star for a character in his Thomas the Train coloring book. Toby the Tram had a sad face because he derailed and J wanted to comfort him. Tooo funny and at the same time sooooo sweet!

Funny dinner conversation

Lately, in the evenings, Giules has been going to bed about 5:30. This means that dinner time with Joseph is quite a nice treat and we have many fun topics of conversation. It typically revolves around the construction site that is all around our apartment. The state is widening the highway right outside our complex... and there are many wonderful BOY things to watch. We have diggers, loaders, cranes, and all manners of construction going on outside our parking lot.

Our evening chats are usually about these things. However, the other night Mike made us a couple of Old Fashions (our "signata" drink), and Joseph said, "Mommy, I need some bourbon." Just as plain as day and as flat as if he had asked for a glass of milk.

He is funny...