Party at Kids U

Today, we celebrated Riley's 4th birthday party at Kids U. Grace and Andrew enjoyed swinging, bouncing, climbing, and eating their way through the afternoon with all of their storytime friends!

Andrew can turn any sit-on toy into Bullseye!

Dreaming...

Hooray! Daddy's home! I loved watching my Dan the Man and Kate the Great dream together...

Balloons by Emilio

While Dan's at his business trip in California this week. we're trying to keep ourselves busy. We had an enjoyable afternoon shopping with LuLu! Grace and Andrew were so happy to see Emilio at Lord and Taylor, he was extremely talented and created mermaid and ice cream cone balloons for them. The balloons kept them distracted, and I found Andrew an adorable Easter outfit. I also found some beautiful Lilly Pulitzer, Polo, and Lelli Kelly gear for my girly girls. I love dressing my little sweethearts! Before taking Grace to dance class, we headed to Applebee's for a lunch date with LuLu!

Easter Bunny Visit

After the haircuts, we took Kate for her 1st visit with the Easter Bunny. Kate was all smiles for her new furry friend! Grace and Andrew received cute bunny and "duck" (chick) masks as a special treat from the Easter Bunny. They were surprised that the Easter Bunny was a girl, but we discussed that there isn't just one bunny. There are tons of bunnies in Easterland, and they all work together to make this a special time for everyone.

New Do's

With Easter quickly approaching, we decided a trip to Snips for Pips was imperative (everyone wants to look their very best for the Easter Bunny)! Grace and Andrew enjoyed having their hair washed before their trims, and they both picked out a video... Max and Ruby and Thomas the Train. Jaime did a fabulous job! They both look fabulous! I wish they had salons like this when I was a little girl! My mom used to put a bowl on my head and trim my bangs!

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Sunday dinner was extra special tonight, because we celebrated Grandpa's 61st birthday! Grace and Andrew colored him beautiful pictures, and Grace did a nice job tracing a message in his birthday card. Our little sweethearts are crazy about their Grandpa, and they enjoyed helping him blow out his birthday candles.

Grandpa loves his new iPad and Guinness pint glasses!

"Grandma's Kitchen"

Grace had her 1st baking class today at Grandma's Kitchen in Northvale, and she loved it! We're very fortunate to have such amazing playgroup friends! "Juliana's Mommy" planned a super fun afternoon! Grace and her friends baked and decorated cookies shaped like truffula trees, and turned a chocolate cake into the Lorax! Andrew slept through the entire class, and Kate intently watched all of the children. This was such a great playgroup activity! I'm sure we'll be making more trips to Grandma's Kitchen in the near future.

Step 1 - Sprinkle flour on the table so that the dough doesn't stick

Step 2 - Roll the dough and cut out 4 truffula trees

Step 3 - Wrap the foam board with sparkly blue foil

Step 4 - Decorate the Lorax cake

Step 5 - Decorate the truffula tree cookiees

Can you tell she had a good time? BTW - Everything tasted delicious!

The Bakers - Grace and her friends did such a wonderful job!

First Veggie

Due to the fact that it is the Easter Season, I felt that carrots would be the perfect first veggie for Kate. We've been preparing for Easter, and "Trip the Bunny" has been living with us since Ash Wednesday. Andrew loves to snack on carrots and hummus, and it appears that Kate is a carrot lover, too. She's officially a member of the "clean plate club!"

Yum! Thank goodness for her chick bib!

Spring Fever

Spring is in the air! Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and we are regulars at the park! With temperatures in the 70's, it certainly doesn't feel like March! We had fun walking around the pond and playing at Wood Dale Park with LuLu this afternoon. Afterwards, we headed to our Monday playgroup at Presentation Park. I'm hoping that this weather will continue!

Baseball Bash

It has been such a celebratory weekend, and today we were happy to attend Daniel Moss's 1st birthday party at La Terrazza (the restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner years ago). Jen did a great job planning an amazing baseball bash complete with peanuts and Cracker Jacks! It was so nice to catch up with some of our closet friends!

The Moss Family

Stacie and Samantha

When Grace and Andrew finally woke up from their nap, they were very busy at the arts and crafts table.

Madeline and Grace

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Even though our last name is Colonna, we've figured out that our children are approximately 50% Italian, 30% Irish, and 20% German. Every year on St. Patrick's Day we enjoy celebrating our Irish heritage, with a delicious corned beef and cabbage dinner. Ironically, the best place to get this meal is at the Colonna house! My mother-in-law outdid herself this year, and Nanny Colonna made her famous Irish Soda Bread! We had such a fun night celebrating, and Grace and Andrew were so happy to play on the back porch. It was a memorable day, and I think Katherine Rose enjoyed her 1st St. Patrick's Day! She looked so cute in her green tutu!

Our Little Leprechauns

"Irish Eyes Are Smiling"

Happy 1st St. Patrick's Day Katherine Rose! xoxo

Lucky Luke

Lucky Luke had his 4th birthday party on St. Patrick's Day, and we were lucky to be invited to such a fun celebration at Screamin' Parties! Kate happily watched everyone play (including Mommy and Daddy)! We were busy bouncing, sliding, and making memories with our storytime friends!

Birthday boy, Luke, and his beautiful Momma, Susan

Kate loves to party, and she had fun playing with her Eric Carle Ladybug, which is her favorite toy!

Henry and Andrew:-)

Sweet 6 Months

I can't believe our baby is already 6 months old! She brings us so much joy! Her smile is contagious, and everyone always remarks that "she is such a happy baby!" Grace and Andrew can get Kate into hysterics, and she has the sweetest belly laugh. She's also quite ticklish! It's amazing how far along she has come in the last month! She loves playing in her exersaucer and jumper, and she is so busy exploring all of her toys. She grabs for her toys, reaches out to be held, and tries to give kisses. Kate does a great job pushing herself up, and she rolls over from back to front. Grace and Andrew are crazy about their baby sister! It's so cute to watch them interact with her, and they are Kate's entertainment. Every day I feel blessed to be the mother of 3 healthy and happy children. Happy 1/2 birthday Katherine Rose! We love you to the moon and back! xoxo

12 cupcakes - 1 for each month

1/2 with a St. Patrick's Day theme & 1/2 from Magnolia Bakery

A special treat for Kate's 1/2 birthday

6 Months

She already loves to party! Check out that smile! xoxo