Having fun in the backyard

We were all suffering from cabin fever so at the first sign of a nice day we grabbed our sweatshirts and shoes and ran outside to play. Christopher taught Shaylee and Ryan how to play catch. Ryan was very disappointed to learn that baseball doesn't include any tackling, so he put some in himself. Such a boy! Today I tried to take a picture of all the kids together but Luke was not cooperating. Oh well, I tried. :) (PS, Yes Luke's tummy really is that big!)

Happy Birthday to our little Valentine!

Very hard to believe but our little runt turned two today. We like to say that what she lacks in size, she makes up for in spunk! At just 21 lbs., Claire is a little firecracker who is also sweet (loves to give us all kisses), very creative (she comes up with a new name for herself everyday- everything from Meatball to Tink-i-belle), bright (very quick at puzzles), active (right now she is running around chasing or running from her big sister and big brother with a huge stuffed pink snake wrapped around her neck). She loves to sing, dance, tag along with her brother and sister, rub Mommy's belly, drink tea, color, read, and of course have the undivided attention of her Mom, Dad, Aunt Theresa, Grandma or Nana. She makes life interesting for all of us who love her. Happy Birthday Claire!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. No babies, no major holidays and I feel like we have nothing to share. So, let's see.
Luke was baptized on January 18, the same day as Shaylee's birthday party. I will have to put up a pictures later. He was smiling at Father Michael the whole time and was easily comforted after the shock of the water. Luke is still the most calm and happy baby I have ever seen. And he's getting pretty chubby!
Shaylee had a wonderful(and loud) birthday party. My parents, Christopher's family, Tanya, the Grondins (friends from church and now Luke's Godparents), plus a few of Shaylee's friends and their moms. With10 kids ranging in age from 6 to almost 2, it got a little rowdy. My Dad said he hadn't been at a party that loud since high school. :) I was really proud of Shaylee because she did a great job including all of her friends.
Shaylee and I had our special day together. We went to Old Navy and went shopping. We tried on clothes and laughed at the funny things that we picked out for each other. Then we went to lunch to McDonald's, her pick. Afterwards, I took her to Petsmart to see the cats. She always says that she wants a cat, but has never been around them so I thought we would see a few and of course, she fell in love with one named Princess. Princess was a beautiful white cat with light brown spots who seemed to love Shaylee as much as Shaylee loved her. It took a lot of self-control not to take her home with us. After that, Shaylee started really complaining about her ears hurting and by the time we got home, she was crying in pain. We already had an appointment scheduled for that afternoon for her checkup and found out that she had her first ear infection. To top it off, she also had to get four shots and the fun day was officially over. I hope she will look back on it and remember the fun things we were able to do and not the pain she felt.