Technical (and other) Difficulties

It has been way too long since I posted!  March was a CRAZY month.  I had a lot going on, the kids were busy, Dave worked a lot of extra hours... it was all a blur.  I organized two events for my MoM's group, Dave and Mairead took a trip to NY, everyone started soccer, and we tried to take advantage of all the nice days.  Recently, my laptop stopped working.  This is a major inconvenience since I use it for everything- work, email, pictures, recipes, everything.  A friend is trying to save it, but he is not optimistic, so we need to figure out a plan to replace it.  It has been almost two weeks without it, and it can't believe how often I wish I had it.  I am using my dad's computer right now, but it's just not the same.  Fingers crossed that mine can be brought back to life!

The weather was the best March weather I can remember, so we did get to spend a lot of time outdoors, which was great.  The kids love being in the yard and are always eager to 'help' Nana with the gardening. 

The swingset has turned out to be a great investment.  We use it every time we are outside.  Mairead is working on learning to pump, which is great, since she would spend all day on the swings if she could.

She loves to use her watering can and help with all the plants.  She has her own gardening gloves, too!

The kids often visit my Nana while we are out.  One day, Mairead decided that she needed to borrow my Nana's wig.  She wore it for quite a while and thought she looked pretty great.

 We did have a few early spring visits to the playground- the weather was just unreal!  It was nice to get back to Penguin Park; the kids were really excited to be there.  They were even more excited when we found some friends, there!  My friends, Chip and Jen, live close to the playground and their kids were there with their nanny.  My kids sat right down with them to play.  Mairead was especially excited to play with Nora, and talked about her for several days after.

 Jack and Ben love any kind of tool.  Shovel, rake, whatever, they want to use it.

 It's nice to see them get involved with the planting, and to see how excited they are to watch the flowers grow and bloom.  I hope their interest in yardwork lasts a very long time!

All of them are doing really well.  Jack and Ben have settled into preschool and really enjoy their time with Miss Joanne.  Mairead is doing well at school and is incredibly excited that she has been invited to a classmate's birthday party.  I'm excited, too, actually.  Last year at this time, she was really struggling at school and with other kids.  She still has a hard time talking to other kids, but it seems like most of the kids in her class like her and try to include her in things.  In fact, we ran into one of her classmates at soccer last week and I heard the little girl yelling, "Mom?  Is that Mairead?  I want to see her!"  They ran to each other and the other girl initiated a hug, which Mairead happily returned.  I was overjoyed to see this.  Mairead was able to say, "Hi, Gracelyn," which is a big step for her.  I hope that she continues to find it easier to talk to the other kids.

Jack and Ben keep coming up with funny observations or sayings.  For example, last week, I put Jack's shin-guards on and asked if they felt ok.  He replied, 'Yes.  That is very sensible."  Sensible?  Sometimes, he seems like a little old man trapped in a little boy's body!  The same day, Ben told me that Molly (the cat) was coming towards him.  It just struck me as funny to hear him use 'towards.'  I love seeing their vocabulary grow, especially since we can see more of their perspectives on the world.

I have so many more pictures to post-- hopefully, I can get more posts done today!

Birthday at Bobo's

On the boys' birthday on Tuesday, we went to an indoor playground in Nashua to meet up with some friends.  Thanks to Jack, Aidan, Jeff, Tommy, and their moms for sharing the day with us!  Bobo's is a great way to spend a morning.  They have climbing structures, a bounce house, and a giant inflatable slide.  Everything looks very clean and taken care of.  It's small enough that moms of more than one kid can keep an eye on everyone!  The only down side is that you can't bring snacks or drinks.  But, we had a great time!

Mairead was fascinated by the water bubbler.  I don't think she had ever used one before.  I think they are sort of gross, but she was just too curious to resist, so she tried it out.

After opening some presents that Grandma and Grandpa had sent, Dave and I took the kids out for dinner that night and they were great.  They like to order for themselves now, and they even had ice cream for dessert!  It was nice to spend the day just spending time with them.  I didn't work at all that day and did very little around the house so that I could stop and savor their turning three before I blink and they are four! Wow, even just typing that out, I can't believe that they are even heading toward four!  I think of Mairead as being so much older than they are, but she really isn't!  They are not too far behind!

They are THREE!

It's hard to believe that they were ever this small, isn't it?  When they were born, they were 5.3bs (Ben, on the left) and 4.9lbs (Jack).  Now, they are just about three feet tall, weigh about 29lbs each, and are your typical little boys-- into everything, eating constantly, and always running.  We have been so blessed and lucky to have these little guys in our lives.  I stil sometimes marvel at the fact that there are TWO of them.  We love watching them grow and seeing their different personalities, skills, and preferences.  We love to see how sweet they are to each other, how smart and beautiful they are, and how much fun they bring!

Today, we had a party at the house for the kids' friends.  There were 17 kids in total, with Mairead being the oldest at 4 and a half.  Our youngest guests were about 6 months old.  There were 7 families and three sets of twins-- all boys!  Things actually went well for having that much chaos in an confined space.  The kids had fun playing on the slide, coloring, and chasing bubbles.  We are so happy that so many of our friends could make it!  Thanks to some special aunts and uncles, too, who braved the chaos! 

By the end of it all, Ben was spent.  He lay on the hardwood floor basically asking to be put to bed.  He does not do well with crowds, so the day was a bit overwhelming for him.  He did like the presents, though!

Ben had to take a little break from the excitement, so Jack had the role of birthday boy all to himself for a while.  He loved it! 

Audrey made a card herself and was very proud to give it to Jack.  He graciously accepted.

Ian is Ailish's little brother-- he was just a baby last time we saw him!

Liam is the sweetest- our kids all get along really well with him.  Also, he is Batman.

This is Jake and Ben- my friend, Jamie, and I have similar taste in names for twin boys!

Lily LOVES Mike!

 McCabe brought the boys two 'Cranky the Crane' toys... they were a HUGE hit.  Owen took it all in, and he was definitely hoping for a cupcake like the big kids

 Mairead was so excited to see Ailish.  When I told Mairead that Ailish had arrived, she lit up.  She ran over and the two girls shared a hug-- it is SO sweet to see them together.  I hope they are life-long friends!

Abby mixed it up with all of the big kids- with a little help from her dad.

I don't know if this is Jeff or Tommy, but it's one of them, vacuuming!

It was a hectic morning, but we hope the kids all had fun.  I missed getting a picture of Kacey and Maeve, so if anyone has to one share, please let me know!  We didn't get to chat much with the adults, but we appreciate that you all came!  Thanks SO much to everyone for their generous gifts.  The boys were pretty lucky!  Seems like their Thomas obsession is pretty well known, so the train was recurring theme for the day. 

We are celebrating again tomorrow with a smaller (and quieter!) family party.  I told the boys tonight that we are going to have another party after naps tomorrow and they asked, "who can come to our party?"  I started naming relatives and said, "Jimmy and Jessica...".  Jack ran to the window to look for them-- pretty cute!

Thank you, everyone, for a great party!

Every day is an adventure

 There really are no 'typical' days for us-- in a good way!  There is always something going on here, even in addition to the 'regularly scheduled programming' such as school, etc.  The kids are always finding new things to do and learning more every day.  There are just so many things to keep us busy!

We wear funny hats.

We pretend the couch is a boat and we have to get in.

We make 'C is for Caterpillar' crafts.

We go to playdates with some of our BFFs.

We bake cupcakes.

We make pizzas with Daddy.

It's always something!  One of the great things about living here is that family members are always stopping by.  Katie, Steve, and Lily come to visit often and it's great that the kids spend so much time together.  Just today, we saw Jen (and Bean), Brian, and Jimmy.  The kids love when our relatives stop by.

School is going really well for everyone.  Apparently, Jack has decided that it is time to be interested in letters.  When I picked them up yesterday, he yelled, 'MOM!  We learned about the letter U!"  And today he pointed out several letters on a newspaper ad.  Finally, he seems to care!  He knows the names of about 50 different Thomas trains, but 26 letters?  Not interested.  Or, not until now, anyway!  Ben actually does pretty well.  He will sit at my computer once I have opened a blank Word document, and he presses different letters, naming them as he goes. 

Mairead missed school yesterday because of a fever and then again today because we had an appointment at the Stroke Clinic at Children's.  She was awesome.  She loves going there because they have an amazing fish tank.  Her neurologist is really happy with how she is doing and says we don't need to go back for 6 months.  Mairead did have to have a blood draw, but she did really well.  A few tears when they actually stuck her, but no freaking out at all.  And, they gave her a circle band aid so she was pretty psyched about that.  She even loves the drive in and out of Boston.  She points out all of the exciting things that she sees.  She also dictates what should be on the radio.  Since the kids listen to Kiss108 on the bus, she is into popular music now.  She really likes Rhianna, Adele, 'Stronger,' by Kelly Clarkson, and 'Without You.'  So funny to see her bopping her little head around to 'grown up' songs. 

Jack does this cute new thing where he speaks for himself and for Ben.  "We are hungry.  We need some food."  Or, "We are awake!  Come get us!"  Or, more indignantly, "We're not tired.  We don't want to go to bed!"  It's cute how he is looking out for his baby brother.

Ben looks out for Jack, too.  Jack still tends to fall more than Ben, and whenever he does, Ben runs over to hug him.  It's pretty adorable.

Thanks for reading!