We Heart Mike

This weekend we have celebrated Father's Day just hanging out at home. That is what Mike loves to do after a crazy, busy week. So except for a few hours at the Little League field and church we have stayed at home.

Saturday night we grilled out just the five of us and got to eat outside. The weather this week has been super rainy and chilly so Saturday evening we snuggled up on the deck with beach towels and just chatted. It was really cool to just sit outside in the dark just talking. One of the positive things about having your kiddos grow up is that right before our eyes they are morphing into great conversationalist.

For a festive touch for the summer, we have hung some lights around our gazebo to light up our evenings on the deck. I love the view of the golf course from our deck and my hanging baskets are actually thriving for once.

We got Mike a few gifts for his big day and Kyle picked out a new Red Sox shirt for him. Mike has passed on his love of the Red Sox to the boys and now they all have Red Sox shirts!!

I love this picture of Mike and the kiddos. He really is a great hands-on father considering how crazy and time-consuming his job is. He coaches as much as his schedule allows and he is not afraid to play babies with his little girl. This weekend he even painted her toenails! He is truly a family man and we appreciate all his hard work to provide for our family.

Today we worked on breaking down Hope's crib to make it into a full size bed. I always thought that would be such an emotional thing when you finally get rid of the crib in the house. For goodness sakes, we have had a crib standing in our house for almost ten years! I really thought it would be this major moment as we say goodbye to a stage in our life. Yeah, not so! I never shed one tear and I am actually so excited to decorate her new big girl room. When we are finished I will post pictures!!

This week will be another busy one in our household. Kyle plays in an All Star tournament here locally and he is also participating in an enrichment camp at school this week. David is still doing summer school so for this week there will be no lazy mornings at our house. We will be out of the door before 8:00 each day. It is okay with me because I have so much to do this week. We are in cleaning mode here at home and we are getting ready for a birthday party this weekend.

Slower Pace

Finally it seems that life is slowing down a bit around here.

We have spent almost everyday at the pool this week and this little girl settled in for a nice, long Saturday afternoon nap. Some days she can go without a nap, but eventually it catches up with her and she crashes for a long nap. All three kiddos enjoy the pool so much and we have spent lots of hours out there already this summer.

Today while my youngest was napping, the boys got this creative idea to decorate jerseys and play an inside game of baseball with a soft bat and ball. When Kyle wants to, he can be an amazing big brother! Check out jersey that Kyle made!

Their game even had a homemade scoreboard!!! They pulled Webkinz out of their room for "fans" and each boy even had a special bleacher section. I was so impressed with their creativity but I was worried something would get broken.

Here is David's shirt!

Besides the creativity, I love watching my boys work together cooperatively on something. Afternoons like this would never happen during the school year due to the crazy schedules we keep, but today on a dreary afternoon during summer break, we actually had time for this kind of play. I love it.

This week Kyle will play in his District All Star tournament. He has a game each night of the week to see which teams will advance to Area. Kyle is super excited and ready to play! Mommy will of course be nervous!

Her Big Day

The birthday girl certainly had a big day! With cute crocs like these, how could she not?


Upon her request we spent the day at the pool and then we went to her favorite local restuarant "The Diner" for her meal! She was so excited to go but.....

she fell asleep on the way there and slept through half of dinner. Even sweet big brother kisses could not wake her up.

Daddy even tried to prop her up to wake her up when her mashed potatoes came to the table-still no luck:)

This place has wonderful home cooking and all Hope wanted for her birthday was a bowl of "tatoes" She finally did wake up and eat the whole bowl of yummies!

Here is the smiling birthday girl with both of her big brothers.

After eating out we headed back home for cookie cake and PRESENTS from family. Next week is her joint birthday party with David. David was super excited to help her open her presents:)

Her package of princesses!!!! She has admired this at Target for months now and she finally got it!!!!

She also got this huge doll house! My mom and Kyle were so cute putting it all together. It is a huge hit-especially the car that goes with it. In a few weeks when we put her big girl room together we will put it upstairs, but for now it is all over our living room!

David and Hope posing in front of the house!

Oh my goodness!! Birthdays are so cool! This little one had such a fun day being the birthday star. She can adamantly tell you that she is two and David is going to be seven. She can also belt out the happy birthday song to herself:)

We had such a fun day celebrating our big girl turning two. Time please slow down-I adore this stage so much and I want to savor every moment.