Welcome Baby Taylor

Tuesday we welcomed Taylor Nicole into our family. She weighed in at 8 lbs 8 oz and 19 3/4 inches. She is so sweet and perfect and we love her so much. Here are a few pics.

Preschool Graduation

Anthony loved going to preschool this year and we really had such great kids and moms involved. We got together for a big graduation party. The ceremony included the kids acting out a skit, telling about their favorite bugs (a banana slug), explaining what they want to be when they grow up (a ninja of course), and singing some songs. Next up... kindergarten.

My little explorers!

A few of my recent favorite things

I don't know why I've been in a blogging mood the last few days, but I'm sure it will pass, so I'll get it out there while I'm feeling it. I want to use my blog to share things I'm learning and that are useful and/or interesting to me. I'm a late adopter and tend to discover things on their way out, so if you already know about them, sorry to bore you.

1. http://annies-eats.net/ If you need some new things to cook you should follow this blog. She has great photography and yummy recipes and updates quite often. I've never made anything of hers that I didn't like.
2. ADELE- if you need some new music to listen to, her new album 21 is great. She has this strong, deep, jazzy type voice that I absolutely love. Try her out.
3. Dyson vacuums. I know that these have been around for awhile and that they cost at least double every other vacuum out there, but I've gotta say that my new vacuum is the best purchase i've made in years. Is it weird to admit that I get excited to vacuum my house these days? Seriously, if you need a new vacuum just splurge and get it. You'll suck up so much junk that you'll wonder how you survived before you bought it. Right now Costco has a $50 instant rebate and so the vacuum ends up costing $319 which isn't too bad for a $500 vacuum.

That's it for now. Happy weekend!

Thank goodness for sisters

My sister, little brother, and dad on Easter.

So the Paris trip never could have happened if my awesome sister hadn't volunteered to watch the boys. Anyone that knows my kids knows that this wasn't a light thing to ask of her. She was so awesome and the boys loved being with her. She came out a week early and we had a great time shopping, cooking, and going to the city. We love you aunt Heather! You are going to be a great mom.

PARIS

So awhile back Michael asked me out of the blue where my dream vacation would be to. I mentioned probably Paris or Tahiti and then we moved onto something else. I didn't know he was actually considering it. As an early anniversary gift and excuse to take off before the baby comes, we splurged and planned a week in Paris. We loved Paris and all that it has to offer. Europe is so unique and so fun. I love the fashion, history, architecture, food, and people. Paris kept us busy for a full 6 days. We loved taking the metro, walking on the cobblestone roads, and exploring the many sites of the city. Neither Michael nor I are that great about taking pictures but here are some we captured between his phone and my camera.

The famous Notre Dame. Super gothic and random because it took almost 300 years to build and so there really isn't a cohesive style. Still pretty amazing though.

Cool street in the Montemartre district

Sacre Coeur cathedral. One of my favorite spots in Paris. Set up on the only hill in the entire city, this church provides a beautiful panorama of Paris. What is more, this church is actually the most tasteful and beautiful cathedral I've been into as opposed to the super gaudy churches that fill most of Italy. I love this spot.

Opera Garnier- the old Parisian opera house.

The scandalous moulin rouge. We didn't watch a show here but we sure got our fill of boobs just from walking by the entrance. Europe certainly does have a different standard of propriety than we do.

Versailles was quite amazing and much bigger than I had anticipated. The palace was super elaborate and ornate as you'd guess, but the gardens were the real jewel of this place. Miles and miles of manicured gardens line this massive estate. Marie Antoinette had quite the setup here (that is until she met the guillotine).

The food wasn't as good as we were expecting, but that is probably because we were tourists. People say the same thing when they return from a trip to Italy, and I just roll my eyes at them, so ignore my tourist snobbery. A lot of the cuisine centers around cheese and wine, neither of which we appreciate. That having been said, the pastries and baguettes were to die for. We did have a couple of great meals, the best of which was the beef beef bourguignon (thanks for the tip Julia Child). I looked everywhere for ratatouille but was unable to find any. Oh well. Everyone sold magnum ice cream bars and bueno candy bars, so I had more than I needed to eat. Yum.

Outside the Louvre. We visited this in the late afternoon and my feet felt like they were big cement blocks, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. It is still worth seeing and quite impressive with more art than I could appreciate in 10 lifetimes.

Stairs leading the to the top of the arc de triumph (234 to be exact). Yes, our legs were burning.

View from the top of the arch.

Arc de triumph

You can't have too many pictures of this place. We rode up the Eiffel Tower by twilight. The view isn't as good at night but the tower itself is remarkable lit up. You can't grasp what am amazing structure it is until you stand underneath it. Apparently this was built for the world's fair in 1889. Originally they had plans to disassemble the tower after the fair. Paris wouldn't be the same if they had. They do a light show for the first 10 minutes of every hour at night. So cool.

My travel companion. Isn't he cute? What a great guy I'm married to.

This is what I'm thinking about today

Tutus, bows, and pink because you probably guessed it.... WE'RE HAVING A GIRL.

I'm beyond thrilled and shocked. Our little lady should arrive sometime in early October.

p.s.- God if you're reading this, I wouldn't mind dark brown hair just like this.

Ethan

Where do I begin with Ethan? He is our crazy, aggressive, playful, affectionate little man. He loves wrestling and eating treats, and doesn't leave the house without his batman cape. He is at the great age where he is my little side kick no matter how mundane the task. We have been working on potty training this week and he has been quite a champ. We love him to pieces. Here are some recent snaps of our superhero.

Anthony

Anthony is up to exciting things these days. He finished his reading lesson book and is officially reading. We made a deal with him earlier this year that if he would do a lesson each day (100 total), he would then be able to play the wii. The motivation was more than enough and he was eager to do the lesson each day. He caught on quickly and is doing really well. He has also loved being in preschool this year and especially likes hanging out with his preschool friend Camry. She is pretty much the only thing he talks about. He is also in a soccer class, which he loves, and and is taking swimming lessons later this summer. He continues to be our super sweet, creative, fun little guy. He will be starting kindergarten this fall. I can't believe how big he is getting. Here are some pics.