What's in a Name?

6.29.2008

amazing photos of my boys

The last morning of our trip I grabbed my boys and my camera and headed down to the beach. The result was a series of the most amazing pictures of Devin and Alex. Some of the pictures are just cute, and some of them really show the close, fun-loving relationship that these little guys share. Here are my favorites.



























6.24.2008

three months old

Isabel is three months old.
I know that she is still a little baby, but this feels so big to me. When Devin was three months old I went back to work, which was difficult for me. The only thing that kept me sane was knowing that our friend Kristen was taking wonderful care of him.















I am really enjoying Isabel as a little baby. I guess it's because I know that she is my last baby, but I am in no hurry for her to grow up. That being said, I love the stage that she is in right now. When she sees me or Andy or the boys she absolutely lights up. Like Alex, she smiles with her whole face, and she just gurgles and laughs; it's adorable.



I can't decide which of my babies is cutest in this picture. They all seem to have a little something sweet about them.

6.22.2008

vacation photos

We had a wonderful time on vacation. The boys went from the beach to the pool to mini-golfing and back to the beach. It was pretty much a kid's paradise. I think the adults enjoyed themselves too. After working much of Father's Day, Andy decided to leave his Blackberry at the condo when we went to the beach (woohoo!). He also played a little golf, but not as much as I would have thought. Aunt Jo read two books and I managed to watch a couple movies and go for a few runs. But we mostly hung out on the beach playing in the water with our two little fish. Izzy was such an easy-going baby. She chilled in the tent on the beach with us every day with few complaints. She's such a sweet girl.

In this picture the kids are all hanging out in Alex's bed in the morning. Devin and Alex shared a room and loved climbing into a bed together to watch TV in the morning.







Some pictures of us playing on the beach.













This picture provides a glimpse of the gear required to take care of three small kids on the beach. We have a tent for Izzy, but both boys are napping in the tent in this shot.
















Beach front dining. There's nothing finer...












6.15.2008

Happy Birthday Devin!!

Can you believe that I have a five year old now? Seriously. Five years old.

Devin loved being at the beach for his birthday and asked if we could spend his birthday at the beach every year. Wouldn't that be nice. Happy birthday Devin! And Happy Father's Day to Andy too. The last time Andy shared Father's Day with Devin's birthday was the day that Dev was born... and what a life changing day that was. Happy birthday you big five year old boy! I love you.


6.13.2008

I miss my friends!

We had a wonderful visit with Annie and Loretta. It was so great to spend time together and to catch up. I loved introducing Isabel to her 'Aunt Mo' and I really enjoyed spending time with Annie for a few days (it felt too short!). Of course we have stayed in touch via phone and email, but there is nothing like spending time together. The only thing our weekend was missing was John (and Caroline, of course). We are really looking forward to seeing them in August.
The boys talked about Loretta for days after she left, and Devin wanted to call her to make sure that she knew we are coming to in August "so she won't miss us so much." How cute is that? Even Andy commented numerous times that it was a great visit and that he misses the Tarnuzzers a lot. It is hard to be far away from such good friends.

This week was mayhem. Between getting ready for our beach vacation and having contractors working on the kitchen for days, things have been a little crazy. The kitchen looks great though. We still have some cleaning to do (since every cabinet gets nasty when counter tops are being replaced) and the dust is still settling from them cutting the island wall and the granite for the cook top, but I am quite pleased with our updates. We have some detail work to do, like re-grouting the line between the counter tops and the back splash and touch-up painting, but that will happen later. July shouldn't be too busy for us, so we will probably tackle those projects then. Aunt Jo arrives tonight (fingers crossed, since she has already been delayed) and we head to the beach tomorrow. We are all excited. The boys already have their back packs in the car and have been 'helping' Andy and I get ready since this afternoon. They can't wait. I am hopeful that there will be some R&R for us this week, although juggling three kids on the beach may not allow for that. =)

6.04.2008

Summer is here!!

The boys finished school two weeks ago and our summer season is fully underway, complete with hot the weather and with me taking on three kids for the next three months. So far we have been doing great, but I have had a lot of help. Last week Andy's family visited and the boys were thrilled to have the extra attention. Andy and I even managed a date night too! This week has been all about the pool (especially since the temperature has been in the high 80's and 90's) and getting ready for Annie and Loretta to visit (on Friday - can't wait!). Next week our kitchen work will commence. We are replacing our counter tops with granite, changing the island configuration, adding a hood and running a gas line for a new gas cook top. The following week we are going to the beach (woohoo!) and the week after that the boys go to day camp at their preschool. After that the Shaffer's (Phil, Karen & Samantha) will visit us right before the 4th of July. This will be a very busy month; it's a good busy though, with all kinds of fun things happening.
Today we are planning to take the boys to a triple-A baseball game (Pawtucket Red Sox vs. Charlotte Knights), weather permitting. The game is at 7:15, so I hope it won't be too crazy hot by then. We'll see. This morning we are headed to the gym for a Mommy yoga class (the boys will go to childcare, but this class is one of three weekly pre/post natal classes offered at our gym where the instructor makes modifications for growing bellies and babies are welcome to stay in the gym near Mom while she works out. How cool is that?). After my workout I will likely take the kids to the outdoor water park at the gym for an hour or so. They love it! It has a shallow area with some little slides and a huge spray area that both boys can use, and then there is a lap pool with two sets of water slides that Devin can use.
Isabel and I mostly hang out in the shade, but I have put her little feet in the water a couple times. Izzy is doing great and sleeping a full six hours at a time most nights. We are nowhere near having a predictable schedule yet, which makes for some difficult planning sometimes (like yesterday morning when I wanted to swim before Andy went to work. Our neighborhood pool opens at six am for adults only lap time and I planned to get my first swim in after nursing Izzy, but she slept until after seven!), but she is great.
I now have Alex in my lap while I type, Devin is standing next to me with a book ready for "story-time" and Izzy is starting to stir in her crib. My time is officially up!