It's been a busy and fun month for the Donoghues. Our baby boy turned 4 years old!
Happy to be 4!
His birthday was a school day, so we woke up a little early to have pancakes and strawberries before rushing him off to school. Jamie brought donuts for his class treat during his prep; it's so nice that his building is so close to his preschool! Afterward he came home to open presents, and got his big gift from Mom and Dad... Jamie once again living vicariously through Ben with a Jurassic Park powerwheel! We had cupcakes as he requested, and quickly learned he only wanted the frosting. I walked away for a few minutes and came back to find 4 cupcakes with all the frosting licked off!
Birthday boy!
Ben is still a very happy-go-lucky kid who loves car washes, construction equipment and the Ninja Turtles. His favorite foods are probably yogurt, easy mac and marshmallows. He's a wonderful speaker and very into timers and schedules (yikes, wonder where that comes from!). Ben is very much the baby of our family, beloved by all. Him and Evie like to play a lot, and Maggie is like a second mom to him.
I'll take you for a spin
Confetti cupcakes!
Allllll the frosting
Daddy blew up a bunch of balloons to Ben's delight
We had the family over on Superbowl Sunday to celebrate! Ben had a great time playing with his cousins and opening presents!
Happy Birthday to you!
Make a wish
Getting ready for dessert
Baby Jane isn't such a baby anymore! Always moving!
Time for the game!
Maggie made the entire cake all by herself - she was awesome!
Evie has been diligently preparing for her First Communion this spring, and took part in her First Reconciliation last week. The girl was completely chill about the whole thing, not nervous at all! After she went, she asked if she could go back again. A bunch of her old classmates from GA were there also, so she was a happy girl!
Forgiven!
Some of her old buddies and Fr. Tony
Jamie took the girls the Daddy Daughter Dance at church. Maggie had a wonderful time, Evie had a somewhat sassy night (that's putting it nicely), but eventually had fun with her friends.
Date night!
Girls
Two peas in a pod
So thrilled to see her old pals!
Maggie's school had their first dance for 4th and 5th graders, and she was so thrilled to go. I think she had the best time ever hanging with her girlfriends! It was sooo hot in the gym, so much body odor!
Dressed to impress
Girl squad!
The girls were invited to a birthday party at the skate rink, and were nervous about going. Dad to the rescue took them to Great Skate a few days beforehand to practice. They LOVED it!
Best dad
Hurray for hand rails!
Some other randoms:
Maggie on her field trip to Henry Ford
My little stud muffin after his haircut
We tried making donuts for the first time - delicious!
Sledding fun with Nora!
Tripped and landed on her face - tough kiddo
Enjoying our tortilla blanket from the Rabines
Quick dessert date with Dad
Their scene of snowmen having tea
Scrunchies on scrunchies
Ready for church
Brave boy at the doctor - 5 shots!
Evie with a 100-year old filter for the 100th day of school!
I just got back from a 3-night cruise to the Bahamas with 17 ladies from the Wilt family! My mom treated Jody, Allison and me to celebrate her 75th birthday, and then a bunch of our cousins signed up to join too! We had so much fun!!
The first day we hung out, had some dinner and all joined together for karaoke. As a group we sang "Sweet Caroline" in honor of my mom's birthday and the crowd was feeling it (which is amazing for a group of Wilts)! It was also "disco night" on the boat, and so we hit up the dance party afterward!
Hanging out poolside until our rooms were ready
Kelly showing us all the functionality of Aunt Marilyn's scooter
These two always looks like sisters to me
Welcoming Amanda to the family... hoping we didn't scare her away
Boogie nights!
Our epic performance:
Mama Mia!
Mary Pat's always in for a fun time!
Aunt Marilyn rented a scooter to get around easier:
The second day we all did our own thing in Nassau. It was a little chilly, so we Rabines explored a fun resort with flamingos and shopping before coming back to the boat.
Apparently hiding/seeking rubber duckies is a cruise thing - so Jody brought a bunch of ducks for us to hide. We found a few other random ones too!
Ducks need water
...or they can be eaten for dinner
Saturday was the night all of us got together for a group dinner, had an amazing group photo and sported our "Cruisin' Cousin" sashes made by Barb. Jody created a fun photo scavenger hunt that kept us busy and giggling before sitting down for dinner. It was a late night with lots of fun and laughter... plus we scared the staff with the Wilt birthday song! You'll note the pictures get increasingly sloppy...
Ready for a night of fun!
Looking lovely
Patty and Kelly before dinner
On a mission! I think this scavenger photo was "a group of fun ladies"
After a few drinks, we improvised with the sashes.
My new favorite photo of Mom - Cathy got her the captain's hat for planning the trip!
Group shot! Maggie, Kelsey, Natalie, Cathy, Jody and me!
Aunt Marilyn lived it up!
Love my mom
Kelly knows how to party! She was the cruise expert!
The young kids (because they're younger than me!)
Original cousins
As our "senior" advisors, Aunt Marilyn and my mom coined the phrase "that's bullshit" anytime they didn't like something!
Mom learned that espresso martinis are divine
Aww, mother/daughter time
We spent our last day on Coco Beach, relaxing and reading by the water. It was still a little chilly, but we stole the sunlight at every chance!
Relaxation day
Aunt Marilyn getting cozy on the beach!
Mmmm pina coladas
Phyllis is now an honorary cousin - she could hang!
Monday we started our travels home bright and early. We had a layover in DC, and unfortunately our plane was too late to make our connecting flight. Thankfully we were able to book another flight through Delta... we all made it home around 9pm that night - whew, long day (worth it!).
"I'm never flying again." - Carolyn Rabine We'll see...
