Strawberry "Groovy Smoothies!"

Every night in Puerto Rico...during cocktail hour for mommy and daddy...the boys would order smoothies.  They drank them out of fancy glasses with straws and would sit and talk about what we had done that day.  

Well ever since that amazing week of family bliss the boys have been talking about *groovy smoothies* (their name for any kind of smoothie) so today we decided it was time.  We pulled out the blender, yogurt, ice and strawberries and together we whipped up some YUMMY smoothies.  We even put a decorative strawberry on the rim of our glass for fancy sake!  :)

Nothing says summer like sipping fancy cold drinks in your bathing suit!  Cheers!  And happy fourth of July weekend to all!

Slip sliding away!!

We couldn't resist the old Slip 'n Slide at our recent trip to Target.  SUCH a summer thing to do!!  We set it up yesterday and the boys had a blast running from the woods and "super man" sliding down hill.  :)  Tommy is fearless...would just run and dive.  Cole would get a huge running start...then stop immediately at the foot of the slide and gently plop himself down.  The water was freezing and they were shivering, but they kept at it until dinner.  Best $5 purchase yet!!

Here are some pictures of them loving every minute.

Cole's first really GOOD slide.  He finally realized how much further he'd go if he didn't stop short.

Just relaxing and enjoying the sprinkles...

Tommy in action!

  

Grants First MEAL!!!

The doctor gave the go ahead for baby food...so today was our first tasting!  The boys and I went to the store this afternoon and decided we'd steam up some apples first.  Grant LOVED it!  He probably ate about five teaspoons full and each time I brought the spoon close his little mouth would open.  I forgot how cute that is!!  Here are some pictures of his big day...

The apple sauce is ready!!  I did 1/2 green apple and 1/2 red so it was nice and sweet.

How cute and LITTLE is he?!?

Success!!!!!!!!

Museum of Science

Mommy? Why is the sky blue?  Why do you drive a car?  Why do we live in a house, but birds live in a nest?  Why does my macaroni "smoke" when it's hot?  Why do you drink coffee?  Why [insert ANYTHING here!]

The Museum of Science in Boston is like a brain vacation for ALL mothers of children age 3 and up.  There is an explanation for everything!  And for once, the kids can learn "why" on their own.  :)  We had a great day at the museum with friends.  The boys loved the dinosaur exhibit...learning about machines...bugs...spaceships...birds and the human body.   Still more to explore...can't wait to go again!

LAVA ROCKS!!!!

It's 7:30AM on a rainy day...what are you doing?  Well WE are creating lava rocks!!  This was such a fun project to do with the boys.  Yesterday was sunny, so we found rocks in the yard and gave them bubble baths.  After letting them dry, we brought them inside to save for today's rainy day forecast.

We pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees...

Then popped them inside on a foil lined cookie sheet for 15 minutes...

Then carefully placed each on tin foil and used our crayons to "paint" them.  It is soooo cool.  The wax melts and dribbles...you can play with different techniques or blend your colors.

The rocks cool in about 10 minutes, so you have to move fast.  But we loved this activity...  Definitely one we'll be repeating soon.  Maybe with beach rocks!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

We celebrated father's day at my parents house.  It was SUCH a gorgeous day.  Beth joined us all for a morning boat ride into Boston and the boys had a blast.  Of course, super baby fell asleep in the cabin below and we all took turns sitting with him and just staring at his cuteness.  :)  Meanwhile the boys were loving every minute of the ride.  We rode past big boats...under airplanes and bridges and even used Papa's water hose to shoot at moored "pirate ships".  Just a great afternoon!

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there...and to the two great men in my life!  Dad...you were the first love of my life.  :)  Thank you for being such an incredible father, role model, "papa" and friend. And Kevin...you are the most amazing daddy.  The boys positively adore every moment spent with you.  I love watching them light up when you walk in the door...watching you wrestle and laugh with them...your constant awareness of their safety and the way you love them.  No one can hold a baby...or deal with the insanity of our lives...as easily as you!!    Love you!

Fireboats!!!

After going to our cousin's AWESOME pool...we decided we were in dire need of pool floats.  These were the best buy ever!  Got them at the local wholesale club and there were TWO boats in one package.  Perfect!!  But the biggest allure were the built in squirt guns...  Why didn't they have these things when we were kids?  The boys had a blast.  They call them their "fireboats" and are whizzing around putting out fires.  So much fun!

Hanging with our cousins...

Between myself and my three cousins we have ELEVEN BOYS.  It is crazy!!  We decided to get together for a fun little pool party at Chrisi's house and had the best day.  Her pool is paradise!!  And watching the boys together was just awesome...  Cole and Tommy are the youngest and they are STILL talking about their big cousins.  Look at these handsome boys... they look like two sets of twins, don't they?  Clearly cousins!

And mind you...I have many more cousins...with many more kiddos!!  It would be awesome to get them all together one day.  When I was growing up we were lucky enough to always have a lot of cousins around us.   I always knew who my relatives were and felt lucky to have such a big extended family.  I want the boys to have that same feeling.

I love that the boys already know all of their aunts and uncles by name...that they miss and love their Grandma and actually call our guest room "Grandma's Room" and that they know all of their first cousins.  Seeing them experience this new level of family is just awesome!!

Hoarders?

It's worth noting that the boys have this very strange hoarding thing going on lately.  They love "piles" of stuff.  The pile could contain shoes, towels, toys, yard equipment...you name it!  Here is one example.

God forbid you try to move any of these items!  They have explanations for everything.  This was their "spaceship" and they needed all these things in their ship just in case.  I could probably create a series of postings with these piles.  I'll try to take more...they are so completely random!  And if something is missing?  It's a pretty safe bet that you'll find it here.  :)

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

For the boys last day of school, I snuck special notes inside their lunch boxes, treated them both to cupcakes from the new "cupcake cafe" in town and had a little party each night to celebrate.  Mind you...this was TWO celebrations.  Tommy's last day of school was Tuesday and Cole's was Thursday.  So this was two parties...two sets of cupcakes...two VERY happy days.  :)  The boys were so cute talking about "summer ba-cation" and asked me everyday to tell them again what it meant.  As I explained it to them each day leading up to our final week...even I was getting excited!!  Days spent at the beach...swimming in the pool...BBQ's...field trips....let summer begin!!

Here are some pictures from our respective last days.  What a difference a year makes!

October 2010 

June 2011

The car ride on the way home was so funny.  Here we are...en route to cupcakes!  Not TOO happy....

And here we are the first official day of NO SCHOOL!!!  It's 6:00pm...we've spent the entire day in the pool and dad was grilling up the boys first steak for dinner.  Our "Super Boys".  I know it looks like they are always having a good time...that is because they ARE!  What could be better than life spent with your best friend?

As for the steak?  SUCCESS!!  Tommy declared it was "yummy".  These boys have been full of firsts lately with food.  Thank goodness!  We are looking forward to family dinners where we all eat TOGETHER...and the SAME food.  :)  Here is our dramatic Tommy after his first bite...

The first day of summer was a success.  Now...only 2.5 months left of activities to plan!  We can't wait!!!

4 month stats

Sooo late in posting these...but here are Grant's stats at 4 months.

Height - 27 inches long.  

He is in the 94th percentile for height which is above average.

Weight - 15.7 pounds.  

He is in the 54th percentile for weight which is average.

So basically?  We've got another tall little guy on our hands.  Not nearly as chunky as his brothers were at this age.  I think they were a full pound and a half heavier!  :)

Jumperoo!!!

Grant LOVES his toys.  It's so cute to watch him interacting with everything at this age.  He gets so excited just seeing this toy.  It's called his "jumperoo".  He starts kicking his feet before you even get him inside of it.  Feels like yesterday that the boys were taking turns using these toys.  Remember Cole with his helmut?  lol  Time flies...

Quote of the Day

Ahh Tommy.  Those wheels are always spinning.  This came at such a random moment...

"Mommy?  Remember when we had that party and left out the trash and the animals got into it?  Next time if we find the animal that did that...we should shoot them."

Grant ROLLS over!!!

Today I walked into the family room and Grant was on his belly looking at me.  "How did you do that buddy?"  I asked.  With that he rolled back over onto his back.  What a show off!  All day long he was practicing his new trick.  Here is a short video of his smooth moves.

Best buddies

Grant is FOUR months old!

It's hard to believe that this guy is already four months old!  He is SUCH a sweetheart.  I know I say that all the time, but honestly...he is the BEST baby.  He is full of smiles and love.  Just wants to be around people and watch his brothers.  

At four months old, Grant weighs in at 16lbs!! He drinks 7 oz bottles every 3 to 4 hours during the day...then goes for longer stretches at night usually waking once for a feeding around 3am.  He takes two naps a day, then goes to bed around 7pm for the night.  A dream baby!  Oh..and he has already outgrown his 3-6 month clothing.  I think we might have gotten two weeks out of that size?  :)  He's a big guy!

He loves to *sing* and is always cooing and talking.  If you sing to him...it'll throw him into giggle fits.  He loves his swing and adores all of his toys.  Just looking at his frogs and birds makes him smile.  But his favorite is definitely his brothers.  He's content to watch them all day long.  

Took this picture this morning...he and Cole were sitting on the couch with their "blankies".  This picture reminded me SO much of the boys when they were small.  I had to post it!  Here is a picture of Tommy at around the same age...no denying that resemblance!!