Mother’s Day 2014

We had a great Mother’s Day this year.  Sunday morning dawned sunny and warm, so we packed up the boys and headed to the beach. We played in the sand, dipped our toes in the (freezing cold) water and just relaxed in the sun.  As I’ve mentioned before, I always feel just a little bit closer to Brienna when I’m near the water.  So walking along the beach with Pat and our boys while taking in the sights, sounds and smell of the ocean just felt good for my soul.  It was perfect.

Beach day with my boys! ️#mothersday #love

I had hoped for a peaceful afternoon at the cemetery, but with two kids, it didn’t quite happen as I envisioned! Pete was running around trying to pick flowers off the other graves, James was crying and it was just a bit chaotic.  I was sad about it for a bit, but then I realized that it’s just part of life with kids.  I am so incredibly blessed to be a mom to Brienna, Pete and James.  My boys make me happier than I ever thought possible, even amidst the chaos.  And I like to think that Brienna was smiling down on her family and feeling the love we all have for her.  She started me on this journey of motherhood, and I’m forever grateful to her for giving me such an amazing gift.  I am constantly amazed at how much love my heart can hold for my kids.  I am one lucky mom.

PF5D2784RHappy Mother’s Day to all the great mothers we know and love! We were lucky enough to see both our moms this weekend, spending Saturday with Nana and Sunday with Bana.  It was a  great weekend 🙂

Big Cousin Pete!

Pete has a new little cousin! KK and ShayKay welcomed Hannah Aoife Kennedy to the world on January 22, 2014 .  She is such an adorable little baby and so good too!

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Pete’s met Hannah, but isn’t quite sure what to make of her just yet! I think he’s just a tad jealous that he isn’t the center of attention anymore, but he did great at our latest visit!

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We couldn’t be happier for KK and ShayKay; they are already great parents and make an adorable little family of three!  Meeting Hannah makes us even more excited to meet her cousin in a month or so 🙂

2013 in Review …

… also known as the post where I link to all the posts I had at one point started and have finally finished!

April – Pete’s birthday party

June – Pete’s first time swimming

July – 4th of July

August – Vacation!

September – Finally Fall

October – Beach DayHalloween

November – Thanksgiving

December – Baker Pete; Christmas

In looking through all the posts I had in draft status, I stumbled across one called the Ghosts of Christmas Past.  I’m not sure why I never published it three years ago, but it seems as fitting now as it was then. Brienna’s story is, quite simply, a love story. And those are always worth sharing.

One of my goals for 2014 is to post something (anything!) twice a month.  I love looking back at old posts and seeing how Pete has grown and changed.  Hopefully someday he will too!  We have a lot to be excited about this year and I know I’ll want it well documented.  Please feel free to hold me accountable and call me out on any missed months 🙂

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2013

I can’t believe Christmas has come and gone!  It has been a fun (and busy) few weeks!

We are very lucky and get to see both sides of our family at the holidays.  We spent Christmas Eve with Nana, Bumpa and Lizzie and then saw most of the Quinn clan after church at Nana Q’s condo.  Pete was spoiled rotten!!  I think he was exhausted just from opening presents and playing with all his new loot.  We have been really bad at taking pictures the past several months, but here are a few we did get!

Someone had trouble containing his excitement during lunch at Nana and Bump’s before opening presents:

Having trouble containing his excitement before opening presents!

Opening presents with Nana and Bump!
Opening presents with Nana and Bump!

20131224_204648We woke up Christmas Day excited to watch Pete discover that Santa came.  He didn’t disappoint.  It was so fun to watch him realize that the presents in the living room and under the tree were for him!  His little eyes lit up when he saw his new tool bench and he immediately got to work building and playing.  He had to be reminded that there were other presents to open. Every time he opened anything, all he wanted to do was play with it immediately.

Santa came!!
Santa came – and Bailey is exhausted from waiting up all night!

After presents and breakfast, we headed to Bana and Birdie’s for the rest of Christmas Day where Pete was again spoiled rotten – and we again failed to take many pictures, oops.

Presents with Bana!
Presents with Bana!

We had a great couple of days with our families and it’s hard to believe that another Christmas is behind us.  This time of year is always bittersweet for us and while Brienna is never far from our thoughts and hearts, rediscovering the magic of Christmas through Pete has been more amazing than we ever thought possible. As Pat said on Christmas Eve, I hope every Christmas is as awesome as this one 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving!

We didn’t take (m)any pictures on Thanksgiving, but had a great day nonetheless.  We had dinner with the Marr clan at Nana and Bumpa’s house and then dessert with the Conroy clan at Bana and Birdie’s house.  It was very fun and Pete was a tired guy when we got home.  Thank goodness for video monitors, because this is how we found him sleeping: photo (1)

It could not have been comfortable (or safe) so I quickly repositioned him and he slept just fine the rest of the night.  We are certainly thankful for our little man and hope everyone had a great day with family and friends!

Finally Fall

Fall is finally here!  It’s hands down my favorite season and we’ve been able to do some fun things with Pete.  In addition to the zoo, we went to the Red Sox game with Nana, Bumpa and Lizzie.  It was a great game (they won!) and Pete was more into it this year than last year.  He wasn’t a huge fan of all the noise but slowly warmed up to it and even did the wave with me towards the end.  We did a lot of walking around the park to explore/keep him entertained, but I’d say overall, it was a success!

red sox game instagram

The beach near our house is dog friendly from September 15 – April 15, so we’ve taken advantage of the great weather and had some great afternoons at the beach. It’s one of our favorite places and Pete is quite happy to dig in the sand and play with his shovels and buckets. He looks so grown up walking around!fall afternoon at the beach instagram

And finally, my two favorite boys watching football in their matching shirts – thanks Wisconsin Conroys!  We love football Sundays in this house and Pete loves the “Go Patriots!”

football boys instagram

Conroy Family Vacation 2013

We had a great vacation at the Finger Lakes with Bana, Birdie, KK, ShayKay, Tim, Jenny, Quinn, Reece, Lena and Brennan … and the three dogs!  We all rented a house on Seneca Lake in upstate NY and it was great to spend time together.  Pete loved getting to play with his cousins every day.  He and Lena are six months apart and two little mischievous munchkins.  They were in cahoots much of the trip 🙂

Our trip started on Sunday, and we left the house bright and early for our 6ish hour ride. The car was packed with all sorts of stuff to keep Pete entertained, and he did great.  He and B took a nap together after lunch and we arrived just in time to unload the car in a torrential downpour. I can never understand how Bailey is comfortable sleeping like this, but if she and Pete are in the car together, she always sleeps on him.  It’s so cute:

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We didn’t think Pete would sleep in a pack-n-play, so we bought a kids air mattress (with construction sheets!) and crossed our fingers that he would sleep in a bed for the first time in an unfamiliar place. Luckily he was so exhausted from all the excitement he slept just fine!  Pat or I had to stay with him for a bit, but once he fell asleep, he stayed asleep the whole night and would wait until Pat or I said hi in the morning before getting up and jumping into our bed.  He looked so grown up in his big boy bed:IMG_4653

On Monday we went to the Seneca Lake Spray Park – we had never been to one of these and it was so much fun!  The weather wasn’t great, but the kids didn’t mind a bit.  There was a playground, small beach (with no swimming during the week-weird) and then the spray park. It was a huge hit with the kids and I have no idea how they weren’t bothered by the cold water:

spray park kids

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Tuesday was winery day, but it turns out that wine tasting is incredibly difficult with 5 small children!  The first winery we went to had tastings for kids, which was so cute and kept the kids entertained for about two minutes.  We all had lunch altogether and then Bana offered to watch the four older kids so we could actually enjoy ourselves.

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not really brothers

the whole gang

birdie and the kids

On Wednesday we all went to Niagara Falls.  It was about a two hour drive to Canada, but well worth it.  We walked across the border, which was neat and then spent the day exploring and being tourists.  bana birdie canada

We rode the Maid of the Mist and it was such a cool way to see the Falls; the pictures truly don’t do them justice:2013-07-31

Niagara Falls Family Photo

We rented a pontoon boat on Thursday so we could cruise the lake (and tube!) but the weather didn’t totally cooperate. We still had fun though, so it was definitely worth it!  KK and reece tubing

Pat, Pete and I decided to go to Watkins Glen for the afternoon too. We saw signs for the The Glen so we decided to check that out first.  I have never been to anything Nascar in my life, but the raceway was actually really cool.  It was gigantic and while there weren’t any events going on, the stadium was still open for a race starting over the weekend, so we were able to explore and walk around a little bit.  Pete loves anything and everything race car related, so he thought it was pretty darn cool too. I don’t think we’ll call ourselves Nascar fans anytime soon, but I do think it would be pretty neat to see an actual race take place!DSC_1551The rest of the week was pretty lowkey.  We weren’t able to swim at the house, but there was a hot tub and a fire pit and we had fun just hanging out and being lazy. At night we made s’mores and would wait for the freight train that came by every night:

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Tim and Jenny organized a family photo that turned out surprisingly well and didn’t end up with any cameras in the water – though it was close a few times!

family photo

We crammed a lot into one week and it flew by.  It was a great trip and everyone still likes each other … in fact, we’re planning to make it a bi annual event and are already brainstorming a 2015 trip!

 

4th of July 2013

We spent a great weekend at the Cape celebrating the 4th of July.  Pete loves “the Cape Cod” and we are so fortunate that we’re able to visit there as often as we are!  Pete got a hand-me-down play gym from his cousin Jaden and he couldn’t be happier about it.  The slide just might be his favorite part:

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We went to the 4th of July parade in Orleans on Thursday.  It was roughly 1000 degrees, but we still managed to have a good time.  We found some shade for our little fair skinned lad, but it was virtually impossible to stay cool for long. Luckily, a bubble gun and some music kept the man happy as could be despite the heat!

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After exploring Chatham and checking out Chatham Light on Friday morning, we spent the afternoon at the beach.  One of the best parts about the Cape is the post beach (or anytime) outdoor shower. Pete thought so too and got such a kick out of running around the backyard naked and yelling.  He is such a boy.  And will definitely hate me for this picture someday, but I couldn’t resist:

outdoor shower

On Saturday, we hung around the house and played in the backyard.  Pete loved his little pool and the sprinkler. He was so funny running up to it and putting his belly in the cold water.  I forgot how much fun sprinklers can be!

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We went to a cookout at Pam and Steve’s on Sunday, and had a great afternoon!  It’s always fun to watch Pete and Gracie together, and Pete especially loved Uncle Steve’s boat – particularly getting to beep the horn … he’s been talking about it ever since!

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It was a fun, busy weekend but as usual, we had a great time at the Cape with Nana, Bumpa and Lizzie and already can’t wait for our next visit!

 

Pool Party!

Pete took his first dip in KK and ShayKay’s pool today! He was hesitant at first, but once he warmed up to it, he had NO fear.  It was borderline disturbing.  He would launch himself off the edge of the deck into the pool, not caring if there was anyone there to catch him (there always was).  Kris and I spent most of the afternoon anticipating his every move and catching him as he laughed and screamed and jumped right in.  It was exhausting but so much fun and I can’t wait do it again!  Though I see a life jacket in his future 🙂

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pete in the pool