Aunt Hairy's here!!!

(that's how gabe says hilary) :)

Awesome Aunt Hil came to visit last weekend and we had a blast! She surprised the boys with a new pirate swimming pool, complete with slide and water cannon! I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but I was enjoying myself too much to think about it. I did capture a nerf gun fight and Hil swinging with baby Luke. It was such a pleasure to have Hil around. She's a sweet, generous, fun, inspiring spirit. Born sisters, I'd choose her as my friend.

precious moments

Buzzcuts for summer!!!

What started out as Mommy just being too cheap to go to the hairdresser, turned into adorable buzzcuts for the boys!!! I love how it turned out. I just shaved away and it ended up showing off just how beautiful their faces are... not that I'm bragging or anything. Well, actually, that is the whole purpose of this blog, to brag!!! They're just adorable, aren't they?! Oh, and by the way, it looked like we killed a small animal on the bathroom floor. Seriously.

Our date-night in

Justin cooked an amazing dinner last Saturday. The big boys played at Nana's while we had some quiet time at home. We feasted on a new culinary creation of Justin's: mushroom ravioli topped with pan-seared scallops, lump crabmeat and asparagus in a creamy white wine sauce. It was TO DIE FOR!!! AND he made it without a recipe! He's an amazing cook! Nana brought the boys home around 9:00 and they were wired!!! Below you can see crazy Gabe running around with underwear on his head. Thank God it was clean!

a trip to the children's museum

my little Monet's

Isaiah and Aunt Mae Mae building something

Luke says "hi!"

Aunt Mae Mae and Luke saying "hi!" again

Isaac, Isaiah and Gabe on a train car

Gabe jammin'

as if I needed another reason to love him...

Gabe's shiner

During a very fun day playing with the cousins, Gabe managed to trip and fall into our very low windowsill. Thankfully no permanent damage done!

Gabe loves being a big brother

"hey everybody!"

"fading..."

"gone"

remebering, missing, hurting, wishing...

It's been a year, today. 365 days. Some days were numb, some were angry, some cried, some were able to find joy, but all were longing for something I couldn't have. I feel so robbed... of my Dad, my boys Grandpa, the patriarch of the family, gone, stolen so cruelly. I still feel him. It tends to happen at the most random times. But knowing that I can't hug him, talk with him, or hand into his arms my boy named after him, will grieve me until my last day. Remembering, missing, hurting, wishing... one day at a time... until I join him <3

my Mom in high school!

How cute is she?! I am so proud to be a combination of my Mom and my Dad. I'm honored to resemble them. I love you Mom. I miss you Dad.

i caught a smile!

this and that...

he's getting big! 2 months this week!

Here's Isaiah in his new dirtbike outfit. He'll start racing soon at the track. Now he's ready!

Meet Peanut. So pretty.

And this is Isaiah's favorite, Taz. She looks just like Tiger did.

I wanted to share something Gabe said today. He was eating his cereal at the counter and heard the TV on in the background. The commercial came on for Monsters vs. Aliens. The one character said "pain in my zaxog!". Gabe repeated what he said and then said "that's a bad word". They catch on to more than we think. In so many shows and movies, they insert what we think is adult humor, over their heads, when in fact they are picking up on it and learning from it. I've been uneasy about some of the things that are coming out of my boys mouths, knowing that they are getting it from TV. I know boys will be boys, but I also want them to be gentlemen. Any advice on how to do this is welcome! I feel so lost in this whole parenting thing! Such a huge reponsibility!

second chances

As you know, Fluff had a sister who we lost through a tragic accident. Her name was Tiger. She was my favorite. Well, Fluff had five kittens, one was stillborn. Of the four we have, one looks JUST LIKE TIGER! We don't know if he has blue eyes yet, because the kitties won't open their eyes for another week. Here is a picture of Isaiah holding "Tigger", Tiger's "nephew" (heehee). Although a little unexpected, these kitties have been a neat experience.

"I MISS YOU" photoshoot

Wish Grandma & Aunt Hilly were still here...