Papa John's visit

We had a great visit with Papa John.  Now that my dad is retired, we are lucky to see him more often.  And since Chad had to be in NYC for a week, my dad was able to come and help with the kiddos.  We went to the park, had a pool party, ran errands, and went to the YMCA pool.  Dad and I were also able to go to dinner one night (thanks Ali for babysitting!).  Papa John was busy wrestling and playing with the kids and also doing some lawn work (thanks dad!)  

I love the pictures below!  You can tell the kids have no personal space and that Papa John was their own toy to jump on! 

I have boobies!

Adam announced to our neighbor's, Bill and Marilyn, I have boobies and he has nipples.  Then he proceeded to see if Marilyn had boobies.  It was hilarious and embarrassing at the same time.  I love their innocents at this age.

Movie time!

Chad and I took the boys to their first movie the other day.  We saw Ice Age.  They had a great time.  About an hour or so after the movie started the boys were getting antsy.  Since there was only one other family in the theater, I wasn't worried about them talking and getting up.  The 3D glasses might have been a little too complicated for them, but they kept them on most of the time and really enjoyed the movie.  Adam of course loved his popcorn and Jack had a bag of M&M's.  (thanks Courtney for baby-sitting Maya!)

South Haven (picture overload!)

We took a family trip to South Haven on Lake Michigan.  Since I grew up about an hour from South Haven and knew the area, we felt like this would be a great first family vacation.  My mom and her husband live only 30 minutes from the lake, so it was great to have them on vacation with us.  

Maya and I exploring the area.  She loved riding on my back.  I loved it too, having my hands free to help with the boys.  (I didn't like her pulling my hair though!)

Maya LOVED the sand and didn't even mind it in her mouth.

I tried to keep Maya on the blanket, but it was pointless.  She wanted to play and get dirty!

Adam, my little builder.  He loved to play and build in the sand.    

Jack LOVED the water.  He is fearless!  Thank goodness Grandpa Scott was there to watch him in the water.  The bigger the waves, the more fun Jack had.

The lake and the beach put our sandbox and kiddie pool to shame! 

The boys had a great time with Grandma Jenny.  I can't tell if she's dancing with them or trying to rally them up?!  Either way, the boys were having fun!

My first attempt of keeping Maya on a blanket.  Ha!  I should have known she had other plans!

Family photo!

 

Me reading to the boys on the front porch.  I loved having my first cup of coffee for the day and loved ending my day reading to the boys on the front porch.

Beautiful sunsets!

We loved walking on the pier and watching the boats come and go from the marina.

We did celebrate the boys' birthday again with cupcakes Grandma Jenny brought.  It was also Grandpa Scott's birthday, so we had lots of yummy treats!

Chad grilling!  I loved that the house we rented had a grill.  An oldschool grill, too!

Me and Maya relaxing!  Ahhh, that was the life!

Grandma Jenny and three of her biggest fans!  Mornings on the porch are priceless!

This was our walk to the beach.  We were 3 blocks from the lake.  

Kids Korner!  This is the most amazing kids play area I have ever seen.  Since it was only 2 blocks from our house, the boys got to play on it several times.

The kids with Great Grandma Harris.  This was the first time my 89 year old grandma got to meet Maya.  We drove to Kalamazoo, my hometown, to visit some family.

I was so excited that my cousin brought her boys to the beach.  Melanie lives about 30 minutes from the lake.  I haven't seen her in about 2 years, even though we talk on the phone about every day!  (Ok, Melanie, time to get a road map and visit me!)

My cousin's son, Benjamin, LOVED playing in the sand as much as Adam did!

Grandma Jenny and Maya!

Another family photo.

This was the boys first time seeing the beach, water and boats in action.  This trip gave us great memories and we look forward taking many more vacations!

Birthday pictures

Letting EVERYONE know it's the boys' birthday is so exciting.  Putting an announcement on the front door is a tradition I started last year.

Here is the party favor's table.  Lollipops, leis and sunglasses!  In the kitchen were snacks with drinks and the dining room had sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles for the kids to decorate.

The calm before the storm...

  

The storm!!!

Tim was Maya's personal assistant for the party.  Thanks, Tim!  Maya had a great time and I appreciated having to not worry about her during the party.  

Meet Mackee!  He's a professional clown/balloon twister I had come to treat the kids to some balloon animals.  And boy, he was a hit!  

Adam and Jack had a great time with Mackee.  I thought hiring him might have been over the top, but I'm SO happy I did.  

I think Jack found his calling!  

Jack loved making his own cookie!  And, surprisingly, with Maya and Lola, I had little clean up on the floor!

The loot!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM AND JACK!

Wow, I can't believe my boys are 3!  We had a great day today.  More details to come...

(we are going out of town tomorrow and I haven't even packed yet.  So, when we get back,  I'll post lots of pictures of the boy's party and our fun birthday weekend at Lake Michigan!)

Risky Business...Toddler Style!

Maya!

Maya has been trying her hardest to be "one of the boys" lately.  She loves their attention and always wants to know where they are and what they are doing.  When the boys are in the bath tub, she always crawls in there and tries to peek in the tub.  She's also has been wanting to "wrestle" with them.  Sometimes the boys laugh, sometimes they say "Maya, no!  Get off!".  I have a feeling when she's a little older she'll be able to hold her own with them.  

Hangin' out in our Tighty Whities!

What a week!

I've been meaning to write on my blog forever!  Where to start...

On Wednesday I get in my car and realize my wallet is missing.  I called the YMCA, thinking I just left it there the day before.  (We joined the Y so we could go to the pool.  They have this great outdoor pool area and have a kids are that is fenced in.  The kids pool is awesome!  The shallow end is 6 inches and the deep end is a foot and half deep.  The boys love it.  I usually put Maya in the childcare area, but not always.  She also loves the pool.)  Anyways, the Y said that they didn't have my wallet. 

Later that day, Chad and I were trying to get the kids ready for bed.  Maya went to sleep at her usual time and woke up at 7:30pm from puking and was covered from head to toe.  So, while I was trying to get Maya bathed and dressed, Chad was getting the boys ready for bed.  Chad told Jack to "go potty", and Jack went in the bathroom by himself.  The next thing we know, Jack is screaming and crying because his penis (yes, I said penis) was bleeding.  Somehow Jack cut his penis from climbing on the sink.  I went to get my next door neighbor who is an ER doctor.  She looked at Jack and suggested we take him to the ER.  So at 9:00pm, Jack and I headed to the ER.  It ended up being a minor cut and the doctors ended up putting skin glue on it.

Back to my wallet missing...When I went to get my neighbor to look at Jack,  a bunch of my other neighbors were in the street talking.  One of them said "hey, did you hear there were break in's on our block".  A light bulb went off and I figured out that my wallet wasn't missing, it was stolen!  Anyways, lucky me I actually found my wallet and purse in the bushes of a neighbors house.  I guess it was a bunch of kids looking for cash, which I don't ever carry.  They didn't take anything out of my wallet.  I already cancelled my debit card but at least I don't have to get a new drivers license.  The irritating part is that I left my car unlocked with my wallet in it.  I did learn my lesson.   (Go ahead, Lorraine, say it....."I told you so".  Note to self, always listen to my Mother-in-Law)

Other than the drama of my car getting broken into and Jack's penis, everything is good.  I'm getting ready for the boys' 3rd birthday party.  I'm having a bunch of their friends over on the day of their birthday and then Saturday, June 27th, we are going to Lake Michigan.  We rented a house on the Lake for a long weekend.  I can't wait for the kids to have wonderful memories of all the fun trips and things we do with them!

Say Cheese!

Yesterday our friend Patrick met us at the park to take pictures of the kids.  It was the perfect day outside and the kids did really well.  I've only seen a few out of the 570 photo's he took, and they look AMAZING!  You can check some of them out at www.patrickandrewphotogrphy.blogspot.com.  Thanks Patrick!