HOPPY EASTER!!!

Last weekend we went to my sister's house and had a Easter photo shoot. Of course we had to dress all the kids alike...how cute are they all in their matching outfits ;) We love them so much! This weekend we will all be heading to an Easter egg hunt in LaPorte, followed by decorating Easter eggs with Crew's cousins. Crew will spend Easter with my parents and have another Easter egg hunt at their house. Hope you all have a very Hoppy Easter! ;)

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Last night I decided to make a new recipe, Peanut Butter Cupcakes, that I found at http://www.mommyskitchen.net/. The pictures of it looked so good, I just couldn't resist! I made enough for the hubby, Crew's daycare kids, and for my yearbook class because of all their hard work lately! Thank goodness I don't care for peanut butter or I would have been in trouble! The recipe is very easy and of course, fat free! ;) I even topped them with homemade peanut butter frosting and Ghirardelli's chocolate peanut butter candy bars. The recipe is below, in case any of you are feeling in the mood for a sweet treat:

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

2/3 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs and beat well. Add peanut butter and beat well. Add milk and vanilla extract alternately with the baking powder and flour. Using a ice cream scooper fill the muffing liners about 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350 for about 20 -25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack and frost with peanut butter frosting .

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 - 16oz box (1lb) powdered sugar

1 - stick margarine, softened (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 - tsp vanilla extract

milk (about 3 - 4 tablespoons)

Cream powdered sugar and margarine together, add peanut butter. Mix well, add vanilla extract and enough milk to make it easy enough to spread. Beat mixture together until you have the consistency you want. Frost cupcakes when completely cooled. Add toppings as desired.

BFF's :)

My two favorite boys in Crew's new wagon
Ahh..the life. Bottles, pacis, and someone to push us around all while we sit back and relax ;)

LOVE THEM~CUTEST BOYS EVER!!!

Something new everyday...

This past weekend we laid low. It was so nice to finally have some down time and not be on-the-go 24/7. Friday night I went and treated myself to get my nails done. I haven't had them done since Crew was born~so it was nice to go pamper myself for the evening. Saturday Matt, Crew, and I ventured out to Michigan City for the day. We started by meeting Uncle Craig, Great Grandma Morris, and Gma and Gpa Schnick for lunch at Chili's. Crew loved all the attention and shared a great lunch of turkey and french fries with me. We then went to Lighthouse Mall where we found lots of adorable birthday outfits/presents for Crew. Lastly, we treated ourselves to Baskin Robbins (Crew loved daddy's Reese's peanut butter shake and my Snicker's ice cream scoop!) and a movie, Did You Hear About the Morgans. It was so nice to spend the day together. Finally, on Sunday Crew and I spent the day at my sister and parent's house. We hung out and played with the kids and my mom and I took Crew on a three mile walk. My mom then made us a delicious taco dinner and made Crew his own homemade macaroni and cheese ;) Oh how he is already spoiled...

This week has been another busy one! To begin with, Crew says two new words. His new favorite words that he has not stopped saying all week are: "uh-oh" and "ruff-ruff" (with a grunting noise). It's so funny to hear him say these things. He will intentionally throw something on the floor off of his high chair, then look at you and say uh-oh. He is such a little devil already ;) We have been working on the word dog, which he knows/associates with Cade, and we have really been emphasizing the noise a dog makes. Just this week he started to grunt/ruff when you would ask him what noise a dog makes. It is so cute!!! Alicia, his babysitter, said that he constantly talks at daycare. I think he picks up a lot of it from the other children. He is also standing and moving EVERYWHERE!!! We cannot let him out of our sight for a second...and I mean that! I learned this the hard way when I attempted to review for my grad school test an hour before it, only to find that sitting and studying is no longer an option at my house. I must either do it when he is sleeping or stay late at work for some alone time.

Last night was a rough one! Crew woke up for the first time in months during the middle of the night. For parents that have been used to their child sleeping 12 hours straight through the night since two weeks old, this is tough! As I went into his room he was standing up holding onto his crib, smiled, and said uh-oh. While in my head I was thinking uh-oh is right, what the heck are you doing waking mommy up at 12:45a.m.???, I couldn't help but laugh! He is such a little stinker! He then thought it was funny and was laughing and trying to get me to play peek-a-boo. Yes, the good mom that I am, I stayed up with him until 2:30...just hanging out. I changed his diaper and gave him a bottle...but all he really wanted to do was play, talk, and smile. I couldn't resist ;)

This weekend we are planning to shop with Gma and Gpa Rosetti while daddy plays in a golf tourney, do pictures with my sister and her kids (they all have matching Easter outfits), and go to Gma and Gpa Schnick's house for lunch on Palm Sunday. We are getting very excited for Puerto Vallarta in a week! It's currently 83 degrees there~can't wait to get a tan! ;) We also have an Easter egg hunt we are taking all the kids to, Crew's two first birthday parties, Crew's first birthday/family pictures, and a visit with my best friend, Lisa. A lot going on in the coming weeks!

Crew and his cousin, Emmalina (born the day before Crew) are having a joint family first birthday party. The theme is prince and princess. Joanna bought both Crew and Emma matching plush crown's and throne chairs for their birthday. This is a picture of the one she bought for Crew. Isn't she the best? How cute are they going to be? ;)

Crew eating some yummy ice cream!

Sporting his new jammies from Gpa Rosetti!

Crew saying "baby"

Crew has really started to talk. I can't believe at only 10 months, how much we can already understand what he is saying. Last Friday I was reading him a book before bedtime and it kept saying baby. I would say baby as I read the book, sign baby, and tell Crew he is a baby. Once I put him into his crib, he started saying baby to me. It was the cutest thing ever! I couldn't help but record it. He says it so clearly! He now says: mama, dada, baba, pop, papa, and baby. We love to hear him talk!

MD appointment

Yesterday we had Crew's MD appt. for a follow up on his ears (as you can see from the picture he was exhausted afterwards!). Everything looked a lot better. He still has fluid in one ear, however it did not look like an infection so the doctor didn't seem too worried. We go back again in a month for a re-check, along with his one year appointment. Big boy has gained three pounds since his appointment a month ago! He is getting to be quite the chunky monkey! He gave us the ok to start Crew on milk too. Lots of new and exciting things ahead! =)

Busy Weekend!

Lincoln eating his yummy cake!

Playing with his crane from Grandma and Gpa!

Adorable!

Great Aunt Darcy and Kendra

Cutest girl ever!

He is getting so big!

Best friends!

Birthday boy!

Adorable homemade pirate cake

My sweet baby boy

This weekend was a busy one, once again! Friday night we went to Redamak's in Michigan with our good friends John and Stephanie. I had only ate there once or twice before and was not a huge fan of the food, however this time it was really good! It might be because I had not splurged on a juicy burger in awhile! We had a great time celebrating John's birthday. Saturday my sister and I went bridesmaid dress shopping with our cousin Joanna. We had a great day shopping and going to lunch. We tried on lots of pretty dresses...now it is up to Joanna to decide on which one! Finally, Sunday we celebrated Lincoln's first birthday with a "pirate" birthday party. Besides visiting with family and friends, we got to see Crew's Great Aunt Darcy whom we haven't seen in awhile and Papa and Gigi came back from the south, where they have been since January. It was a great day! We go to the doctor tonight for Crew's ear check up.....wish us luck!

Picture taking fun!

I was playing around with the camera and attempted to take some action shots of my fam :) I love taking pictures and wanted to see what different things I could do with it. Crew is getting such a personality, as you can see from the pictures. He is now eating a lot of table foods and enjoys to feed himself. He is constantly babbling and waving bye-bye, pointing, grabbing everything, etc. He continues to LOVE bath time! He would stay in the tub all night if we would allow it. He is also now sitting in his big boy car seat. He faces forward and loves it! Things have continued to be crazy at our household. With Matt and I both working, going to school, and working out at different gyms, it is constantly go-go-go at our house! I have managed to walk both Crew and Caden after my workouts on week nights. Crew absolutely loves going for walks in his jogger stroller. He stares in awe at everything going on around us. Because things have been so crazy, Matt and I have decided to take a mini vacation on my school's spring break in April. We are going to Puerto Vallarta for five days. We are VERY EXCITED to get away, relax, and most importantly soak up some rays :) It will be a nice refreshing start to the busy spring and summer ahead of us. This weekend I am going with my sister and cousin, Joanna, to go bridesmaid dress shopping. Joanna is getting married in September and Amber and I are both in the wedding. We are very excited for her! Also, we have Lincoln's first pirate birthday party on Sunday. I will post pics of that soon! Have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy the warm weather!

Congrats Jeff and Christi!

Last week Matt's cousin, Jeff, and his wife Christi, gave birth to a little girl, Taylor. She is a total doll! We are so excited for Crew to have another cousin! Congratulations to their family! We can't wait to meet her!

"Pop" Video!

I couldn't help myself to not post this video clip. As most of you know, I am addicted to pop. I must have it or else... :) Since Crew is constantly reaching for things, he is always trying to grab my pop. I always explain to him that it is mommy's pop, and one day he just started saying "pop." So now, he always wants a drink and will use that cute little grin and look at me and say "pop." I know, I know, I shouldn't be giving him pop at all, but I swear I barely put any in the straw! I just can't help how cute it is that he says "pop." And for those of you wondering if that was his first word, no! :) He also says dada, mama, baba, and bye-bye. You will also see a few of his other new moves in the video, such as shaking his head no at me, hitting his mouth and making the Indian sound, and a little waving. (I sound like a robot in the video, so sorry for the bad commentary~but for those of you that are parents, you know you have to do the s-l-o-w, repetitive baby talk in order to get them to understand!)

Happy 1st Birthday Lincoln!!!

Yesterday was our nephew, Lincoln's first birthday! It is so hard to believe that a year ago I was due in less than two months and received a phone call at work that my sister was going into labor. I remember it clear as day as my parents and I watched through the window as Amber gave birth. I then went to visit her, even before school started in the morning, just to see baby Lincoln. It was one of the most fun experiences of my life being pregnant with my sister. We have done so much already with Lincoln and Crew, and I cannot wait for the years to come. We can't wait for his Pirate birthday party next weekend either! We love you so much Lincoln, HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY! XOXO