April Showers

Oh April!  You definitely brought us plenty of rainy days, but we managed to enjoy a few sunny days too.  April also brought us a more settled routine in our new hometown although our weeks have been plenty busy with ballgames on many nights during the week, helping Evan with a lot heavier homework load, and managing schedules for a preschooler and a newborn.  Lots of good memories were made and that is what matters most.  And for some reason, it has taken me several days to get this post written.  Sigh.

The first days of April brought us a nice day to play at the playground.  We decided to stop by this one in an adjoining neighborhood because it is bigger and has a lot of trees for shade.  It doesn't have a fence and is surrounded by a large grassy area near a little pond.  

Evan demonstrates his growing strength and climbing skills. 

This newer playground equipment always seems a little more dangerous.  No sides on the slide!

Brody and this bigger boy enjoyed filling up one of these spinning flowers with wood chips.  

Sweet baby Mattox loves the outdoors.  He just gets so calm and happy.  

Just contemplating nature. 

We celebrated our little bunny's first Easter.

And visited our little girl for her second Easter.

We also remembered the real reason for celebrating.

Brody got a special surprise when we were eating breakfast at Chick-fil-a, and a fireman took him to see the firetruck.  He was the only child there that morning, and the fireman saw him watching out the window when they pulled up.  He immediately came over to take him and show him the truck.  Brody was a little shy so Mommy had to go out and encourage him. 

He got to sit on the front of the firetruck.  #littleboysdreamcometrue

Then, he enjoyed playing in the play place.

And made a special new friend who lives in our neighborhood. 

This little guy had some doctor visits.  His first visit in April went well with only one shot and decent weight gain.  

After meeting Daddy for lunch one day, Brody and I stopped by Mommy's college.  We were going to walk around more, but it started raining.  Hopefully, we can do this again on a pretty day because I want to show him the beautiful campus.  

In true April fashion, we had some crazy rainstorms.  One night when we went out to eat in town, it started pouring down rain with the heaviest thunder and lightning I had seen in several years (probably since the Spring Brody was a baby when our neighborhood got hit hard and lightning struck the tree right at the back of our house).  Evan drew this picture of us driving in the storm while we waited at the restaurant for the storm to settle down. 

Mattox enjoyed some tummy time.  Since he started spitting up more this month and seems to have more acid reflux, tummy time is not always enjoyable since it may make him spit up more. He does seem to get comfort from us holding him on his tummy though. 

Lunch dates at Chick-fil-a with my littlest men. 

Poor baby.  My littlest man is not very happy here. 

But paci helps.  We think he likes the paci so much because it may help with his acid reflux to suck on something. 

Brody enjoyed getting his old water table out...before Cocoa got a hold of it and chewed most of the parts up. 

Mattox enjoys stretching out in the fresh air outside. 

And of course, our little t-ball player played his first games. 

Mattox enjoys hanging out at the games...most of the time. 

After school baseball games during the week mean we eat many dinners out.  We are so thankful that we have Mommy's old favorite barbecue restaurants in this area.  It is like a barbecue fast food restaurant.  They also have fried shrimp which the boys love.  This restaurant takes the place of one of our favorite Charlotte restaurants, Showmar's, which also served barbecue sandwiches and fried shrimp and a whole lot more.  

Brothers playing together. I know it looks like Brody is pouring water on Evan's head.  Haha!

Cocoa comes around to try to drink the water.

While Mattox hangs out nearby.  I let him stretch out on the patio table. 

He loves this beautiful weather so much he does a little cheer. 

And me and my little guy take selfies in the car.  We spend so much time on the go that nursing in the car is a must.  

The sun room in our new house is one of our favorite spots to hang out during the day. 

Mattox tries to have tummy time on the trampoline.  

And big brothers and I try to relax too. 

Brody and I stopped one morning for a doughnut date.  Our town has a Dunkin Donuts and the neighboring town has a Krispy Kreme which is about 10 minutes away.  We usually do KK, but we decided to try DD.  I actually liked DD's coffee, and they have some good doughnuts...just not the original glazed that KK is famous for. 

Silly boy!

Then, we stopped at the playground to play.  It was a great day for Brody!

He actually doesn't mind having the playground to himself.  Evan cannot stand being by himself and is always complaining about being bored with no one to play with.  Brody is more like me and doesn't mind being alone.  I really have to fight my introverted tendencies.  Haha!

He can swing by himself now. 

Mattox and I try out the swings too. 

Brody just absolutely loves this little New Testament Bible.  I am not sure where it came from, but he has claimed it.  He has a nice one with his name on it, but I keep it put away for him.  I just love how he talks about his book and pretends to read it. 

Sweet sleeping baby.  He snuggles next to me in the mornings after eating sometimes.  

Just hanging out in his crib for a little bit. 

Cuddling with his blankie and his teddy bear. 

Having a play date at the playground with his new friend, Eli. 

These boys get along so well! 

And to round out our crazy month, we got a crazy Spring hailstorm.  It was crazy how fast these little white pieces of hail fell and accumulated.  They melted fast since it was pretty warm outside.  May has started out a little more dry and hot with temperatures getting to about 90 and just a little rain from a tropical depression that came through. 

Stay tuned for another busy month in our crazy lives!