More Easter Festivities!

Last night we dyed Easter Eggs at Grandma's house. It looks like I was really into it here, but after I put these eggs into the dye, I was pretty much over the whole process and ate some pound cake instead!

This morning, Mommy, Daddy and I went to eat Pancakes at Dennis and Heather's church, then we went to Trax Farms for an Easter Egg hunt.

I waited on this bench while Daddy bought a ticket for me to participate in the egg hunt, and gave Mommy my cheesy smile for the camera.

We walked up the hill to find eggs.

Gee, where's the part where I actually have to hunt for the eggs? They are laying right there in the grass!

Afterwards, I got a prize!!

Then I got to ride on the Choo-Choo!!

I really wanted to bounce in the big bouncy place, and I had fun for about 45 seconds until more kids got in. Once they were jumping around I couldn't stay on my feet anymore and then it just wasn't fun!

Then I spotted the Easter Bunny and ran over to give him a big hug!

He must have thought the hug was a free pass to pick me up, but it's not really what I had in mind.

Daddy came to save me, but Mommy had to take a picture before I was rescued.

After that, we went home. Luckily Mommy and Daddy got me to Trax in time for the very first Egg hunt at 10:30, because by the time we made it through the farm shop and to the parking lot it was raining.

Maybe the next time I go on an Egg hunt I will actually have to look for the eggs, but for now, this was pretty fun!

An Easter Event

We went to an Easter Bunny Bash at a church near our community this morning so Jocelyn could see the Easter Bunny. They had lots of candy, clowns, games and of course the Easter Bunny. Jocelyn was a little off since she has been sick, but still had some fun!

Fishing...

Golfing

Admiring the Easter Bunny from afar!

"I don't want to sit on his lap."

She would shake his hand and give him five, though...

An Attempt at Cute Cookies

So, part two of PALS treats didn't turn out quite as cute as part one! I found the recipe for the following cookies here.

They had a picture that looked like this:

Super cute, right?

Well, I spent hours making these silly cookies, and they don't look like the picture above!
Here's my best:

Not too bad, But there were very few that looked as good as that one.

Most looked like this:

But some looked like this:

And even worse, a couple looked like this:

They should put disclaimers on these cutesy recipe sites!!!

Hummingbird Nests: An Easter Treat

Jocelyn has a PALS Easter party coming up on Wednesday and we are bringing some treats to share with her friends. I couldn't decide on just one treat, so we are making two. Today we made these Hummingbird Nests and tomorrow we will make Easter Egg Sandwich Cookies! Jocelyn loves doing anything in the kitchen and is a very good helper!

Click here for a link to the recipe, in case you want to make some nests of your very own!

The Newest Member of Our Family!

No, the baby did not arrive early, but her anticipated arrival gave us the push we needed to finally buy a new car!!!

After months of searching we found "the one" and we actually purchased it!

We looked at a few other cars before we were even pregnant with baby 2, but we just didn't feel like we actually needed a new one. Sure, the Civic was tiny, but it was safe and reliable. Yes, it was a hassle getting Jocelyn into and out of her car seat, but that didn't really give us the push we needed to buy a new one. It would have been nice to have a bigger car, but it just wasn't necessary.

Once I got pregnant again, the thought of having a car that I didn't have to bend over into the back seat, hoist Jocelyn up and over the side of her car seat, all while trying not to hit her head off the interior roof became appealing once again, but it still didn't mean we wanted a monthly car payment, so we put if off a little longer. Now, with baby's arrival only about 3.5 months away, and seeing that having two car seats in the back of the Civic was going to be practically impossible, not to mention the lack of space when it came to travelling with two children, we bit the bullet. We knew we had to do it. The time felt right, the price looked right, and the car looked great.

We drove an hour north of Pittsburgh to look at it. Todd said we would NOT be coming home with a car, but I brought the title to the Civic with us, just in case. ;) Well, we did end up saying goodbye to the Civic yesterday. OK, maybe just Todd said goodbye--I said good riddance! I was the one doing most of the Jocelyn hoisting anyways, and this belly isn't getting any smaller!

Anyway, here she is and we already love her:

Welcome home 2007 Honda Pilot! Be a good car and don't give us any problems! You may take up the entire driveway, but we love you anyway! :)

A Beautiful Day for a Picnic!

We have really been enjoying this streak of warmer, sunny weather. Even though we don't have the patio furniture uncovered yet, we couldn't pass up a great day for a picnic!

The Highlight of Her Day!

Tuesdays are library days--one of Jocelyn's favorite things to do!

Miss Dolores is head of Children's Services at the library and does the Book Babies program as well as the Toddler program. Jocelyn, who affectionately calls Miss Dolores, "Es" is one of Jocelyn's favorite people! She runs a wonderful program that both the children and parents enjoy! As for Jocelyn, she just loves going. I actually think she would be fine if I just dropped her off at the door and left her there until the program was over. I can't tell her we will be going to the library without her wanting to go immediately, and if I make the mistake of telling her at bedtime the night before, I will not be greeted with my normal "Mommy!" in the morning when I go to get her, but with, "Babies? Es? Bye-Bye?" She just can't wait to go to the library to see all of her friends and Miss Dolores!

The following picture is of Jocelyn with Miss Dolores back in June. I need to get a more up-to-date picture sometime soon!

Today, after the Toddler program, Miss Dolores was stamping the children's hands. Jocelyn LOVES getting these stamps and it is truly the highlight of her day!

Jocelyn got a sheep stamp today! For the rest of the day we she will dodge washing the tops of her hands. She will want the sheep to last until Daddy gets home so she can share her "eep" with him as well!

Thank goodness for Library Tuesdays!!!

There's Something Wrong With This Picture...

Could it be that Jocelyn is standing in snow with rain boots~or~ could it be that Jocelyn is standing in the snow and does not need a coat on? If you answered 'yes' to both statements, you are correct!

A Touch of Spring!

Yesterday, Jocelyn and I got to enjoy one of the warmest days we have seen in a long time! It was in the 60s and we didn't even have to wear our coats. We got out the outdoor toys, and Jocelyn played for a couple hours without a single complaint! It was great!!

The snow is finally melting, and the yard was very swamp-like, but Jocelyn found the fun in it all. Luckily she has already been outfitted with a great pair of rain boots (Thanks MeMe!). They really helped keep her feet dry and keep her tennis shoes from getting muddy!

It was definitely a day much-needed for both of us...and we are looking forward to having another nice, warm, outdoor-playing kind of afternoon today as well!

Oh, and another exciting bit of information: I can now put Jocelyn's hair back into pigtails!!! Hooray!!!

To the Computer Savy...

I think I've been hijacked and I need help! I would appreciate and ideas or solutions to the following problem:

I cannot get to Facebook. Every time I type the address into Internet Explorer, I get redirected to Hotmail. Sometimes this redirection has occurred when I try to go to sites other than Facebook, but most of the time it happens as soon as I try to go to Facebook.

Todd installed some sort of spyware program, but it hasn't helped. He only downloaded the free version, though...maybe we should pay for it?? We really don't know what is going on or how to fix it, but it's driving me crazy!

Please, if you have any ideas, leave a comment on my blog. All my blog entries are imported to Facebook, but if you comment on Facebook, I will not be able to see your suggestions. You must go directly to my blog (http://www.thetarbar3.blogspot.com) and leave a comment there.

Thanks...and maybe I should mention that we have Windows Vista.

My Blog has been abandoned...

My mother-in-law asked me this past Saturday if I was "done with my blog". I guess I have been neglecting keeping it updated, but I feel like the only thing I have to talk about lately is pregnancy related or snow related. Both of those subjects getting boring really quickly!

Today the sun is shining and it's 50 degrees! The snow is s-l-o-w-l-y melting, and it seems like Jocelyn and I can finally get some good outside time. Just not in the yard--that is still covered in the snow. On Sunday we all got up and went outside. Todd needed to shovel the waist-high snow off of our sidewalks, and Jocelyn needed to be reminded of a time when the sun actually shone. She had a blast just playing in the driveway, "helping" daddy shovel, and then she spotted her tricycle in the garage, drug it out with the helmet and wanted to ride! We rode up and down the street a few times until my back just couldn't bend over anymore! Jocelyn had so much fun and I am looking forward to the warmer weather and having more options of things to do. I wonder if Jocelyn realizes that the cold weather and snow is coming to an end and that she will soon be able to play outside once again? She hasn't really had much time in this world to realize the pattern of seasons...she may have thought it would be winter forever. How horrible!

Jocelyn has come a long way with speech. I can understand almost all of what she is saying now, but other people still need a translator. She leaves off the beginning sounds of most words, something we are working on together and with her speech therapist. I have no worries that she will catch up to her peers in no time! She has been having fun this winter going to the library for story times as well as multiple playdates and PALS program. Without all of those things, we would have gone crazy!!

I have also been neglecting my picture-taking duties. Jocelyn seems to have finally passed the stage where she doesn't want her picture taken, and moved on to wanting her picture taken so that she can see it. That's good because I feel like I haven't taken a picture of her in months. I also need to get some professional 2-year shots done. I'm thinking about scheduling something in the very near future. For now, here are a few new ones:

Sleeping Beauty

Wearing Mommy's shoes!

And just for good measure...evidence that baby girl #2 is still growing. I am nearly 23 weeks now!

Baby girl is definitely not to be forgotten...she makes her presence known very well now with strong kicks and punches. She's already fighting for attention! I don't remember feeling Jocelyn quite as much this early on. I can see movements on the outside of my belly as well. This is the funnest part of pregnancy for me. Baby's not too big to be making me uncomfortable (well, uncomfortably big anyways--my back is already hurting and the sciatic nerves is on the rebound as well), but she's big enough to be felt and make lots of movements. I swear she's doing somersaults in there! Jocelyn is also starting to notice my belly more and tries to pry open my belly button to see the baby. I've received plenty of belly kisses and rubs (from Jocelyn), and are the cutest things! Being pregnant this time is a lot different for me. I think if may be because I already have a child and it makes me more aware of what's coming. I can't wait to see what she looks like, what her personality is like, and how Jocelyn enjoys being a sister and interacts with her. The clock is ticking...only 121 days to go, with lots of fun stuff going on in between to keep us occupied!

Growing, Growing!

Just look at my Jocelyn!

March 2008

March 2009
March 2010

I just can't seem to figure out where all the time has gone. Oh, and I also can't believe how bald Jocelyn was and how much hair she has grown!