I have been slacking majorly on the writing lately, but am trying to pick up the pace a bit. For whatever reason my blog motivation has been at an all time low. I have plenty to write about, but just haven't been able to drag myself to the computer and put my fingers to the keys. Anyways, whats important is that I'm here now.

Celebrating Noelle's first Easter was very low key. Over the course of the past few weeks she received Easter baskets from Nene and Da, as well as Cammy and TBD. Without knowing, both sets of Grandparents got Noelle singing and dancing "stuffed" (with a battery pack, not so snuggly) animals. Noelle is a bit young to really appreciate them now (as you'll see in the video with the bunny) but they'll be fun keepsakes to pull out for many Easters to come. They sure did act as good props though for our mini Easter photo shoot.

On Easter we went to the suburbs for a small Easter gathering with those of us left in Illinois. It was actually really nice just the six of us. Great Aunt Pam put together a little Easter basket hunt for Sophia and Noelle. Sophia lead the way, showing Noelle how it's done, and found their baskets outside. They're pals already!

Pam had a big spread including the traditional "pot-o-meat" and horseradish for brunch, and I provided dessert. This year I decided that, with our new family, I would start our own Easter tradition. Pistachio cake has always been a favorite in my family, so I decided that with it's light green color it would be the perfect Easter dessert. I promise, although it may sound strange, it is delicious. Here is the recipe.

cake ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix
1 package pistachio instant pudding
1 cup club soda
1 cup oil
3 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped

how to:
mix together (beat about 3 minutes)
grease 9X13 pan
bake at 350 degrees 40-45 minutes

frosting ingredients:
1 package pistachio instant pudding
1 cup milk

how to:

beat together
fold in 8 oz. cool whip (thawed)

*I recommend letting the cake cool in the fridge over night, though a few hours would probably be enough. It will then be ready for frosting, and you won't have to worry about it melting off the cake.

Enjoy!

It seems as though time just goes by faster and faster every day! Noelle turned five months old on Friday. It was a pretty low key month with only one major change - the addition of food!

Food is still very new, and not 100% necessary in Noelle's diet yet, so we give it a go here and there. Every time she wants more and more. Her favorite so far is sweet potato.

Noelle went on more adventures with me this month. She's such a Chicago girl, and loves riding on the L.

We started preparing for Easter.

Noelle still loves her giraffes. She even got a new giraffe friend this month - Marcy!

"Mom, stop taking pictures. I'm not going to smile for you."

Noelle loves to stand.

And, finally, we had a little five month photo shoot. I love this one! Noelle looks so happy and you can see how much her hair is growing. Yes, daddy put it in a mohawk. 

We're so excited for all of the new adventures that are in store this month. Noelle has some visitors coming into town, her first Easter, and much more!

I thought it was about time for a second edition of mom's must haves. It's been almost five months of learning what works and what doesn't, and I'd have to say, we're getting pretty good at our new roles! It gets easier every day to figure out Noelle's quirks, which is good because she changes just about every day!

In the first edition I talked about my love for our Graco 2-in-1 swing/bouncer, and my Ergobaby carrier. I still fully love these items but, Noelle doesn't use the swing as much anymore, but I detach it all the time to bring her into the kitchen or bathroom with me. We're at a bit of an awkward stage in the carrier currently. She's almost too big to sit with her legs underneath herself, but isn't quite big enough for them to be comfortable around my waist. None the less, I would still highly recommend both of these items.

Noelle has some teeth under her gums starting to make an appearance. While this doesn't seem to bother her too much, she puts almost anything in her mouth. Funny though, she prefers anything cloth over something more firm - besides our fingers and her hand. Noelle loves chewing on knitted, stuffed animals. I'm not talking furry things here, only things that are knit. She will chew on them all day! I recently had to remove plush Sophie because she's getting a hole in her neck, and I need to fix her up with some stitches. She also loves burp cloths, to play with and chew on. I've tried giving her teething rings, teething "keys" and even Sophie, but they don't seem to keep her interest as much as something knit. So strange!

Our other favorite item right now is her walker/dj booth. We love this thing, and Noelle goes crazy for it too! Our favorite feature of this is the keyboard, no doubt. Noelle loves to stand, so the fact that she can be upright by herself if fantastic, but the keyboard is awesome! It gives her some stimulation besides her rattles or squeaky toys, and she gets very excited over the music. To top it off, the keyboard is removable so she can play with it when she's not in the "booth" too. This girl is going to be a music lover just like her dad.

The Boppy has also recently become a favorite of mine. I didn't use it too much for nursing/feeding, but we use it all of the time now. We do tummy time, and sit in the Boppy frequently.

Finally, I'd have to say my last favorite item are her stuffed animal blankets. She has three, and we kinda rotate all of them. We always give her one in the car seat. She also loves chewing on them (duh), and napping with them. Two of them are fleece on one side, and silky on the other. I  think she likes the different textures, because she's always putting them on her face.

Hopefully you can use some of these tips one day, and if not I hope you enjoyed the video of Noelle jamming out in her dj booth!

Updated 5.1.2013

This week the wisdom comes from the littlest of our bunch - Noelle - in a video.

Even at such a young age, 4 1/2 months, she is a very wise girl. I'm not sure exactly what she's trying to tell us, but I just know that it's smart. You see, Noelle is very wise, like her daddy, but thoughtful like her mom. With these two qualities, in perfect proportions, she will be unstoppable!

Really though, Noelle started jabbering like this within the last week. Each day she's doing it more and more - we simply can't get enough. This morning while the hubs and I were making our breakfast, we listened to Noelle  over the monitor talk to her room about her dreams (we think). They sounded like really fun, happy dreams. I wonder what they were about? Nothing this girl says ever sounds sad, she is the most positive little ray of light I know.

Ok, this was too funny not to share with everyone! I'm sure you've all had the song Call Me Maybe stuck in your head just as many times as I have. Pretty catchy, eh?

Now, our President has been known to do some singing at events in the recent past, but I never thought he'd add this one to his repertoire.

President Obama sings 'Call Me Maybe'

How long do you think it took this person to clip all of this together?

I hope it entertained you just as much as it did me!

Happy Wednesday :)