the o'rourke's

post its and blocks

2012-01-27T15:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a little bit of what is going on around our house...Declan has been into decorating his door (and many others) with his art!

Conall showing off some of his post it art work:)

Declan has been super busy building with blocks, this morning he built a fire truck and Conall didn't even knock it down!

3 yrs + 7 mos and 19 mos

2012-01-17T15:47:00.001-05:00

I'm doing something a little different this month for the boy's "month older" update...a top 10 of the month for each of them:)

Declan

10. trying cottage cheese so that his little brother would try it (neither of them like it)

9. telling us he "growed" when he stands next to a wall

8. being leader and bringing in snack at school in the same week

7. wearing a "skin sticker" (a tattoo that his uncle Kienan got him for Christmas) for almost two weeks (the darn thing won't come off!)

6. eating spaghetti noodles for dinner for more than 3 nights in a row

5. telling us that he's ready to go to kindergarten

4. "flying to Egypt" with him at the museum

3. getting donuts on Sunday morning with dad

2. practicing using his scissors to cut up paper

1. swimming from one end of the pool to the other all by himself (side to side, not the whole length, but it was so awesome!)

Conall

10. reading books with him before bed

9. watching him eat pretzels at the pretzel shop, he loves them as much as Declan does

8. hanging out just the two of us when Declan is at school

7. getting ready to register Conall for Mom's Day Out for next fall

6. wearing goggles at the pool because Declan did, so, so funny

5. not leaving his crib with out his puppy and his blanket

4. trying cottage cheese for the first and probably last time

3. watching him sit on dad's lap and listen to music

2. picking up blocks every night because he knocks them all over the place

1. hearing him say "nana" (banana) for the first time

Here's some pictures from the Rhythm Discover Center downtown, it was so much fun! We all loved banging the gong, tam-tam and drums:)

OUR BOYS

2012-01-13T16:53:00.001-05:00

Here's little Conall D hanging out in one of the smallest places he could find:) Minutes after I took this picture he stacked up blocks and trucks so he could hardly get out!

Santa brought the boys playdough in their stockings and Declan has really liked playing with it. Here are some carrots he made the other day:)

Conall's new favorite spot...sitting on dad's lap with the guitar listening to and playing music!

And this is what happens at 4:15 pm when Dec wakes up at 7 am:)

a visit from la

2012-01-04T10:07:00.001-05:00

For those of you that don't know, before I was a mom (and a blogger), I was a teacher. My first 3 years of teaching were at an incredible little school, St. Mark, in Venice, CA. I have never been part of such an amazing community of teachers, students and parents. Truly a wonderful place to work and call home. I can tell you one (or more) special thing about each student I had and even ones that weren't in my class, they are all so dear to me. My first class are now 8th graders at St. Mark and will graduate this spring and be on their way to high school...sniffle, sniffle. I keep in contact with so many of them and their parents, who really took me in as more than just their kids teacher. Well, on New Year's Day I had a very special visit from one of my former students, Maddie, her little brother, Gus, and her mum, Emilie who were in Carmel visiting their aunt and cousins! Declan and Conall had so much fun showing Maddie and Gus their rooms and all of their toys:) No doubt these two amazing kids come from two loving parents, they really are wonderful. Maddie is now a 7th grader and Gus is in 4th grade. It was so lovely to visit and catch up with them. And the treats Maddie brought us were gone by the next morning!

Christmas Morning

2012-01-04T09:38:00.001-05:00

Christmas morning was so wonderful this year, watching the boys come downstairs to see if Santa came was just awesome. Declan expressed his excitement a bit more than Conall, but the both were super excited! Santa brought each of them a new bike this year and Declan's first words upon seeing them were "No way, bikes!", so sweet. Declan also got a guitar, a bee flashlight, slippers and Fruit Loops! Conall got an xylophone, a bee flashlight, a puzzle and Fruit Loops! I think the Fruit Loops were one of their favorite gifts:) Santa also brought both of them an art easel with lots of chalk, markers and crayons! They also loved the Nerf shooters and books that were in their stockings:) Now we just need to wait until spring to start riding the new bikes!

And here's dad's new coat and running pants:)

Christmas Eve

2012-01-03T13:08:00.001-05:00

Christmas Eve started off with a long, but really nice mass at St. Joan of Arc and then it was home for a feast...a roast, mashed potatoes, broccoli orecchietta pasta and oreo cookie dessert! After dinner we got started right away on baking cookies for Santa, laying out their stockings and putting out a carrot for the reindeer. They said good bye and good night to Jingle Bell until next Christmas. Although Conall sampled one of Santa's cookies, the boo's were ready for bed and to see what Santa would bring them in the morning:)

gifts for the g's

2012-01-03T13:00:00.002-05:00

This year at school Declan was able to go "shopping" at the Santa Store for his grandparents, us and Conall. We were so excited to see what he picked out for everyone and he didn't disappoint! He could hardly wait to give out his gifts, he helped everyone open them too:)

Pop pop got a little red flashlight with batteries!

Ya ya got a big green frog lawn ornament (I cried laughing so hard at this one!), it was pretty awesome!

Grandad got a green emergency rain poncho!

Gram got a little beaded bracelet!

It was so sweet to him give his gifts and to see how proud he was of each one of them. He picked out coloring crayons for Conall, a mug for hot cocoa for me and a nutcracker ornament for dad:) Best gifts ever!

3 1/2 and 1 1/12

2011-12-19T19:42:00.001-05:00

Our boo's hit a big milestone this weekend...3 1/2 and 1 1/2!! Only six more months til we are the parents of 4 and 2 years olds! Oh goodness, I don't think they could be more "boy" then they are now (I really hope I'm not jinxing myself and they do something crazy tomorrow). Declan is really loving school and making some good friends. He's learning so much and still asking so many wonderful questions. He's really into Christmas and we can't wait to see his face when he comes downstairs:) He loves finding Jingle Bell every morning and even sharing the chocolate from the advent calendar with Conall. He's started to play really well with Conall, there's still plenty of "moments", but it sure is fun to watch them together. Conall is really starting to say more words and even trying some new food (pizza and noodles). He too loves Jingle Bell and all of the Christmas lights:) Christmas morning should be so fun with him too. He's been really into throwing things down the stairs lately, stuffed animals are okay, but it's the big heavy toys that are a problem! These boo's are just so awesome right now (and always) and we love them so, so much!

christmas party

2011-12-16T12:10:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Declan had a Christmas party at school! They made crafts, decorated cookies and had pizza before Santa came to visit:) I came in to help with the party (Conall also came along) and was able to snap a few photos...here's Dec with his buddy Jack eating some pizza. They both had 3 pieces!

Conall even had some pizza, 3 bites!

Mrs. Copple reading a Christmas story to the class:)

Waiting for Santa to arrive! I think Conall thought he was in school since he was sitting with the big kids:)

Listening to Santa tell the story of the Night Before Christmas!

Santa gave all of the kids a candy cane, Conall found some courage and let Santa give him one too!

Waking up at 6 am and having a super fun Christmas party left this little guy quite sleepy!

letters to santa

2011-12-12T10:53:00.002-05:00

Saturday afternoon we took the boy's down to the circle to send their Christmas letters to Santa! Santa has his own special mailbox, no stamp required:) They worked hard on making their lists and writing a nice message to Santa. Declan asked dad what he wanted for Christmas last night and got himpaper and a pen to write it out, when BC started writing things down (5 things) Declan said "that's a lot of stuff dad dad"! He was okay with that because then he went to find an envelope for dad's list:)

Declan sliding in his letter:)

Conall getting a little help from dad:)

Here's our festive dressed guys at our neighborhood party!

Happy Holidays!

Ho, ho, noooo!!!

2011-12-05T12:20:00.001-05:00

Let's just say Conall didn't tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas!

Declan, on the other leg, was super excited to tell Santa what was on his list. And doesn't Santa look jolly?! It's just too bad I already ordered our Christmas cards:) Last night we went to the Children's Museum for Jolly Days (BC's work sponsors it so there was no waiting in line for the yule tide slide and the playscape was all ours!). The little ones sampled almost every cookie and were ready for bed when we got home:)

Wheee!

Got one!

Declan racing dad....he won!

And with mama and Conall too!

Bring it on Christmas

2011-11-27T20:35:00.001-05:00

The boo's are ready for the holidays!

And so are we! Our "Chris Chris Tree" is up and decorated.

"Jingle Bell" our elf is up and watching the boo's, ready to report back to Santa each night on their behavior:) Let's all hope it's a good report!

Let's get merry!!

Giving thanks

2011-11-27T20:29:00.001-05:00

Here we are, the O'Rourke's...Emily (5), Grandad, Gram, Kylie (8), Cohen (2 months), Kori, Emily, Caitlin (19 months), Conall (17 months), Shiloh, Seamus, Andy, Erin (3 1/2), Kienan, Declan (3) and BC...celebrating Thanksgiving! Gram had a wonderful spread for all of us to get chunky on:) It was a beautiful day and so great to spend it with everyone. The cousins had an awesome time playing together and the brothers (along with Grandad) had a late night out! Hope you all had a happy turkey day!

mama & boo date

2011-11-21T16:45:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning boo and I had a date! We went to an early screening of the new movie The Muppets! (thanks dad for getting us tickets) We snuck in M&M's and Twizzlers (Dec doesn't know that!) and had great seats:) It was a really fun movie, great music and the cameo's were awesome too. It was fun to tell Declan all of the Muppet names, his favorite was Animal because he played the drums! Definitely a great family movie, but the best part was watching Declan in the big movie seat looking up at the "big tv"!

17 months

2011-11-17T15:42:00.001-05:00

Only one more month til our little Conall Bear will be 1 and a half, please go slow! Wow, has Conall became his own little guy lately. Loves to have his puppy with him, can't get enough fruit (doesn't really care what kind as long as he can eat it), really likes to read...Go, Dog Go and Put Me in the Zoo are his current favorites. And he really is such a good little brother, if Declan needs a kleenex he goes and gets it for him:) He's finally sleeping well, no longer nursing means no more getting up in the middle of the night! I think he actually likes to sleep now! He's really close to do a somersault and likes to say "boo" (thanks to Declan always saying it). His top and bottom cuspids are poking in, thankfully! Now if we could just get him to start liking pasta! We love this little bear:)

3 years + 5 months

2011-11-16T21:12:00.001-05:00

3 years and 5 months is just one month away from 3 and a half, AAHHH!
Trucks, books, pretzels, cinnamon toast, Curious George and singing...some of Declan's favorite things! Oh and school, he's loving school:) We've been reading a lot of books about trucks and Thanksgiving and he has been singing so many songs from school lately, it's just been so much fun! He's really, really ready for it to snow (not me) and for it to be Christmastime. And he wants to get our Christmas tree so bad! He is just a little guy full of love, laughs and questions:) We love our boo and all that he is!

caught!

2011-11-09T20:48:00.000-05:00

I caught the boo's spending some bro time together the other day:) Declan was reading a book to Conall, just too sweet!

boo's in capes

2011-11-08T21:42:00.001-05:00

The boo's were sporting some dish towel capes the other day:) I love that they didn't care, they just had fun running through the house with "power"!!

Happy halloween!

2011-10-31T22:16:00.002-04:00

Happy Halloween from Fireman Declan and Train Conductor Conall! We had a boo-tiful night to trick or treat and the boo's came home with full buckets! We once again ventured down to Lockerbie Square where Dad got his annual Halloween beer:) This year the boy's cousin Erin joined us, she was a hocus-pocus witch! Erin had a full bucket too! Hope you all had a Halloween full of happiness!

Declan and Erin getting ready for some treats!

Conall got a good one!

Erin, Conall and Declan at the end of the night:)

Dad, mama and the boo's!

pumpkins!

2011-10-31T13:02:00.003-04:00

And the pumpkins are carved! The guys had a fun time designing faces, scooping out goo and cutting out their faces:) Declan picked a grumpy face and Conall has a goofy face. Neither of them really got into the goo, so dad once again was left to do the yucky part! Here's dad and Conall getting started.

Declan just having fun:)

Touching the goo!

Pretty sure your pumpkin is not a horse Conall D!

Pumpkin mouth!

Helping Conall put the "lid" on:)

Here's Grumpy and Goofy! Happy Halloween!

Field trip

2011-10-25T14:10:00.003-04:00

Declan had his first field trip today! I was able to go with him and it was so much fun:) He was excited to go not just because we were going to the pumpkin patch, but we rode with Carly and her mom and they have a car with a sliding door (a minivan)! So funny! Another little girl from his class, Aidan, rode with us too. We took a hay ride out to the pumpkins and every one got to pick out a pumpkin to take home:) Here's Declans pumpkin!

Here's Aidan and Declan with their pumpkins:)

Declan loved the combine slide!

He was even more excited that he got to go into the cab at the top!

They even had a dinosaur that ate pumpkins!

Pumpkin patch

2011-10-24T13:59:00.000-04:00

After church we drove up to Stoneycreek Farms in Noblesville to pick out the boo's pumpkins! We took a hay ride out to the patch in search of the perfect pumpkins:)

Conall walking through the patch, he liked patting the big pumpkins:)

Declan trying to pick up a huge one!

The little guys playing in the big hay stack!

Conall as a pumpkin:)

Monster Declan!

And the quiet ride home:)

It was a great time, but the fun will really be when we get to carve the pumpkins!

Joey's game

2011-10-24T11:59:00.000-04:00

Saturday afternoon we headed over to the University of Indianapolis to watch Joey Leach play football and to meet up with the Leach/Barger and Bultemeier families:) One of my best friends, Abby, was up visiting from FL and I haven't seen Jess in awhile, so it was so nice to catch up with them. Janie and Gram put together an delicious tailgate:) Here's Declan enjoying a football shaped brownie!

Thanks to Gram for the footballs:)

Here's the guys before the game!

Jess, Abby and me:) Go Greyhounds!

The little guys loved climbing on the bleachers!

Here's Joey...#18, couldn't get it to crop:( But he played great!

boo 1

2011-10-21T14:31:00.002-04:00

Declan had show and tell at school yesterday and he chose to bring in his favorite dump truck! He was super excited to bring it in and tell his friends about it:)

boo 2

2011-10-21T14:28:00.002-04:00

Little Conall was missing his big brother while he was at school, but after a few grapes he was a happy guy again!

16 months

2011-10-17T21:38:00.001-04:00

Little Conall bear you're 16 months old! Oh my goodness, you are growing up so fast! You are finally starting to sleep better (I really hope I didn't jinx it by typing that), it's been hard with your molars coming in. You still don't have a lot of variety in your diet...fruit and yogurt are your favorite, but we can normally get some waffles, gold fish and black beans in you too:) You're taking after Declan in your love for books, which we love too. Balls seem to be your go to toy, along with golf clubs and your little dump truck. You can show us where your head, hair, ears, nose, mouth, feet/toes and belly are. You are signing for more, please, thank you, cheese, ball, tweet bird, airplane, helicopter and puppy. Mama, Dada, duck, that and truck are what we hear most, you're really close to saying Declan. You give great hugs and kisses and your laugh is so awesome! We can't wait to take you trick or treating this year, hopefully your won't sleep through it like last year:) We love you boo 2!

3 years + 4 months

2011-10-16T21:06:00.000-04:00

Oh goodness Declan B, you are growing up way too fast! We are amazed at how much know and are able to do. You've known all of your letters for a long time, but are really good at finding and pointing out letters, especially ones in your name. And you can even write a couple of letters! You love to count and count everything:) You ask what almost every word starts with and we are always happy to tell you. Party Rock by LMFAO is your (I mean all of ours) favorite song! We read your new favorite big truck book everyday, sometimes 3 times:) And you are really into Halloween books and Curious George books too. Cinnamon toast is a new favorite breakfast food for you! You are super excited to go trick or treating and are going to be a fireman for the 2nd year in a row:) You're doing great in school and we love to hear about your day. You've really started to play well with Conall, which is so wonderful. You're an awesome big brother. Keep up the good work boo, we love you!

the great outdoors

2011-10-11T13:57:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we took the boys on their first camping adventure to Lake Rudolph down in southern Indiana. We got in early Saturday afternoon and I took the kids to the little carnival they were having while BC set up our campsite. The boys were excited to get back and see the tent up along with their "camping bags" inside:) The first night we had to put Declan back in his sleeping bag and moving Conall so he wasn't stuck to my side, the second night Declan got hot and we still had to move Conall around (he only woke up 2 each night!). I'm not going to lie, it was so awesome to sleep in our bed last night, but those two nights in the tent with the boys, so wonderful:)

That afternoon the campground celebrated Halloween, which meant we got to go trick or treating! Almost all of the campers decorated for Halloween and the boys loved seeing all of the spooky campsites! I'm a little shocked by how many people picked out suckers for Conall, "here's one he can have" they would say, really? Suckers? They had a blast walking around with their buckets full of treats and it was good practice for Halloween night too!

The first night we made mac n cheese and roasted hot dogs for dinner:)

This is how Declan fell asleep each night...so awesome! Conall went right to bed the first night, but we had to drive him around the second night:)

We found something new the boys will eat...pop tarts! Conall loved them!

We made pancakes for breakfast each morning:)

Most everyone left early Sunday morning, so we were able to just hang out and enjoy the awesome weather! And the dirt, oh my gosh were the boo's dirty!

We even went fishing! BC and Declan caught 3 fish! After touching the first fish Declan said it was "pokey", Conall touched it too:) It was so fun to see the guys fish together and I was able to get some awesome video too.

Here's the big one! Well, really this was the smallest of the three:)

Our boys do not like s'mores! Crazy! Declan liked to marshmallows off the stick, not roasted and Conall decided I should eat it instead!

breakfast

2011-09-27T13:08:00.000-04:00

Sunday morning the boo's and I met up with one of my best old friends, Scherrie, and my parents for breakfast at our favorite Good Morning Mama's. Scherrie was in from Chicago for the Colts game. We met our freshman year of college as little owls at Chi Omega. We were roomies, twins and best of friends:) We went to Las Vegas with my parents once, we were both under age, but thanks to some older girls we weren't while we were there! As always, it was so nice to reminisce and catch up:)

Declan stayed busy between eating blueberry pancakes by playing with stickers and sticking them on Pop pop!

Good thing he doesn't mind:) Conall was there too, but he sat with me the whole time, he wasn't in the mood for pictures!

3 to the 3

2011-09-26T12:43:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday Papa! Saturday BC turned one year older and he celebrated by running a half marathon:) We wish him a happy year filled with lots of love, laughter and hugs! We love you dad dad:)

Opening his cards and present from the boo's:)

A new atlas book! For all the places he's going to take us!

cousins

2011-09-26T12:35:00.003-04:00

While we were in Fort Wayne for the race the boo's got to spend a lot of time playing with their cousins. They all played so well together and were so tired at the end of the day. It was so much fun to watch them all together.

Caitlin driving the Jeep:)

Erin swinging!

Emily (she turns 5 tomorrow!)

Conall D!

Declan B!

The newest little O'Rourke...Cohen:)

For Emmie's birthday we found a Tangled (Rapunzel) wig for her...she loves Tangled and looked just like her all dressed up! Big sister Kylie is watching:)

Run, run, run!

2011-09-26T12:20:00.002-04:00

Saturday BC, his youngest brother Seamus, his running buddy Craig and Ciera (Craig's girlfriend) all ran the Fort 4 Fun half marathon! They all finished with great times, this was BC's third race he beat his last time by almost 2 minutes. This race was also a little competition between BC and Seamus, biggest brother against littlest (but taller) brother, with a 6 year age difference Seamus out ran BC with a time of 1:38:17, BC was right behind him at 1:40:53 :)

Conall and Declan waiting for uncle Seamus and dad to finish!

Seamus crossing the finish line...he's the one without a shirt on!

Go Papa!

The boo's with dad and uncle Seamus:)

All of us after the race!

15 months

2011-09-17T20:55:00.002-04:00

Ahh, Conall D, you little guy you! Conall is such a serious, inquisitive and wondrous little bear. He's always watching, taking in as much as he can and imitating almost everything. He's Declan's little shadow, doing everything Declan does, well almost...he can't stay at school and really, really wants to! He loves puppies, fruit and yogurt, brushing his teeth and taking baths:) He is signing for more, please, thank you, bird, helicopter, airplane, puppy, cheese and water. He's added duck and quack to his vocabulary and peanut butter sandwiches to his diet! He still won't try noodles or pasta, but there's not a fruit he won't try! He's been teething the past week and it is awful! I think 4 are trying to break through...no fun at all for him or us:) Conall has picked almost all of the green tomatoes out of the garden, he likes to put them in buckets or just carry them around. He's learned to climb up on the benches and chairs at the table, our bed and the couch...thank goodness he knows how to climb down! Conall you're an awesome little boo 2 and we love, love, love you:)

3 years + 3 months

2011-09-16T14:19:00.000-04:00

Our Declan B has had a very busy month! At our last day at the pool he went down the big slide in the big pool...it really is the big guy slide! Dad climbed up behind him, helped him sit down, gave him some last minute encouragement and down he came to me...it wasn't the smoothest of rides, but he did it and it was awesome:) He's been in preschool for two weeks now and doing so well. He really likes his new teachers and talks about new friends. This past week they learned about the letter F, so we've been talking about everything that starts with F or sounds like F! There's a lot of construction going on around downtown, which makes our car trips so much fun...he loves trucks! He's started to really understand opposites, which is cool. He counts everything and can recognize numbers so well. We've been enjoying lots of time outside in the backyard, on walks and at the park. Eating may be his favorite thing, next to Curious George and reading books before bed. He continues to make us laugh and smile everyday, our boo is one amazing little guy...we love, love, love you!

New Cousin

2011-09-10T09:14:00.001-04:00

Welcome Cohen Carrol O'Rourke! The boo's new little cousin joins big sisters Kylie, Emily, Erin and Caitlin. He was 7 lbs 13 oz and 21 inches...congrats Andy and Kori!

how do you like them apples?

2011-09-09T15:18:00.001-04:00

It really seems like fall around here weather wise, so we went ahead and picked apples! We found Tuttle's Orchard last year and had so much fun, along with so much apple crisp, apple pancakes, apple bread and everything else apple that we went back for more! An apple crisp is in the works right now...just for dad dad:) Geez, I really wish I had the Rotato, you know the one from As Seen On TV, that peeled potatoes and apples that my dad bought once! Check out our first trip from last year.

Here's the boo's ready to go pick some apples:)

C'mon little brother!

Conall found a good one!

Pick an apple, put it in the basket!

Mama and her boo's:)

Mmm, mmm good!

Taking a ride!

Who knew picking 18 pounds of apples would make these little guys so sleepy?

First day of preschool!

2011-09-06T14:20:00.000-04:00

Today was Declan's first day of preschool! He's in the 3/4's class with Mrs. Copple and Mrs. Christoff, last week we went to his open house to meet his teachers and see his classroom. He was pretty excited to go to school this morning, his classroom is right across the hall from where he was last year at Mom's Day Out ("school"), so he was really comfortable walking in. He gave Conall and me a hug and kiss before heading to get his name tag with Mrs. Copple:) He had a great big smile on his little face at pick up and told me he had animal cookies for snack, met two friends (Luke and Carly) and liked playing with the back hoe...his teacher made the comment that he seemed really interested in trucks and even found a truck book today! He's off to an awesome start and is already excited that he gets to wear his Curious George shirt on Thursday!

Here's Conall and Declan before heading off school:)

Out by the sign!

Hanging up his tote bag, it took him three different times to find the hook he wanted:)

Getting his name tag with his teachers.

I poked my camera through the crack of the door to see him playing with trucks:)

pool time

2011-09-06T13:58:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday was a high of 100 degrees and I'm thinking it might have been our last day at the pool as it was 53 degrees when we went outside this morning! Boo! Here's a little look at our guys enjoying the hot day in the cool pool:)

Dad and Dec chillin'

Declan jumping in, coming up and swimming to the ladder...thanks dad for teaching Declan to be so comfortable in the water:)

Swimming over to dad:)

Conall D watching big brother!

Dad and little Conall Bear:)

Declan finally figured out that it is fun to go down the slide, just two days earlier!

Conall has loved the slide all summer:)

what our boo's do

2011-08-26T14:54:00.000-04:00

Yes, Conall I agree...I can't stand to look at this mess either!

Declan told me to come look..."I didn't make a mess Mama, see?"... oh yes, I see!

Pretty sure that is not what our chair cushions are for:)

And this is a doozy, thank you Conall D for doing some gardening while I was making dinner!

14 months

2011-08-17T13:21:00.000-04:00

Little Conall bear you're 14 months old! My goodness you've had a big month...you now have 10 teeth, are only nursing at night, taking just one nap and are eating waffles for breakfast just like your big brother! You love to go down the slide at the pool and pour water out of it too:) You can sign for puppy, more, water and bird. You still put everything in your mouth, even the sidewalk chalk this morning! Your favorite thing to eat is strawberries, but you also like applesauce, grapes, pineapple and pudding a whole lot too! It's crazy to me, but you won't even try pasta! You are super friendly, always waving to people and flashing your sweet smile:) You have one of the best laughs, it is a full on belly laugh and we love it just like we love you!

3 years + 2 months

2011-08-16T13:08:00.001-04:00

Oh goodness Declan B, could you be anymore of 3 year old boy?! We sure don't think so! This past month has mostly been spent outside swimming at the pool, going for bike rides or just playing in the back yard. You can go underwater all by yourself now and love to jump "way huge" off the wall into the water. One of your favorite things to do is to build "boats" with our pillows (not my favorite, but it makes you happy). You love to draw and color on post it notes and stick stickers on big paper too. You are an amazing singer! You sing all of the time and we love it:) Waffles are still your morning favorite, but we think you might turn into a strawberry soon because you eat so many! And you insist on having ice in your water, drives us crazy sometimes, but you love it. Dada took you to see your first movie, Winnie the Pooh, and you thought the way big tv was awesome! You start preschool next month and you have an open house later this month, you are so excited! Your big brothering skills are coming along for the most part, we know it's hard and one day you'll get that it's pretty awesome to have a little brother. My favorite part of the day is when you give Conall a hug and kiss goodnight...it's like all the pushing and non sharing didn't even happen:) Keep being you boo, we love you!

Bye bye Towe family

2011-08-14T14:49:00.000-04:00

Last night we went to Canal Bistro to celebrate Maggie and Jim's big move to Germany (Lizzy and Catherine's parents)! Lizzy and Declan (along with Mary, Tessa and Milena) have been friends since they were about 9 months old! We are sad for them to move, but we know they'll have an awesome time living abroad...it might be one big trip for a playdate, but how much fun would that be! Here's all the big kids...Mary, Tessa, Milena, Lizzy and Declan.

After a very loud and chaotic dinner, the dads took all 9 kids for a walk and for cupcakes so we mama's could chat, sip wine and eat cake!

Here we all are for one last time...Laura, Maggie, me, Ali and Alison:)

Lizzy:)

Little sister Catherine:)

Tessa:)

Big brother Jake:)

Milena:)

Mary:)

Conall and little brother David:)

Big brother Declan:)

splash!

2011-08-03T10:01:00.001-04:00

I love the way his little legs kick, kick, kick!

This is what he calls a "way big huge jump"!

4 years down....

2011-07-28T12:41:00.000-04:00

and many, many more to go!

I think it's about as hot today as it was 4 years ago, who decided July would be a good month to have a wedding in Indiana?! That hot, hot day was filled with friends, family and love. I guess some things don't change:) Happy Anniversary Papa, love you!

happy strawberry dance

2011-07-27T09:43:00.000-04:00

Conall, like his big brother, loves strawberries! I can't open the fridge without him charging through, pointing and grunting for strawberries! And yes, he does wear shorts during the day it's just when I change him he gets up before I can put them back on:)

zukes and moes!

2011-07-23T10:14:00.000-04:00

We finally have zucchini and red tomatoes! We've had lots of peppers and have made some great salsa with them. Our corn is almost ready to eat and having fresh basil is so wonderful:) Thanks to Declan and Conall for always helping me water the garden!!

1 year +1 month

2011-07-17T12:19:00.003-04:00

Oh, Conall D! You are one funny, clingy, curious little guy:) Conall's day is much like Declan's, only it includes a nap! He loves splashing and walking around in the pool, but he goes straight for the slide first! He has no fear when it comes to the slide, he crawls right up the stairs and sits down at the top with a big grin on his face waiting for us to help him down. Conall even started going underwater, he doesn't seem to mind it at all and his face is so funny when he comes back up:) He mostly just looks at the fish in the fish tank at the library, but is starting to love pretzels as much as his big brother! He's not really allowed near the garden...he either throws the dirt out, digs in it or eats it. He's in the "I only want my mama" stage right now along with "don't put me down and do the dishes or take a shower because I'll scream the whole time" stage too...it's lovely. And hooray for tooth #7 that just popped in today:) We love you boo 2, thanks for all grins and giggles:)

3 years + 1 month

2011-07-17T12:02:00.000-04:00

Ahh, Declan B! This past month has been filled with days at the pool, reading books, watering our garden and of course eating! Declan spends most of the day in his swimmies playing at the pool. Just yesterday he started to go underwater all by himself! It was awesome to watch him get braver and more comfortable holding his breath and going under...he got a new pair of goggles today so he'll be able to see underwater now:) Most days end with an ice cream cone, he even shares with Conall! When we aren't at the pool, we head to the library to get points and prizes for the summer reading program. His favorite books this summer are Curious George, Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco, and I'm Your Bus. A soft pretzel from our favorite pretzel shop! He's been a huge help in our garden, he's only sprayed me once while watering our tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, basil, corn and strawberries:) We love you boo! Thanks for all the laughs:)

life's a zoo

2011-07-14T17:02:00.002-04:00

This morning we met up with Charlie and Ben (Meredith's two guys) and Mary and David (Laura's little ones) at the zoo! It was a beautiful morning to be outside enjoy the animals...well, not the elephants though- Declan asked not to see them because they are too stinky because they poop a lot! The three big kids had a blast running around toghether and us mama's and the little ones actually had a chance to talk:)

Here's Mary, Declan and Charlie at the zebras.

Declan heading to the giraffes:)

Declan, Charlie and Mary.

Dec and Charlie at the rhinos.

How sweet is this? Declan is sharing his pretzles with Charlie! Mary's snacking on goldfish:)

What do you guys see?

Conall at the playground...he thinks he's bigger than what he is:)

Dec, Ben and Charlie cooling off!

Conall getting wet:)

Mary, Dec and Ben...I love Dec's face in this picture!

Conall, Ben, Mary and Declan:)

h2o

2011-07-12T10:48:00.000-04:00

Hooray! Conall knows and can do the sign for water!

the fourth

2011-07-07T08:22:00.002-04:00

What a wonderful long 4th of July weekend we had! We started off at G/G Butler's on Friday night with fireworks courtesy of Dalton and a great dinner:) Saturday we went for golf cart rides, visited BC's cousins and our neighbors the Cone's. A huge storm rolled in and we lost power for about 6 hours! We thought for sure the fireworks on the lake would be canceled due the lightning, but they went off without us...there was no way we were going to be in the boat with lightning! Sunday we went out on Wawasee with my sister, uncle Bill and Jake. The boys had fun in the lake, but it was super hot! We drove up to the island on Sylvan Lake later that afternoon to see G/G O'Rourke. After a few hours of hanging out we headed to Ft. Wayne. Monday we met up with uncle Andy and the girls at a splash pad/park. The little guys had an awesome time! We watched the fireworks late that night, there's nothing like the sound of fireworks:) Tuesday we headed back home and hit up the pool! It was so great to see our families, now we just need to get back into some sort of schedule! Happy fourth!

Dalton setting off the big one!

A few of them were pretty loud:)

High fives for Dalton and Declan!

Getting ready for breakfast:)

On the boat...Dada has a good grip on Conall!

Big guy riding on the lake!

At the sandbar!

Swimming with Dada:)

"Fishing" on the island!

Conall checking out the island:)

On the floatie!

Declan wanted to be captain of the boat!

Mama and Conall:)

Erin and Declan on top of the cave!

Conall staying hydrated:)

Squirting Grandad with Emmie:)

Declan and Erin with their heads in the drums!

Declan cooling off!!

church party!

2011-06-26T21:28:00.000-04:00

So there really wasn't a party at our church, but it was the Summer Social! We just call it a church party:) The boys had so much playing games at Tiger Town and I had so much fun eating strawberry shortcake! It was a beautiful evening filled with food, games and fun:)

Declan "fishing"...he caught a pirate patch that once he put it on, he didn't take it off! He also caught 4 little lizards:)

Conall was not sure about this fishy business!

Dad and Declan mini golfing:)

Declan's strategy was to put the ball a couple of inches away from the hole and then putt it in!

And here's the pirate patch...arrgh!

He loved going in the blow up obstacle course too!

At the dunk tank! We asked him what his favorite part of the night was and he told us "getting the girl in the water"!

"i like tella"

2011-06-24T13:15:00.000-04:00

is what he told me when I asked him what he was doing! I had given him graham crackers with his nutella, but after eating them he decided he would just dip his fingers in instead! Nice buddy, thanks:)

happy dada day!

2011-06-19T18:09:00.001-04:00

Happy father's day! Thank you BC for being such an amazing dad to our boys. You are so patient and loving, always up for playing and giving face toots! I love how excited the boys get when they hear you open the door. You are such an excellent role model for them and your love never goes unnoticed. We love you!

Here's the proud papa with our two little guys:)

We woke dad up to give him his present! Don't worry he wasn't too mad:)

Boo 2 and dada:)

Declan checking out the card he picked out!

Boiler up

2011-06-19T17:41:00.000-04:00

Friday night we drove up north to ya ya and pop pop's to celebrate Dalton's graduation! The smartie pants is on to Purdue this fall...Boiler Up!! Here's all the Butler grandkids...Jake, Hannah, Declan, McKenzie, Dalton, Conall, Delaney and Kiana!

Jake gave Declan new basketball!

Conall and Aunt Tam:)

Eating more cake...this time it was ice cream cake though!

At Dalton's graduation party where we also had more cake! Congrats Bud!

More bday pics!

2011-06-19T17:31:00.000-04:00

Just a few pics from our two days of celebrating birthdays!

Here's Declan having his cake and opening his present:)

It's a new watch!

Conall not having his cake:)

He got a new puppy!

Now they both have puppies!

stats

2011-06-17T16:39:00.000-04:00

So happy to report that the boo's are super healthy!

Declan weighed in at 32 lbs and is 37.5" tall:)

Conall weighs 20 lbs 3 oz and is 29.5" tall:)

1

2011-06-17T10:25:00.000-04:00

Oh my gosh, Boo 2 you're 1 today! Wow, did your first year of being our little guy and Declan's little brother go by fast! You amazed us everyday with how quickly you developed and learned new things. You crawled way too early and were off walking by 9 months! Your 6 little teeth make the happiest of smiles:) When we ask where your belly and head are you can show us by patting them, not at the same time though! You just recently started using the sign for more, of course you use it when you want more to eat:) You are loving the pool and splashing in the water. We love how you turn and back up when you want to sit in our lap to read a book or just to plop down. You adore your big brother, sometimes too much...he doesn't always like when you grab him. You have found your voice...if you're not babbling "mama" or "dada" you're are screaming really loud with excitement, of if you're in the car you're just screaming (really, a whole year of riding in the car and you still scream?). You love to eat black beans, applesauce, yogurt, crackers and veggie sticks. Oh, and goldfish of course! It sure would be nice if you'd start sleeping through the night, but we know that will come (we hope very soon). We wish you the happiest of first birthdays and hope you have a terrific time being 1!! You are a blessing to us all, we love, love, love you Boo 2!

(Declan at 1)

I will update stats later today after their well visit:)

3

2011-06-16T12:00:00.001-04:00

Three years old! Oh my goodness Boo, we can't believe you're three! We think you are going to have an awesome time being three:) You have done so much already, we can't wait to see what lies ahead of you (and us) this year. Some of your favorite things to do right now are play outside (at the park or the backyard), go to the pool, library, pretzel shop and the museum. You love to read books and really like Curious George, Perfect Soup and The Berentsain Bears. Chicken, broccoli, pasta, waffles, eggs, cheese, turkey and strawberries are your favorite foods and you eat a ton of it! You also love ice cream! Toy Story (1,2 and 3), Mickey Mouse and Little Einstein's are your favorite shows to watch. You are a wonderful singer and like to sing songs all day long. You love letters and numbers too:) You are finally sleeping better, but you still don't go to bed until late. Your memory is amazing and you are super funny too! We are so blessed to be your mama and dada and we love, love, love you! Happy, happy birthday Boo!

Declan has his 3 year well visit tomorrow, so I'll update his stats then:)

Sherman's

2011-06-14T10:24:00.000-04:00

If you've ever been to South Haven, you've been to Sherman's! As you can tell from the earlier posts BC and Declan spent a lot of time here:) So much that we couldn't drive past it without Declan telling us to stop when he saw the blue cow on the roof!

Yes, Michigan...

2011-06-13T13:06:00.000-04:00

Ahh, we are home from our first family of four vacation to South Haven, MI. We had a wonderful four days of beach, ice cream, strawberries, swimming, eating, shopping and more ice cream! The boys were wonderful on the trip, we just wish the weather would have been:) We took so many pictures and the best way I could post them was by day, so scroll down through Saturday to see them all.

Wednesday

2011-06-13T13:05:00.003-04:00

After getting unpacked and settled in we went downtown for lunch at Captain Nemo's and then hit the beach! It ended up being the only really nice day, so we're glad we got it in:) The boys got new sand toys for their birthdays and were anxious to use them! They dug and dumped sand like crazy:) And yes, Conall ate sand, it was the first thing he did! I don't think any was actually digested, but it sure was all over his face:) Both of the boys loved the water and waves. It was an awesome afternoon at South Beach! Later that evening we had dinner at Clemetine's and hit up Sherman's Ice Cream for the first, but definitely not the last time! Declan and BC split Mackinaw Island Fudge (I think this was BC's favorite) while I put Conall down for bed. It just so happened that Sherman's was a quick 3 minute walk from where we were staying...and I think they were quite happy about that!

Thursday

2011-06-13T13:05:00.002-04:00

Thursday morning we walked around and shopped downtown South Haven, of course we ended up in a chocolate shop (there's like 3 on every block)! After our chocolate fix we walked down to see the boats up close. The Friends-Good-Will ship or the "pirate ship" as Declan called it was really cool. We looked into going out on it, but 4 years old is age minimum, so we enjoyed watching go out every night. Down at the piers we feed some ducks, Conall really liked watching them. We hit up an awesome park up on the bluff. It was a huge wooden ship/castle...the boys loved it. Then we walked down the to beach to play! I can't tell you how much fun they had:) It was so fun to watch them dig, run and splash around. Finding sticks and "sea pods" (shells) kept them quite busy! We had dinner on The Idler, which is a big boat in the marina that has been turned into a restaurant. We ended our evening with a stop at Sherman's (this turned into a nightly routine). Declan had Blue Moon and BC and I split Mackinaw Island Fudge. Conall even got in on some of it!

Picking out white chocolate covered pretzels!

On the bridge by the marina:)

Peeking at the ducks!

In front of the Friends-Good-Will ship.

At the park!

Swinging:)

The three guys on the beach!

Conall D!

Making our mark in the sand.

Trying to get a picture with mama:)

Drawing in the sand.

Climbing the dune.

Declan B!

Our beach boo's!

Dinner on the boat.

Looking at boats:)

Sitting with mama:)

Picking out Blue Moon ice cream!

Mmmm...tasty:)

Just a couple bites for Conall!

Friday

2011-06-13T13:05:00.001-04:00

Friday morning was bit chilly and drizzly so we took a short drive up to Earl's Farm to pick strawberries! Declan LOVES strawberries and we rarely eat any of the ones we buy because he scarfs them all down first, but since we picked 13 pounds we're going to enjoy them too! It was so fun looking for the big, red ones and putting them in the box...everyone we picked was the biggest! Declan was very careful to put them nicely in the box as to not squish them, Conall just squished them (he even squished one all over my the shoulder of my white sweatshirt!)! After strawberry picking we drove up to Saugatuk for lunch. Although our food wasn't great, the name of the restaurant was! As we were walking around it started to rain, so we ducked into a chocolate shop (surprise, surprise) before heading back to South Haven. That evening we hit up Su Casa for dinner...so, so good! To work off our huge, awesome dinner we walked down to the lighthouse on the south pier. The big "pirate ship" was setting sail as we walked so the boys were entertained the whole way down:) The two big guys hit up Sherman's while I put Conall to bed. They split the tour, which consisted of 6 different ice creams...Mint Chocolate Chip, Blue Moon, Butter Pecan, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Fudge Mania:)

Finding a big one!

"I think this would be nice to squish!"

"Put in the box Conall!"

Getting the little ones too!

Here's a good one!

Dada and the little guys:)

Yay for the name of this restaurant!

Dada and Declan at Su Casa!

Mama and Conall:)

The "pirate ship" at sea!

The two big guys:)

All of us at the lighthouse!

Saturday

2011-06-13T13:05:00.000-04:00

It was still a bit overcast and chilly so we drove up to Holland to visit The Dutch Village. It was pretty cheesy, but the boys had fun going down the slide and on the train. They also got to pet some little goats and bunnies:) Thank goodness for hand sanitizer! Declan even tried on some wooden shoes! We also hit up an indoor aquatic center before heading back to South Haven. Declan had a blast in the play area and in the whirl pool. Conall liked the little sprinklers:) After a nap we headed out to dinner at Su Casa again, grabbed some chocolate and walked down to the beach to watch the kite surfers and boats. The night was complete after our last stop at Sherman's for ice cream. Declan had his new favorite Mint Chocolate Chip, I had Birthday Cake (so good) and BC had Mackinaw Island Fudge again:) Those two are really going to miss Sherman's!

The bell tower

Our ridiculous family picture...BC really wanted to do this and thinks it should be our Christmas card photo for this year:)

Declan and his little wooden shoes.

The boys in the big wooden "boats"!

Declan manning the fire hose!

It was bit too cold for Conall at first:)

Nap time!

Our boys on the boardwalk at South Beach.

Family photo! Check out Declan's chocolate pretzel and Conall's veggie sticks!

Feet in the sand:)

Dada and Conall:)

Our last walk up from the beach, the "pirate ship" was heading out! Thank you South Haven for a wonderful trip!

Splish, splash birthday bash!

2011-06-05T21:30:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we celebrated Declan turning 3 and Conall's first birthday (a bit early, but a lot of fun)! So many family and friends made the hot, hot day such a blast! Thank goodness the pools were cool:) We had wonderful weather, good food and splashes galore to wish our boo's happy birthdays! Thank you so much to everyone who enjoyed the day with us!

Here's Declan and his one juice of the year:)

Pop pop cooling off Conall!

Pizza time!

Uncle Seamus, Conall, Declan and Dada

Eating fruit and pizza with Grandpa Jack and Pop pop:)

Ashley, Phil and Ciera

Blowing out the candles, Conall wasn't too interested in this, Declan has the hang of it now!

Digging in! Conall wasn't too sure about the frosting or the cupcake! Declan knows it's good stuff:)

Milena, Lizzy, Kylie, Erin and Declan all enjoying their cupcakes!

I think dada had too much birthday fun, he was asleep before the little guys!

In just less than 2 weeks we'll be mama and dada to a three year old and a one year old!

pool time!

2011-05-29T22:03:00.000-04:00

Hooray, the pool is open! What a great day for our first day at the pool, a little windy, but warm and sunny:) Declan jumped right in and started playing and splashing. He even went down the slide today...a bunch! I think Conall thought the water was a little chilly (as did I), but he definitely had a fun too! Here's dada and the guys:)

Declan playing with the faucets!

Conall taking a break for some goldfish:)

Dec, mama and Conall!

D and C

2011-05-26T15:44:00.000-04:00

Declan counting his cups:)

Conall going for a ride!

Schools out!

2011-05-18T10:28:00.001-04:00

Thank you Miss Patti and Miss Stacey!

Yesterday was Declan's last day of school (Mom's Day Out)! He had a wonderful year with Miss Patti and Miss Stacey and made some great little friends that he'll be in preschool with next year. He doesn't quite grasp the concept of "summer vacation" yet, and I have a feeling he's going to ask to go to school quite a bit this summer:) He loved helping pack his lunch and wearing his backpack in the morning, but I'm sure September will be here before we know it and he'll be off to preschool!

11 months

2011-05-17T15:30:00.000-04:00

How in the world is Conall 11 months old today?! He's sneaking up on one year way too fast! The walking machine is now sporting four teeth on top and two on the bottom along with some bumps (mostly from big brother, but a few he gets on his own)! He's just about 21 pounds of pure snorty, huggable orneriness! He can pretty much open any cupboard that has a child proof lock on it and loves to crawl behind the couch where I can't reach him and he knows he's not supposed to be...he just laughs about it! He loves, loves bananas, applesauce, crackers and bath time. We've spent some days at the park and he really likes to swing and try to eat mulch:) Sleeping is still not his best subject, but we'll get there soon, I hope! We've been reading Put me in the zoo at bedtime and he knows to get his book and sit down, hoping he loves books like Declan does. We can't wait to take him to the pool, I think he'll love it! Little Conall bear you're such a serious, but fun almost one year old...we love, love, love you boo 2!

2 years + 11 months

2011-05-16T12:01:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness, one more month til Declan is the big 3! Wow, I have a feeling this month is going to fly by and we don't want it to:) He's been pretty busy the last month, wearing big guy undies, helping build and plant our garden, moving dirt and working in the yard with dada and of course making us laugh and smile everyday. He's actually been a very big help with all of the yard/garden work...he loves to dig in the dirt, shovel it in the wheel barrow, but mostly wear his gloves:) He's super excited that we have strawberries in the garden and can't wait to eat them when they grow (I hope they don't take too long). This almost 3 year old eats ALL of the time, I'm not kidding, he'll eat 2 waffles for breakfast and tell me he's still hungry, so I give him a bowl of strawberries...20 minutes later "I still hungry Mama!", are you kidding me?! This goes on all day, even after an egg, string cheese and turkey sandwich..."I still hungry Mama!"...he's a bottomless pit! What are we going to do when Conall starts eating like this? He'll even hold up his shirt and show me that his belly is hungry! Declan has really been into an Easter book that we have renewed from the library three times and we read every night and sometimes during the day...it cracks me up how he gets hung up on certain books, especially ones about holidays:) The pool opens in a couple of weeks and we can't wait to see how he does this year. He's already talked about the slide, so maybe he'll love it this year! And it will be so nice not to have to put swim diapers on him! Let's just hope he doesn't go in the pool, too much:) Oh boo, we love you and are excited to celebrate your 3rd birthday soon!

zoo!

2011-05-13T15:02:00.000-04:00

Our play date was at the zoo today! The weather was great this morning, although I could have done with out the hundreds of kids not listening to their teachers/chaperones that were there on field trips!

Here's the little guys, David and Conall.

Declan at the shark tank, he didn't actually touch one, but liked seeing them swim by his hands:)

Here's all three little ones, Conall, Catherine and David.

Mary, Lizzy and Declan:)

Lizzy and Declan watching the penguins.

The giraffes! Declan told us last night that giraffes have long necks, in case we didn't know!

And the elephants, Declan said they were too stinky (so was the rhino)!

We also liked the baboons and porcupine, they were not too stinky!

roses

2011-05-09T08:55:00.000-04:00

And here's the beautiful roses! Notice the donut on Declan's face:) Conall liked "smelling" them!

Mama's day

2011-05-09T08:36:00.001-04:00

Thank you to my 3 wonderful guys for making yesterday so awesome! Declan woke up early and he dad went to get donuts (one of their favorite things) and brought me home beautiful pink roses that Declan had picked out himself! After church we went for brunch at Good Morning Mama"s (my new favorite place) followed by a great walk on the monon. We headed home for a change of clothes and then it was off to the park! We love watching the boys play and Declan is such a big guy now, he told us he doesn't need help on the slides:) Both boys took a little nap before dinner, ahh some quiet! Off course they didn't go to bed well, but that's okay because it was such a great day! Love you guys, thank you!

I love being your mama boo and boo 2!

Run fast Dada!

2011-05-07T11:48:00.000-04:00

This morning was the big race...the Indy Mini! It was BC's second year running, he finished with a great time (1:42:29) and we're so proud of him! Here we are waiting for him to cross the finish line. Declan loved the little clapper:)

He did it! Way to go papa!

All three guys:)

With Craig, BC's friend and running buddy:)

one busy weekend

2011-05-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

This is a big post due to the busy weekend we had, I wanted to get it all in one, so here goes! We started off Saturday morning with breakfast at Good Morning Mama's with Ya ya and Pop pop!

Then it was home to help dada mow the lawn!

That afternoon we went to the Miller's to help David celebrate his 1st birthday! Declan loved the bounce house and eating Veggie Sticks with Mary! Conall was just happy to be walking around. Happy birthday David:)

Then we left for Fort Wayne for cousin Kylie's First Holy Communion. She looked beautiful:) After mass we went back to their house for more bouncing and driving the pink jeep (BC just loved that!). Gram had found "Thing" shirts for all the grand kids, Declan is "Thing 1" and Conall is "Thing 2"! Congratulations Kylie!

Sunday evening we had a spaghetti dinner at Declan's school. I think his favorite part was the cupcake:) Again, Conall just wanted to walk around! They had art sale, so we had to buy Declan's artwork, so cute!

day at the museum

2011-04-27T17:35:00.001-04:00

Since today was another yucky spring day, we headed off to the museum. Delcan is really into the dinosaur exhibit these days. Here he is digging for bones, he actually likes to wear the goggles!

And here he is dressed as a dinosaur...roarrrr!

Little Conall in the dinosaur egg nest (the costumes were to big for him, Declan really wanted him to dress up too!).

We spent about an hour in Egypt today, Declan had so much fun making me coffee at the coffeehouse!

Weighing produce in the market:)

Stocking the shelves!

Both the guys really liked playing in the Dora and Diego room today. Here's Declan steering the ship!

This was Conall's favorite thing to do!

Looking out on the water:)

Baby Jaguar, Conall and Diego!

Watering some flowers.

Planting some flowers.

Watching the acorns go down the ramps:)

Off to explore!

Oops, this was from Egypt, sorry about your face Pharaoh!

Oh, and some guy asked how old my little girl was ( he had already asked about Conall ), I told him my son would be three in June and he goes "He has long hair.", yes, we know this and we love it!

Easter Morning

2011-04-24T14:21:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter from all of us! We hope you all have a had a happy and blessed day. After all the excitement of the Easter Bunny had faded a bit, we sat down for breakfast (egg and sausage strata, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit and orange juice) before getting ready for church. We think it was a beautiful mass, we aren't for sure because we were one of the many families that didn't get there early enough and had to stand outside in the entrance! I wish the weather was nicer so we could spend the afternoon outside, but being inside with my three handsome guys on this wonderful day isn't too bad!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T14:13:00.000-04:00

This morning when Declan came down stairs (Conall was still sleeping) we found a note from the Easter Bunny! He left clues for Declan to find his and Conall's Easter baskets:) First to the fridge where the cheese is, then to the toy box and finally to the bathtub where they were hiding! Declan's was filled with treats, goldfish, a new toothbrush and Candy Land! Conall's had treats (not for him to eat though!), goldfish, and a new book! Thank you Easter Bunny!

Here's Declan peeking in Conall's basket, while eating a chocolate bunny!

More treats!

Learning how to play Candy Land:)

Conall checking out his basket!

Treats, treats, treats!

It's a happy day!

How sweet is this?! Declan bringing Conall his Easter basket:)

egg prep

2011-04-24T13:27:00.000-04:00

It took a couple of nights, but we were able to make some pretty awesome Easter eggs! First we colored them and then we stuck lots of stickers on them:) We think the Easter Bunny liked them! Conall was sleeping during "egg time", next year he'll be in the mix:)

Found!

2011-04-23T14:47:00.000-04:00

This morning was our neighborhood egg hunt and Declan found about 15 eggs, which really means he found about 15 treats! Conall found a really nice pink one, but his treat went straight to dada:) Turned out to be a beautiful morning filled with plastic eggs, swinging, bouncing in the bounce house and even some orange juice (you'll notice it all over Declan's shirt, not much got into his mouth). After asking for more eggs, dada pointed out one up high on the fence and Declan said "I need that."! Of course you do, buddy:)

Bounce house!

Dada and Conall:)

Listening to instructions...ready, set, go!

Finding eggs!

Conall's pink egg!

Looking for more.

Mama and Conall:)

Sorting treats!

I love the way he sorted out his eggs on one side and the treats on the other side:)

Mr. EB

2011-04-22T14:41:00.000-04:00

Look who we found hopping around the kids shoe department at Nordstrom today...the Easter Bunny! Declan was excited to see him, mostly because he got to pick out a treat from his basket:) But Conall wanted nothing to do with him, nothing at all!

more steps

2011-04-19T16:43:00.000-04:00

Some more little steps from our growing little guy!

lizzy's 3!

2011-04-18T09:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we helped Lizzy celebrate her 3rd birthday! She had her birthday party at Ritchey Woods with hot dogs, smore's and nature hike to the swamp to fish for gross little things:) Declan and Conall had an awesome time and we enjoyed the smore's they didn't eat! Happy 3 years to Lizzy!

Roasting a hot dog with dad (he didn't even eat it!)

Sitting with the birthday girl:)

Going on our nature hike!

Getting ready to fish in the swamp!

Scooping up some gunk:)

Conall on the way back to the party!

Lizzy making a wish!

Eating cake:)

Hold on tight little buddy!

Making some smore's!

Conall and mama:)

Heading home with a green balloon!

10 months

2011-04-17T15:10:00.002-04:00

Ahh! Little Conall D is 10 months old today! He must have know it was coming up because within the last two weeks he has started to say "mama" and "dada" and has really taken off walking. It's so fun to hear him babbling along with his raspy laugh and snorts:) We haven't got used to him walking though, you can always hear him coming when he crawls, he's such a bulldog about it, but he's so quiet when he's walking...maybe he's just concentrating. I took him to get his feet measured the other day and being the money saver he is, he is the same size (4 wide) that Declan was when he got his first pair of shoes...they're new to him though! Conall is weighing in at 20 lbs 3.3 oz and is turning into a little piggy when it comes to crackers and yogurt:) He's sleeping a bit better at night, giving us at least one 4 or 5 hour stretch and not staying awake for an hour at 4 am! He loves bath time and gets so excited when he realizes it's time to get wet. With him being more mobile, he's also become a bit more aggressive with Declan...pulling on his shirt and hair, which you can imagine Declan does not like:) Like Declan, he's loving being outside, not so happy when we bring him though. Happy 10 months boo 2! We love you!

(Conall is on top)

2 years + 10 months

2011-04-16T14:33:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness, our boo is growing like crazy! 2 more months til he's no longer 2! I can't think of an age that hasn't been awesome, but right now he's at a really awesome age:) Last Sunday he started wearing BGU's (big guy undies) and has done so well all week. His favorites are the Mickey Mouse tractor pair and the blue and red striped pair (see below). I was a little nervous sending him to school in them, but he did awesome, didn't need the 2 other pair or extra pair of pants I packed for him! It's amazing how much longer it takes the diaper genie to fill up now:) He's been quite the singer these days...everything from "I Love Trash", "Boots", to "Where is Thumpkin". Occasionally we have to remind him to sing quieter, but we sure do love hearing him belt out "Old McDonald"! He loves being outside and any day that's nice, that's where you'll find him! Between the park, the backyard and our walks he's getting plenty of vitamin D. The kid is a bottomless pit, he seriously eats all day long. Even after eating an entire soft pretzel from the pretzel shop he tells me he's hungry! 2 waffles for breakfast starts it all in motion and it doesn't stop til he goes to bed, after a graham cracker usually:) We fly through strawberries, blueberries, eggs (hard boiled with no yolk) and string cheese! We can't get over how much he remembers and all the silly facts that sink in, can't get much past him:) His new favorite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but still loves Toot Toot, Beep Beep. He's sleeping so much better (knock on wood) which means he's even happier during the day. We're still working on sharing and being nice to Conall, "Don't push your brother" is heard quite often during the day, but there's plenty of times when he is so loving and caring with him. We love you boo!

the boo's

2011-04-15T08:50:00.000-04:00

Here's Declan with the tower he built yesterday, well really there's three towers:) We love that he's so proud of his architecture skills!

And here's Conall showing of his new top teeth (his top and side on the left), you may have to look really closely, but they're there and the other two on the right are about to pop in!

Conall D

2011-04-14T20:47:00.000-04:00

Just a couple videos of our little boo 2 walking and laughing, his two favorite things:)

Little Steps and BGU

2011-04-11T08:23:00.000-04:00

Look what's going on in our house! Conall is working so hard on his latest talent...walking! And Declan is wearing BGU's (big guy undies)! This all pretty much started yesterday, so cross your fingers our week isn't too full of bumps, bruises and puddles! Go little O'Rourke guys!!

museum:)

2011-04-10T18:05:00.000-04:00

Last Friday Aunt Amanda brought cousins Dalton, Kenzie and Delaney down to visit the museum with us! Declan had a lot of fun showing them everything he likes to do there. And it started with the trains! Here he is with Kenzie and Delaney (peeking out of the train).

Waiting for the big choo choo train to take off! This is his favorite:)

In Egypt with Dalton.

And Kenzie too!

Conall's getting tickles from Dalton.

Wonder Woman and Supergirl a.k.a Shiloh and Kenzie!

Declan just landed from outerspace with his new green friend:)

Saying goodbye to Bumble Bee with Dalton.

A quick stop at the computers with Aunt Amanda and Delaney:)

thanks aunt tam

2011-04-08T11:10:00.001-04:00

My sister, Aunt Tam, loves to send little things to Declan...normally it's a card that sings when you open it (he keeps them all and opens them a lot!), but this time it was something new!

And of course we had to open the box and take out the pieces! Since he touched them all this mac and cheese is all his:)

peek a boo 2

2011-04-06T08:59:00.000-04:00

Grandpa Jack's 80th

2011-04-04T09:02:00.000-04:00

This weekend we headed up to Ft. Wayne to celebrate Great Grandpa Jack's 80th birthday! Here's what Declan did for the first 30 minutes of the party:)

Cousins Kylie and Erin playing outside:)

Dad and the boys (Declan finally woke up)!

Erin asked me to take a picture of her running:) She's really fast!

Emmie, I think you're supposed to rub his belly with your hand!

Erin and Declan on the piano! Declan is also singing:)

Conall got in on the music fun too!

Giving Grandpa Jack his present (a shamrock that Declan painted).

Little Caitlin turned one on April 1st! She and Grandpa Jack share a birthday.

Emmie, Erin and Conall leaving fingerprints for Mimi!

Grandpa Jack and his great grandkids!

4 generations of O'Rourke guys! 9 months to 80 years! Grandad, Grandpa Jack, Dad, Declan and Conall:)

Name that tune

2011-03-28T16:37:00.000-04:00

Look (and listen) to what Dada found for Buzz Lightyear, I mean Declan!

stats

2011-03-24T12:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we had Conall's 9 month check up! He came home with one little band aid over his chubby thigh from one shot:) He weighed in at 19 lbs 9 oz and measured 28 1/2 inches tall!

Grass?

2011-03-22T17:38:00.000-04:00

Conall had his first experience in the grass last week, let's just say he kind of sorta likes it, but not really:)