A Great Weekend!

As you know, I love family-filled weekends.  We are blessed to have them VERY often.  I try to avoid spending the weekends running errands or getting housework done.  As far as I'm concerned, I can work around the house during weekday naps, but weekends are the time for us to enjoy each other and our friends.

This weekend we got to visit with so many of our friends, it was great.  We started off on Saturday morning having brunch at The Flying Biscuit with our friends, The Arnolds.  Kristin and Todd have a sweet little girl, Virginia.  Kristin is the first friend I made here in Charlotte.  It had been a few months since we'd gotten our families together, but the boys were THRILLED to see "Baby" Virginia, as they call her.

After naps (for all of us!), we headed over to the Parkers for an evening BBQ.  The Parkers have a beautiful backyard, filled with toddler-appropriate toys and fantastic landscape.  The combination of the location and the boys' great friends, Ella and Aidan, made for a great night.   Gill and I are very lucky that not only do the children play so well together, but the parents do as well!!  

Mommy on the swing with my boys!

Patrick and Aidan playing on the swing:

Patrick showed Gill a new trick, taking his diaper off while playing!  (Check out his right ankle!)

The kids ate dinner at their table.  Actually, Patrick ate dinner on my lap, 

but, Ella, Aidan and Finnegan made a valiant effort to sit and eat like big kids!

As if the weekend wasn't fun enough, Sunday was great as well.  In the morning, we went to the neighborhood pool.  The boys really enjoyed the water, and had even more fun because we went with Johanna.  

The afternoon was filled with a birthday celebration for Gabriella and Jason.  The theme of the party was music, and the boys had fun playing with all the musical instruments while all the parents enjoyed the dance music.  It was a great afternoon and we were thrilled to enjoy another weekend with some great families.  

Little Things Thursday

Finnegan LOVES Banana Pudding, Patrick, not so much.

(Thank you Melissa, for making it for us). 

Both boys, however, love their toes!!

Word of the Week Wednesday

HI-DAD - (noun)  Any kind of electronic devise (with buttons, of course) that the boys can hold up to their ears

 and pretend to call their daddy.

The boys LOVE phones:  cellphones, Blackberries, iPhones - anything!  They have all kinds of play telephones, but NOTHING is as great as when they get their hands on a real, working "hi-dad".  You never know who they are going to call!

Here is their first pictures with a phone - Patrick and Finn were only 4 months old:

On the Road Again...

This weekend we traveled home to NJ.  It wasn't a vacation, we went home to say "goodbye" to my grandmother, who passed away at 96 years of age.  The last minute travel plans left Gill and I considering the best option for the boys.  We knew we all wanted to be there to support my dad and hoped that the boys' presence might help him smile.  However, usually when we drive to NJ, we allow ourselves at least a week stay so the drive is not too much for the boys.  This time, we put on a lot of miles in record time.

We always like to drive through the night, giving the boys the opportunity to sleep through most, if not all, of the long trip.  Gill and I take turns driving and while the other one sleeps.  It's a long night, but well worth it for the boys' sake.

Thankfully, the boys were happy campers in the car, either sleeping, playing with toys or watching "Cars"

 (thanks to the Parkers for lending it to us). 

 3 days, 1500 miles and over 24 hours in the car, we are back home safe and sound.  

Little Things Thursday

The boys may not enjoy eating olives, but they LOVE to play with them!

Word of the Week Wednesday

COOL:  1.  (noun) Any kind of sunglasses that the boys put on  2. (adjective) What the boys yell when they put on the sunglasses.

The boys LOVE sunglasses, or "Cools", as they call them.  They can put them on, take them off and repeat for HOURS!  Not only do they like their own sunglasses, of which they have several pairs each, but they love getting glasses that someone else is wearing and putting them on, too!

Little Things Thursday

Patrick enjoys stopping to smell the flowers

Finnegan, however, may have other ideas!

  (This is right before he grabbed a handful of dirt)

Aidan and Ella's 2nd Birthday

On Saturday we celebrated the boys' friends, Aidan and Ella's, 2nd Birthday.  Jennifer had a Zoo Theme, and it was great!  We were greeted by "paw prints" and Zoo signs when we arrived.  From the animal cupcakes to the monkeys hanging from the ceiling, everyone had a Roaring Good Time!

The boys had a blast playing with all their friends and Gill and I enjoyed catching up with our friends as well.

Jen had fabulous snacks for all the kids.  Finnegan kept watch over all the food while Patrick enjoyed a juice box for the first time.

Aidan and Ella seemed to enjoy their cupcakes and we all loved celebrating with them. 

Happy Birthday, Aidan and Ella!  

We love watching you grow up and are thrilled to be a part of your special day.

A Fabulous Day for Mommy!

What a wonderful Mother's Day!  The boys (all 3 of them) made me feel so special.  

Gill planned an entire day of activities that he knew I would enjoy. 

Actually, Mother's Day started on Saturday when Gill surprised me with a Mommy and Me portrait.  

I am thrilled to have a picture with my boys, especially one that turned out so well.

On Sunday, Mother's Day, I woke up to a gorgeous bouquet of roses and 2 beautiful cards.

After breakfast, we joined our friends, Brian, Johanna and Rosie for strawberry picking at the local farm.

Our families had a great time together.  

Finnegan realized that it was easier to "pick" strawberries from "JoJo's" basket than to pull them off the vine.

 

Patrick had a great time, but needed to rest, picking strawberries is exhausting!

 

After the farm, the boys had a special surprise for me.  Gill picked up lunch from Dean & DeLuca and we went to the Charlotte Botanical Gardens for a picnic lunch.  It was fabulous and my favorite lunch of all time!  We found part of the park that was completely empty.  The boys got to explore & kept coming back for some snacks and Orangina!

This is my favorite picture, Patrick was helping Finn drink out of the big water bottle!

To finish off a great day, our neighborhood pool opened this weekend and we went for a dip.  The boys looked fantastic in their new bathing suits from Nana and PopPop.  They had so much fun splashing in the water!

It was a perfect Mother's Day with my boys - thank you, Gill, for making it so special! 

Happy Mother's Day!

LIttle Things Thursday

Patrick and Finnegan love to be together.   They are also quite protective of each other.  While I am acutely aware of their brotherly-bond, this experience the other day surprised even me:

Patrick misbehaved and hit Finnegan (which is rare).   I put him in the corner for a time-out.  While I was talking to Patrick, I turned around and Finn was hitting himself in the head.  Finn then proceeded to say "no" and sit next to his brother in time-out.  He couldn't have Patrick be alone, even if it meant giving himself a time-out.

Now, that's love!

Happy Birthday, Isabella!

This morning our family celebrated the 2nd Birthday of the boys' friend, Isabella.  

She is the first of their friends to turn two and we were thrilled to be a part of her special day.  

Last year, we went to Isabella's  first birthday party.  You can see how much the boys have grown just by looking at the 2 pictures of the boys going to the party, this year and last.

  

The boys had a wonderful time today with all their friends.  Isabella's party was a garden theme, it was adorable.  

Finnegan enjoyed his cupcake, it had "worms" on top, which were delicious!

Patrick realized that when all the children were eating their cupcakes, he could play and have all the toys to himself - smart boy!

We had a wonderful morning with all our friends - Happy Birthday Isabella!

(Finn send a kiss - MWAH!)