Finger (body) Paint!

Mommy thought the boys would have fun doing finger paint on the back deck. Little did she know, it would turn into body painting themselves and each other!

War paint...

Testing it out...

Getting daddy involved...

Daddy assisted in tagging each of them with their first initials!

Double fisting :)

Needless to say, the boys showered on the back deck that afternoon!

First Official Haircuts

The time finally came for Will and Henry's first official haircuts. Henry had a few small trims at home but we waited until both were ready for big boy haircuts like Jack to head to Pigtails and Crewcuts. You wouldn't be able to tell it from this photo but they were actually so excited!

Haircuts are serious business!

Busy watching Nemo!

Henry's finished product. So cute and he looks like such a little boy!

I made sure to tell the hairdresser not to cut too much from Will because I didn't want to lose his precious curls. They melt me every time I look at him.

We lost the mullet but kept the curls!!!

Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Birthday Oh My!

Jack's 5th birthday week was a doozy!!! We had all these great plans for a family party and a trip to Busch Gardens but all that was thwarted by Mother Nature. We should have know that the earthquake early in the week was a sign that the birthday extravaganza was not going to go off as planned. Hurricane Irene decided to head straight for Virginia Beach and we knew that we would have a very disappointed 5 year old if his birthday was canceled! So, Mommy tore off her work clothes to reveal her Super Mommy suit underneath and got to work rearranging the birthday plans on a few hours notice.

We decided that we were going to head out of town ahead of Irene because the thought of losing power with 3 small kids was almost more than Mommy could bare. This meant that the family dinner scheduled for Friday evening was getting pushed back to Thursday evening--a decision that was made at 10am on Thursday morning. The first call was to the bakery to beg and plead with them to make Jack's birthday cake ASAP so that we could it pick up that afternoon. Sugar Plum Bakery came through and it turned out AMAZING!!!

Luckily almost all of our family and friends were able to accommodate the last minute change and even though Mommy may have grown a few more gray hairs in the process, Jack had a blast!


Henry and Will were very interested in helping Jack open his gifts.

Jack received his iPod Touch and couldn't have been happier!

Dinosaur masks!!!

Nana and Papa gave all 3 boys a bounce house--the best gift ever!!!!

On Friday (Jack's actual birthday) we evacuated and it was definitely a birthday to remember!

Once we got to Charlottesville, we took the boys to the Bounce House to get some energy out. The babies were fearless...

Truth be told, Jack has a great birthday and didn't even know that things were stressful, to say the least!

Little Helper?

If Will were trying to help with the dishes or dinner that would be one thing but he was actually attempting to climbing into the sink...

Boys!

Twin Playdate

Twins times two equals infinite cuteness

Cheerio Angels?

This is what happens when 2 mischievious toddlers spill a Costco size box of Cherrios on the floor. They, along with 2 dogs, gorge themselves and proceed to make Cherrio Angels. Ahh, a day in the life!

Kids, Get Back in Your Cell!

When the babies escape their confinement (outsmart the babyproofing!) they make a beeline for the usually restricted dining room and run into the dog kennels! Sound like child abuse?? HA! Look at the pure joy on their faces!!!

The Simple Life

Our summer would not be complete with a visit to Uncle Bob and Aunt Mary's farm in northern Michigan. Mommy's grandfather passed away when she was 6 and his brother has been a surrogate since then. What a special man.

Jack helping Uncle Bob get the tractor ready for hay ride


Junior tractor driver

The simple life...

Practicing for next summer's ride

Namesakes

At the end of our trip this summer, we went to Michigan to say goodbye to Mommy's grandmother who passed away in January. Because the ground was frozen in northern Michigan when she died, the funeral was postponed until Memorial Day. Unfortunately, the weather and air traffic controllers decided Mommy didn't really need to get there for the actual funeral in May and she was unable to say goodbye in person. Daddy, being the amazing person he is, took it upon himself to tack a few extra days onto the trip to Chicago to drive to Michigan so that Mommy could say her goodbyes.

It was heart wrenching and yet so poetic to see the boys gently touch the gravestone, even though they had no idea was it was.

Henry seemed fascinated by his great grandfathers grave markings. The ironic thing was that Henry Bernard is named after Mommy's grandfather, Bernard...

It was the perfect way to say goodbye to 2 grandparents who had such a profound impact on Mommy's life.

Saturday Mornings

Soccer season has started again so for the next 2 months we'll be spending our Saturday mornings cheering on Jack Jack. This year he has two more very interested spectators!

Silly Willie

This kid makes us laugh :)

Perfect Summer Evening

What could be more perfect than playing at the beach after work/school?
Well the weather was sunny and 75 and we went to Waterman's for dinner that included smoothies for the boys and orange crushes for Mommy and Daddy...PERFECTION!