The Beach.......in April??

So we decided that it was time for a visit down to DeeDee and Dup's cape house. 

The kids had a midmorning snack together.....

and then it was into the car for a ride down to the cape.  It was this day that I discovered the slow, constant rhythm of the car was no longer enough to get my 2 year old to fall asleep....so while Ava passed out as soon as we left the driveway, Tyler stayed awake.....the whole ride.

"What's that mom?? Where are we going mom?? Is DeeDee going to be there?? Are we going to the caboose restaurant?? Is the sun coming up??".....an hour and a half of that and I decided our next vehicle will have a DVD player!!!

We made it to the cape.....Daddy had to stay behind to work and Duppy too.....so it was up to DeeDee and I to take the kids to the caboose restaurant!!

Twenty minutes of maddness later and we had been seated.....ordered.....eaten our dinner while coloring and doing stickers at the same time.....and just like that we were on our way home.  Did you catch that TWENTY MINUTE part because that's no exageration....even the hostess was like, "did you guys already eat?"  I think the look on my face said it all....as poor Ava is cutting some serious teeth and not herself while Tyler was so excited to be eating on a train.....it was a quick meal.

The next day we were greated with a real treat....SUNSHINE!!!

As soon as the fog burned off and the sun came out, my car was packed up and we were backing out of the garage to head to the beach....oh yeah, the beach IN APRIL...what could be better.

and eventhough we told Daddy and Duppy that it was "chilly" and "not really a great beach day" to make them feel better......we were having a fantastic day!!

You played with your new buckets....

ran away from the crashing waves with Mommy.....

had snacks on the beach.....

and started what will surely be a summer full of great memories!! At the end of the day, you cuddled up with DeeDee and read a story before bedtime.....and I couldn't help but take this picture of your feet as it made me realize how lucky you are to be so close to your grandparents....and how lucky we are as parents to have family around to share these precious days with.

Eggstravaganza and "oh my gosh, Logan is crawling"

We decided to have an easter egg coloring party today with our cousins Sophia, Maya, Logan and Bentley......baby Bentley had a cold so he couldn't come, but we colored some eggs for him anyways. 

I figured that the kids would come over and color/decorate eggs for a while and by the time they were done it would be lunch time.......boy was I wrong.

You have never seen a group of kids color 2 dozen easter eggs faster than these guys....I'm talking about 15 minutes of madness and then a quick hand wipe before they were off to play......

some needed more of a hand cleaning than others......

Side Note: Maya without a front tooth.....she lost it at Auntie Erin and Uncle Chris's house....tooth fairy left her $9....my kids are going to lose all their teeth at their Aunt and Uncle's House!!!

and while the big kids were being crafty, Logan and Ava snuck away for some quality time on our bed.....and I think it's safe to say they were both a little tired...

Before the days activities began, Auntie Dawnie and Logie came over a little early and how lucky was I to see Logan crawl for the first time.....not only was I the lucky Auntie, I also had my camera handy and caught this footage of my niece

And as she crawled on the floor of our porch.....just after my son tripped and took a head first fall into his train table.....I thought to my self, Dawn and Kyle are in for it now!!

Spring has sprung!!

At last after the winter that seemed to never end....the warm weather is here and we are outside soaking in every drop of it!!!  Here is a list of our top 10 things we love to do this spring (and lets face it, at 1 and 2 years old this list will probably change.....definately change.....most likely by the end of the day so I had better hurry up and finish this entry!!!)

1. Playing in our sandbox; the more the merrier....except when someone gets hit in the head with the large shovel that we thought was a good idea to put in the sand box last year....before we had 2 mobile kids...oh well, live and learn

2. Riding on our motorcycle......in a smoking hot outfit that Daddy put me in!!

3. Coed naked train table....because when the weather is this warm, who needs clothes!!

4. Waiting for Daddy to get home from work so we can GO OUTSIDE AGAIN

5. Snack time with cousin Bentley OUTSIDE on a blanket

6. No matter how nice it is outside, there's always time for a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

7. Taking out the plastic picnic table to have dinner with cousins on the porch so we don't miss the last rays of sunshine

8. Trying on our "summer pjs" because we are so big they fit already!!

9.  Hugs

10.  And Laughs

lots, and lots of laughs.......summer-time here we come!!!

Uncle Gregory's Birthday = party in the pack 'n play and photo shoot on the bed

We celebrated Uncle Gregory's birthday today......although with 3 toddlers in the house it was less about celebrating and more about trying to keep up with the little guys!!  Tyler picked out a special card for his Uncle and was very excited to give it to him....

as soon as that card was opened by his Uncle , Tyler was off to play with his trains....a small attention span for a small guy!!



Ava's gift to her Uncle was much simpler....some quality cuddle time!!

Dinner is about as relaxed as dinner gets with 3 toddlers running around....I think we all were seated at one time, but I can't be sure.  The food was great, it always is when I don't have to make it...and then it was time to have some cake....notice Tyler licking his lips in anticipation...

What happened after dinner is a little bit of a blur given my food coma and my son's sudden sugar high....all I can tell you is that there were 2 babies in the pack 'n play having their own party....

Ava: "Hey cuz...you know how to take these things off??"
Bentley: "sorry, can't help, I'm busy working on something of my own.."

Mom help.....she's got me pinned in the corner!!

Bentley don't pick your nose.....

Auntie can you please help me out....Bentley pooped again!!

The party in the portacrib was followed by a photo shoot on DeeDee and Dupy's bed which was very entertaining....

 In this photo the oldest cousin man-handling the youngest into photo taking position...














 Bentley is slightly resistive at first but Tyler is a bit stronger and wins the battle...

Now that Bentley is in place he becomes happy when he realizes his Mommy is taking pictures....while Ava is thinking "will somebody please just finish buttoning up my jammies so I can go to bed??"



Ava Still waiting for someone to button up her jams....

Oh yeah, and did I mention this is Uncle Gregory's Birthday Party?? Happy Birthday Uncle Gregory, from your crazy niece and nephews....we love you!!

Off to Maine....

We took our first big road trip as a family of 4 to Bridgton Maine over the weekend to celebrate my grandmothers 80th birthday!!! Packed up the car on friday.......Meme joined us for the car ride up, as Daddy had to work and came up later with Grampy.....kids did pretty good in the car, except they were both awake for the last hour and getting very restless....some french fries, juice boxes, cell phones (and pretty much anything else we could throw at them) kept them entertained until we got to the house.

"Are we going to Maine Mom?"

We rented a log cabin for the weekend as this was a surprise for my grandmother.....we were the ones surpirsed when we got there and found the driveway wasn't plowed out....there was about 8 inches of snow on the ground!! Luckily Aunt Cathy and Uncle Robbie were there to save the day....and we carried the kids from the road to the house....a pretty good walk but Aunt Cathy cleared the path for us in her snow boots.....Tyler was so ready to get out of the car that he ran in his sneakers and Meme and I traded off who carried Ava (as she's no light weight these days!!)

Aunt Cathy and Ava looking at the snow

The place was really cute and as we unpacked and had some dinner the rest of the family showed up....Auntie Dawnie, Uncle Kyle, Logie, Dad and Grampy....a full house!!  We all settled in for a good night of rest before the big surprise party the next day....all of us, that is except for Ava.

Ava developed a nasty cough (I swear it happened on the car ride up) and she was up all night, both nights, along with her loving parents....while her brother slept through it all. We stayed in one room with twin bunks and the pack 'n play.....a tight squeeze, but we did it!!

We had lots of family to help us entertain the kids in the morning.

Playdough with grampy....who made the mistake of "pretending" to eat the spaghetti and meatballs that Tyler made him for dinner, and now Tyler thinks it's okay to eat playdough too!!

Ava spends quality time with her Uncle and Cousin....you know toddlers, you know that they are sick but they don't!!

Patty-cake on the couch with Meme, Auntie and Logie

The next morning Cathy and Robbie told my grandparents they were taking them to "a new place" for breakfast......my grandmother surprised when they pulled up to the log cabin and we were all inside!!

As the birthday girl spent some quality time with her great grandchildren, Uncle Kyle and Tyler spent some quality time.....watching 1 of the 3 channels they had on their TV.....

After breakfast it was nap time for everyone.....which meant a long car ride for Ava as she was so congested she couldn't settle in.....lets just say that Joe probably knows Bridgton and the surrounding areas better than I do now.  Then it was time to get ready for dinner....another surprise for my grandmother as she had no idea there would be about 20 of us there.

Brey's Brew Pub had a private room for us......a small private room, but we made it work and it was great because all the kids could play on the floor.....and get in the way of the waitress everytime she tried to bring something to the table!!   We had a great time....Tyler got to play with his cousins for the first time....

At one point during the night Tyler crawled under the table to find me and said "I'm having fun with my friends Mommy" and I said to him, "they're not friends honey, they're family."

As I looked around the table I realized how lucky we all were and although we don't get to see each other often, it's nice to know we can all come together to celebrate such a special person.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMMY!!