Why yes...

We ARE ready for some football! Thanks for asking!

Just to mix things up a bit, Ben is on the left in these.

Today is a good day to settle in with some football, some comfort food, and some warm blankets. Sounds perfect to me!

Pumpkins, Pals, and Pictures at Parlee Farms

On Sunday, we took the kids to Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro and we had a great time! I highly recommend their cider donuts! We have been planning to take the kids for a while, and as it worked out, we were able to get a whole crew together. Thanks to Jen, Katie, Steve, the Donahues, and the Luzs for joining us! It was great to see everyone- especially Ailish and Brady. If you don't know them- Ailish is just four months younger than Mairead, and Brady is about 6-7 weeks older than the boys. They are all set for little friends!

Our first stop at the farm was the pumpkin patch. We tried to get some good ones of all three kids, but the one at the top of the blog is the only one with Mairead remotely looking at the camera. She cannot be bothered with the mamarazzi. The boys tried to sit up for their photo shoot- suppported by pumkins, of course.

We did have a little bit of falling over... (Jack on the left, Ben on the right)...


Then, the pumpkins were too interesting so no one looked at Mom and the camera.


Then, we had some brotherly 'pushing each other out of the way,'


Followed by a nice little moment with Jack resting his hand on Ben's shoulder.


How cute are these little guys?

Meanwhile, their sister just took off yelling, "Me! Run! Me! Run!". She loves open spaces and has no fear of anything new.

She did stop for a second to catch her breath.

Here's Dave retrieving her after she tried to join another family.

And here she is trying to steal someone's wagon.

Running through the patch...

This is Ailish and her daddy, Josh. Ailish was signficantly more cooperative about posing for pictures.

So cute!

Later, we headed over to the hay bale play area. You could run, climb, and jump all over the giant hay bales. There were kids everywhere!

This was taken from the top of the haybale as she tried to climb it.

The most fun thing was to take hay and throw it up in the air to let it rain down. Aunt Jen is always good for those fun activities.

Everyone enjoyed checking out the bunnies and goats at the farm.

Katie and Steve were each holding a twin, and Katie is 7 months pregnant. People must have thought they were crazy.

The Monaghan girls. Seriously, can you even tell that Katie is pregnant? I am so jealous!

We really had a great time and we were so happy that our family and friends could join us. Especially since wrangling three kids at a farm is near impossible without extra hands! Thanks, everyone!

Beary Cute

On Tuesday, our boys turned 7 months old! They are growing so quickly and it is so much fun to watch them interact with us and with each other. They were wearing some super cute pjs with bears on them for their 7 month pictures. You can't tell, but Jack's shirt says, "I'm not sleepy." That's perfect for him since he likes to stay up late, and he complains about going to bed.

Jack on the left, Ben on the right, as usual.

It is pretty much impossible to get one picture with both smiling, so we'll have to settle for two pictures with one smiling!

They look very serious in these pictures- they are actually very smiley babies!

Not do be outdone in the 'cute' department, Mairead had her hair in braided pigtails for the first time the other day (other than when I practiced!).

This cute dress used to belong to Rachael!

Of course, dresses are not always Mairead's style. Usually it's comfy clothes and her Red Sox cap. Well, Daddy's Red Sox cap. She even let Jack try it on!

I think she looks a lot like me in this one!

Oh, and as for the pepper, she saw it on the kitchen counter the other day and asked to see it. It suddenly became her most beloved possession. She played with it for the rest of the evening, and probably would have taken it to bed if we let her. Who knows what goes on in that little head?

Yesterday, Dave and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. We have been so lucky in these past three years- if you had asked me on our wedding day, I NEVER would have thought we would already have three kids, have moved twice, I would be a stay at home mom, and Dave would have a new job. We have already faced our share of challenges with a health scare for our new baby girl, a difficult pregnancy with the boys, extended NICU time, selling the house, moving, etc, but I don't regret a moment of it. Marrying Dave was the best decision I ever made- he is an amazing husband and such an incredible dad. Here's hoping the next three years are just as happy, but not quite so eventful!

Happy Birthday, Connor!

Today is the 2nd birthday of Mairead's original BFF- Connor! Mairead has known Connor since he was literally less than 24 hours old! Yesterday, Connor's Mom and Dad had a birthday party for him, so we packed into the minivan and made the trip to Stoughton for the afternoon. We were really happy to see the Estees again, and Mairead had a blast at the party. The BEST part was that Jaime gave her her very own balloon to take home. She thought that was the best thing that ever happened to her. She told us about a thousand times, "It's a BLUE one!!!"


Mairead definitely remembered the Estee house, even though she hasn't been there in a few months. She played with the dog, Bailey, and made herself right at home in the playroom. When it was time for cake, she ran right over to the chair she always sat in when we visited the Estees. One bad thing about moving to Lowell is that we are now an hour away from them, so we don't get to see each other as much as we would like. But the kids pick up right where they left off!


The birthday boy!


Mmmmm.... cake!


Daddy and his boys.


Joey's dad asked Mairead, "Are you a mess?" And she yelled out, "Yes!" with a big smile on her face... along with lots of frosting and crumbs.

At this party, there was actually another set of twins! Jaime's friend, Jess, has a daughter, Layla, who is a little younger than Mairead, and then her own twin boys, Quincy and Brady-- just a funny coincidence that Jaime has two friends with toddler daughters and twin baby boys.

Are they a little magazine ad waiting to happen or what?

Our boys were dressed in their best for the occasion, so I had to get a few pictures before we went (Jack on the left, Ben on the right).

Thanks to Jaime and Joey for having us down for the party- we had a great time and it was fun to see the kids together again. Happy Birthday, Connor!!!