Family and Festival Fun!

We've had a lot of fun with our families recently.  The kids have enjoyed spending time with all of their grandparents..we are so blessed to have them in our lives!

Sibling Resemblence

I rarely think that they look that much alike, but you can see that they are siblings in these pictures.

Evie gets her sense of style from me. J

And look at Mitch’s eyes!  Are they gray?  Green?  Hazel?  I still think they’ll be brown eventually.

I mean what are the chances that two left-handed people, neither of which have green eyes, would have two right-handed, green-eyed kids?  We’re not 100% sure if Mitch will be right-handed, but it’s kind of looking that way.  Pat is somewhat ambidextrous so maybe he will be like his daddy.

Left-handed people make up 10% of the population.

Only about 2% of the world’s population has green eyes.

4th of July Weekend was a blast

Evie started off her weekend early – with a slumber party at Grandma Rita’s house!  It was the first time she’d ever slept over there so it was big deal.  For all of us.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I had little bit of a teary-eyed moment as I watched them drive away from our house on Thursday evening.  My baby girl is big enough to go on sleepovers!  When did this happen?!  I’m sure some people would think I’m ridiculous to feel emotional about it.  I know plenty of parents with kids Evie’s age that have been sleeping over their grandparents’ houses for ages and would tell me it’s no big deal.  I’m sure eventually we will get to that point.  But this was only the 2^nd time I’ve ever spent a night away from Evie (well, 3^rd if you count the nights that I was in the hospital after having Mitch) so I was a little bit apprehensive.  Evie, however, didn’t show the slightest bit of apprehension.  She had an awesome time.  She called me before bed to tell me about her adventures - dinner at the Mohawk, followed by a cookie from the Fudge House and wine (and water) on the porch with Grandma Rita and her friends.  The next day they had Evie’s favorite breakfast (bacon and eggs), went on a nature walk, went shopping and had lunch at Daddy’s restaurant, Barcelona.  Evie was on cloud 9 by the time she got home on Friday afternoon.  I took advantage of an Evie-free (and work-free) day to spend some one-on-one time with our resident boy wonder, Mitchell.  I don’t get to do that often and I enjoyed every second.  He is such a loveable, good little boy.  He’s your stereotypical wild child at times, running into things, body slamming the dog and doing his best to completely destroy a room.  But mixed into the chaos are moments of complete sweetness.  He can be so affectionate at times. He’ll be playing like crazy and then suddenly come over and plop down on your lap and want to snuggle.  We spent our day rolling around in our pajamas, playing with blocks, books and trucks.  It was wonderful and the perfect way to start the weekend.

The good time didn’t end there.  My parents came up on Friday night and got a hotel room.  We had pool and pizza party on Friday evening and then Evie got to have another sleepover with Kiki and Pops!  We picked them all up on Saturday morning and headed to Dublin 4^th of July parade.  This was the first time we’ve ever taken the kids to a parade and they loved it.  Evie got lots of candy and loved watching all of the cars, floats horses and dancers go by.  We had a prime seat, ride on the curb.  Then about halfway through, Evie decided she had enough candy and she wanted to stand back where Pops, Daddy and Mitchell.  

After the parade, we headed back to the hotel and continued our pool party.  Aunt Sha-Sha drove up and Grandma Rita came by too!  It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside and Evie and Mitch really loved the water.   

After a day of swimming, we had dinner and headed to the Worthington Fireworks with Grandpa Tim, Grandma Katherine and the rest of the family.  Mitch so unimpressed that he slept through the entire fireworks show, but Evie had a blast. She was so excited she could hardly sit still!  

The night ended with a third sleepover for Evie. When I went to the hotel to pick her up the next morning, Evie excited to tell me that Pops had “found” a bed in the couch in the hotel room and she was slept there with Aunt Sha-Sha. If only it was that easy to make everyone happy!

Our weekend ended with a quiet Sunday at home.  Evie and I snuggled on the couch and watched a movie, Pat spent some quality time with Mitchell and then we all took a walk and went to the park.  Pretty perfect!

Prayers for Avi

Prayers for my sweet nephew!

Sweet Avi is having surgery today.  He’s at the best hospital and I trust that everything will be fine.  But it’s still a nerve-wracking time for our family – especially his parents.  Hopefully by this time tomorrow, he will be recovering in the comfort of his own home.  I cannot wait to see him this weekend and kiss his sweet face!

 Whenever I’m faced with a situation that is out of my control, I pray.  So today I’m praying that Avram’s guardian angels are with him, his parents and all of the medical professionals that will care for him today.

For Avi…

Angel of God,

My guardian dear,

To whom God’s love, commits me here,

Ever this day be at my side,

To light and guard and rule and guide.

Amen.

UPDATE:  Avi is out of surgery.  He did great and is with his mommy and daddy now!

These days

We've been having a lot of fun with the kiddos this summer.  It’s hard to believe that we are already in the middle of June!  We've between hosting a Memorial Day Picnic, going to Hilton Head, a weekend in KY, Mitch’s birthday, doctor’s appointments, my cousin’s wedding and Father’s Day, we have been going non-stop. Even so, I've tried to find moments to spend quality time with my children, both individually and as a family.  Mitch is a bit of an early bird and while that can be frustrating at times, I look forward to opportunity to play with him one and one.  During those quiet times, I’m able to revel in how amazing he is and on how much he has grown and changed.  Similarly, I enjoy my nights of putting Evie to bed.  When I able to just stop hurrying and snuggle with her, it can be so soothing.  I love to read her stories.  She is so inquisitive and so bright.  After stories, she always requests a few songs and I love that fact that I still get to sing to her.  She loves “A Dream is a Wish You Heart Makes”, “My Favorite Things” and “Somewhere over the Rainbow”.  Bedtime isn't all soothing.  We have to typical stalling tactics – I need a drink, I need to go potty, I’m hot, I’m cold, etc. – but the stories and song are definite high points.  Other times I've enjoyed with the kids recently include a trip to McDonald’s for ice cream sundaes, a walk to the park one evening, a water fight outside one Sunday afternoon, a walk around the neighborhood, building a fort in the living room, going to the zoo, going to the library and having dance parties.  These times with my family are so precious to me!

Happy 1st Birthday Mitchell!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since your birth.  It seems like only yesterday that I was holding you in my arms for the first time and watching you open your eyes to gaze at the world around you.  When the doctor announced you were a boy, I admit I was a little nervous.  Of course I was unbelievably excited and happy as well.  But after 2+ years of parenting a little girl, I was a little bit unsure about what it would be like to have a son.  It seems so funny to say that now, a year later, because you are a part of our lives as if you have always been with us.  You are our Big Boy, our Mitchell-Man, our Buddy.  I wasn’t sure what to expect when parenting a boy, but I needn’t have worried.  You’ve made it so easy, Sweet Boy.  You are so happy and smiley most of the time.  You’ve always loved to snuggle, and while you are definitely on the move these days, snuggling with Mama still ranks high up on your list of favorite things to do.

Having a second child is so different from having just one and I worry about the fact that I’m not able to give you nearly as much undivided attention as your sister got.  At one year old, though, you are thriving.  You started crawling at 6 months, walking at 9.5 months, and these days you’re up and running.  You’re starting to talk up a storm and sometimes it’s more than just random babbles. You can say Mama, Daddy, Titi, Uh-oh, No, Hi and Bye.  I also swear that you say "What's this?" so I always answer you.  You have started indicating verbally when you want something and you say no and shake your head when you don’t.  You can give hugs and kisses.  You are fascinated by anything with wheels – bikes, trucks, even the book cart at the library.  You got several new riding toys for your birthday and you’re practically a pro at riding them.  You’re not as into books as your sister is yet.  I think it has something to do with the fact that you don’t like to sit still for more than 5 seconds at time.  Even so, I try reading to you most nights and occasionally you’ll stop long enough to listen.  You are so busy!  You love to get into things in the kitchen like the drawer with kitchen rags and the pot and pans.  Peek-a-boo is one of your favorite games these days and Evie is really able to make you giggle.  The other day she sat in my closet playing peekaboo with you from behind some clothes and you could not stop laughing.  And speaking of Evie – you adore her and she loves you to bits.  Right now, you guys are playing together so well.  You want to see and do whatever she is doing and she is so incredibly patient with you (99% of the time anyway).  There are times, though, where I can see that the future with you two might get a little bumpy.  Like when Evie is laying on the ground watching TV and you come flying into the room and body slam her.  Or when she is trying to do an art project and you really, really want to do it too, and I hear her screech “Mitchell…NO!” a dozen times as you steal her crayons.  My hope is that you two remain close as you get older.  Time will tell!

Daddy likes to call you his little foodie.  There are very few foods that you don’t like.  You don’t seem to have a huge fondness for peaches, but other than that, I can’t think of anything you won’t at least try.  I truly hope this trend continues when it comes to food.  Right now, you will try every vegetable I put in front of you!  From day one, you have been a big boy and at one year old, you weigh 25lbs and are around 30 inches tall.  You are a bruiser!  You’re built like football player and we have (more than once) referred to you as our little linebacker.  Maybe someday you’ll play for the Buckeyes!  Or maybe not…this mama is not so sure she wants her baby boy getting tackled on a daily basis!

We love you so much, Sweet Boy, and we are so excited to see what the future holds for you.  I hope you always stay as sweet and loveable as you are now. And I hope that you are so, so happy. 

All my love,

Mama

Hilton Head Island 2015

I’m so far behind in blogging right now!  This summer is flying by and between the kids, work and trying to fit some fun stuff in on the side, I’m exhausted.

We went on vacation at the beginning of June to Hilton Head Island.  It’s only the 2^nd time we’ve taken Evie to the beach and the first for Mitch.  We all had so much fun!  We spent our days at the beach and the pool.  Both kids loved the water and Evie had lot of fun building sand castles and having water squirter fights in the pool. We took a few treasure walks up the beach to collect shells and saw so many interesting things – Evie was in heaven!  There were quite a few jelly fish that had washed up on shore which she found fascinating.  She loved watching the little fish dart around in the water (despite out best efforts, however, we were unable to catch any).  One afternoon we even saw a horseshoe crab dolphins which were really cool!  Mitch loved running into the water and just plopping down on the shore.  Most nights we went out to dinner...we had so much amazing food!  While it was nice to not have to worry about cooking and dishes, it did get a little stressful when the kids wouldn't behave.  Luckily, we had a lot of people willing to help us out.  We did a little fishing, a little shopping and quite a bit of relaxing.  Pat and I even enjoyed a date night one evening.  We had one tiny hiccup when, after a night of screaming, we took Mitch to Urgent Care and he was diagnosed with a virus.  That was a bit of a bummer, but he rallied pretty well.  All in all, it was a wonderful vacation!