Happy Birthday To You

Today was my grandmother's 85th birthday! What better reason for a party?



We even got to visit with some out of town family, including Auntie Cheryl who is visiting all the way from Holland.



And everyone was treated to an impromptu recorder concert by our very own Pied Piper!

Picture This

A few out takes from yesterday...

Say Cheese

We went to get pictures taken today, and even though Isabel was with us it was still complete chaos. It took over 2 hours to get the pictures taken and "instantly" printed. Ugh! And I thought taking just Patrick for pictures was hard, it was way more difficult trying to get both of them to look in the same direction and smile. I was still suckered into buying too many pictures, they are cute kids afterall :)

I'm A Big Girl Now

Molly had her 2 month visit with the pediatrician today. She weighed in at a whopping 12 pounds, 11 ounces. That puts her at the 95th percentile for weight (and she was 95th for height too). At 2 months Patrick was 10 pounds, 2 ounces, so Molly is about 25 percent bigger. Her head measurement was only in the 75th percentile, so Patrick is kicking her butt on that front (the lowest he has even been was 95th). Poor Molly had to have 4 shots, she screamed harder than I've ever heard her scream, it broke my heart. She recovered within a few minutes and seems no worse for the wear. She's a healthy girl!

Blue Eyes

Molly turned 2 months old yesterday! To commemorate her "monthday" I spent some time noodling around with the camera today. Her eyes seem to have lightened up a little, I am pretty sure they are going to stay blue, lucky girl!

Roller Coaster Ride

We're putting those Great America season passes to good use! Today we met up with Skye and Jo Ann (and their mommies!) for a few hours at the park and we even ventured into the water park inside. My cousin Isabel just turned 12 and is helping me out one day a week this summer as a mother's helper. It's great top be able to take Patrick and Molly out and have an extra set of hands. Patrick just adores Isabel and had a great time playing with her today. Molly was an absolute angel and slept through most of the outing.

Hello, Mr. Toilet

I'm not generally a superstitious person but there are some things I avoid. I hold my breath when I drive past a cemetery, I wont open an umbrella indoors, I throw a bit of salt over my shoulder if I spill it, and I don't talk about things sometimes for fear of jinxing myself. Potty training had fallen into that last category. Over the last 18 months or so we've tried all sorts of different things and Patrick really wanted nothing to do with it. He was perfectly content to wear diapers, even as his friends were starting to train. Just when I was starting to think I might have to send him off to kindergarten in diapers something finally clicked for him. He's now been wearing "big boy underwear" for over a week with no accidents. He even spent a morning at school and am afternoon with his grandma with no accidents. I AM THRILLED! And I hope that writing about this does not jinx anything! Now if we could just improve his aim....

Go Daddy-O

Happy Father's Day! Tom spent the last week hemming and hawing over what he wanted to do on his big day. He decided we'd go get season passes to Great America and spend the afternoon at the park. We were in good company as it seemed every other father in the Santa Clara Valley was also there. Patrick was super hyper and spazzy, Molly was cranky and crying, and it was really hot and crowded. It's little outings like this that make you appreciate the fact that your parents ever took you anywhere when you were a kid. I guess you hope that your kids grow up, have their own families and learn to appreciate their parents on a different level. It was a very long afternoon, but Patrick had a blast and can't wait to go back, and it was totally worth it.



Patrick and Molly got Tom a cute little Flip Video camera, so hopefully I should have some better quality videos in the future. For dinner Tom had a special request, grilled hamburgers. And for dessert I made a yummy mascarpone berry tart.



So Happy Father's Day to a wonderful Daddy and husband. We're very lucky to have you in our lives and I hope you feel loved and appreciated every day of the year!

Sing Along With Me

A few weeks ago my mom played an album (yes, an actual album!) for Patrick, one that she used to play for me when I was little. It was The Limeliters Through Children's Eyes, I didn't remember much about it when I looked at the album cover but as soon as the music started I remembered the words to every song (a useless talent, my brother has it too). Since Patrick seemed to enjoy it I ordered the CD on Amazon. We've been singing it together in the car all week and it makes me immensely happy that he is enjoying it as much as I did when I was a kid. I suspect it makes my mom pretty happy too :)

The Secret Is Out

I ordered a present for Tom for Father's Day online and it arrived today. Patrick is always excited to see a package at the front door and he wanted to help me open it. I explained to him that this was a gift for Daddy for Father's Day and it was a secret. What was the first thing Patrick did when Tom got home? He blurted out "Hey Dad, your Father's Day present came and it's a XXXX!" (using Xs just in case Tom forgets and reads this, highly unlikely). He didn't give all the details but it was enough to spill the beans.

One more funny story, yesterday when Tom came home from work Patrick did he usual "Hi Daddy!" greeting. But then he added on "Uh, I mean hi Tom" at the end. Silly boy.

Crazy 'Bout A Saxaphone

Patrick certainly doesn't get his musical talent from me. I never could make a sound on a reeded instrument and my piano and flute lessons ended rather early on. Today Patrick found Tom's saxophone in the closet and wanted to try it out right away. Here's a short video of Patrick "playing" the saxophone. I think we need to get this kid in some sort of music lessons soon!



And not to leave out Molly, here's a picture from today. She's doing very well and spends the majority of her time eating, sleepng and pooping just like any good baby should. She's actually doing really well in the sleep department, usually getting a 4-5 hour stretch at night before she wakes up to nurse. Now if only we could time it so we're sleping during that 4-5 hour stretch we'd be golden!

I Love Your Smile

Mother, Father

I was looking for something in a cabinet tonight and came across these old pictures, the first one is me as a baby and the second one is Tom. It struck me how much Molly looks like Tom as a baby. I remember thinking the same thing about Patrick so maybe they do look alike.





I showed Tom this post and he asked how old Patrick was in the second picture (rolling my eyes here!). And he said he thought in my baby picture I looked like my Uncle Dan, which I sort of do!

If You Are Irish

My mom sent this to me, and I thought it was too funny not to share since most of it is true, especially if you know my mom's full name ;)

What it means to be Irish:
1) You will never play professional basketball.
2) You swear very well.
3) At least one of your cousins is a fireman, cop, bar owner, funeral home owner or holds political office.
4) You think you sing very well.
5) You have no idea how to make a long story short.
6) There isn't a big difference between you losing your temper or killing someone.
7) Most of your childhood meals were boiled.
8) You have never hit your head on a ceiling.
9) You spent a good portion of your childhood kneeling in prayer (ya know ya were thinkin' about bein' bad whether ya did it or not).
10) You're strangely poetic after a few beers.
11) You are, therefore, poetic a lot.
12) You will be punched for no good reason...a lot.
13) Some punches directed at you are from legacies of past generations.
14) Many of your sisters and/or cousins are named Mary, Catherine or Eileen and there is at least one member of your family with the full name of Mary Catherine Eileen.
15) Someone in your family is incredibly cheap. It is more than likely you.
16) You may not know the words, but that doesn't stop you from singing.
17) You can't wait for the other guy to stop talking before you start talking.
18) You're not nearly as funny as you think you are...but what you lack in talent, you make up for in frequency.
19) There wasn't a huge difference between your last Wake and your last keg party.
20) You are, or know someone, named Murph.
21) If you don't know Murph then you know Mac. If you don't know Murph or Mac then you know Sully. Then you probably know Sully McMurphy.
22) You are genetically incapable of keeping a secret.
23) You have Irish Alzheimer's... you forget everything but the grudges!
24) "Irish Stew" is a euphemism for "boiled leftovers."
25) All of your losses are alcohol related (loss of virginity, loss of drivers license, loss of money, loss of job, loss of significant other, loss of teeth from punch...) but it never stops you from drinking.

Road Trip

OK, so we didn't really go that far, but today we went to Monterey to the aquarium (thanks Auntie Laura and Uncle Donald!). Molly did fairly well in the car despite Patrick talking non stop the entire trip down and back. Several people have mentioned that he is a chatterbox but it really sunk in when we were locked in a small box together. Not only does Patrick talk a lot, but he asks a ton of questions. I actually wrote some down on the ride back because they were too funny not to share. Among my favorites...

• "Is Pablo from the Backyardigans a penguin? The why is he blue?"
• "Do cats talk?"
• "Are we in a rain forest? Do you need tickets to go to a rain forest?"
• "If that is a farm then where are the farmers?"
• "Are we driving to Mexico? Are there Mexicos in Mexico?"
• "Daddy, can you show me your muscles?"

We had a nice day and enjoyed seeing the new displays. We even saw seals out in the bay eating squid. I'm still a little obsessed with taking pictures of jellyfish, check out my Flickr page for some pictures from today. Here's a couple of pictures from today, plus one of Molly :)