Blueberries and Mini-Golf

What better things to do on a weekend than go blueberry picking and mini-golfing?!

Saturday we had a family blueberry picking outing.. Rob and I picked the most of course, but Caden and Cole did okay, and Cole surprised me and actually put quite a few in his pail! They both probably had more in their belly.. but hey! That's the fun of it when you are a kid right?! In the end we picked just over 10 pounds of blueberries! We made some jam, froze a bunch and ate a ton!

And Sunday we went mini-golfing with the Sevins in between thunderstorms and downpours.. well maybe not in between since we got hit with two while we were there! But they were over quickly, and thankfully we were still able to get ice cream after! An even more special treat is we got to see a beautiful rainbow! The end was across the street in the sand pits, the first time I had ever seen the end... and for anyone who says you can't see the end.. you can see it, you just can't ever reach it.. complements of Wikipedia!!

Caden loves to match Cole.. Cole picked out his t-shirt so Caden wanted to wear his.. the funniest thing I noticed was that when we bought the t-shirts Cole's hair was brown! So his picture on the shirt has brown hair... not anymore!

Cole S. assesses the situation ahead!

Cole stops to ponder the next green

Cora slept for half the round, then woke up happy as a clam!

Charlotte thought the bridge over the stream made a perfect slide!

And here it is!! The rainbow! Couldn't get a picture of the end, it disappeared to fast as the sun dried up the moisture in the air

Pearly White!

Cora got her first tooth today!! She's growing up so fast! We need a pause button. The pearly white tooth emerged on the bottom.. I think the left, but it's too hard to tell just yet!

I still have a lot of catching up to do from last weekend, but first tooth takes precedence!! No pictures of it yet, just a sharp corner we can't even see because when we put our finger near her mouth to look she sticks her tongue out and tries chew our finger! Thankfully she's taking after her brother's so far and cutting the tooth was easy for her! Let's hope it continues that way!

Prayers for Baby Stellan

Please pray for this sweet boy.. We've never met him or his family, but I've followed his family's blog since I've started this one. This brave little boy is currently fighting for his life and he needs all the help he can get!

Click the box below to follow his progress...

Nothing Solid About It!

Today Cora had rice cereal for the first time!! Boooo our baby girl is growing up! She ate every last drop of what we made her, although she started shoving her hands into her mouth near the end so who knows how much of the last bites actually reached inside her belly! rather than dripping down her arm or smeared on her face!!

This was our competition!!

First bite....

.... and she likes it!!

waiting for more...

Cora's audience!

The peanut gallery!

All done, but hey!! this spoon thing makes for some good chewing!

5 Month Kid Comparison!

Monday Cora turned 5 months old! How time is flying! This past month she discovered her toes! This is very exciting, because the boys never showed much of an interest in their feet, and I just think it's the cutest thing! She remains a happy little camper, and often will just crack herself up laughing! She adores her brothers and just loves to watch them play! Cora is also starting to be able to sit up! She still has a bit more practice before we'll call it official though, she still needs bumper guards most of the time as she bounces off our legs as she tips from side to side! We've also started putting her to bed at the same time as the boys. We were letting her snooze downstairs with us then I'd feed her right before I went to bed. The funniest part is I was feeding her later to make sure she'd sleep through the night, but she had started waking up every once in awhile. Now that we put her to bed earlier she's slept through every night again! Baffling! So now I get her up around 6 before I go to work to feed her, she falls back to sleep so I put her back in her crib.. and lately she's been sleeping from about 8pm to 9am! Now that's a good nights sleep!
So in true monthly fashion, here are all 3 kids at 5 months of age... I'm thinking eyes are Cole's but mouth and chin is for sure Caden. She's a combination kid!!

Weekend Part III: Cora's Baptism

Sunday Cora was baptised at Grace Church in Manchester by Father Knight. Unfortunately Jason, who baptised both boys, is no longer with the church. Cora was her happy little self, and actually fell asleep during the service and woke up just in time for her "dunking". Cousin Sarah was very kind to lend Cora her beautiful christening gown! She certainly looked like a princess, jewelry and all! She only wore the bonnet for a short time, so we didn't really get a picture of her in it.. this here is the best I could get after much cropping! but she looked so cute I had to include it, although you don't get the full picture.

When I handed Cora over to Father Knight he said to me "hefty isn't she?!" Sweet Cora, just because you are a big girl doesn't mean you aren't beautiful!

And here is our family picture, it pretty much sums up our kids.. Caden clinging to Rob's leg because he doesn't want to cooperate, Cole not paying attention, and Cora ready to pose for the camera!

And here is Cora with her extended family: Godmother Danielle and Godfather Aaron

And just to complete the photo ops!!! We have Cora with Poobah and Dundore...

... and with Grampy, Grammy and Babci!

Here we have Cora with Daddy and his Godmother Mary Jane...

... and Cora with her Godfather Aaron, and his Godfather Tony (a.k.a. Grampy!)

And just how adorable is Miss Cora with her pearls and heart pendant? and of course that very kissable belly!

Weekend Part II: Party!

Saturday we celebrated the eve of Cora's baptism with a pool party! The sun came out just before the party started, and it turned out to be a great day. The pool got used, the food got mostly eaten, and I think everyone had fun?!

Cora says "it's my party and I'll sleep if I want to!"

Look at the center picture in the collage below. Cora is sitting next to CJ who is 8 months old... Cora is practically as big as her!

All the kids seemed to have fun! They didn't want to get out of the pool even though their lips were blue and teeth were chattering! and the pool wasn't even that cold! 78 was the last reading we got! Finally summer has arrived!

Cole is clearly our little monkey! We couldn't get him out of the kiddie pool... unless he was en route to the swingset.. back and forth, all afternoon. He makes me laugh!

And here we capture him in the big pool, since we didn't get a chance the first time he got in. He insisted on using Devon's Spider-man ring and nothing else.. hopefully he forgets about it next time!

Weekend Part I: Friday Fun!

Among lots of cooking and cleaning to get ready for Cora's party on Saturday we had a bunch of fun out in the yard! I wanted to take some pictures of Cora in the kids adirondack chair we have, but Cole wanted to "share" with Cora... the pictures came out so cute.. and funny!! Look at Cora as if saying "hey look at me!"

We also did some swimming! The pool is finally warm enough that I don't need 2 hours to get used to the water before getting all wet! Friday marked the day when Caden started swimming around the pool (with his bubble) without grabbing on to Rob for dear life every time he came near! On Sunday he even swam the length of the pool a few times with no help! He is getting to be such a big boy! and I am so excited that he LOVES to swim! I know I was a little fish when I was younger, and growing up at the beach I am sure Rob was too!

And here is Cora just being her usual happy little self! I just can't get enough of her cuteness! Of course I am a bit biased being her Mom and all! Oh, speaking of "Mom" Cole now calls me "Moms" I feel like he's in highschool already!

Stay tuned for parts II and III !!

Happenings... and a good laugh

Sooo.. now that I'm back to work I don't take nearly as many pictures! It makes me sad! So instead I'll group some of what I do take into one post.

However, by going back to work I now have no excuse but to work out, since I have a gym membership to a gym about a mile away from my work I go at lunch. Last week Rob and I got the Wii game Active.. it is SWEET!! Rob and I did a "friend" workout, where you compete against each other and push each other to work harder, and boy are we competitive! haha! I will not be surprised if the floor of our family room caves in some day while we are doing this! Not only have we been doing the Active game, but I have also started the 'Turbulence Training' Program.. I highly recommend it, I am only on day #3, but I love it so far! (PS. I've dusted off the erg!! when I have errands to run at lunch I actually work out at home! No more excuses!) We are on week #3 of a weight loss contest at work, so far I am down 6 pounds with a goal of 17.. which would put me lighter than I was since before college.. hmmm.. we'll see! but I'm looking forward to losing the spare tire I've developed! Each kid has added some air, so I'm sure it will take some time to deflate!
So with the Wii game came a resistance band.. here is Cole showing off his moves! This scrawny little man however needs no weights, he is deceivingly strong, honestly he might be as strong as Caden!

The boys help Daddy make pancakes!

Sunday Rob had a softball game, at last he had a game during hours in which I could take the kids to watch! normally they are at bedtime or after... After about 45 minutes when the kids started throwing rocks we decided it was time to head to the playground which is right next to the ball field. The kids burned off a lot of energy while Cora fell asleep while we swung together. The playground was empty, but a boy came along and followed Caden across a balance beam type thing. Caden and I had this conversation:

Caden:"Mommy I showed that fat boy how to cross this bridge"

Me: "Caden we don't say that, it is not nice to talk about people's weight"

Caden: "I know Mommy"

Me: "Okay, Thank you"

Caden: "But Mommy..."

Me: "Yes?"

Caden: "He is fat"

Me: (silently in my head and maybe a little bit aloud) "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" dropped the subject

At the ball field I think Caden picked every "golden rod" there was... When he asked me what they were I told him weeds, he said no they are flowers, so I said maybe they were golden rods even though I don't actually think they were since they were not rod-like.. but he was quite satisfied with that answer!

After Rob's game we lit up the firepit and made some s'mores, then did some 3' long sparklers! and a fireworks fountain... a great end to the weekend!

Cole's s'more minus the marshmallow.. he didn't want to wait.

Cora's first 'mallow roast!

Mmm.. ooey gooey s'mores! Perfect!

Our Hero!

Many of you may not know we have a cat!! Since she usually runs and hides as soon as anyone new enters the house! But Ivy is our faithful kitten... well, maybe not so much a kitten anymore, she is 5 years old! Thursday night she saved us from a teeny tiny ginormous scary mouse! She must have caught the little fella in the basement and brought him up to show us... or just play with him. He was squeaking away as she would bat at him, then he'd run and she'd follow swatting away.. Ivy was having a grand old time! Now where was she when we had our other mouse incident when we were trying to point out Mr. Whiskers and she was completely oblivious! This little guy was more gray in color, so clearly not the same mouse as last January which was a golden brown.. and hopefully he is not the result of babies!! We have many traps down in the basement which have all gone untripped, and we have not noticed any signs (nests, droppings, etc.) of any furry friends.. so hopefully there are no others! In the end Rob trapped him under a Tupperware and slid some cardboard underneath then sent him for a ride into the night. He must've been stunned from Ivy's "love taps" because there was no way we could've caught the mouse last January... we tried endlessly he was fast!

Tonight she has resorted to chasing a moth... I'll take that over a mouse anyday although she has a tendancy of at least coming close to tipping over lamps when she chases bugs! She goes nuts! We all go to bed feeling very safe with Ivy standing gaurd by our feet! hehe!

Charming Animals

Monday we went to Charmingfare Farm to take a looksie at the animals! My work was offering discount season passes, so we took advantage of that, so now we only have to go one more time before it pays for itself. Sweet! Unfortunately Monday is the only day the rides (hay ride, tractor ride, horse rides) aren't running... so we'll go back another day soon, although I do feel bad for some of the animals because there is only one of them.. like the camel, and the wolf. Don't wolves run in packs? poor guy must miss the rest of his gang! Everyone else had at least one other companion, but I still think it must get pretty lonely for them.

I think the kids favorite was the raccoons! One of them stood up on it's hind legs, so when it got down Caden told him to "stand up Raccoon!" After that, Cole kept saying it over and over and.... well you get my point! Then one of the crazy 'coons stood on a log and pulled himself onto the ceiling of the cage and walked around on the ceiling, the kids thought that was pretty spectacular!

And then there were the goats!! They are crazy animals! and when you have a bag of grain in their hand they could not get any closer to you! They actually kept sneaking out of their enclosure! There are two gates you have to go through to get into it, but somehow they were able to sneak into the chute you have to go through and when anyone would enter they'd escape! Rob and the kids ended up hopping over the fence to get out in order not to let any escape.. I barely made it through the normal way with Cora.

Here they are all lined up begging for food!

Cole steps right up to feed them!

and pat them!

Here the boys are getting "attacked" by hungry goats, and Rob is at their side trying to throw grain the other way to get them away!