friday favorites

It’s time again for my favorites from the week! If we were meeting up over a cup of coffee and a donut right now (I would love that!), these would be the things I’d most likely be talking about :)

1. Almost-three-year-old FUN behavior

We had a box from Target arrive on our porch yesterday, and once it was unpacked, Nolan promptly climbed in, grabbed a blanket and Hammie the dog, and declared it nap time. Unfortunately, there was no real nap, but it was one of those “He’s never done that before!” moments :)
 
While playing Play-Doh, he wanted to keep making little pigs. What was fun for me was the dialogue that the pigs were having. I LOVE listening to him start to make up conversations.
 
2. E attached at my hip

It is the cutest thing that even at 6.5 months, Ephraim thinks he and I are one person. If he is not touching me, or in sight of me, he is in tears. I’ll admit that it’s frustrating when I really want someone else to hold him for a while so I can shower or eat. But for the most part, it’s quite adorable how he giggles to himself when I pick him up and hold him close.

3. Uncle Josh

Uncle Josh joked that he was disappointed he didn’t make it into my day-in-the-life post since he was out of town last weekend. So here you go, Josh. :)  The boys love having him around to teach him things like secret handshakes.

4. BLTs

My mom and I made some oatmeal bread the other day. We started making it at 3, and it didn’t come out of the oven until 10, so it was a labor of love! With some fresh garden tomatoes (from our friend Carol), lettuce, and crisp bacon, the sandwiches were so delicious!

The bacon came from Aldi—it was nitrate free and still very tasty. I am super impressed and excited about Aldi’s SimplyNature line. I came home with quite a few items like grass fed ground beef, sweet potato chips, and Clif bar knockoffs—all that I’ve tried has been yummy!
 

5. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

We are celebrating this pretty lady today. Thanks for all that you do for us, Mom! Nolan is very excited to help you blow out the candles on your cupcakes :) We love you, Mormor!

Linking up for Friday Favorites with Andrea, Erika, & Narci.

What are your weekend plans?

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sunday afternoon

Yesterday, we spent a perfect afternoon with Steve’s mom’s side of the family. Steve’s parents both grew up a couple of hours northwest of here, and we head up there a few times a year for get-togethers. Steve’s cousin Jay and his family are visiting from Austin, Texas—and we were excited to see them again! Their son, Issac, is just a month younger than Nolan, and the boys had fun getting to know each other :) We celebrated a couple of summer birthdays with homemade sheet cake, mint chocolate chip ice cream, and never-ending sparkler candles. Ephraim was passed around to the baby-lovers of the group. And Steve’s 97-year-old grandmother, Olive, happily observed her growing brood.




Steve’s aunt and uncle have an incredible backyard—full of flowers, a vegetable garden, plenty of seating, a swingset, and endless kid toys. I loved these hanging moss balls, with tiny, growing plants!
 
My little adventurer, doing what he does best. :)

I always think, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could live near all of our extended family?!  Xoxo.

josh’s graduation & mother’s day

On Saturday, we made the trek to see Steve’s younger brother Josh graduate from college! Steve and I lived about a mile from the campus, but we moved away after Josh’s freshman year. It was fun to see our old stomping grounds :)


We first visited Steve’s grandma Olive (his mom’s mom). She is turning 97 this summer, and she still has an amazing memory. She loved meeting and holding baby Ephraim!
 
We drove past our old apartment (the third floor windows in this photo). It made me really nostalgic for all the memories we had here before we had kids!
 
We stopped for some delicious subs at a new Jimmy John’s.
 
After Jimmy John’s, we swung by our favorite chocolate shop for sponge candy, milk chocolate in bulk, and freshly-baked cookies as big as our heads.


This was our view for Josh’s graduation. It started at 2, and they didn’t call Josh’s name until 4. I couldn’t believe that Steve kept Nolan entertained in his seat for 2 hours! (He can barely make it through 15 minutes of church.) Ephraim fell asleep in my arms, so I stayed for the whole 3 hour ceremony.
 

The four brothers afterwards—Dave, Phil, Josh, and Steve. It was so nice for Phil to fly in from out-of-town.


Josh with his dad Jack and grandpa Jack.



We went out for burgers and wings at Quaker Steak.
Four generations :)


Grandma and Ephraim
 

Yesterday morning we posed with my mom at church on Mother’s Day.
 

My mom made me this beautiful bunting! I love the fabrics she chose and the embellishments she added.

  
I tried to get a photo of me and my babies last night. Doesn’t Nolan look happy to sit next to Mommy?


A little better, I guess :)

So we start off Monday quite exhausted, but we’re very happy to have been able to do so much and spend time with both our moms (and one grandma)! How was your Mother’s Day weekend?