Some more of August...

Lots of Friday night trips to the ice cream stand in our jammies...

Started up with a new pediatrician for the kids - healthy as horses!

Andrew got GLASSES! (Isn't he a cutie?!)

City of Alpharetta had their Touch a Truck activity. Thankfully we got there early and there were not many lines.

Nora started "going" to nursery. Lets just say its still a work in progress...

Nora tried to beat the heat by streaking. Crazy child.

Again, beating the heat!

The highlight of Andrew's drive to school - we go by 3 rather large construction sites. Andrew LOVES construction vehicles!

Andrew started playing soccer! He gets distracted easily, but really enjoys it.

Nora and her love of iPads. iPad is definitely part of her vocab. Poor little lady fell asleep while on it!

Morgan and I took Andrew to go see the movie Planes. Andrew really enjoyed it and loved all the popcorn.

I'm seriously enjoying living SO close to both of my sisters. My best friends!

First day of school!

Andrew started Pre-K this year! He loves to go to school and has an absolutely fabulous teacher and assistant teacher. He has made some good friends too. In addition to Pre-K, Andrew started going to a "Skill Builders" class once a week for a couple of hours. That class has 4 other kids with similar abilities where they receive Speech and Occupational therapy as a group. There are three teachers in there. The other children are already in grade school. I'm grateful that Andrew is able to learn from and with them. We are so grateful for all the growth Andrew has made and will continue to make!

Maine Summer 2013

Our summer wouldn't have been complete without a nice long trip to Maine. It was just what we needed to recharge our batteries. We were lucky enough to overlap our trip with Ashley's stay (Morgan's sister). The cousins had so much fun together!

We started out with a trip to the coast to go see one of Morgan's aunts. It was SUCH a beautiful day! We took advantage of having the kids together and snapped some pictures. 

After some time on the playground and lunch we went for a little stroll along the seaside. The tide was out so the kids (and grown ups!) went down to look for treasures.

Love this view!

The cousins also had some fun hot tub time.

 Nora LOVES her Auntie Ashley. (And for those of you who know what a bear Nora can be, she warmed up instantly to Ashley. Miracle!)

 After a couple of days Ashley and her kids went home, Andrew constantly asked about Marinn. He sure loves his cousins!

We spent some more time seaside...

Poor Nora! For the sake of safety she had to deal with the worst wedgie ever!

 Enjoyed playing with Mimi

Went to the Children's Museum...

Had lots of lazy mornings...

LOVED the sandbox!

Enjoying the carefree days of summer...

After visiting Morgan's Grandma we made sure to stop by Dutch Treat for some ice cream. (i love how little Nora looks between her dad and papa!)

 Explored Morgan's neighborhood....

The "Bat Cave"

Penobscot River...

The railroad!

Concerts at Webster Park...

On one of our last days we were able to get into the water with Aunt Kelly. We NEED kayaks! I love paddling!

We were also there to help celebrate Papa's birthday!!

 All in all.... WE HAD A GREAT TIME! We are always so sad to leave Orono. So many fun things to do and all the Mimi and Papa we can get!

P.S. It just hit me when I looked at the this last picture how much Andrew looks like Morgan's mom! I know he looks like Morgan, but man - I see a lot of Mimi in him!!

Happy Birthday to... Me!

On July 1st I turned the ripe old age of 28. Creeping closer to 30, yikes. My mom made me a delicious Whoopie Pie cake. My family came over and we had a nice time celebrating. We later went out to lunch at La Parrilla and had the honor of wearing the communal sombrero while they sang to me.

My train loving little boy.

I'm not sure if there is anything much more innocent than a little boy who loves trains. He can name every train from Thomas the Train and loves playing with his train table. I love hearing about all the adventures the trains go on.

I love how he loooves to wear his engineer hat - seriously, how cute is he?

Apple Juice

When I was a child my grandparents house was a magical place. It was a nice large home with lots of rooms. As kids it was a maze of hiding places and lots of things to discover. One thing that we always looked forward to was the refrigerator in my grandpa's workshop. In that fridge there was always IBC root beer and little glass bottles of Martinelli's apple juice. Nothing in the world tasted sweeter than that apple juice. Grandpa and Grandma knew how much us kids loved it and made sure to always have some when we came over.

It brought me almost to tears when Andrew and I were at my grandpas house and he pulled out a bottle for Andrew. Sadly the bottles are plastic now - but the sentiment is the same. I love seeing my grandparents interact with Andrew and see their relationship grow.

Happenings of May.

 In early May my cousin Michelle and her son Liam came out for a visit. Nora and Liam are about a month apart in age. It was fun to see them play around. It was so much fun catching up with Michelle!

A trip to the mall would not be complete (for Andrew) without a ride on the train.

 One of the many perks of living with my parents is the backyard! Lots of playing and swinging....

We went strawberry picking with my sister and her kids. Once Nora realized that you could eat the strawberries... she became a lean mean strawberry eating machine. 

Dan and Kim came for a visit from New Orleans. They brought lots of goodies from Mardi Gras. Nora LOVED the necklaces.

Lots of swimming with Aunt Lollie...

As well as a few attempts with the cousins.

The month of May was a good one. Nothing like summer time!