Easter Weekend 2009

Easter was pretty low key this year. Bill went back

to work and Nana came to help out with the kids while 

he is gone. Thanks, Nana! You're the best!

 Papa also came for a quick visit on his way to 

Pennsylvania on Saturday and brought some great 

Easter baskets for the kids. Earlier in the 

week, we took Jackson (and Elise) to an Easter Egg

Hunt, which he loved. After Jackson found enough eggs,

he sat down with his buddies, Jacob and Ethan, to check

out the stash. While I was busy chatting with the

other mommies, he proceeded to eat about 40+ jelly 

beans in one sitting. Then he turned into a crazy

maniac. We stayed at the park a little longer to let

him run out the sugar high. Ah...holidays! Elise 

did some more sleeping and eating and grew

a 2nd chin. She is staying awake more and more and 

its nice to see her with her eyes open! 

The sugar high is kicking in...

Cuddle time with Daddy

Check out her chin(s)!

1 Week Old!

Elise was a week old on Friday and

is settling into life as part of our family.

Mostly, she eats and sleeps right now and

seems pretty happy doing those things. 

Jackson is getting used to his little sister 

and now only half covers his ears when she cries.

He seems to enjoy her company and is enthusiastic 

about helping mommy & daddy care for her. 

He is learning to be gentle with her and other 

important things that a big brother should know. 

Its been a pretty big change in his little life and he 

certainly is testing his boundaries with his poor, tired 

parents. We are doing our best to let him know that 

we are still the same parents who love him so much, 

and that we also have enough love for baby Elise.

 First car ride

On the way home from the hospital

Baby Elise is Here!

Elise Michelle Dowden was born on Friday, 3/27/09

at 1:02 PM. She was 6 lbs. 9 oz. and 20" long.

We got lots of visitors the first day including

Nana & Jackson, Grandma Bernie & Papa and

Aunt Anna & Uncle Nick. Its nice to be home

and we are all getting used to the newest member

of the family. She is pretty cute and we are

excited that she is finally here!! 

Not Long Now!

I am pretty sure this will be my last post before

any baby news. My due date is tomorrow so it 

shouldn't be long now! We enjoyed some beautiful

weather the other day and played some tennis

at the park in hopes of helping to move things

along with starting labor. It must have been hilarious

to watch me play...I suck when I am not pregnant!

 Jackson was our "ball boy" and loved all of the open

space to run and chase the balls around. 

We are all excited to meet Baby #2 and will post

when we have news!

Fun Visit

Last weekend Papa and Grandma Bernie came to

visit us in NJ. It was a warm day so we headed to 

the park and then went home for some ice cream.

Getting silly...

Taking a break on the bench

Let's Bowl!

In early March we celebrated Jackson's 

Grand-Nana's 82nd birthday. She is an active

senior and loves to bowl so that is what we did!

"This thing is heavy!"

Mommy trying to help Jackson get some pins

down. We only got gutter balls but he knocked

some down with Daddy!

The birthday girl. She kicked most of our butts!

Picking a ball with Nana

Sweet shoes!

Visit to PA

Playing some catch-up here! In mid-February

we visited Jackson's great-grandparents, Noni

& Big Papa in Pennsylvania. Papa and Grandma

Bernie met us there for the weekend visit.

Please ignore the milk spill on Jackson's shirt...

Reading with Papa - a favorite thing to do!

Another favorite - eating Noni's cookies!

Moving to A Big Boy Bed

For almost 3 weeks now, Jackson has been in 

his new big boy bed! I am happy to say that it was

a smooth transition and he seems to like it.

We had help from Aunt Anna and Nana in setting 

up the room so thanks to them! Later we celebrated the 

big event with cupcakes. I am so proud of my big boy!

Only 5 Weeks to Go!

Here I am with Baby #2. Not much longer now!

Cute Picture of My Boys

Colorado Trip

We just spent the last week in Steamboat

Springs, CO with Bill's parents. It was an

awesome trip, even if there was no snowboarding

for me this year. Aunt Anna & Uncle Nick

joined us as well, which made it even more

fun. There was lots of sledding and snowshoeing

but the highlight was definitely getting Jackson

on skis for the first time. He did SO well and

seemed to love it. After a successful run

down the slope he asked if he could go to 

the "mogely" field and then if he could snowboard.

Looking forward to next winter with him on the snow!

Hey Potty People!

Not much new to report around here. It has

been cold so right after Christmas we started

potty training. I am happy to announce that my

boy now wears underwear and goes in the potty!

I won't post any photos b/c those are private,

but around the middle of the month, he was really

starting to get it. I can now venture out in public

and take him to school and playgroups without

living in fear of a big accident. Thanks to all the 

mommies out there who offered advice! It was

so helpful. I am so proud of Jackson! Now onto 

the next hurdle before baby #2 comes - moving

to a big boy bed! We are gonna need that crib!

Snow Day

We had some fun outside in the snow with our neighbors 

today. NJ only got a couple of inches (followed by a 

rainy mix) but it was enough to sled and shovel! 

Christmas 2008

Christmas was so much fun this year!

Jackson got so many great gifts but the 

favorite seems to be his Geo Trax trains

and set. Daddy was working on Christmas Eve 

and Christmas Day so we celebrated with him on 

the 27th. We stayed in our jammies all day and 

just played with all of the new toys. I could 

barely get Jackson to take a break to eat 

his blueberry muffin! Hope everyone had a 

very Merry Christmas. We did!