Camping Kick-Off

This weekend was our first camping trip of the season and it was perfect. We stayed close to home and had great weather, tons of good food, and many happy campers. We went with our friends, The Woolman Family, and went on bike rides, played at 3 different play grounds within the park, had a day at the beach, and Blake and Taylor are now riding their bikes without training wheels!!

Here is Jenna at the beach. She is a born beach baby, she LOVED the water and the sand.

Taylor on her bike. She inspired Blake to finally give in and just do it.

Blake & Bryce at the beach. They swam, built sand castles, and had fun getting really dirty.

Blake on his bike.

He's getting so good now that he is showing off (and occasionally paying the price). He's standing up to peddle, riding with one hand to wave, and jumping curbs . . . what a BOY! He even refers to himself as "Bad Boy". At one point he hurt his finger and asked for a band aid, once he had the band aid on he said, "Alright, Bad Boy is back"!

On Saturday the park had free activities for the kids including this inflatable slide, an inflatable maze, and pony rides

Camping is a favorite summer time activity for the boys and they never want to come home at the end of the weekend. Lucky for them we have an entire summer packed full of camping trips and lucky for me (a self-proclaimed high maintenance camper) we have a travel trailer complete with a full bath to do it in =) YAY!!

Thanks so much for a great weekend, Woolmans!!!

Preschool Graduation

Congratulations to Blake! He graduated from preschool last night and he and his classmates put on a really nice program. They sang songs from all seasons, were called by name to receive their diploma, and their teachers said something special about each child. Mrs. Ethington said that Blake has really good timing and always knows the right thing to say at the right time to make everyone laugh. We couldn't be more proud of our little comedian :)

Before graduation, all smiles and showing off his new tie hand made by my cousin Robin

He's feelin' it now.
Walking in . . . a little nervous. Notice his shoulders up to his ears!
He did GREAT, but not once did his shoulders relax until it was all done.

~Blake and Caitlyn~

He is so lucky to have made such nice friends at preschool. Blake and Caitlyn have become very close and he always makes sure he gets a seat right next to her!

Our previous babysitter, Nancy, came to watch the three amigos graduate, even though she doesn't watch the boys anymore she is and always will be a part of our family.

My friend Lauren

Lauren is Caitlyn's sister and she is just as cute as can be.

We are very proud of Blake and truly amazed at the knowledge and confidence he has gained throughout this past year. Now on to kindergarten next year!!

Baby #3 is a . . .

BOY!!

We saw our baby boy by ultrasound today and he is healthy and developing just as he should be. The Ultrasound tech switched over to 3D and we watched him rubbing his eyes with his hands, chewing on his fingers, and our hearts completely melted. We think he is sooo CUTE already and he's only half way done :)

Baby Boy at almost 21 weeks

The left side of the picture is blurred because he was pressed up against the uterine lining (he's not really deformed). It was so exciting to see him in 3D view and now we just cannot wait for him to get here. We love him sooo much already and look forward to the day we can hold him and snuggle him. We are thrilled to have another boy and feel completely blessed!

**By the way, this officially means I will forever rein as the Princess of the house and I am working on perfecting my princess wave =)

Handsome Boys

With the rain coming down this afternoon and me still not feeling well we had fun with the camera inside today and wanted to share these pictures. I am waiting for my favorite photographer at Parkplace Photography to become available so I can get Blake's 5 year pictures done, but until then these will do :)

My sweet Blakey

Brothers . . . please excuse the one without a shirt

My favorite smile with a bad boy shirt :(

Goofy Guy

Bryce thought this was his best look

Here's my little Brycie

His typical "CHEESE" smile

After viewing the pictures, Blake asked if his 2 friends Taylor and Caitlyn could please have a picture of him in their rooms. Where is he going with this??? Uhhhh, I guess that is up to their parents?!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mommies we know and love! Although I spent the weekend sick with body aches, chills, and a nasty cold, my boys made sure to pamper me any way that they could. They made breakfast and ordered me dinner as a surprise. We were thankful to have my own Mom and Dad here for a visit as well.
I just had to share this video with you sent to me by my friend Ashlie. Thank you Ashlie, for this unique tribute :) Please check out the link below:
http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=LadxRLnaX1KfGGOFlR5XuzE2NDA3NjI-&referred_by=16249118-yCpq6Ux&p=moveon

Mini Fish

Friday night was also the boys first swimming lesson. Blake, Bryce, and their best friend Taylor are in the Mini Fish 1 class at Lapeer Community Center and they were very excited to get started.
It's so nice to have a 3 yr. old and a 5 yr. old because they are in the same classes this summer and I don't have to deal with Bryce's separation issues from big brother! I was nervous about Bryce taking this class, wondering if he was old enough to do it on his own, no parents in the water. To my surprise he far exceeded my expectations and was the first to volunteer for everything! There he was practicing his back float in perfect form, completely relaxed with the teacher, and all I could is laugh at myself for doubting him. This was his first class experience with a teacher and it proves he is definitely ready for preschool next year!

Great swimming Mini Fish!!

Special Day

Friday, May 8th was a BIG day for Blake and Mommy. It was Mom's day at preschool and I enjoyed watching Blake sing, serve me muffins, and give me the best hand made gifts including a beaded pen and this flower picture. I especially like that he said I am 25 years old and 12 feet tall :)

Blake made pumpkin muffins with M&Ms and he ate both his and mine.

I was quite nauseated yesterday and didn't mind sharing!

Blake & Caitlyn: Best Friends Forever
They will go to different schools next year, but we plan on getting them together for play dates

Following the fun day at preschool, Blake and I went to lunch at Panera Bread and then went to Indian Hill Elementary for his Kindergarten testing. My big boy was a little nervous because he had to leave me and go with a teacher in a separate room, but after coaching him the night before he was well prepared for the separation. Once his name was called he grabbed the hand of the teacher and away he went. The testing took 40 minutes and he came back all smiles stating he had fun! I was so proud of my usually shy guy. He also said the teacher told him he did "EGGSELENT". What a great day with Blake, way to go buddy!!

30 Years Young

Well . . . It happened, on Wednesday May 6th I left my 20's behind (sniffle, sniffle) and turned 30 years OLD!!! While I was dreading this day, and had made a decision that this would be the year I start lying about my age, it turns out that 30 isn't so bad after all. I had a GREAT day with wonderful friends and plenty of birthday treats.

Here are the flower cupcake cakes that Tim and the boys got for me

The Woolmans helped me celebrate with a bottle of sparkling grape juice
I also got my favorite salsa from Sean, Erica, and Quinn; Emily bought a Cold Stone Ice Cream Cake; and The Richie family made me some delicious cookies. A BIG thank you to all my friends who thought of me on my birthday. It helped me transition to 30 in a fun way that made me forget my fears of aging, ha ha! Also, a special thank you to Tim, Blake, and Bryce who make me feel special every day, but even more so on my birthday. I LOVE YOU!

During the day we had our friends Ashlie, Caitlyn, and Lauren over to our house for lunch and play time. It was so much fun watching Caitlyn and Lauren figure out how to maneuver the battery powered cars for the first time.
Bryce is our Car guy and while he had a hard time watching from the sidelines, he enjoyed carting Lauren around for thrill rides and ramming into Caitlyn's car while laughing . . . this one is definitely TROUBLE.

Poor Caitlyn had to endure Bryce's road rage, if you can look close you can see Bryce's Dr. Evil grin, but I wish you could have heard his devilish laugh to accompany it. He was in rare form.

It was a perfect day that ended with a surprise pizza party with friends. I am so lucky that I get to celebrate one more time when we got to The Melting Pot for dinner on Saturday, can't wait.

Cruisin

Our yard was filled with O'Mara boys and they were out cruising

and gawking

and doing double takes

Ahh, it's good to be an O'Mara boy!