Fun with friends

Illnesses and conflicting schedules have prevented us from having a playdate with the boys' favorite girlfriends, Lily & Sarah Ellen.  Finally a couple weeks ago we managed to get together and the boys were very happy to spend some time with their good friends.

Thomas and Lily were hiding from a wasp on the porch.


Sarah Ellen thought they were silly.  She was not afraid.


We took care of the wasp and the next problem was Parker got his foot stuck in a bowl.  He could not figure out how to shake it off.


Finally he did and he was happy again.


Sarah Ellen & Parker somewhat shared a little snack together in the little house:


The little house was so much fun.




The big kids had run off upstairs.  We started to get a little worried when they were being so quiet.  Taryn sneaked upstairs to check on them.  We figured we'd find them pulling all the books off the bookshelves (as they have done before) or taking all of the clothes out of the drawers (which they have also done before).  Instead, we found them in bed.  :)  Reading books.


And playing.


So sweet.


The boys can't wait to get together with their buddies again soon.  We've all had our medical issues lately, but hopefully everyone is finally on the mend!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thomas doesn't have school this week (spring break) so we were able to go check out the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown this morning. We met up with a few friends there and had a good time. The parade was short and sweet, but filled with all the things little boys enjoy!

After waiting for about 10 minutes, Thomas was happy to see something finally coming into view (and we could definitely hear one of the pipe bands!):


(Parker, as you can see, needed to warm up to the idea of the parade, but once it got going he did cheer up!)



The boys perfected their waves so that parade riders would throw candy and goodies their way...


Thomas thought Charlie the Riverdog was pretty neat:


There were several bagpipe bands and Thomas enjoyed each one (and Parker was mesmerized)...


There were lots of cars in the parade. Thomas got really excited to see the older ones like this one:


And this one...


There were a few traditional parade floats (about which Thomas exclaimed "LOOK AT THAT MOMMY!!!!"):


There was a more modern fire engine at the end of the parade, as usual, but this one was more interesting...


After the parade, we ran an errand downtown and then headed over to our usual Tuesday play/lunch date at Lily & Sarah Ellen's house. The lunch table was pretty crowded today:

(Bailey, Abigail, Thomas, Porter, Margaret Anne and Lily)
That doesn't include the three babies and three moms! It was a fun time, as usual.

And just before it was time to go home for naptime, Taryn stole a little cuddle time with her two girls and my two boys:


All in all, it was a very happy St. Patty's Day!

Good friends, good links

Yes, I'm nearly a week late on Parker's 7-month update (though I did take the pictures last week), and yes I will do it soon. But yes, it's been a bit crazy around here lately between Thomas having another mystery virus (he's better now) and Trey traveling more than we all would like (Trey included) for business and me having other things in life like a doctor's appointment (which included much work and arrangement for childcare all to be for naught when I received a call while on my way to the office canceling my appointment), not to mention CHRISTMAS SHOPPING (which is almost completely being done online in my little bits of free time), there is just no time. So anyway, I'm sorry I'm so behind in here and I hope to get things together this week.

But I thought I would direct readers to Taryn's blog post from last week because she has some great observations and pictures of the kiddos. I just love that Thomas and Parker have such good friends in Lily & Sarah Ellen...just as I have gained in getting to know Taryn. Thomas wasn't overly cooperative that day, but the pics are cute, nonetheless. And I'm too lazy and tired to copy her photos here (I didn't have my camera that day). So check it out! And by the way, I thought it was cute that it turned out both Sarah Ellen and Parker were having a pajama day. Sometimes it's so chilly outside I wish I could stay in my own pjs all day too.

A big day for playgroup

When Thomas was about three or four months old, we started going to a weekly playgroup. It's usually more of a time for the moms (especially in the beginning when the babies didn't do much more than just roll around on a mat for the whole time), but it's been wonderful...for me and for Thomas. I've made some wonderful friendships and so has Thomas. He looks forward to his weekly play time, as do I. Here's a picture from one of our first playgroups.

Though many children and moms have come and go, a few of us have become playgroup regulars. In the picture above, That's me in the red shirt, and in front of me is Thomas who is looking at Lily (in the pink shirt). To my right is Caroline and her daughter Margaret Anne. These three children have been the most frequent visitors (playgroup is held at Lily's house).

Here's a closer picture from Halloween 2006.

There used to be another boy who came regularly (Mills), but unfortunately he had another playgroup commitment (and school) that called him away. So thankfully Porter recently joined the group as a new regular, and now Thomas isn't the only boy any more. Here are the four kids today (L to R: Thomas, Lily, Porter & Margaret Anne)


The kids always seem to enjoy each other's company...

They even tried to play along a bit when we asked them to hold hands...

We took these pictures today because today marks a milestone for our little group...it's the last time that all of these kids are the "little ones." I'm, of course, due to deliver on Friday and I'm not the only pregnant nom in our group. Lily's mom (Taryn) is due five weeks behind me (of course she's been on bedrest for a few weeks, with a little bit more to go...but that baby girl is staying put!), and Margaret Anne's mom (Caroline) is due about 12 weeks after her (in September...with her THIRD!). The order is funny because right now Margaret Anne (Caroline's little girl) is the oldest, then Lily (Taryn's), then Thomas. This time the babies are coming in the reverse order!

Here are the pregnant moms today at our last playgroup before a new little baby joins the group! (L to R: Taryn, me and Caroline)

Thank you girls for all of the great memories and fun times over the past nearly two years. I look forward to more great times as our group becomes larger (and we become smaller!).