life is beautiful

t h r e e

celebrations

 yes little man is about to be …

Jack is 3!_edited-1

 jack anthony you are our favorite oldest son 🙂  next tuesday you will be  t h r e e .   yes, i’m really excited about spoiling you.   i’m sure i will post about your birthday party and about your birthday “day.”   but for now, i’ll consider this your update on what your sweet and silly self is up to at  t h r e e  years old.

 what a great age.  you love almost everything.  you let us know exactly what you want, when you want it and if it’s not exactly how you want it.  and to you we still hung the moon. you love anything with a motor, unless it gets too close.  you are not a fan of loud things.  if you are a little worried you ask

“hey what’s that sound?”

you love to sing your favorite songs.  your current top 3 are -the thomas song – crash my party – hey mama rock me.   you are very quiet when around people and usually hide behind us till you feel comfortable enough.  you love to play cars with daddy and samuel.  you have an addiction with phones and their games.  you ask a lot of questions. after everything we say, we hear

“what do i not need that for?” 

“what did you say that for?”

“why do i not need that for?

  i need to start correcting some things you say, but it’s hard because so much of it is just so you.

 “mama you gonna head down?” 

“i want you to head down.” 

“make samuel head down.”

  oh my  little love.

you are a little lover.  you still love to sleep, cuddle and grab hair and yes, you still suck your thumb. daddy is doing bed time duty still.  i love it because it has really turned into something special.  we may fight you to stay at the table and finish your food but you get a smile out of us every time you tell us…

“thank you for the dinner daddy/mama.”

and  asking “you have a good day daddy?”

you have been potty trained since probably february.  a fast learner you have proved to be.  you have given us scares at the emergency room the last two years when getting sick but you’ve given us plenty of laughs to make up for it.   we love you sweet jack.  we love your curiosity,  your gentleness and kindness.  you are a handsome one.  you are the best big brother and the perfect first son for us.   you make us proud and we are so excited to watch you grow this next year!  you have given us the best 3 years we could ask for.  we love you big boy!

Jack is 3

 xxoo

 

 

double digits

kids

oh yeah we’re there.

10 month i

and it is  s o  much fun!  samuel at ten months you are really getting those teeth in.  what a smile you have.

10 months c

10 months a

you can stand on your own but you aren’t too sure of it.  you love to walk along and around things especially the coffee table and couch.  you scare me every time you round those corners so fast.  you are a crazy fast crawler.  you chase everyone wherever they go and whenever you see a door open you are in go mode.  you aren’t too crazy about being left behind in a room and you certainly let us know that.  you are a very good listener when we tell you no.  you also make a very good sad/mad face if it’s not what you want to hear.  you make many faces that always have us laughing.  you say “mama” “dada” and “mmm”  when you are carrying on a rather long conversation.  you raise your hand out when talking too.  it might be one of the top million things we can’t get enough of right about now.

10 month e

10 months d

10 month g

10 month f

you are sleeping through the night and taking one solid, afternoon nap.  you eat like there’s no tomorrow and i think i’m starting to feel it when i carry you around per your request most of the day.  you have me contemplating a second hair cut already.  you are a really good baby.  really.   you love jack and are happy when he is happy and sad when he is sad.  you love to dance to music, especially when jack sings.  we can’t believe we are only  t w o  months away from having a one year old.  oh my.  people say to enjoy it… it goes too fast.  i enjoy every bit of it,  probably a little too much.   i am also realizing that no matter how much i enjoy it, it doesn’t slow it down.

10 months b

here’s to  t e n  months  little love.

xxoo

mr. jp { the newest little buddy in town }

celebrations

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so excited to finally post these pictures.   we got our announcement for the little man in the mail this week, so I figure it was okay to share them now 🙂

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a few weeks before this little misters arrival we grabbed a few pictures at a new favorite picture taking spot.

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at the time we didn’t know if the little babe was a he or a she…

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 i think it’s safe to say they are pretty excited about their surprise….. their very own little brother,

jude patrick

last sunday we were able to celebrate his baptism day with him.  there were little ones all around.  so adorable!

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welcome into this beautiful faith sweet jude!

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it is so special to know how many people will be praying for this little ones journey in his faith.   even his littlest friends will be praying for him!

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who knows, he may even end up being the priest to marry the two little rascals above 😉

oh my.

we are so excited to have a new little friend for jack and samuel.  we are so excited to see you grow sweet jude!

xxoo

 

 

 

 

what’s goin on in your world?

kids

it’s sure not lonesome in mine…

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you, my  little dudes are endless entertainment.  i love you.  from our very first movie in the theaters “despicable me 2”  to our many evenings playing in the back yard and everything in between.  this phone sure comes in handy. here are our happenings via the i phone.

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pretend that you do not see the can of diet dr. pepper next to me.  i don’t know how that happened.

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saying “goodbye” to your oldest cousin michaela before she headed off to college.

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learning duck calls from gramps.

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 oh this isn’t even a dent into the photos we have.  just some of my favorites.  we are busy planning for your  t h i r d  birthday sweet jack!  oh my.  we are so excited!

love you boys!

xxoo

 

 

 

a mini make over { the first new do! }

kids

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oh my little red bull with wings,  daddy tried to stop me as long as he could.

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but we had to.  the hair was confusing.  is it wings?  is it a mullet?  do they really think it will curl?!   these boys needed a fresh look for the fall (that season we long for that  probably won’t come till after a few more hair cuts :/ ) but oh my sweet boys you look so handsome i must say!   samuel, i held you while you looked back and forth for what was behind your head.  miss beverly was cutting your hair and after just a few snips, you started to frown and the tears came.  luckily we started talking to jack and voila! you were finished and mama can’t get over how cute you look!

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jack you are a pro!  you love going to see miss beverly.  you play for a little bit with her toys and like a big boy climb on up and sit and stare at yourself till its all done.  you might throw in a few grins but you stay pretty quiet.

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we can’t get over how a hair cut can make you boys look so big.   these little adventures are so much fun!

xxoo

happy { first } birthday to a favorite little friend

celebrations, kids

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miss felicity rose!

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oh i’m all caught up in our own birthday party planning,  i had to stop myself to share this sweet one’s little birthday! we did have a whale of a time sweet friend 🙂  can’t wait to see you grow this next year!

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we were lucky to get a quick visit in the other day too!  she came in proud as can be, just a walkin around in a rather cute little outfit i must say 🙂

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happy birthday sweet felicity!

xxoo

just because

kids

he makes us happy.  just look at him…

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i really want to say the same for jack too,  but mr. won’t look at the camera.  no worries i’ll get a picture soon!   ohhh i love these boys…

xxoo

happy birthday to daddy!

celebrations, kids

thursday was daddy’s  2 9 t h  birthday.  yes boys,  daddy is 1 year younger than mama.   he will always remind us of that too.   so i should not even try to forget about it.  we were so happy he was able to come home from a business trip on his birthday.  we sure missed him!  a lot.   we celebrated with spoiling him with his favorite foods and lots of love!  samuel was really excited to see him!   it is so sweet to see his love for his dada! we  look forward to spoiling daddy through out this last year in his 20’s  😉

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happy birthday

we love you!!

xxoo

samuel is nine months!

kids

oh sam sam.

 n i ne  months old and what a personality you have!

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at  n i n e  months you keep us on our toes.  you have 3 top teeth that we can see now, especially when you giggle.   you love music and you dance when you get excited.  you still are a huge fan of clapping.  you   l o v e   food.   you favorite is to be able to pick it up.  sometimes you try to take the food off of your spoon.  you love blueberries, avocado, meats, yogurt, baby goldfish, graham crackers, cheerios and even tomatoes!   i’m sure the food list will grow just like you ;).  sounds like you are a perfect fit for our family.   you are sleeping through the night 9pm to 8am most nights.  you are ready for a nap around lunch and will usally sleep a few hours.  your napping schedule reminds me so much of jacks when he was your age.  however,  now a days i don’t stress out about specific times, if you go down you go down 🙂  if not, i’m sure it will happen at some point in the day.

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{forgive us for the snotty nose pictures… i guess it documents your first cold since last christmas}

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you are crawling so fast.  pulling up on everything.  walking along the things you pull up on is the newest trick.   it’s all so new and exciting to you!  i love to watch you.  you still are attached to your bevo wub a nub.  we lost your puppy one so we pray we never lose this one or else we are in trouble.  you love playing cars.  you really move them back and forth to make them go, it is pretty darn cute to watch.  your favorite toy right now is a shake and go lightning mcqueen car.   it is so much fun to watch your eyes light up with it.   you also love to play with and throw the ball around.   you love giving kisses and you are still jack’s littlest, biggest fan.  you recently started to crawl up to daddy when he walks in the door to give him hugs and kisses.  oh man do you know how to melt our hearts.

  nine months is such a fun age!

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pictures are getting more challenging,  but i’m determined to still try because you are just getting cuter.   your hair is insane.  daddy is reluctantly letting me trim the hair around your ears and the crazy strings on the backside this week.  so i did cherish grabbing these pictures.   no worries i know your hair will still be “out” there just not as long on the sides 🙂

you are a very happy  nine month old and you never want to miss a beat.   we love you so much and can’t get enough of this growing little personality of yours.  we love our sam sandwich!

xxoo

“i think i might have found me my own kind of paradise …”

kids, vacation

well after about 700 + pictures i think we narrowed it down to the following…

i don’t even know how to describe this past week.  we looked forward to it for so long.  so much anticipation of our whole family squeezed in a beach house for a solid week.  it was perfect.

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samuel you ate lots of sand.  slept  a l o t  of the time due to so much activity going on around you as well as your  f o u r  top teeth coming in.   jack you had a blast the first day out in the sand.   you also enjoyed finding shells and putting them in buckets.  i loved seeing all of my siblings,    a l l   at the same time!

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i was also so happy that my aunt and two of my cousins were able to make it as well!  it was so perfect!

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from the baby girl of the family to the big girls ….  there were nothing but smiles!

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 the lifeguards 😛

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almost every evening we had game night for both the adults and the kids, there were such great laughs in this house.

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 and in the “later” evenings, we siblings got to have some great quality time together.

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every morning the sun seemed brighter and brighter,  it woke up the babies, the kids, and then all that noise woke up us parents 🙂   gramps would make eggs, we’d have some coffee and laugh about the night before, then it was time to lather up and head out to the beach!

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kindle and i couldn’t get enough pictures.  it was so addicting with the adorable kids and the beautiful setting.   i’m still waiting for her to send some over 😛

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oh samuel,  this was probably your only time out near the water.  daddy came in the night before.  you were so happy to see him that morning.   you two share something special.  i knew i had to get these pictures of your almost not so gummy smile anymore.

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the two things we always say about you.

that hair!

those eyes!

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 your favorite part of each day besides being held by me,  or your teething tablets from kindle…  the kitchen sink baths.

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ohh my emma boo.  you and granny have some good stories.  i wont share on here. 🙂   let’s just say we had some great times!

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my little man jack.  this was probably the last chance you gave the beach.   you really did love it.  and you loved spending time with your cousins on the beach too,  especially miss sydney and her musicals.

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but after a few morning visits from the blue angels,  you were petrified of seeing or hearing a plane outside.  we couldn’t get you outside for anything.   joshua was your little protector, at one point i tried to get you to come out onto the balcony, when i opened the door joshua ran to me and said…

“no no don’t let jat come outide!  there is a TITE  wif an AIRPLANE on it!”

oh. my.

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we got a kick out of sydney.  she is always in her own princess world.  one morning i noticed she was out playing with uncle mike.   it might have been the cutest thing i had ever seen…

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 i have to say having tween and teen nieces and nephews is almost more fun than the babies.  they were so much fun to hang out with and always so so helpful with our babies!!  i love them.  the despicable me minions were the theme of the week.  the littlest ones were known to get a hold of every phone and/or ipad that gramps and granny would let them have to play minion rush. so we had our own game going with the teens called “hide the minion”  we had two mcdonalds minion characters that would be hidden in random spots of the house to make you laugh.  if you found it you would hide it some where else.

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these boys…

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after many more attempts out to the beach, jack  still wouldn’t budge.  my poor baby decided to just catch up on his sleep.

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 oh my. jack.  i love you so much.

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cousin jude was entertainment for all.  he’s all smiles and giggles but can sure stand his ground.  it was so funny to watch his every move.   samuel this was one of your very few chances not in my arms.  you couldn’t see me, so you were okay.  🙂

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another memorable night,  our girls in the family started a tradition at christmas to clap after each gift that is opened.  they decided to take it to the beach with an extra loud applause to anyone who walked out to the balcony one night after dinner.  they sure had a good laugh when granny surprised them with a grand entrance…

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on our last evening with chad and mendy,  we celebrated with fireworks and made sure to get our pictures together with our cousins…

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and just us  f i v e.

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jack watched from inside of course.

{another favorite picture that tells us about his week, indoors and perfectly happy.}

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another night of surprises.  granny found all the girls in her bed, while we watched the lightning show over the ocean…  it was so gorgeous.

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this balcony held some great memories from beginning to end.  we really did share some good times.  we laughed, we cried and then we laughed some more 🙂  there is nothing like family, and this week i realized there is nothing like my family and i am so blessed to be apart of it.  we are all blessed.  i hope it doesn’t take too long before we get to do something like this again.  but from now until then, i hope to create more memories for my own little family.  because that’s where it all begins.

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xxoo