The Sweetest Thing ...

"A blue-eyed-boy meets a brown-eyed-girl... the sweetest thing" - U2

Who knew love would be this sweet?

Congratulations Jane!

Samuel & Stephen

Here are some pictures from the last time Samuel came over for a visit. Stephen is very vocal around his cousin, he is so excited to see him! They are really cute together, you have to wonder what they are saying to each other...
















How are you doing Samuel? I am so glad you came over to play with me. Smile for my Mom, she takes LOTS of pictures!















That's my toy dog Snoopy, do you like him?















Wow! I like that trick, show me how to do that!















Samuel is so proud of himself!















My turn, my turn! I want my Snoopy back!

Mother's Day

Since my Mother's Day was so wonderful and relaxing, I managed to fall asleep early. Which turned out to be a good decision because my little one had a rough night. He is only little for such a short time, I will sleep when he is older. Which brings me to my goal for this Mother's Day post, to leave a special message for my children. As a mother, you worry about a lot, no... you worry about everything. If anything were ever to happen to me, I would want my children to know how much I love them... if it is even possible to put it into words.

For my daughter Kate, you are my sunshine. You always manage to light up the room with your smile, your laughter, your being. As you once said to me, "You always wanted a Kate Kate" and I did. I always wanted a girl (and a boy) and for some reason I always knew I would have a little girl first. I couldn't wait to teach you how to paint, dance, and play with dolls, all things I loved as a child. Your happiness is contagious. You have a sweet, kind, and genuine heart and a love for all animals. I am proud that you are my little girl.

For my son Stephen, you are my little man. As my mom would say, "I have never seen a little boy love his momma so much!" And you do, I never understood the bond between boys and their mothers until I had one of my own. I knew I was going to have a little boy the second time around. Right now, you are changing and growing everyday... you are only a baby for such a short time and it is going by too fast. I adore your smile and your platinum blond hair. Right now, I am your world and all too soon you are going to be into everything else around you. For now, I love to hold you in my arms and I am proud that you are my little boy.

I never knew that my children would be so entertaining! Each day I feel so lucky and blessed to be able to be with them. As much as you can "plan" out your day, you still never know what they are going to do and say. For example, today I am trying to head out the door to my parents house and the next thing I know Stephen has pulled himself up to a standing position for the very first time. (By the way, balancing himself on David's Playstation 3, Daddy was very proud.) Kate pulled herself to a standing position on Mother's Day 3 years ago, how ironic for Stephen to follow in his big sister's foot steps.

For my mother, one of my favorite memories of a Mother's love. When I was little, I loved to dance and I always wanted to be in The Nutcracker. So, Mom and Dad signed be up for ballet lessons at The Richmond Ballet, so I could audition. Even though I had taken dance classes for years, I was not trained in classical ballet. (In other words, I was not the best "ballerina.") But, I was going to do my best and audition. I remember auditioning and coming out overhearing mother's telling their daughters how bad they had done during their auditions. I looked at my Mom and she gave be the biggest smile and told me that I was wonderful and she was sure that I had made it. I was so happy and I never doubted that I did a wonderful job. I didn't make it, and I am sure part of it was because I was not a trained classical ballerina. However, Mom still reminds me that I was technically too tall for the parts I auditioned for. Yes there was a time that I was too tall for something. Maybe that did come into play... we will never know? But what I do know, was in that moment when I looked to my mother for reassurance, she was there. She was always there whenever I needed her. She helped me to be strong, happy, and loved, always loved.

So for those of you who are exhausted by your children, take in a big deep breath and be reminded that babies don't keep.

BABIES DON'T KEEP

Mother, oh Mother,

come shake out your cloth,

empty the dustpan,

poison the moth,

hang out the washing and butter the bread,

sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?

(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

for Children grow up,

as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs.

Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep......

--Author Unknown

Happy Mother's Day - Erin

Strawberry Picking

Today I felt like a kid. I can't tell you who had more fun, the kids or the grown-ups. All 13 of us, 4 adults and 9 kids, headed out to the Chesterfield Berry Farm to pick strawberries. As we road the hayride, we knew we were close to the strawberry fields because the air smelled of strawberries. To everyone in attendance, it was an "all you can eat" strawberry buffet. I really do believe that my niece, Madeline, wins the prize for most strawberries eaten.. in one "picking" ever! I don't think a single one made it into a basket, each one she picked, she ate. I have never tasted strawberries so sweet, it was as if they had sugar sprinkled all over them. We all ate as we picked with red juices running down our chins, and it was heaven.

Stephen even had fun. He sat on the hay next to me as I picked and filled our basket. Next thing we knew, he was trying to participate in the fun, by picking his own strawberries. He is entertained by all the other children and now wants to do what they are doing.
After our fill of strawberries, we went home to take care of all the berries. We came home with over 11 pounds of strawberries and when we laid them out on the counter, they covered the entire thing! Kate and I decided to make strawberry jam. Kate and I both scooped the tops off the berries and then Kate mashed the berries and added the sugar. (I think she thought that was the most fun!) I filled the jars and I must say, the jam turned out really yummy! Kate wants to eat it straight out of the jar, no toast required.

I think the next adventure out to the Berry Farm will be to pick blackberries, but we had so much fun, we might go pick more strawberries!

Happy Birthday Gaga!

Well, Gaga just turned 29! Ha - just kidding, but I won't be the one to tell you how old, or young she is. It doesn't matter because we all know she does not look or act her age! We all managed through the heavy rain to make it to Lulu's for brunch! It was wonderful and we had our very own kid friendly area to sit in. The kids did really well, but as you can guess the cake, ice cream and presents were their favorite. They even dressed in princess attire for the celebration! Mom even got a Garmin, so she will not get lost! I must say they are actually very cool and if you are interested in purchasing one, Circuit City sells them! Hint, hint.... please make all your electronic purchases at Circuit City!

Mom's birthday is the same day as our wedding anniversary. We celebrated the night before with a dinner out, just the two of us!

Claire just LOVES her Gaga! None of the girls have ever been possesive of a grandparent, but Claire really thinks Gaga is just for her! It is quite sweet to see her face light up at the site of her Gaga! Can you blame her?

Spring Time

Forgive me for not blogging for almost a month! Not sure where the time goes, but it goes by too fast. We have been busy outside enjoying the weather, rain or shine. In the past weeks we have celebrated Mom's birthday (she just turned 29) and our 7th wedding anniversary. Stephen's front two teeth have come in and he is not far from crawling. Sometimes he practically climbs Kate to get what she has. His current favorite toys are the phone and the TV remote. So, if Stephen calls you, I am sorry but the phone makes him happy!

Kate is just too cute. She continues to love her pre-school and I am amazed at all the things she continues to learn. When we were driving in the car through a toll booth and we passed two large orange trucks and we talked about how Uncle Kirk works with trucks. The next thing I know here is what is coming out of her mouth....

"Oh, Mommy, those are big orange trucks!
Trucks haul and deliver things!
(I can't believe she knows what "haul" and "deliver" mean!)
Trucks have boxes, boxes of gold or treasure, or leaveses (yes, leaveses) or jelly beans, or maybe bikes?"

So, Uncle Kirk, have you ever set up a truck to deliver any of those items?

Needless to say, she is so much fun to talk to and interact with. Stephen watches everything she does and pretty soon he is going to be chasing after her. I keep warning her that it is coming..... so far she has taken everything in stride.

Kate wanted to feed Stephen his sweet potatoes the other evening. I turned around and this was what he looked like after one bite...