Memorial Day 2010

We spent Memorial Day with our friends Mike & Stephanie and their boys Riley & Greyson.  It was a great afternoon and we had fun catching up.  Stephanie and I went to high school together and then were roommates in college.  It's so great that we both ended up in Colorado.  We only live about 1/2 hour apart, but with everyone's busy schedules it's often hard to find the time to get together.  The kids all had fun together and JP even discovered a new favorite food that Stephanie brought- ribs!

JP (7) & Riley (almost 6)

Steph and the girls

Caitlin & Daddy playing in the alley

Yummy desserts

The boys loving the brownie cupcakes

Ryan would have eaten the rind!

Cute Girls

We are so, so lucky to be given so many great hand me down clothes from friends and family.  When my girlfriend Amy passed on clothing to me last year I fell in love with the below outfits.  I could tell they were extra-special because I knew immediately that she had made them for her daughter.  I have been waiting so long for the girls to be big enough and it to be warm enough outside for them to wear them.  Today was the day!

Another one of my dear friends also passes on her daughters adorable outfits.  She always dresses them so cute.  The other day I was looking at old pictures and found one of her oldest daughter Hadley and JP at the zoo when they were 2.  I realized that the dress she was wearing is now one that hangs in the girls closet.  Thanks so much to everyone who provides all the kids with such great clothes!!

Here Comes Second Grade!

Today was JP's last day of school.  I think he's excited for summer break,  I know I am!  Just like last year, I did an end of the year interview and then he got to choose where we go out to eat.  This year it was Chuck e Cheese's.  The best thing about going there is a) nobody ever asks if we have triplets because there are so many kids everywhere and b) now that the trio is 2, they had almost as much fun as JP.

The funny line of the night was as we were driving to the restaurant.  Joe kept saying Chuck e Cheese is where "A Dad can be a Dad" instead of the company's tag line "Where a Kid can be a Kid".  JP told him that wasn't right.  JP said "Work is where a Dad can be a Dad."  Nice.

We have quite a few things planned this summer including 2 trips that JP gets to take alone with myself to South Carolina & Florida and then with his Dad to Massachusetts.  We decided last year that traveling on planes for the next couple of years with the trio would not be easy, so instead we laugh that Joe and I are taking separate vacations.  All of Joe's family is coming out in July for a week, so we're looking forward to that too.  Between trips, art camp, golf lessons, tennis lessons, swimming lessons and karate, I think JP should have a pretty great summer!

**I was just going through Joe's papers for the year and will save some of the stories he wrote.  I thought I would write down a couple of his poems here:

Boxes
Box is a home for a hobo.
And you can ship.
Box com in all colors.


Licorish
Licorish is black and red.
You can get crly or strt
I like black. You like red.
Yum Yum Yum it is good.


Numbrs
Numbrs they nevr end.
1 2 3 the fun began
1 is first  10 is last
I joked you.

Waiting for the bus:

JP & his bus stop buddies: Addison, Sullivan, and Abhil:

The trio looking ready for summer!

Here's the End of 1st Grade Interview:

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Baby Power

I take the trio to a little gym near our house once a week called Baby Power for a 45 minute toddler class.  They love it.  They get to play in the gym area and then go and sing songs, play instruments, do colors, shapes and numbers, dance, have bubbles, get stamps and even do a craft at the end.  Joe took off work Monday, so he was able to see it firsthand.  Since I had some extra help, I brought my camera and snapped a few shots of them playing away.

Note: They were exceptionally well coordinated because they were their wearing birthday outfits from Nana!

Yeah for Grandparents!

We are so lucky this summer, we are able to see both sets of Grandparents quite a few times in the next few months.  We got our first treat when my parents arrived last week.  They split their time between staying at Uncle Sean's house and then ours, but we'll take them any way we can get them!

On Saturday we headed to the park with Sean's family.  The kids had fun playing on the playground, checking out ducks and JP even got to do a little fishing.  Unfortunately, George was not feeling the best all week, but he was a little trooper at the park and the restaurant following.

On Sunday, we had a little party for the trio.  Paul, Willa, and Paul's Mom Jean joined us along with Anne, Sean, George & Nana and Pa.  At the end of the night both Willa and George were not feeling well.  It's been a few days, and it looks like we may have avoided this little bug.  The kids had fun and got to wear their special birthday shirts.  We had more birthday cupcakes and lots of presents to open.  The O'Reillys even got us a gift certificate to put some of this blog into book format.

Here are lots and lots of pictures from our weekend:

Nana and Ryan at the park:

Caitlin doing some serious playing:

She's looking like such a big girl!

Aunt Anne & Ryan:

Happy Boy:

Cute little Maddi:

JP was having a blast:

Poor George, he tried to play, but he felt awful:

Uncle Sean & JP fishing:

Pa & the girls:

Nonnie came over to bring the trio a present.  Sarah & Sophia came too!  The kids were so excited by their new toy & little Sophia slept through the whole thing.

Maddie giving Caitlin a push:

Cupcakes #2:

One last pic of Pa and the trio:

The Trio Turns Two!

On May 15th, Ryan, Caitlin and Madison turned two years old.  Wow- that went by so fast!  It seems hard to believe, but the thought of preschool is already on my mind.  Because of demand in our area, I already am trying to figure it all out for next year.  These guys are in full toddler mode now, becoming more and more independent each day.  They pretty much all know their colors and are all starting to put more and more words together.  Each has special traits such as Ryan pointing to and saying numbers, Caitlin can almost completely dress herself and Madison remembers to say "please" and "thank you" better than the others.  We go for their 2-yr checkup next week, so I don't have officials yet, but as far as I can tell they all seem to be just perfect. :)

Their actual birthday was pretty low key.  Although we didn't have a big party, I tried to make them aware that this was a special day.  I kept saying "Do you know who's birthday it is?" and they would always say "JP's, JP's".  When they woke up, we had balloons waiting for them.  I also made cupcakes and let them eat some of the unfrosted ones. I figured the package made close to 30 and that was a lot for the 6 of us to eat!

We had gotten them only one present- a playhouse for the backyard.  We were hoping to have it put together for when they woke up, but rain kept that from happening.  Luckily, it stopped while they were napping, so they got their present when they got up from their nap.  It was a big hit.  All 4 kids love it and if you're looking for JP these days, he can often be found climbing on the top of it!  In the evening we walked up to Noodles for dinner (JP's choice of course) and came back to have cupcakes and sing Happy Birthday.  They were able to open some cards and Aunt Gretchen had sent them gifts so they had presents too.  JP was a big help in candle blowing and present opening.  I think by the end of the day they had it pretty much figured out that it was their special day.  They all can tell you how old they are now- TWO!

Birthday morning: Caitlin

Madison and her awesome bedhead!

Ryan always has to check out the cars parked out front in the morning:

Cupcakes & Balloons for breakfast!

 

Our 2nd home:

Cooking in the kitchen:

Happy guy Ry & JP on the climb:

Out to dinner:

Happy Birthday Time:

Madison blowing out her candle.  JP was a big help to all!:

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Caitlin started to get the idea:

Ryan:

 

Opening their presents from the Lee's:

Aren't these the cutest shirts?!