How many LI kids are there?

During our trip to Long Island, Jen and Chris hosted an evening for all of us to get together. I think I say this every time we all get together but our group has grown exponentially. The boys headed right to the swing set where Connor pushed Garrett on the swings while Julia watched.
The boys have always wanted a motorized Jeep to ride in and when they saw it - they just had to try it. They both took turns driving and the smiles on their faces was priceless.

I didn't think I would ever get them out of the Jeep.

After an amazing dinner prepared by Chris and Jen, the kids were off to play. Garrett got right in there with the girls and loved playing at the play kitchen.

Connor took a few minutes out to play with Nicholas who could be one of the most relaxed babies I have ever met. Future little girl - please take note!

Alexandra and Garrett are only two months apart and really played well together.

Trying to get all the kids to sit for a picture was quite a trick. I think we got almost all the kids in this picture - although two might have been running away.

After all this playing, my boys were the first to the table at the mention of ice cream. Look at Garrett and Alexandra actually sharing a chair. Connor sat next to me because he strategically planned on being close to the cupcakes too. I think this might be Mia's first appearance on this blog - isn't she such a little peanut. She was born in January and is so cute.

Madi is just like her mommy - she found the doctor's kit and immediately knew what to do. Garrett actually stood still while Madi listened to his heart and checked his ears. Not to mention, Garrett gave pretend shots to Madi. So adorable!

With so many kids in a house, it is absolutely amazing how well they all got along. Time is passing so quickly and to get to seem them all together is phenomenal.

LV here we come!

After the art show, we jumped in the car and took off for Long Island because we had some special visitors waiting for us. It didn't take them long to tackle Papa and make a lot of noise in the house. Thank goodness Isobel is a sound sleeper.
Of course, both boys got into the action when they just had to keep Papa down.

Then, Garrett thought it was an appropriate time to stretch and exercise. Of course it was at least 10pm but as usual the boys had plenty of energy to spare and Papa would not admit defeat.

The next morning they were so excited because Isobel was there. They gave her so many hugs and kisses and loved watching her smile. We had warned the boys to be very gentle with Isobel so it took them a little while to figure out how to deal with a little girl - I call this good practice.

Connor is so gentle and loving - he adored having Isobel nearby and showered her with kisses.

The boys even would lay with Isobel and play. They showed her the mirror and the cell phone - I think they managed to entertain themselves as well.

As the weekend went on, they were more and more comfortable with little Isobel. They needed to know where she was at all times and were such good little cousins. Obviously, pictures of Aunt Laura and Uncle Scott were limited considering we were all focused on the cutest girl in the room. It was fantastic to see everyone and to have a weekend reunion - it doesn't happen often enough.We are all so excited to reunite again in August which will be here before we know it.

Art Show 2010

April 8, 2010 was Connor's big art show debut. The classes at his school worked hard at putting projects together the entire year and now it was time to display them for all to see. Our first stop was his autumn project - it was all sorts of nature items (acorns, sticks, stones, leaves) placed in glue which they dyed orange. It was really beautiful.
Then, Connor showed us his project which was called create with color. They picked out their colors of felt and then used different colored glitter to create their masterpieces.

Connor knows this is my favorite because I was amazed at the drawing and the story he remembered. The topic of the project was "I got hurt when..." Connor's story went something like this "I got hurt when I was running along the beach on my way to dinner and I fell down." Instantly, I knew this happened when we were in Aruba this year but the most amazing part was the picture. He drew sand, blood and even placed the band-aid perfectly on the picture. It is just priceless.

Then, we moved onto their green project. This project they learned all about different shades of colors, how to cut with scissors and how to create a picture within a border. Then, they were all laminated. My favorite part of the event was Connor finding his own work of art and then explaining it. Just a few months in preschool and he is all grown up.

The final piece of work was his pet rock. One week of classes was spent on the letter P where they learned about Pets. During their discussions, they all made a pet rock and even gave it a nice comfy home. So cute!

Thank you Grandma for taking all the pictures on our art show tour. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have all these great projects documented.

After the art show exhibit, we packed ourselves into the car because we were making a big trip to LV that night. The boys were definitely excited. Not only was Papa, Aunt Daph and Uncle Eric waiting for our arrival but so was Aunt Laura, Uncle Scott and Isobel.

Happy Easter!

When we got home from our bike ride, it was late and we were all exhausted. However, I needed to boil the eggs so that we could dye them the next day. Once the boys saw the eggs, they wanted nothing to do with going to bed so I had to promise that they could dye the eggs first thing in the morning. Obviously, per their attire, they woke up and we were immediately in the kitchen ready to go.

They took great care while dying the eggs and really worked well as a team. They were fascinated by the colors and were so disappointed when all the eggs were finished.

Easter morning couldn't come fast enough. The boys raced downstairs and were ecstatic to find Easter baskets awaiting.
They were not sure how to open the baskets so they were both crouched down in front of theirs trying to figure out what was inside.

Once they were opened, it didn't take them long to dive head first to find all their goodies.

The Easter Bunny finally brought Connor Hungry Hungry Hippo and Garrett was thrilled to get lollipops and a chocolate bunny.

Then, the hunt was on. The Easter Eggs didn't stand a chance with my boys seeking them out. The only thing Mommy and Daddy had to do was line their buckets with tissue paper because they would get so excited once they found an egg it would get thrown into the bucket in a hurry.

Ok...it is time to count the eggs.

Daddy and I were amazed at how quickly they managed to collect all the eggs. After enjoying a nice breakfast, we decided it was time to get outside and enjoy the beautiful day - it was at least 75 degrees. While Mommy set up an Easter Egg hunt outdoors, Daddy was busy inside filling up water balloons. Little did I know that I was going to be the intended target of those balloon. I must have taken quite a while outside because when I returned this entire bucket was full of water balloons.

Once we were all dressed, we headed outside for our egg hunt. The week before Easter, Connor and I struck up a deal - He could stay up a little later each night and help me put the treasures in the eggs. So the eggs they were chasing contained money, coins, balloons and bouncy balls. There were 36 in all and they did a great job in their search.

Connor covered the high ground and Garrett covered the low ground. Connor's egg was in the flowers and Garrett found one that was in the wall drain.

Those are some full buckets!

As soon as they were satisfied that they found all of the eggs, they decided it was water balloon time. I proceeded to be chased for the next hour with two boys armed with cold water balloons. I did my best to get away but unfortunately at the ages of 4 and 2 they are already faster than me.

The weather was so beautiful that we decided to walk into town. The boys love getting into the Bob stroller and taking in the sights. It was such a gorgeous family walk which we all truly loved. Happy Easter everybody!!

Bike Trails and More

We all know how hard Grandma works to keep the entire family happy but sometimes we forget how tough she has to be to keep up with the boys. So one April evening, we are all playing around and I turn around to find them both laughing hysterically - every parent knows that when you hear this particular laugh that your kids are up to no good. Of course, they were wrestling with Grandma and felt victorious. Thank goodness Grandma was laughing too!!!

It was Good Friday and we were lucky enough to have the day off. The weather was in the 70s and we decided it was time to go do something in the outdoors. We decided to venture to the Minuteman trail which spans 15 miles through Lexington, Concord and Cambridge. We rented some bikes and a trailer and we were off.

The boys were quite happy to have Daddy doing all the work and loved enjoying the ride while eating their snacks. Daddy did complain that it was unfair that he was pulling both children but I quickly reminded him that I was carrying a child myself so I thought it was perfectly fair. (In Daddy's defense, he only complained when he started getting tired around the 7 mile mark.)

Their favorite thing was to hit the pretend "turbo" button which meant Daddy had to turn it into high gear so that they would take off down the trail in front of Mommy. So this is the sight that I got to see most of the way.

We all felt quite accomplished when we managed to bike about 15 miles. Then, the boys got out and rode their bikes all around the area we had parked. I think Brian and I could have passed out but by this point the boys were psyched to take their turn at riding. It was a big success and soon the boys will be able to take their bikes on the trail as well.

Parade Time

Late March we were happy to have Nana come for a visit and is there anything better than a parade on a decent winter day. It seemed like a warm day but that is until you are sitting still waiting for the parade. So, we tried our best to keep each other as warm as possible.

As we were waiting for the parade to begin lots of families were gathered around. A very nice woman handed us a small brown lunch bag and told us we would need it once the parade began. We were not sure what we would need it for but she seemed like an old pro. Once the parade began, we found out that almost every group that passed buy threw out candy or lollipops or something fun. By the time we left, the entire bag was full.
The parade was a blast - we enjoyed watching all the bands, fire trucks and so much more.
I do have to thank Daddy for the use of his coat. Somehow Brian managed to watch the whole thing while I wore his coat. Thank you!

Plus One

Well, I should have written about this sooner than now but I thought this picture was priceless. The boys are excited to announce that in July they will be pushing a real baby stroller with their new baby sister.

One Saturday in March right before Easter, the boys decided to go to Build-A-Bear and they made a rabbit. In the store was a little stroller which they decided they had to have. So, they nicknamed the new bunny "Sissy" and they pushed her all around the mall together. Their new little sister is going to be one lucky lady who has two of the most caring big brothers in town.