April Showers Brings...

A June-ish baby!My incredible friends had a baby shower for me this last Thursday in place of book club (which was great for me because I hadn't read the book!) The masses are scattering for the summer, so they were kind enough to do one for me before we all go. The food was delicious and we had a fun craft to do while we gabbed and gabbed. I got a lot of things I never had with T, plus some diapers, wipes, onesies, etc. that you can never have enough of. It was great.

Um...speaking of babies. I seriously considered not giving her back when I watched her this last week. She is seriously the sweetest thing ever...and she fell asleep on my lap (with that cute little thumb in her mouth). Life is too good!

Easter

New Easter duds from Grandma.

An awesome basket from the Easter bunny.

Great day at church.

Dinner with awesome friends.

A knowledge that families can be together forever, that resurrection is a free gift from the Savior, and that we will all live again after this life.

Our Easter was perfect.

.T.H.R.E.E.

April 24, 2011

THREE year ANNIVERSARY

Since our anniversary this year fell on a Sunday (Easter Sunday no less) we celebrated the special day on Friday with a dinner-date to Mama Mexico on the upper west side. I remember loving this place when I did my internship in NYC many moons ago, and I was hoping this experience would be just as amazing. IT WAS!

We started with guacamole made-to-order at our tableside. You should have seen the guacamole-man go! He mixed all the ingredients so fast that blinking would've meant mixing the action! I am a lover of all things avacado, and let me tell you that this is the best guacamole I have ever eaten. We were seriously licking the bottom of the bowl.

That was me eating my first bite of guac. You can tell it's my first bite because I was posing for the camera, and heaven knows that once I had tasted of its goodness I would not have stopped for pictures! Seriously, if you are ever in NYC please go to Mama Mexico and eat their guacamole.

Dinner was equally delicious, as was that passion-fruit slushee drink. As if that wasn't enough, on our walk back home I had a serious craving for frozen yogurt, so we stopped by PinkBerry and had a mango/pomegranate sundae with lots of fruit and mochi that was divine. Can you tell I'm so pregnant?

Anyway, it was such a nice evening to enjoy each other's company and reminisce about all the good times we've shared the last three years. We've attended three universities, moved a million times, lived in three of our own places (and frequented the parentals houses during nearly every summer), had one crazy kid and have watched him grow like a weed, traveled Europe and the US together and found out that another crazy son will join our family. We are richly blessed.

The Big Wigs Meet the Big Apple

The Big Wigs spent their spring break visiting the Big Apple (and us, of course!) They stayed in our humble abode and we spent our time exploring the city, eating tasty treats, talking and, as always, entertaining and being entertained by the little mister. T's favorite activity was taking Papa by the hand and saying, "Papa, come wit me!" He would then bring him into his bedroom (or ours) and shut the door...keeping his papa all to himself! He also loved the chocolate milk GG let him have in the morning, and the jump-jumping he was able to do with Chaya! Pretty much, it was his dream come true.

T's face pretty much looked like this the entire week! We ate so many fun treats, including strawberry cheesecake from Carnegie Deli and THE BEST COOKIES EVER from Levains bakery.

We took a double decker bus tour around the city and it was awesome to see all the sites (especially since it was a warm-ish day). The PA system wasn't stellar and the driver had a thick spanish accent, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

We also put them to work while they were here! Kate fixed T's bike seat and Cars book, GG bought hooks for the bathroom and cleaned like crazy to make our home sparkly, and Papa put new lightbulbs where they were needed. They also bought me some new yummy-smelling candles and I am SO excited!

Poor James is BUSY BUSY with finals just around the corner, so we didn't see much of him during their visit. Luckily, Papa was able to join Jimmy for a full day of law school classes on Wednesday. He also spent one morning studying at home, and used his parents as study-partners. It was great to have his cute face close!

On Saturday there was an Easter egg hunt and brunch in our apartment building. Unfortunately, we were experiencing some serious April showers so the egg hunt was moved indoors.

T did a great job finding eggs that were hidden in "easy" places (like in the corner)...

...and also eggs that were hidden in not-so-easy locations (like the lamp).

Since the rain kept us indoors, we decided to color some eggs. Who knew that easter egg dye was so easy (and inexpensive) to make. I don't know that I'll ever buy a kit again! Kate made some beautiful eggs. T, on the other hand, cracked every egg he touched!

T and I were both in tears when their car service pulled away from our building. I remember being so devastated as a kid when I left my grandparents house...and T is experiencing the same thing. It took some candy, the movie Cars, and lots of hugs to dry his crocodile tears. We loved their visit and are looking forward to seeing them again in no time!

Third Trimester

28+ weeksNo more cheeseburger belly here.

That's right...Mama is showing in a real way!

Disney So Loves Us.

T just got a new backpack. Is anyone shocked that he wanted a McQueen one?

Nope. Didn't think so. He looks like such a big boy with a backpack on his back. Ahh... When we got to the park, I realized that all of our stuff was McQueen. T also has McQueen shirts, underwear (if he ever decided to use 'em), toys (like a million), pajamas, shoes, blankets, books, a coat rack, socks, markers, crayons, pencils and coloring books. This is when I realized that Disney must be obsessed with us...cuz I'm pretty sure we're keeping them in business!

T's BFF: The Easter Bunny

Talmage and I went to an Easter egg hunt on the Upper West Side today and the Easter bunny (Mrs. Easter Bunny, to be exact) made a surprise visit. Who would have known that T would be completely and utterly obsessed? It definitely caught me off guard. He would not let this poor bunny out of his sight...or grasp. In fact, he was probably getting the evil eye from all of the other parents because he would hop on over to the Easter bunny without any respect for lines of children or photographing parents. I bet lots of NYC families have pics of T! He wanted to make sure the Easter bunny saw him hopping. He'd say, "Easer bunny. I hop. You hop." By this time, Mrs. Bunny knew him by name and welcomed him!

Oh yeah, and he specifically wanted a picture of himself holding the Easter Bunny's hand. This is possibly the first time in his life that he encouraged my picture-taking obsession!

He thought egg collecting was pretty cool too (although nothing compared to the Bunny!) Since this was T's first ever Easter egg hunt, we practiced at home to make sure he knew what he was up against. I am pleased to say he rocked the hunt and got lots of candy...I am sorry to say that his Mom must have looked like a walking pinata on the way to the subway because when we got home we found an empty basket. Woops! Good thing I've got a house full of treats!

And one more thing, May better bring some darn nice flowers for all the rain April has put us through. I'm just sayin!

Quarter of a Century

Today is Jim's 25th birthday. For 25 beautifully amazing years James has been on this earth, blessing everyone who knows him with his smile, wit and love. I know he's a blessing to me. We weren't supposed to have seen him today (see previous post about T thinking law school was Daddy's home) but when his study group was cancelled T and I decided to Dad-nap him and treat him to dinner at his favorite place, Carnegie Deli. Talmage dressed for the occasion...and gave a big woo-hoo when I mentioned our plan to hang out with Daddy. You see, Daddy is Talmage's favorite person in the WORLD. When Daddy is home, Talmage follows him around like a puppy dog and always wants to play, be held and give loves. Those boys are so cute together. Back to dinner. Jim and I split one of their phatty pastrami sandwiches...and as always we were super impressed. We ordered Talmage some french fries, but he was having a "do the opposite of whatever Mommy says" kind of a day and wouldn't touch them (except for making them swim in ketchup), so I ate them instead. I think I'm going to start ordering him delicious food more often (so I can eat more!) Could we end the evening without a piece of their famous cheesecake? Heck no! It was divine, and of course T was more than happy to help us with that baby! Hilarious story: I insisted that the cake have a candle, so our awesome waiter (who was Chinese) got one for us. He came back, lit the candle and then started singing happy birthday...only problem, he was completely off-key, didn't really know the words, and was singing like a million octaves too, uh, wrong! I tried to sing with him, but it was a complete and utter failure of a birthday song. I laughed so hard. But hey, we got a candle! Our only family picture from the birthday. Perfect picture? No. But I sure do love this little family of ours. Especially that guy on the left! I think 25 looks pretty darn good on him! We made Daddy a candy card for his birthday. Talmage thought it was awesome, except for when I wouldn't let him eat the candy...he was literally licking the wrappers. It was hilarious!

And while we're on the subject of crazy T. We were at the store buying all of the candy for the card when Talmage picked up this card from the rack and started saying, "Birtday card. Daddy. Is Tommersh." He walked around in the store with this card for a good five minutes before I finally saw what it was. I died laughing. He thought that picture on the front was him. That's how he sees himself! (To be honest, they do remind me of each other in both rolls and temperament!) We had to buy it for Daddy!

A visit to "Daddy's Home"

Saturday was BEAUTIFUL in NYC so we literally spent the whole day soaking up the much-needed (and appreciated) rays. After a long morning in the park, and a nice nap, we decided to head to Columbia and tear Daddy away from the library for a picnic dinner. As we approached campus T told the shuttle driver that we were going to visit Daddy. When I asked where we were going to visit him, T answered, "At Daddy's home." We (the driver and I) laughed at the sad reality of that statement! There was a fair in the center of campus and we decided to eat dinner and people watch. Talmage had a great time dancing to the music, chasing birds and making a total mess of his picnic! Like I said, total mess! I'm sorry to say that our picnic ended in tears (unfortunately that's a common occurence around here) when Talmage was told he needed to stay by the fam. He's hilarious because he won't go to nursery by himself and yet lead him into a room full of strangers and he's gone in two seconds. Did I say hilarious? Make that ridiculous! I saw this sticker at a shoe store and immediately thought of my sweet little nephew-boy. I miss that peanut so much. I can't wait to see kai run this summer. Woo-hoo!

Signing Time

The Signing Time videos have been a staple in the Wiggy home since T was born, so when Melissa decided to start a signing class with a similar curriculum we were all in. We have been attending this weekly class for months now, so I decided it was about time to do a little documenting. This week's class was on friends, playing and sharing...all important concepts for T to remember (and hopefully apply!) Melissa always has an activity for the kids, and this week they were supposed to draw a picture of either a happy or sad face. They were so excited to draw the picture, and then SUPER proud to show it off to the rest of the class. Little Mr. T takes his coloring responsibilities very seriously. He would pick out specific colors, and sometimes do trades with other children.

That being said, he doesn't always color what he's supposed to color! He informed me that the circle on the right is Daddy, and the line on the left, that's Kate. He's been quite the artist lately, and he can always tell me who he's coloring. I love his imagination.

Pillows from Care

My super talented sister-in-law made these pillows for us and I love, love, love them. Since Mother Nature is seriously letting me down in the spring arena, I'm glad that Carolyn saved the season by providing much-needed spring-cheer to our little home. Thanks so much Care!

Conference and Cinnamon Rolls

My mom, without question, makes the worlds-best cinnamon rolls. Growing up, she would make them for special events, every Conference Sunday, and sometimes just because. My first year at BYU I tried my hand at these babies and failed, miserably failed! We ended up eating them with milk as cinnamon toast crunch, and they still weren't that good. I vowed never to make them again (mostly because they take 5-6 hours and I was sure I couldn't do it). BUT...that all changed when I volunteered to bring my mom's cinnamon rolls to a friend's conference brunch.

To say I was nervous is an understatement. I called my mom and younger sister (both incredibly domestic) at least 10 times before making them...and while making them...and when they were done to make sure I was doing everything right. My sister's favorite phone call: "Uh Ash, what do you do when you've lost track of how many cups of flour you already added?" Yeah, I blame it on pregnancy brain, or maybe now you understand my lack of kitchen-abilities.

All that being said, I'm proud to report that the cinnamon rolls turned out perfectly perfect and I couldn't have been happier. Our friend, of course, had lots of other super delish dishes and the morning was a major success.

Don't you love when you go to a party with 15 people and you come home with 100 pictures of food and one picture with people. Oh well!