this winter was awfully dreary.

okay, so not the whole winter.

but february,

man.

february was a beast.

it started out with two feet of snow,

and spent the rest of the time a million degrees below freezing.

(i may be over exaggerating the temperatures a bit.)

so once march rolled around,

we were dying to get out of the house.

mike took two days off work and we headed to ann arbor.

we spent our first day eating (the most amazing) lunch at zingermann's.

and then we headed over to the hands-on museum.

our kids' favorite part?
the water tables.


...or maybe the ambulance...


...or maybe the store...


okay. so truth be told they loved it all.

they also loved swimming in the hotel pool,
chilling on the beds watching tv,
and visiting ikea the next day.



i always love a good staycation.

this weekend we got a dog.

it's a dog i've wanted for a long time.

like ten years.

and mike's been on board for the past five.

but the timing never seemed right.

so after i had a particularly rough week this week,

we had just the momentum we needed to make an impulse buy.

and we got our little puppy.

i'm every bit in love with her as i always thought i'd be.

we named her bailey.

and the kids are so excited to meet her.

(they are at grandma's house right now.)

she's such a pretty little thing.

How old are you? Four. 

What is your favorite tv show? Peppa Pig. 

What do you like best about school? Friends. 

What are you best at? School. 

If you could change your name, what would it be? Mike and Sully. 

What is your favorite color? Blue. 

What is your favorite toy? Baymax

What do you want to be when you grow up? Superman. 

What do you like to bring to bed with you? Grandma. 

What is your favorite book? Mike and Sully. 

What is your favorite movie? Big Hero Six. 

What is your favorite season? Winter. 

What is your favorite food? Fruit snacks. 

What is your favorite animal? Lion. 

What is your favorite sport? Soccer. 

Who is your best friend? Ashleigh. 

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas. 

What is your favorite thing you did this year? Building Lego. 

How old are you? Two. 

What is your favorite tv show? Sofia. 

What are you best at? Eating popcorn. 

If you could change your name, what would it be? Maggie. 

What is your favorite color? Pink. 

What do you like to bring to bed with you? Grandma. 

What are your favorite toys? Baymax toys. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Princess. 

What is your favorite book? Christmas one. 

What is your favorite movie? Baymax Hero Six. 

What is your favorite season? Winter.

What is your favorite food? Cheese. 

What is your favorite animal? Fish. 

What is your favorite sport? Soccer swing. 

Who is your best friend? Jenny. 

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas. 

What is your favorite thing you did this year? Grandma's house. 

tennyson turns four and a half today.

he's growing up so much.

he tells me all the time,

"mama, i'm so strong."

it's his way of saying he can do something all by himself.

he loves to microwave his pizzas by himself.

and take pictures with my camera.

he's really into legos and superheroes still.

he knows the names of all the superheroes,

and can even tell you what they do and say.

and he'd still spend all day on the ipad if we let him.

his favorite person is cookie monster.

he has a stuffed animal that he carries around constantly,

much to his mother's chagrin.

and when we do allow him to watch youtube,

he's usually watching a cookie monster video.

tennyson's favorites:

food- candy, waffles, pizza, cheez-its, pirate's booty, and oreos

movie- toy story 2, mickey's house of villians, and wall-e

tv show- peppa pig

song- "animal" by maroon five

drink- root beer

book- "chicka chicka boom boom" and "goodnight moon"

tennyson is such a great kid.

he's incredibly smart.

he's quick to please.

he's an awesome brother.

he's the biggest helper.

and he's such a hoot.

happy half birthday, kid.

we're so happy you're ours.

p.s... wanna follow tennyson on instagram? send a request to @quirkylegokid.

he doesn't post much, but mom got sick of him clogging her feed all the time.

and he really, really loves taking pictures.

bridget hazel is seven months old now.

she has one tooth now.

it popped through the day before she turned seven months.

she's crawling around now, too.

it's a cute crawl.

kind of like a little frog trying to get around.

she loves her jumparoo.

she'll spend all afternoon jumping, and playing toys, and looking out our big window.

she's also been eating more foods.

she tolerates purees okay,

but prefers to feed herself finger foods.

i'm pretty sure she'll be our athlete,

because at just seven months old, her hand/eye coordination is impressive.

she's still a content little baby.

even right now,

as she battles the croup,

she's always got a smile on her face.

we couldn't have asked for a better third child.

we're so glad she's around.