Memorial Day Weekend / Backyard Projects

What a beautiful long weekend! It really started on Thursday, when Layla and I took a trip down to Avon-By-The-Sea with my sister and parents.  It was our first beach trip of the year, and although it was foggy and a bit chilly on the beach, we had a fun day!

                                       

 

After Monte came home on Friday afternoon, we went and bought our pool! We got a pretty good deal on a 16' x 48'' Intex Metal Frame Pool.  Monte said it only took an hour to put together, which he did on Saturday afternoon.  Layla and I knew better than to be home when Monte had a project to do (haha), so we spent the day in Cranford. 

On Sunday, we got a LOT of yardwork done (pictures below!) and then went to a friend's BBQ.  Another gorgeous night!  On Memorial Day, we went to the parade and to a diner for breakfast.  In the afternoon, my mom, dad and sister came over for an impromptu BBQ / pool party.  Then Monte and I did another 3 or 4 hours of yardwork! 

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I am so happy that we've made enough progress in the yard to actually post some pictures.  We have a lot of work left to do, but I am satisfied with the projects that we have completed.  Although we have been living in our house for almost four years, we have made so many changes to the outside (removed concrete patio, replaced with pavers, cut down four HUGE trees, removed 150 ft of english ivy landscaping, removed hedges, etc., fenced backyard) and it's finally starting to look how we envisioned it.

  

Our House

In the front of our house, we have planted hydrangeas, day lilies, lavender, hostas, morning glory and verbena (impatiens, petunias, blue lobelia, coleus and snap dragons in pots)

Front Entrance

Moss "N" that I made this spring for our front door

  
                                                     Hanging Baskets

  

Here is a before and after picture of our backyard from March of this year to May of this year:

View from side entrance (after we put up the fence) - BEFORE

AFTER

Monte and I created this garden for our rose bushes in the back corner of our yard.  We added a solar fountain feature to our bird bath.

Monte made this adorable table and stools from the tree trunks of the trees we had taken down.  I sanded them and we still need to stain them.  Layla loves eating here or coloring!

 Monte added this edger to the side of our patio and I planted purple coneflowers and black eyed susans. I also planted hyacinth bean seeds near the shephard's hook. 

                       
                                                    Pots near back door

                                                            Sitting Area

                                                      Perennial Garden

                                                      Tea Cup Bird Feeder

Monte is going to build another vegetable garden in this area for pumpkins and watermelons.  I also planted wildflowers here.

                      The beautiful raised vegetable garden beds that Monte built!

 

That's it for now! The next big project is the side of our house (ugh!!), so I hope to have some before and after photos by the weekend.  Happy Summer!

Layla at 21 months

Every six months, I have been writing a letter to Layla.  In the letters, I tell her about the milestones that she has reached, her personality and anything important that is going on in our lives. My intentions are to give Layla the letters when she is older so she will have an account of what she was like when she was little.

I'm not writing her a letter again until she turns two, but she has changed so much since she was eighteen months that I wanted to write it down.

At twenty-one months, Layla is such a character.  She loves to color, go on the swings and play with her animals and dolls. She loves dancing, especially to Usher's "DJ Got Us Falling In Love" and going to The Little Gym.  She can count to 12, although she always leaves out 4.  She is the greatest hummer ever and always hums entire songs while she plays.  Her favorites are the Caillou theme, ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, If All the Raindrops, and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.  She has begun to string words together and is even making simple sentences ("Walking...Mommy walk, Daddy walk", "Elephant sit, monkey sit, roar (lion) sit". She just started saying "Love you" which melts my heart! 

Layla is more affectionate than any child I have ever met.  She loves to hug and kiss her family members.  One of the cutest things that she does is push everyone together for a group hug and then sing the "I Love You" song from Barney.  She takes good care of her dolls, and gives them bottles, burps them, and takes them for walks in their stroller.  She even takes them to the doctor and examines them with a magnifying glass (haha).  I think it's time to buy her a doctor's kit.  I know she's going to be a great big sister.

Layla is also really testing her boundaries lately, which makes her simultaneously infuriating and hilarious.  It is so hard not to laugh sometimes when she shakes her finger at me and says, "No, no no!"  It's slightly less funny when she climbs out of her bed in the middle of the night and insists on sleeping ON me, not next to me.  She's a picky eater, but getting better (and rounder!).  She's still a tiny little girl.  Now, she just has the big attitude to go with the little body.

It shocks and surprises me how smart she is, too.  She is a master negotiator (when I say two books, she says, "Five??", when I ask her to have a bite of chicken, she says, "Soda?") actress (pretends to take a bite of food, says "Mmm!" and hides it in her fist) and imitator (pretending to be people, animals, forms of transportation).  One of my favorite things that she does is categorize things.  She'll name different kinds of shoes, things that you drink, her favorite foods, etc.  Her dimply smile lights up a room and she elicits big smiles from total strangers wherever we go.  Needless to say, I am completely smitten with my little Layla!

May Celebrations

May has always been a very busy month for me.  My sister and my mom  have back-to-back birthdays that fall around (or on) Mother's Day.  This year, my sister's birthday fell on Mother's Day and my mom wasn't feeling well, so I celebrated my second Mother's Day as a mom with just Monte and Layla.

We had a wonderful day in New York City.  In the morning, we walked around Greenwich Village and window shopped.  It was warm and breezy, and Layla loved being able to break out of the confines of her stroller and walk on her own. 



We stopped a restaurant called Silver Spurs for brunch.  Monte had a delicious burger and Layla and I shared a Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries, blueberries and bananas. Yum!
 

After we ate, we hopped back in the car and drove up to Central Park.  We decided to take Layla to the Central Park Zoo.  I had never been before, and we all had a great time!  Layla especially loved the monkeys and the polar bear.

After New York, we stopped to see Layla's other grandmother.  By the time we got home, we were all exhausted! It was a wonderful Mother's Day.  I am blessed with a beautiful family.

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The next day, which was my mom's actual birthday, we celebrated at the Rainforest Cafe for lunch.  It was more of a party for Layla! She loves going to the Rainforest Cafe, eating french fries and seeing the animals. 

After lunch we spent the afternoon shopping.  MaryGrace had a lot of gift cards from friends and family.  In the evening, I made dinner (spaghetti and meatballs, salad, rolls).  As you can see, Layla was a big fan of the "meatmalls".

 Then it was time for cake! Unfortunately, my dad was sick and couldn't celebrate with us, and Monte was working all evening, but all in all, it was a fun girl's day!

Happy Birthday, Mom and Mimi!

Back from Spring "Break"

So apparently, blogging is a bit like exercise.   When you haven't done it for a while, it's reeaally hard to get back into the habit.  I cannot believe that it's been almost three months since I have posted anything, although I do believe I have a good excuse.  Monte and I are expecting another baby (hooray!)  We are very excited.  Unfortunately, morning sickness has kicked my butt once again and I am just beginning to feel human again.

Spring in New Jersey this year has been a wash, quite literally, and we are struggling to get the house and yard ready for the summer season.  Unfortunately, the weather has not been cooperating with us.  It seems that every time the sun finally makes an appearance, we are running around like madmen before the rain begins again.  In addition to the mundane tasks of dragging out patio furniture, getting the garden beds raked and ready for planting and general spring cleaning, Monte and I have taken on several larger projects (raised vegetable beds, a garden surrounded by a stone wall, landscaping a large portion of the side of our house) that are still works in progress.  I hope to have before and after photos up by Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer!

Until then, here are some random pictures from this spring.

Saint Patrick's Day lunch at Kilkenny House





Irish girls




Enjoying an ice pop at Tony's Pizzeria




Easter Morning




Easter Brunch at Ami and Poppy's house




Easter dinner at Grandma's House




Layla riding her new bike




Bryce and Layla at Rutgers Day




Layla and some stinky pigs




A day at Jenkinson's Aquarium




Eating breakfast in style




Layla's first train ride (Cranford to Westfield)