Happy First Birthday Sean!

Yes, it's true. We blinked, and our little baby turned one year old. I know people say time flies when you have kids, but I never knew just how true that was. I could swear I just brought Sean home from the hospital a few weeks ago. But here we are, one year later, one year older, one year wiser. I thought you might enjoy pictures from the cupcake celebration we had at dinner tonight. Rex and I baked sprinkle cupcakes for Sean. I think Rex was much more excited about his cupcake than Sean was, but I think Sean made a bigger mess!

It has been quite a year. I remember the anxious feeling we had waiting for Sean to arrive. I was downright scared. Not about the birth- I had done that before- I was scared about the unknown. We knew about Sean's cleft issues from his sonogram, but no one could tell us for sure if there was anything else wrong. We didn't know what to expect. Despite the fact the sonogram had shown a clear cleft palate, he arrived with his soft palate intact which allowed him to feed, and other than his lip, he was a happy, healthy little boy. Our prayers had been answered. We've been through doctor's visits and surgeries, and through it all he has been such a trooper. He's an amazing little fellow, and he has taught us a lot. We've had our share of sleepless nights, but all in all Sean has been a wonderful addition to our family. Happy Birthday, Little Buddy- We love you!

Road Trip

So we survived our first long road trip with two kids. It was touch and go here and there, but we made it. We started out by heading to PA last Monday to spend a few days at Grandma's house. We had a nice time visiting with everyone there, and Sean had his first birthday party at Aunt Deb's house. He looked so cute in his little Elmo hat! Rex had lots of fun when we went for a ride on Uncle Paul's boat- he even got to drive the boat! (I wish I had had my camera for that one!) I think Sean's favorite part was swimming in Aunt Deb and Uncle Harry's pool. He is such a water baby! His arms and legs splash a hundred miles a minute the whole time. He loves the water. On Friday, we packed up and headed west to Indiana for my friend (and sorority sister) Beth's wedding. The boys were very good for the trip, and despite driving through the worst thunderstorm I've ever seen, we made finally it to Fishers, Indiana. Unfortunately, I had printed out the directions to the wrong hotel, so we had a nice tour of the town (and a trip to Target) before settling in at the hotel for the night. My wonderfully thoughtful husband bought me a nice big bottle of Chardonnay to share with my sorority sisters to celebrate the weekend, but as you all know, I never travel lightly, and the bottle rolled off of the overcrowded luggage cart and met an untimely death on the sidewalk below. Michael's sandals (the only pair of non-dress shoes I packed for him) were now full of wine and shards of glass, none of us had eaten dinner (cue the crankiness), Sean was crying, and the glass of wine I was looking forward to to help ease the stress-filled tightness in my shoulders was flowing down the parking lot. We went to bed early that night. The next day started out great- the weather was beautiful, both children slept late, and there was an awesome continental breakfast in the lobby. Life was good. We took the kids for a swim in the pool, and then ordered some lunch from the restaurant next door. As Michael went to pick up our lunch, he walked past the truck and realized our back tire was completely flat. Bummer. The family afternoon nap that had been scheduled (the wedding ceremony was not until 5:30) was replaced with Michael changing the flat tire, and me calling all over Fishers, Indiana to find a tire shop that was not only still open on a Saturday afternoon, but one that could see us sometime before Monday morning and had our tires in stock. Not an easy task. Apparently, our tires are considered "special order" for most places. Who knew? I finally found one place that had exactly two tires in stock, and had a slot open that afternoon. The Heavens smiled on us. Michael made it back to the hotel with just enough time to shower and dress (which means I had spent the rest of the afternoon getting myself AND the children showered, fed, dressed, etc- FUN!), and we made it to the church with time to spare. The ceremony was beautiful (and nice and short!), and Beth looked gorgeous in her gown. The reception was LOTS of fun, and I got to hang out with some sorority sisters that I hardly ever get to see. We danced all night, and I made up for the wine I had missed the night before. Rex was so excited with the Shirley Temple drink the bartender made just for him. Cranberry juice, water (Rex doesn't like soda), and two cherries on a little plastic sword. It was a good time. (Although, we had to confiscate the sword b/c he kept poking at his brother with it.) We headed back to PA on Sunday, spent the night there, and then headed back home on Monday. It was quite a whirlwind of a week, but it was fun. We enjoyed seeing everyone- we miss you all! Now if I could just make a dent in all of the laundry that's piled up...

July 4th Float

Our neighborhood participated in the Annapolis Fourth of July Parade this year. Ever since Michael bought his trailer last year, he has been obsessing about building a float. (I guess he really misses homecoming at WVU!) Well, his vision became a reality, and the "Windmill Hill Ladies Association" (as we neighborhood moms sarcastically call ourselves) strolled, or should I say rolled, down main street with the kids all in matching t-shirts on the best darn float in the parade (although President's Hill had a fire truck that was really cool). The kids wore their star sunglasses and waved their little flags- it was a blast! Michael pushed Sean in the stroller behind the float (we were a little worried about him falling off the float) and handed out candy to the spectators. Sean wouldn't wear the sunglasses, but he waved his flag just like the big kids. Rex, who stayed up way too late the night before while finishing the float, fell asleep before we even hit Church Circle! That was a big hit with all of the grandmas in the crowd. I heard a rumor that there is a prize for Best Neighborhood Entry, but I haven't heard yet who won. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Bike Parade

These photos are from the Bike Parade at Rex's school last week. Each child brought in their bike, decorated it, and paraded it down the parking lot and back through a line of paparazzi parents with cameras and camcorders. They were adorable and had so much fun! One of the staff members even decorated a stroller for Sean to participate. As you can see, he can hardly contain his excitement.

Kaleigh's New Best Friend

When we first brought Sean home almost one year ago, I think Kaleigh's first thought was "Oh no, not another one!" But now that Sean is moving and grooving all around the house, I think Kaleigh enjoys having some company down at her level. Even if he does like to play the game of "catch the tail" with her (yes, that is Kaleigh's tail in Sean's hands in the second photo).

Dutch Wonderland

Rex woke up Friday and felt much better, so we were able to make our annual neighborhood trip to Dutch Wonderland. We could not have had a better day. The weather was perfect, the kids were on their best behavior, and, as you can tell from the photos, we had a blast! Rex rode just about every ride that his height would allow him on. Even Sean was able to join in the fun and ride the carousel. (Sorry the picture is blurry, it's not easy to snap a picture while spinning in circles with horses going up and down all around you...but you can still see that he is smiling.) We even made time to play in the water park. Sean decided to take a nap at that point, so he missed that part of the fun. I would highly recommend this place to anyone with small children. It has all of the same rides as a regular amusement park, but on a smaller scale just for the little ones. (WARNING: If you decide to visit their website (www.dutchwonderland.com), turn off the volume on your computer or you will be singing the Dutch Wonderland theme song in your head for the next 3-5 days.) We had so much fun, we're already planning our next trip!

Look Ma...No Hands!

Sean has begun experimenting with letting go while standing. I was able to snap a quick picture of him the other day as he was practicing on the back door. Rex is very excited about the new flashlight Daddy bought for him at Home Depot. Sorry these posts are so late...(and so short) -Rex isn't feeling well. He just stayed on the couch all day today. Definitely not like him. I, on the other hand, was a cleaning machine. (BTW, never mop your floors when your kids are sick- they just puke on them.) We are supposed to go to Dutch Wonderland tomorrow with the neighborhood kids...we'll see how he does through the night tonight. We may have to reschedule. I'd hate for him to "dutch" all over the wonderland! HA!

Better Late than Never...

Happy belated Father's Day to all of you Daddies out there! Here is a photo of all of my boys on Father's Day. After a father/son trip to Home Depot to get lumber for our July 4th float (and to go hunting for forklifts, of course), the whole family spent the afternoon lounging at the pool. We topped the day off with a steak dinner (Daddy's favorite!) What a wonderful day!

Family Farm Weekend

So we all survived and had lots of fun at the family cleaning weekend at the farm...even with 10 adults, 7 children, and 5 dogs staying in one house...but unfortunately, I did not take a single picture all weekend! I found these two pictures from last week and decided to share them instead. Nothing else new at this end. I have finally learned (after 4 years) how to take video clips with my camera. I'm just not sure how to post them on this site. I'll work on it, and I'll try to get a video of Sean motoring along. His crawling has advanced from a wounded soldier dragging himself into a trench, to more of a three legged cat (no offense, Nicole). But it gets him where he's going, and besides, he'd rather walk (as long as there is something to hold onto)!

Water Babies

Rex and Sean jumped straight into summer last week as we made our first trip of the season to the pool, and we visited Grandma Sutton and made our first trip to the community beach at her house. Both boys LOVE the water. Should make for a fun summer. Rex had a blast playing in the sand, and Sean had fun watching. His first experience with the sand consisted of having a sweaty head and laying his head down in the sand. You can just imagine what that was like! He took it suprisingly well considering he even had sand in his ears. He was pretty much just a spectator from that point on. We also had another landmark first, but this one was indoors....Sean has learned that he can sit and stand up in his crib. He's been pulling up on everything in sight for about a few weeks now, but he just last week decided to entertain himself this way in his crib. (Until this point, when he woke up, he would simply lay there and cry until someone came to save him.) Needless to say, after a frustrating half hour and a few curse words(hopefully Rex was out of earshot), I was able to lower the crib mattress so he won't escape/fall out of his crib. I'm silly with an allen wrench. This weekend we are heading back to Virginia to "the Farm." It's family cleaning weekend, so we get to visit with Michael's aunts and cousins and their children, and do a little spring cleaning as well. It's always a fun time, and Rex is going to love running around with his cousins!