Playdate with Grandma, Aunt Ry, and Rachael

Since this past week was April Vacation week, we were able to plan a big playdate with Grandma, Aunt Ry, and Rachael. We headed to the Children's Museum in Holyoke, MA because it is just about halfway between us and our NY family. It turned out to be a great plan! The kids had a lot of fun and Mairead, especially, loved playing with her older cousin, Rachael. Rachael is great with Mairead and Mairead really learns a lot by playing with her. It's nice for the girls to have each other.

Mairead is learning to be a good big sister- even taking Jack's hand to help him down the stairs.

The water table was a huge hit. I think Mairead could have stayed there all day. She had a great time playing with Grandma and watching the boats go over the waterfall.

Then, the girls had a great time sitting in the 'tv studio' and reading the news. They could see themselves on the overhead televisions. It was pretty cool!

Jack and Ben, not surprisingly, loved playing with the mail (Thank you, Blues Clues). They had a great time sorting letters and inserting them into the mailboxes.

Ben must have played with this mailbox for half an hour. There was a bench directly across from it and some other parents and grandparents were laughing as they watched him go about his 'work' so seriously.

Grandma helped Jack build with some blocks.

The kids really had a great time and it was fun to see them spend time with their grandmother, aunt, and cousin. We even braved a restaurant (one that did not have a happy meal on the menu) and the kids did great. Everything is always hectic and seems to happen so fast. I can't tell you the amount of planning and packing that goes into a 'simple' playdate when you have three kids so young. I try to plan for various disasters (change of clothes for every kid, snacks, toys, etc, to keep them busy while we wait for food, first aid kit, etc). Dave and I work really hard to keep our kids safe and happy, and we make every effort to get them out to have different experiences. Every outing is a whirlwind, but as long as the kids have fun, we're happy.

Grandma made the kids some beautiful organizers for the car and filled them with toys and treats- what a great idea! Aunt Ry and Rachael brought the kids new pails and shovels and stuffed a few little Easter gifts inside. Thank you so much for your generosity- that was a really nice surprise for the kids.

The next day, Mairead said, "Hey, I have a idea. Let's go to Grandma and Rachael's house. Say hi to Grandpa and Rosie (the dog)." She is a sweetheart- and her conversation is improving all the time!