My Birthday Boy and Growing Baby Girl

He's now three years old.  I think he had a really good birthday surrounded by friends and family and lots of love.  We sure did miss those of you who weren't here, though!

A typical Daniel face

Daniel, his best Tati and his birthday cake that Mommy made from scratch (you can tell)

A picture collage for his new room once it's done



Grandpa and Green Lantern



And my littlest one turned nine monts old this week.  Sweet pea got her first tooth, too!



Another Milestone Reached

Samuel graduated from preschool last week.  He had a good year of learning, growing, and really enjoying the school environment.  I was not so sure that would happen when I first sent him off last fall.  (I know that's terrible to say.)  I had written on his information sheet for his teacher that I thought he might fight with the other boys in his class.  But my fears were never came true, and I am so happy for that.  I now have a little boy who says he can't wait for kindergarten, and I think he's a lot more ready for the next step than I had anticipated.  Now we just have to wait through a whole summer...

All the things he received that night

What he was doing when he should've been singing

I didn't say he had it all down pat...

After graduation and a DQ treat

Mother's Day 2011

Not the greatest picture, but one that we try to do every year for Mother's Day.  Although somebody was not too thrilled about taking it this time around.  Me and my babies--we don't often all sit down together like this, but I love it when we do (of course, without all the fighting and fussing and whining, etc.).  I love these precious ones and am so thankful to be their mother!

The Big Kitchen Reveal and More

The kitchen and much of the house are at least close to being finished with renovations.  I think we have all of the major things completed.  It's mainly a lot of little things that are left to do.  We saved quite a bit of money staying in our duplex and converting it into a single-family home rather than buying a whole new house.  (The process of coming to that decision was a long one, but we think the outcome was worth the wait.)  And we saved quite a bit because Nelu (with the help of Dad and Zach) did almost all of the work.  We started the renovations last September, and in a matter of seven months, here we are!  We went from squeezing into a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom duplex to being amazed and a little overwhelmed at the doubled space--just the right size for our family.

Like I said, there is more to do.  For instance, turning the old kitchen into a laundry room, finishing the painting, and taking care of many small details.  But we feel great with how far we've come!  We've lived in this place off and on since 2002 when Nelu and I first moved here from Romania.  And we've come to feel truly at home in this neighborhood and this house.  We're thankful that we have the option of staying put at this point in our lives.

The old kitchen--back in 2007



And the new kitchen (original cabinets--just brightened up a bit)



It became an eat-in kitchen.  We love not having to worry about spilling on the carpet anymore!



The opened-up living area (where we knocked down the wall between the two sides of the duplex).  Still needs painted, but we're getting there...



Nadia exploring in the new kitchen



View of the new window (where a sliding glass door used to be) and the new back door

Evi in the room she'll eventually share with Nadia--she got to pick out the color