The Readers

As teachers, it is very important to Dave and me that our kids develop a healthy love of reading. We figured we would start them really young. Here are Ben and Jack catching up on world events by reading the newspaper this evening.

Today, I took Mairead for her first visit to the library. This trip was very special to me because when I was young, my grandfather used to take me to the Pollard Memorial Library in Lowell all the time. I loved reading and I loved our special trips together. He always took me to lunch after at a place called Tatsios' that is no longer around. The owner, John Tatsios, used to give me a roll of Lifesavers if I ate all of my lunch (and even if I didn't). Those are some of my favorite memories and I wanted to share a little bit of that with my daughter.

There are some really big, really fun steps to climb on the way in to the library.

She LOVED the children's section. There were puzzles and blocks, and a million books that you could just take off the shelves and look at as much as you want. She picked out one at a time, looked at each page, and then tried to put it back in place before moving on to a new one. She did sit on my lap and 'read' one with me, which was a big deal because sitting still is not her favorite activity. We had a really nice trip together and I hope we can go back again soon. Thanks to Mairead's Nana for staying with the boys so we could have some Mother-Daughter time. The library is stroller friendly, so maybe the boys can come with us some time.

The other night, our neighbor, Connor, came to visit with his mom. Rick and Cheryl live next door and Connor is only 19 days older than the boys- though you would never know it by looking at them! The boys are growing so well, but they are still on the small side for their age. At birth, though, Connor weighed almost as much as Jack and Ben did put together! It will be great to have another little boy next door to play with!

Editor's note- there is a doll in the foreground- not a baby that wasn't getting any attention. :)

How Lucky to Have a Brother and a Big Sister

For example, when you don't feel like chewing on your own hand anymore, your brother will gladly offer you his to try.

True, sometimes you get poked in the eye, but no harm done.

That's Ben doing the chewing and Jack offering his hand.

Twins really are so much fun!

They are even better when they have such a helpful big sister! Yesterday, she fed them all by herself. You can see the end result on Jack's shirt.

She even opened her mouth wide to show them how to do it.

Jack was a little concerned when she stuck the spoon in his eye.

But she got the hang of it!

She was SO stinkin' cute. My mom was feeding them in the living room and the bowl was on the coffee table. While my mom got bibs or something, Mairead decided to start without her. She scooped up the cereal and carried it on the spoon over to each baby. She actually did a really good job! They were just happy to have food- they are like baby birds- they open their mouths five minutes before the food even gets there.

When she came down this morning the babies were in the den and she didn't immediately see them. So, she walked around yelling, "Babies? Are you?" So cute. That is my new favorite phrase of hers. When she can't find someone or something, she wanders around calling for it/them. The word 'where' gets left out, but that seems to make it cuter. When she is in her crib and wants me to come get her, I hear, "Mom? Are you?" over the monitor.

We are so lucky to have these amazing kids in our lives!

Happy Half Birthday!

Believe it or not, the twins are six months old today! I can't believe how time is flying- I want them to slow down a little bit! They are growing so well- already wearing 9 or 12 month clothes. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since Mairead has always been so tall. You would never believe that these kids were tiny little preemies who wouldn't eat!

We took some 'six month' pictures today on the bench that Uncle Brian made for Mairead. It was her birthday gift and it was the perfect seat for pictures today! Mairead did let the boys sit there, but there was definitely some jealousy there.

Isn't the bench gorgeous? I can't believe he made it by hand!

This picture just shows big sister doing one of her favorite things- coloring!

Thanks to Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Ry, Uncle Dave, and Rachael for coming to visit us this weekend- we had a great time!