You know it's time to get rid of the cribs when...

...they start doing acrobatics. These photos are dark because I tried to sneak taking them with my phone while the boys sang songs. I couldn't get Charlie in the shot, but they were all doing the same thing. First, they all held onto the side railing and walking their legs up the wall (well over their heads). Then, they straddled their feet on either side of the railing, standing straight up. Win mixed it up a little by pulling his crib closer to Wes' and balancing across them on his belly.





And this was all during our "quiet" bedtime routine...

The Beach!

We joined a local membership pond beach for the summer. The boys LOVE it! There is a small beach with docks (to separate the shallow and deep sections), boats, picnic area, and playground. Today was the first day I brought the boys by myself. I was nervous about keeping track of all 3 of them (especially since they don't know how to swim!), but they did a great job. We have 3 swim vests on order, so that will give some peace of mind. It also helps that I'm the first person (no joke) at the beach, so they can explore before it gets crowded.

After exploring the water and beach, the boys sat together in the water and made a train.
(Charlie, Wes & Winston)

Run to Homebase

Oh how far behind I am! Rob ran the 1st Red Sox Run to Homebase 9k at the end of May. Nanna and Poppa were visiting from Virginia, so we were able to bring the boys to Fenway to watch Daddy run. It was an inspirational day. The run raised money for the Run to the Homebase program that assists veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or brain injuries, in conjunction with MGH (where the boys were born).
Rob at the starting line. Fenway park in to the left.

There were about 2500 runners!

Grammy and Poppy also came in to watch the race. Poppy is holding Charlie on his back and Wes on his front!


Winston in his Red Sox hat.

In the stands at Fenway, looking for Rob while watching all the runners cross home plate.

Rob crossing home base in Fenway Park! (He's the one in front of the white sign.)

Afterward, we enjoyed some ice cream.



Congrats Rob!

Happy (belated) Birthday Rob!

Rob's birthday was a few weeks back. Grammy came over to surprise Rob with a balloon and a card. But the real surprise was when he read the card, which said that they were taking the boys overnight!
Rob's reaction

My surprise for Rob was that I had made reservations at our favorite restaurant in Boston. So we quickly got ready, took the train in and had an amazing meal!
On the train

My view

The other view

The yummy soft-shell crab

Mother's Day cake

Grammy & Poppy came over for dinner on Mother's Day, but the showstopper was the cake the boys made for us.
Daddy gave them each a bowl of batter with the food coloring of their choice. Charlie chose yellow,

Wesley chose blue (though with yellow cake mix it looked green!)

And shocker, Win chose red.

They each poured their batter in the pan,

with only one spilled (that they quickly devoured).

Then they chose colors to mix their own icing,

and told Daddy where to put it!


Thanks boys!

Derby!

For the second year straight, we held our Kentucky Derby party. And for the second year straight, I neglected to take any photos. Grammy and Poppy took the boys overnight (really all day Saturday and most all of Sunday), so we could cook, clean, entertain. On our way to pick the boys up, we even went out for brunch! I can't remember the last time we did that.

Our 10 year old neighbor sent cupcakes along with her parents. She spent 6 hours making and decorating 2 dozen horse cupcakes. The details are amazing! She needs to start a business, no?

Celebrating my 40th birthday, 5 years early

The last Saturday in April was my 35th birthday. Rob and I took the train into Boston for a date night on Friday and kept our plans loose for Saturday, just wanting to spend time together as a family. All we knew was that it was going to be a gorgeous day.

Rob and the boys let me sleep in (which apparently I'm not capable of anymore, so I read in bed) while they fixed breakfast. The boys were so proud of their concoction, they quickly gobbled it up after showing it off.

Wes downing my oj - don't worry it's just oj!

Win, Wes and Charlie showing off their birthday cards

We then put the boys in their wagon and took a nice long walk to town to see if the fire trucks were outside the fire station (they were not). And ended up playing in a grassy space in the center of town.
Tossing Charlie

Tossing Wesley

Tossing Winston (and Wes waiting his turn)

Tackling Daddy

During naptime, I got a wonderful pedicure involving hot rocks and a massage!

Good friends on our street invited us over for dinner that night. Rob had hung out with them a few days prior and mentioned Saturday was my birthday. So in we walked and they hand me flowers, there was a banner, the girls mentioned cake. We soon learned that there was a mixup and they thought it was my 40th birthday! We all had a good laugh and joked about it all evening.

Blowing out the candles on my "Happy 40th Birthday" cake

Another funny...Winston had bumped into something and started crying. Instinctively, Kosta handed him the "magic cork" from the bottle of wine to rub on it. The tears disappeared! And Win held onto that "magic cork" all night. I now keep a cork in my purse for injuries. Most moms would have band-aids, creams, ice packs. I have a wine cork.

(When I was born, my parents started the tradition of taking a photo of me with daffodils on my birthday. This was because when they brought me home from the hospital, all of the daffodils had bloomed. So sweet!)

Our new bed

2010 and my ability to blog have not gone hand in hand. But I'm attempting to get back on track now that it's April? Is it April? Who knows.

Some time back (I could say days, but it probably more like weeks, maybe months), Rob and I gave our bedroom a makeover. We painted walls, trim, and ceiling. I can't even remember where the boys were. I think they stayed overnight with Grammy and Poppy? We bought our first real bed, new rug, nightstands, curtains went up. It is wonderful. So great that all the boys want to do now is wake up at 5:30am and come climb in bed with us. And no, they don't sleep. Or cuddle. Yesterday, Wes started poking at my face (including the requisite "boop" every time he made contact), fighting over which pillow they get, elbowing/kicking/singing. It's all quite sweet. But 5:30am?
Wesley, Winston and Charlie

Family!

Back in mid-March, my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew came up for a visit. It happened to be during the worst weather we've had in years. (I've heard it referred to as the 100 year storm - a storm so bad you see it only once every 100 years. The rain lasted 3 of the 4 days of their visit and flooded most every road to my parents' house, making it nearly impossible to drive out to them to visit. Oh, and did I mention this is when the boys were all drastically sick, so only Wesley could visit with me at first while Win and Charlie recovered.)

Anyhow, despite all of this, it was a wonderful visit. Here were a few pics from our trip to the playground, once the sun came out.
Christian

Alexandra

Grammy, Wes and Charlie

Robots!

While out for a girls night, Rob sent these adorable photos to my phone. He made the boys their own "robot" costumes out of paper bags. The boys LOVED it!
Wes & Win

Charlie

Sneaking Bunny!

Wes' new favorite activity is sneaking into the hall closet (our makeshift pantry) to sneak dry cereal and juice boxes when no one is looking. If he hears my footsteps, he'll even pull the door near closed, with the hopes I won't notice he's in there.

Wes shoveling cereal

Getting caught. The boys have learned to use their adorableness to try to get them out of trouble!

Theta Beta Beta Poll Question

Dear Friends:

We are asking you to weigh in and vote on the toddler quote of the day:

#1 Wes: "Charlie, you get Mommy and I'll get Daddy." (Notes- Mommy and Daddy were both soon tackled while sitting on the floor of the boys' bedroom. If anyone had doubts that one could conspire before the age of legal majority, this should remove them. )

#2 Charlie: "I love scotch!" (Notes- Mommy has resolved never again to take a nap that close to 5:00 pm and Daddy has officially withdrawn his application for Father of the Year, though he continues to protest that Charlie quite slyly dipped his fingers in Daddy's drink while Daddy was not looking.)

#3 Daddy: "Shut up, Charlie." (Notes - spoken about .5 seconds after #2. While Daddy is technically not a toddler, it somehow seems appropriate to include here.)

Long live democracy! We can't wait to see which wins.

Happy Easter

We had a glorious Easter weekend! It began with a beautiful Good Friday service. This service was especially poignant due to the death of our neighbor that same day. I had only met this woman once - she had been housebound since the time we moved in. But I would always see her head in the window, so her presence was known every day, and her husband is a remarkable man who has spent years caring for her. This is the same man, who even in his advanced age, shoveled our driveway when we were away in Virginia, just so we would be able to park the car and carry the boys in. But as we were leaving for the Good Friday service, we saw a hearse pull up in front of their house. Shaken by the reality of death, the service was a beautiful reminder of how Jesus' death (and resurrection) was the greatest gift ever given.

Saturday morning, our neighborhood all gathered for an Easter egg hunt for the kids. The boys had such fun finding the eggs and would stop and eat them along them (great sugar high...). We then headed off to my parents' house. Another beautiful service for Easter morning, followed by another Easter egg hunt. I forgot my camera for all these fun events, but was able to capture a few with my phone.

This is Wes smiling with a mouthful of jelly beans

Win stopping to eat his candy

Hooray!

Charlie with a mouthful of candy

The happy parents

And Julep was there too!