Welcome Baby Hayden!

Hayden John Baker (pictured here with his big sister Savea) was born on April 23rd!

My little brother now has two kids. Congratulations!!

Happy Birthday & Kaló Pás'ha

April 19th was Gloria (my mother-in-law) and Stelios's (my brother-in-law) birthday and Orthodox Easter (the date of Greek Orthodox Easter is based on the modified Julian calendar and the Western world uses the Gregorian calendar, in case you were wondering.)


Every year we celebrate Greek Easter, Greek-style of course with Terry's father (who is Greek in case you were wondering).

Eggs for the egg cracking game

Getting ready to crack eggs

Adrian attempting to crack someone's egg with his egg.

And the last egg standing . . . Theo's!

I like Orthodox Easter because there is no Easter Bunny. I am really not one of the Easter Bunny's fans, and not because I am no fun, but I dislike holiday hustle and bustle. I like holidays for the spend-time-with-family factor, eating great food, and making memories and not for the crap you get guilted into buying. Yes, crap like candy no one will ever eat or ugly stuffed animals. And since when does Easter rival Christmas for the amount of gifts given to children!? I am always puzzled by the amount stuff that goes into a holiday. And don't get me started on Christmas and related crap.

Halloween on the other hand. I love fake, scary stuff. And the opportunity to dress up like anything or anyone I want.

Yes, for whatever reason, April and May are packed with birthdays! And in that tradition I have a new niece and nephew born this spring. So there will be more birthday news to come.

Happy Birthday & Happy Easter

April 12th was not only Easter, but also my sister Callie's birthday. I am lucky enough to live a short drive from Callie! She claims to be younger than I, but considering that I am 27, I do not see how that is possible.


And some Easter shots. We have a cupcake obsession at our house.

Third Annual Easter Egg Hunt

This year marked the third annual Bigelow Easter egg hunt. Two of my mom's sisters live nearby and the past few years we have gotten together the Saturday before Easter for a huge egg hunt at Jane's house. The kids have a blast, and it is the highlight of the weekend.

My aunts, Jenny and Jane

The kids run out the back door and don't stop until every egg is found. The Easter Bunny is never stingy with the eggs!

Cousin Ben & Theo

Nora caught on to the idea pretty well.

Checking out the lootGetting together with this side of my family is so fun because it reminds me of Grandma Bigelow (my mom's mom). She always celebrated holidays BIG and one of her favorites was Easter. Easter will always remind me of her! She and Grandpa would host a huge Easter egg hunt on their farm, regardless of the weather. I wish I were better at making holidays special for my kids. Some of my clearest and fondest holiday memories involve Grandma!

Here Comes Baby Layla and Happy Birthday To Her Mom!

Layla Tadlock was born on March 23rd!

She is the third child for my sister Beth and her husband Jason. I was very lucky to be able to see Layla when she was just two weeks old!

Karlie, Layla, and my mom

I was also very lucky to see Beth on her birthday (April 3rd). I won't mention how old she is because being that I am 19 months older than she would only point out my advancing years.

Love you Beth! Layla is a doll!!

Catching Up

I always debate whether I should bother posting things from way-back-when or start with now. But I can't pass up mentioning some fun and exciting things that happened over the past couple of months. So here goes . . .