Birthdays!

We have two birthdays in February.   On the 2nd George turned 8!  Patrick had a basketball game that day so our celebration was short and sweet with pizza and ice cream.  

Two weeks later, Mary turned two.

She loves to swing (and we needed some new ones anyway).

A cute outfit with a dog on it from G&G S.

 The biggest and favorite gift was from her Godmother.  My idea, thank you.

 A new kitchen playset!  We had two little girls excited about this one.

Here it is in the basement.  This makes the third kitchen set we've had but I don't think the boys can climb on or jump off of this one.

She was so excited to play with it she wouldn't even smile for the camera.

I don't remember what we were all doing in bed, but it's a cute picture.

After coming in 1st for his den, George got to compete in the District Pinewood Derby.  Here he is checking in.

He just missed making it to the final round but he got 4th place in workmanship.

Mary loved his car!

We are busy as always.  Between Scouts, basketball and driving everyone to and from school, Mary and I don't get much time at home.  Which is delaying potty training.  She clearly understands what needs to happen, so I'm hopeful once she decides she wants to she will.  Come back soon for more updates.

February is Hard!

It has been a crazy month so I  will start with a picture of a crazy little girl.

January ended with Catholic School week.  Mary and I spend Monday morning in the gym eating donates and visiting classrooms.  Pat was first.

Lia and I in the gym with Mary hanging with Chris in the background.

Beautiful Becca.

Mary was beyond ready to go at this point.

Mary managed to run into something and get a lovely bruise on her left check.

We also got some snow.  With it all piled up at the base of the driveway, the kids built dueling snow forts.

Mary did NOT want to even touch the snow, but she enjoyed watching her siblings play in it...until she didn't any more.

That same week, Becca and Pat both stayed home sick on Thursday.  No flu (Thank God) but Pat tested positive for strep.

Think back to the snow forts.  The kids had combine forts, complete with a shovel to catapult the snow across the driveway.  A genius idea, until Becca took the shovel to the head.  She got a scratch on her forehead and, as it turns out, a concussion.  We headed to the ER after a full 24 hours of her head hurting.

No, I'm not dirty.  It was Ash Wednesday.

All in all, she is doing pretty well.  The lights and noise still bother her a bit, but no basketball or PE until the headaches stop completely and she's cleared by our doctor.  Next up, February birthdays.

The Rest of January

It has been over a month since I posted last.  I've been having trouble loading pictures from my phone onto the computer so please forgive me.  In mid-January, Lia, Mary, and I hitched a ride with my parents to Cincinnati to witness Clara and Liam being confirmed.  Here we are in the car.

Mary doesn't like leaving her socks.

Although it was a little cramped, it was a lot of fun sitting in the back with these nut jobs.

Clara asked me to be her sponsor and Pat was Liam.

Lia was ready to go after her cookie was finished.

Good thing Katie was there to give Mary some attention.

The Venias.

We also had our pack's Pinwood Derby.  Here's George hanging with his favorite girl.

Gotta make sure it's on right before the race.

Watching it come down the track.

George had a great day.  He was 1st in is den and 3rd in the pack.

 The leadership of our pack.  I'm looking good!

That's it for this post.  More coming soon.