Many blessings....

1. The weather was simply gorgeous yesterday, and it's supposed to be nice again today. I am amazed at how tan I am considering it's only the middle of April!

2. I spent a lot of time outside with Nadia and Ian yesterday and plan to do the same today. Yesterday she enjoyed playing in her sandbox for the first time, and we also made a trip to the playground. She remembered that the last time she went there was with PopPop so she kept asking for Grandma and PopPop.

3. Ian took two good naps in his crib yesterday. His first was 40 minutes long, and the second was 75 minutes long! His third nap was in the Snugli at the playground, and his fourth nap was in my arms on the patio while Nadia was in the sandbox.

4. Ian has had two nights in a row where his first stretch was 8.5 hours long! Last night Paul put him down at 8:15. I got to bed by 9:15 after pumping 2 ounces. I am going to have him start sleeping in his room at night so that he can be put to bed earlier than Nadia. Last night he didn't have a second stretch which means my day started at 4:45am. My plan is to try to put him down at 7pm in the hopes that the total number of hours he sleeps at night will increase. I also am going to go to bed earlier tonight. I have been out the last 5 nights, but aside from grocery shopping I don't have any plans to go anywhere today.

5. My new camera definitely takes pictures faster than my old camera. Also, it turns out they were right about getting an extra battery for this camera. It doesn't last long! I so enjoy looking at pics of our two precious kiddos. The pic I took on Wednesday night before leaving for choir cracks me up (see the first pic in yesterday's post). The baby is the only one looking at me and smiling, and you think he would be the hardest not the easiest one to get to cooperate, LOL! Paul said he didn't because Nadia wasn't.

6. It was fun to have a pampering night last night. The chair massage was my favorite part. My skin does feel really great this morning from the facial. I contemplated whether I should buy some stuff so I could do this more often, but then I remembered that it's a struggle just to brush my teeth twice a day lately. I wanted to wear makeup on Easter, but it didn't happen. I've worn make-up once thus far in 2010 - the day we had our pictures taken at Sears in February. If I had stayed longer I could have had my toenails or fingernails painted, but I knew sleep was more important so I left the party at 8:05pm.

7. Nine family members are planning to come and join us for Ian's special day on Sunday - Paul's parents, Paul's grandmother, my parents, and Paul's brother's family. I need to decide what I'm going to serve for lunch that day as I need to do the grocery shopping today. My parents can't stay for lunch so there will be 10 eating lunch at our house (plus Ian who will dine on milk). I'm hoping to get some good pics of Ian with various family members. :-)

8. All four of us have been very healthy (aside from my runny nose and sneezing due to allergies).

9. Nadia's laughter, hugs, and kisses as well as Ian and Nadia's smiles bring such joy to my life every day.

10. Our neighbors have been so helpful. On Monday Beth left something she had cooked (zucchini with tomato sauce and cheese). They always clean up the toys and sometimes even put dishes in the dishwasher for me. On Wednesday the girls came over for 10 minutes so I could go pick up some pizza. Oh that errand was so much easier to do without two kids! Gabby and Alexis are in middle school. Alexis had fun giving Nadia a new hairdo on Monday. It's quite wonderful having two eager babysitters live close by!