Mother's Day

Jamie worked really hard to give me a nice Mother's Day this year... I would like to say the kids did too, but they really only did stuff when forced to!  He cleaned the whole house for me, and planned a little getaway trip to Traverse City for me and Erin in a few weeks - so excited for a breather!

Lucky mama

Jamie brought me a bagel and coffee from Brueggar's, and I peacefully ate while hiding in Ben's room and playing on my phone.  It was a glorious way to start the day!

Thanks to Aunt Amy for the adorable shirts!

We did dinner with the Donoghues at La Saj, super yummy.   

Grandma's gang

The most patient person I've ever met...

We've had family gatherings on my side for the past couple weeks, and we have another one this weekend, so my Mom nixed a get-together for Mother's Day.  But here's a picture of my mom as a kiddo, and I think Evie looks so much like her!

Maggie is doing just awesome.  She gets up and down the stairs on her booty, and shimmies across the floor when no one is around to help her.  She can even use the restroom on her own!  I have yet to hear her complain about her cast - she just adapted and moved on with life... a good lesson for me.

Poor kid needed to get out of the house, so we ventured to the playground and were able to do a few fun things even with a cast!

"Gentle swinging"

A lesson in physics

Happy to run around after school!

Getting our money's worth out of the stroller - 3 kids at once!

Evie is doing great for the most part, though there is always a boo-boo that requires special care.  This whole school year she has insisted that I braid her hair every morning, which honestly was faster than arguing with her for a quick ponytail... but this week she's switched to the ponytail!  I was pretty happy about this, except now it is never tight enough for her (it is so tight I hurt my fingers stretching the rubber band), so she throws a tantrum and I'm still stuck spending several minutes on her hair.

Tough girl in a ponytail

Ready for adventure!

Allison gave us some old clothes of Luke's,
include this 12-month hoody... which Evie
immediately claimed as her own

Ben is such a happy, sweet baby.  He blows bubbles non-stop now and shoves his hands in his mouth all the time.  Sometimes we get a 5-hour stretch between feedings, but it's usually 3 to 4 hours at night. 

Bubble boy

Happy go lucky

Also learning to flash gang symbols?

I just can't...

Last weekend we celebrated Luke's first communion.  I took Maggie so she could see what it's like, but left the other kids at home with Jamie during mass.  We all hung out at the Rabines after!

Luke's special day (and the only pic I got of him in his suit!)

Maggie found a way to play upstairs and down in
the basement... nothing stops her!

Generational twins?

Flirting with one of his ladies

Here's a few others:

Grandma took the girls to see the Ugly Dolls movie, so
Maggie had to bring her dolls

Hanging out with her buddy at Daddy's art show (which I failed
to document, but he did a really great job!!)

Crafting with mama

Multi-tasking

Stroller serenity