Hunter turns 3 years old!!

Can't believe our boy is 3 years old already.  How did that happen?  He has grown into such a smart, articulate and incredibly sweet and loving little man!

On his actual birthday, August 2nd, which fell in the middle of the week, Ryan took Hunter to the Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp to watch the players.  Hunter was so excited and came home talking about the players, his new Eagles t-shirt and football, and how he dumped water over Daddy's head.  After a yummy birthday dinner we had special birthday cupcakes for dessert, followed by presents!

Hunter's birthday party took place over the weekend at Chuck E. Cheese on August 5th.  First time we had been there.  Talk about stimulation overload, but all in all it was a great success.  The kids had an absolute blast and the parents all survived!  Crazy times, but we wouldn't change it for anything!

Farm Fair

While Hunter spent an extra 2 nights at Mom-Mom's house, I took Mason to the local Harford County Farm Fair.  He enjoyed checking out all the animals...

Back at the Beach

The boys and I headed back to O.C. while Ryan was attending a business conference in Germany and Day Care was closed.  We had a great time.  Mom-mom wanted to celebrate Hunter's birthday while we were there, too, which Hunter loved.  We went to the beach at Assateague, spent time at Mom-mom's pool, enjoyed the Toddler Waterpark at Frontier Town, and of course Mom-mom gifted Hunter more Star Wars action figures than he knows what to do with as well as a Star Wars Encyclopedia.  He was in heaven - to be honest, I'm surprised we could get him to leave the action figures to go outside at all.

Mason's 1st Trip Around the Sun

I'm a little behind on posting this as I meant to post it when Mason turned 1 year old.  In all honesty, we are lucky I am able to post it at all.  Full disclosure: Once he was able to roll over, Mason made this daily picture exercise miserable for us .  He truly despises being on his back, even now at 15 months old, and you will see this as many pics are of him rolling over.   Ryan and I almost gave up several times, but we stuck with it and seeing the results, I'm so glad we did!

Mmmmm...corn!

Vacation

With Day Care closed, Ryan and I took off of work to spend the week with Hunter and Mason.  It was lovely!
The kids and I went to visit Pop-pop & JoAnn, Calvin & Becky, and Faye & Jerry before Ryan returned from his business trip.  The kids enjoyed causing chaos at the farm and Hunter especially enjoyed the tractor ride, though he really wanted to drive.  Aunt Faye had a special gift for Hunter, a Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat quilt that she handmade to match his room decor.  She was thoughtful enough to include Memaw, too, by using some of her fabric in the making of the quilt - we feel very loved!  It is truly an amazing quilt, absolutely gorgeous and Hunter just adores it.  At night when I tuck him in and pull the quilt over him, he often says proudly "Aunt Faye make this for me."

Upon Ryan's return from California, we headed to Ocean City for some much needed Mom-mom and beach time.  The kids had a blast playing in the surf and her pool, as usual.  It was very relaxing and we really enjoyed the time away.  I celebrated my 34th Birthday while there too!  Mom-mom watched the kids that afternoon while Ryan and I enjoyed some quiet beach time (and boy was it quiet without the kiddos - I think we forgot what it feels like to not jump up to run after one of them every few minutes).  We returned to a delicious Pina Colada cake made and decorated by the kids!  It was great!
We ended the week back home.  Mimi and Opa kept the kids for a sleep over one evening while we got some much needed house chores and errands done!
Overall the week was a perfect mix of productive, relaxing and fun!

Happy Father's Day!

The kids and I worked hard to take these pics as a special gift to Ryan when he returned from his business trip on Father's Day!
We love you Daddy!

Our Music Lover

Hunter not only likes to sing along with songs on the radio or iPod, but he has started singing them on his own, too.  One of his favorites is "We Will Rock You" by Queen.


Of course, Hunter will tell you his favorite band is "Uncle Scott's band, Ballyhoo".  They were playing an outdoor gig in downtown Bel Air, so we decided to take the kids.  Hunter was pretty much in awe the entire time!

Beachin' It!

First summer trip to visit Mom-mom at the beach!  Kids had a blast at Assateague Beach...we couldn't keep Hunter out of the water.  The kid has NO FEAR - which, ironically, can be terribly frightening to the rest of us!

Family Pics

We had some professional photos taken on May 6th and just got them back!  LOVE!