Happy 3rd Mother's Day!

Time for a (very belated) mother's day post! I can't believe this was my 3rd time celebrating mother's day as a mother. It couldn't have been a better day. Nolan has been sleeping in pretty consistently on weekends, and this one was no different with us going to get him around 10am (please let any future children have these same genes!) Joe got up before me to "make some breakfast" then surprised me by waking me up with the smell of DELICIOUS Federal donuts that he drove all the way to Philly and back to get. To say these donuts are good is a massive understatement. Federal donuts makes best donuts I've ever had, and I'm not even that "into donuts".

Federal Donuts

After we stuffed our faces indulged in the delectable breakfast, I whipped together the beginnings of "grandma's sauce" to simmer in the crockpot for the day (nothing makes me feel more connected to my family more than this sacred meal). After that, we decided to take advantage of the absolutely gorgeous spring weather we are having and head to Rose Tree Park in Media. 

I really love this park. It's never crowded, it doesn't have any playgrounds/anything special. It is just several huge fields surrounded by beautiful trees. Perfect for bringing the soccer ball/frisbee/kites and Dean, and just exploring/playing. Everyone had a great time! I think it was impossible not to with how gorgeous the weather was.

Nolan loving the park and his sunglasses!

His tiny foot in the air kills me.

Nolan is in heaven when he's with his "real" soccer ball (he has some soft ones for around the house, but he always wants the "white one".) We only allow it outdoors since it could do some damage inside and this kid knows how to KICK! I'm a little scared of how good he is already with it - the kid can punt over his head (ie "high in DA SKY!") and can pass with astounding accuracy. It was fun to get some lots of action shots of our little soccer star!

So focused

Couldn't be happier

Kick!

Are you serious? He's TWO!

Nolan's ability to walk longer distances also surprised us. The park is seriously huge (120 acres), and we explored a good amount of area with Nolan walking alongside us (most of the time carrying his own soccer ball!) It definitely opened our eyes that we can start doing some more hiking and letting Nolan walk now - so excited for that! I took advantage of the wide open spaces to get some shots from far away taking in the scenery. I'm considering getting some of these printed out for our house because I love them so much.

And a few more a little closer up to see his game face. My goodness it will be so fun to watch him play as he gets older!

Game face!

So concentrated!

Joe and I both love soccer so it was fun kicking the ball around to play with him. It's hard to juggle having Dean and playing, but we try to take Dean out as often as possible to keep him active/tired. We still had such a fun time and Dean was a happy pup!

"Daddy kick it high in the sky!"

My soccer boys

Mommy's turn to punt!

Dribbling down field

Dean getting in on the action

Best Buds

Pro at posing for the camera

 I wanted to keep the tradition of getting some mother/son photos on mother's day, so after Nolan burned off some energy, we were able to "kind of" get him sitting still enough to snap a few. Of course, he couldn't be separated from his soccer ball during the photos though! 

 

Of course I also needed to sneak in some adorable father/son photos too!

High Five!

Aw Yeah!

Love this portrait:

 After a few hours of enjoying the outdoors, we headed home. I partook in a VERY rare treat of going to the mall alone to do some clothes shopping while Joe put Nolan down for a nap played with Nolan (one downside of sleeping until 10am is that weekend naps are rare!) Joe also scheduled me for a full body massage the next weekend that was just what I needed after dealing with a sore back for weeks. After getting some new clothes for spring, I headed back home where we had a yummy dinner of Grandma's sauce and meatballs! I cannot state how happy I am that our super picky boy absolutely LOVES grandma's sauce and meatballs! This kid rarely eats any meat, but ate 2 entire whole meatballs himself. I hope this special meal will mean as much to him as he grows up as it does to me. It makes me feel so happy to carry on my grandmother's recipe (that I followed her through the kitchen and diligently wrote down!) - so fitting for mother's day, and a wonderful way to end a great day.

Happy boy with his pasta and meatballs!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there. There's a reason why this holiday is so widely celebrated. There's nothing in the world more important than our moms! Love you mom - thanks for setting such an amazing example <3

 Here's a look back to my first two mother's days:

2012

2013