have you ever been to pennsylvania?  we just visited for the first time this last weekend {besides a quick drive-by hershey, PA when we moved out here} and let me just say, it was beautiful.  for being the ugly end-part of the winter yuck, pennsylvania was stunning.  i actually enjoyed the road-trip out there, despite getting up-chucked on once and whined at ten million times.

of course we had a pressing desire to see pennyslvania, but the main reason for visiting was NEWBORN BABY SNUGGLES.  our friend jordan {who set john and i up} and his cute family are going to school in happy valley and just had a baby back in december.  and since my baby basically refuses to snuggle with me these days... i stole theirs away at every opportunity!  

we ate at a famous sandwhich/burger/sports bar joint in downtown state college, and then explored the cute children's arboretum.  

we ate creamery ice cream and i cried a little from sheer happiness.

we did a cute easter-egg hunt with the older girls, and got to meet the easter bunny and the nittany lion himself.  

cute rory was the best little playmate for our hazel.  they are so close in age, have the same energy level, and got along great.  too bad we don't live closer!

 we drove through beautiful farm country and went to an amish wedding {which isn't really a wedding, but a delicious buffet - (the potatoes were amazing and so was the stuffing... it had shredded chicken IN IT)} and gorged ourselves silly.

sunday we went to church, drove home, and attempted to recover from such a fun-filled weekend.  don't tell anyone, but i still haven't unpacked.  ;)

thanks for having us crespos!

mae mae walking from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

life lately.

this week has been a week of big changes.  hazel has started going to preschool and is loving it.  she comes home from school so chatty and happy.  sometimes i feel like i have no idea what she does at school but whatever it is, i'm glad she enjoys it!  

and heffalump has taken a few steps!  she is way more cautious than hazel ever was, but she will walk to me with encouragement, and is actually way better at it than i think she realizes.  

here's a quick little video from instagram of cora's first steps, which is amazing that we got them on video.  you can hear the surprise in our voices when she starts to go.

cora mae's first steps! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

also the weather has been warming up which means we've been having park days and it's quite thrilling.

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT LIFE

no one can blame you if you take a second handful of cadbury eggs {or a third... or fourth...}

you will usually end up liking someone if you strike up a conversation with them

diet coke exists pretty much everywhere in the world

weekends happen

there is such a thing as puppies

when my children want to play with me basically all day long

you can ask for forgiveness

you can forgive

we can always order chinese

picnics out on the lawn, complete with chicken nuggets, bubbles, and two giggling girls

a lifetime to change and get better

laughing until you cry

singing beatles songs before tucking the girls in

warm weather and sweeping the dust off your porch to welcome in spring

we start 'em young.

cora chores from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

happy first birthday cora mae! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

thanks to our favorite nj family the harmans, for loving us and celebrating with us!

alice in wonderland.

we had a few friends over on saturday for hazel's very merry unbirthday celebration.  it was just casual and cute and lots of fun.  we sang "who has the hat" with the mad hatter hat.  we played pin the tail on the cheshire cat.  we did a "paint the roses red" craft activity, and everybody got white rabbit ears.  it was so much fun!  

here's our invite... {and because i'm a nut about the internet, i removed our address from it ;}

hazel's birthday celebration.

some pics {and two videos!} of hazel's birthday that we celebrated in utah.  

i can't believe she's THREE!

happy birthday hazel! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

^^^ cora dancing in the sidelines.... 

ALSO... since the grandparents were there, my girls' birthdays are only five days apart, and cora LOVED the singing so so much, we sang to her as well :)

early happy birthday singing to cora! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

utah part dos.

YOU GUYS.  this girl is awesome.  and she turned one today.

cora mae...

is starting to get a mind of her own.
has three teeth.
gets mad at me and screams at the top of her lungs.
likes reading books by herself, but not being read to.
loves pulling clothes up over her head.
loves doing anything and everything she sees her sister do.
loves chewing on q-tips.
gets into every cupboard within reach.
climbs all the way up the slide.
still doesn't talk much, but babbles some.
typically sleeps for two solid hours each nap.
grabs my hand and puts it somewhere to tell me what she wants (often she wants "this little piggie"... sometimes "patty-cake")

we love our cora mae.  i can't believe that this sweet girl has been a part of our family for a year now! she came into the world so easygoing but she has been beat on by her sister enough now that she is starting to get more assertive and fight back ;) 

happy birthday cora mae.  you are the coolest baby ever.

utah!

the most amazing thing just happened.  john sent the girls and i to utah for a full two weeks to be with my sister, who just returned from her mission.  timing worked out perfectly for us to see lots of family and meet cousins we hadn't even met yet! {sadly i am lame and forgot to take pictures of that!!}

of course this first picture pretty much tells you how my girls felt about our 6am flight.  hazel = ecstatic.  cora = not so much.

 my girls are so so happy at honey and pop pops house.  you can see the joy in every picture.

 cora's favorite spots during the trip: the stairs and looking out the back window at maisy.

the other day, cora was getting SO MAD when she got stuck with her walker.  too funny. 

the epic throwdown from Paige Brmunt on Vimeo.

T H R E E !

i love this girl more than i ever thought i could love.  she makes me pull my hair out and cry sometimes, but she makes me laugh just as much.  she's a picky eater, and a stubborn little twerp, but she loves everyone and everything.  she's fun-loving, happy, and goofy.  she's brave and loves all things princesses and star wars.  john and i are so blessed she's ours.  it's been an awesome three years hazel therese, thanks for making me a mother.