Continuation of Mass chaos: Part deux.

Who doesn't love a quick swing during a break from swimming?

Or napping in unique places?

Uncle Dana got a parachute for GP...so much kid-like silliness and joy.

Boat trip including Daddy and Aunt Emily (aka Elemy).

This picture says it all: "On a boat, in GP, with Ma. Life is good."

Jacob and Daddy had planned an adventure one morning to include light mountain biking/hiking. This guy put a damper on that:

Yet, Jacob was content with chasing a butterfly on the beach instead. Huh.

Mass chaos. Part 1.

Our lives have been truly chaotic for July into August- fortunately, mostly in the positive.

After returning from Houston for the July 4th weekend, we finished out Jacob's schooling and my work, then proceeded to fly to Green Pond the last full week of July ( all except Daniel).

These pictures are of a boat trip prior to the arrival of half the family (Uncle Dana, Aunt Grayson and Ma were the only ones there at this point).

Grayson so kindly allowed Jacob to assist...he thoroughly enjoyed being the boss.

Tomasito wanted in on the action, too.

Thomas loved the boat ride, the 1940's throw-back life preserver (which is ridiculously buoyant), and the snuggling.

But then, they were both exahusted by the end of the day.

On Thursday, we ventured down to Hershey, PA to meet up with my friend Ashley and hubs Ace. Success. Though the weather was dreary and the way home awful (involved both kids screaming at several points and an eventual stop at toys-r-us to play and regroup), the actual visit was fantastic!

There's a free tour and chocolate sample that we took advantage of..twice. Singing cows were involved and Jacob has his own adaptation of that music that goes something like "I'm a Chocolate Tasty treeeeeeat".

Lucky boy got a ball from Ashley and Ace...and wanted to throw it despite pictures.

That's better.


Part II to follow soon...when the rest of the family arrives in GP. Then, we'll move on to the mess of our apt here as we pack and leave for Berkeley on Monday Aug. 15th!

Part II.

Summer 2011 Part II.

Summer Movie Pt. 1

In honor of Harry Potter Seven Pt. 2 being released this weekend (Ashley and I are going on a date to the 11:45 am showing), I thought it was time for the blog-buster event of the year. This first video catalogs the months leading up to Thomas' birth. Enjoy!

Houston

Last weekend, the 4 of us got to go visit Houston and see a couple of Jacob's cousins! Our god daughter and the newest cousin (Dani) was baptized Sunday morning and we were thrilled to be there<3 Unfortunately, through a series of chaotic events, we lost our camera en route to houston (likely just misplaced it in the apartment or the grandparents house).
On the morning of July 4th, we rounded up the kiddos and aimed for a park so Tally's neighbor and photographer, Joy Lalonde, could snap a few shots. It's impossible to get 5 kids 3 and under to all look at the camera simultaneously, much less smile...but they all sure are cute!








From Left to Right, it goes: Parker, Sofia, Thomas, Dani, and Jacob. For a gauge on just how gigantic our baby is, Thomas is about 6 weeks older than Dani.








The trio...there was 1 afternoon when Parker and Jacob were running away from Sofia because she's a girl (duh, mom). Ms. Spunky was unabashed and joined the laughing, running, and mischief; love it!








Jacob godfather/Parker's father Trent loves hats; he shared the love and got the boys hats w/ their names embroidered on them and those hats quickly became priceless gems!








Oh these blue-eyed boys of ours....and the attitude<3










We had a fantastic, but quick trip. Fortunately, we know these boys (Jacob and Parker) are old enough to remember the visits and can really pick-up where they've left off the next time we meet!

Here's to hoping we find our camera or figure out the next option!

Homeward bound

Another full weekend of breathing treatments and machines beeping away here at the Children's Hospital.

While the baby smiles were hard to find on Friday and parts of Saturday, they've returned full force here on Sunday.

Friday afternoon, Daniel brought Thomas and Jacob to the ER, where I met them. Events leading to this: Jacob brought home a mild cold last week and so Thomas got it, too. After a day of nasal symptoms, it quickly moved into a respiratory issue.

Some good news is that we're likely heading home here in the next few hours (as you can see the O2 is not needed and the IV is not plugged-in) and Thomas has a sweet big brother who helps love on him.

It's hard being the older brother and not getting all the attention; but Jacob got a weekend with his Didi and Yaya...and we hear cake was involved.

The not so great news is that with 2 hospitalizations by 6 months for respiratory issues, having food allergies and eczema, plus a family history of asthma ...Thomas has earned his own asthma diagnosis. And there is nothing we can do about avoiding this sort of occurrence (hospitalizations) than wait for him to "outgrow it". So here's to avoiding germs until he's "outgrown it".

Dad's Day

Happy Father's day to all the Papa's out there. You're talking to a proud one right here. Jacob (thanks to days of study with Ma and the Preschool) can name each letter and tell you an animal that starts with nearly every letter. He has decided that he doesn't want to take naps anymore, but over and again naps tend to find him one way or another.

Both boys taking a snooze.

Thomas is growing like you wouldn't believe, then again, maybe you would. He celebrated his six month birthday this week.

Ashley and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with fancy dinner and a night at the hotel. Jacob, Thomas, and Grandma celebrated with a night at the same hotel. We had a wonderful time on our stay-cation. Although, to be honest, all four of us are looking forward to an actual vacation. It feels like summer outside, it hit 106 today, but we're still working and summer keeps passing us by. We will be glad to get to Texas, NJ, and even a trip to MN to see some of you lovely people.

Until we meet again,

D, A, J, and T.