Spring Break

Alex's Spring Break & Opening Day began with a stomach virus. Poor little guy had a stomach ache and spent the day throwing up. He was so excited to wear his RedSox t-shirt and had to change about 4 times that day. I guess wearing 2 RedSox t-shirts during the day brought good luck to the Sox since they won! Not a good Opening Day for Alex but a great Opening Day for the RedSox!

Luckily, Alex quickly recovered from his stomach virus and spent the rest of his spring break with friends, family, and animals. The kids and I took a trip to VA & MD. After normally a 4 hour trip which took 6 and 1/2 hours, we made it to grandma and grandpa's house. I was ready to go insane from all the stop and go traffic (this is why we moved!) but the kids did a wonderful job during the whole trip and kept me sane through it all. The next day, we took a visit to MD to see some good friends, Susan & Will. Shawn flew up to Baltimore to join us and our family was complete once again. Alex enjoyed lots of fun moments playing with his buddy, Christopher and Maddie got to meet her new friend, Ryan. All of the kids and parents enjoyed lots of good times together. We just wish we could see them more often!Then, it was back to grandma and grandpa's house for Easter. The kids loved visiting with their grandparents and Auntie Lindsay! Alex even practiced his soccer skills with Steve who plays soccer all the time. He was showing Alex all his moves. As you can see from the pictures, Alex loved all of the goodies the Easter Bunny & his grandparents gave him. He was quite surprised when he woke up on Sunday morning!Then, it was back home! For the rest of April, the kids have enjoyed lots of outside time. Unfortunately, the weather went from winter temperatures to summer temperatures so we're enjoying many hot days in the 80's. I can't believe we already have our AC on! To stay cool, Alex has enjoyed playing with his water table and Maddie experienced her 1st time in a pool.
Along with the nice temperatures, Alex has begun to run and occasionally kick the ball at soccer. And we actually got it on video. Luckily, grandma and grandpa came to watch his game, which helped motivate him to play. Of course, he also spent some time playing with bugs, picking up trash, and dancing on the field.As for Maddie, she is growing up so quickly. She is now smiling, cooing, and wanting to play ALL the time until sleep finds her. Maddie has also found a fussy time between 8 and 10pm in which only mommy can seem to calm her down. It used to last for hours if I wasn't around, but recently she has reduced her fussy time to about 10 minutes. Hopefully, this won't last for much longer.

March Madness

March has been a busy month. As you can see, it's been awhile since we've been able to post anything new. So here is our take on March Madness.

Alex started playing soccer. He's not into kicking the ball much or running around the field. His idea of a fun time is to find bugs in the dirt or dance around the field while running away from the soccer ball. We can only hope that one day he will understand the concept of soccer and find a love for playing the sport like his dad.
Madelyn began to interact more with us and her toys. She loves being on her Einstein gym or under her Elmo toy. She is kicking and moving her arms around so much these days. She even scoots herself off her mat or sideways from all the excitement.
Auntie Lindsay and Grandma Kathy came to visit. Maddie wasn't so sure about her aunt at first, but then quickly warmed up to her.


Alex found a Parents magazine with his favorite tv show "Word World" in it. He now has to look through "his" magazine every time he goes to the bathroom. We are so submitting this picture to Parents magazine someday soon.



We celebrated St. Patrick's Day by kissing our two favorite kids...Alex & Maddie who both sported a shirt that read "Kiss Me I'm Irish."



Our family celebrated my birthday by taking me out to Cheesecake Factory for lunch and spending a great afternoon outdoors.
Alex found some quiet time playing his LeapPad. Mom and dad found the joy of headphones! Gotta love technology. Alex has also found a new love these days...spelling and reading. He wants to spell everything and sounds letters out all the time to try and read different words all around the house, in his books, and at the store. We're so proud of him!

Alex tries to make his baby sister happy by playing with her. He also fed his baby sister for the first time. It was only for a minute but at least he wants to help out.
Maddie began to outgrow her newborn clothes. We loved seeing her in this polka dot outfit but now have to pack it away. Our little baby girl is quickly growing into a big girl these days. No more are the days of sleeping all the time. Maddie now wants to stay awake for much longer periods of time, play with her toys, give us lots of smiles, and talk nonstop to anyone who will listen. She has also found the joy of torturing her parents during the hours of 8 to 10 at night. This seems to be her daily "I want to scream and be fussy" time. The only way to have a calm, happy baby is to have mommy hold and rock her to sleep. Works every time!

As for our "Final Four", it is Alicia, Shawn, Alex and Madelyn (the Motyka family) enjoying lots of time together, going for walks, and spending lots of time outside enjoying our beautiful North Carolina weather. On a side note, we're hoping UNC will go all the way. Go Tarheels!