New Toy: The Sandbox

I will say, this has to be the worst idea I have ever had - it is a huge mess, but they love it.

Cousins!

Alex and Evan love their cousins Lilly & Diana - they are sooooo cute!

More pictures from Indy trip...

Not sure what they were looking at, but it wasn't the camera...


Messy eater (he loves beans)!

Cheesing with Uncle Matt!

Being good at church before the baptism.

QT with Cioci Becca.

Lilly & Diana's Baptism

What a fun weekend we had in Indianapolis with the family! The girls are little angels and we were happy we were able to be there to witness the very special occasion!

Memorial Day Weekend - Coney Island

We went to Coney Island over Memorial Day weekend with the Reckman's. It was the boys first time in a pool since Aruba. Alex loves it and has no fear.

First Haircut for Evan

Before picture (Alex looks much better now too!)

Evan took a little longer to reach mullet status than Alex did, so we are just now needing a real haircut. Of course Mary, the sitter cut it at like 9 months... He did great! Alex went first and then he hopped right up on the pony chair and didn't cry at all! He said "ouch" whenever she sprayed water on him or used the blow dryer. Such a drama queen!

Get Well Evan!

These balloons are from Cioci Mary Beth. You all probably have heard - I am a bad mom and turned away for a mili-second and Evan burned his hands on my flatiron :( He will be fine, but there are a couple pretty nasty blisters. Thank you Mary Beth for thinking of him! They are still eating the suckers that came with the delivery!

Zoo with Daddy

This was Tim's first time to the zoo this season! We had a great time!

Happy Birthday Katie Ann

Katie's party was a good time! Chrisite had it at this awesome park with lots to do! The boys loved the train toy and the sandbox. Alex has been asking me if we can have one at home ever since! It was a little hot at the party, as you can tell from the red faces! I have a feeling these three will be playing together a lot this summer! They already see each other every day and Alex begs me to go over to there house in the evenings! Good thing Jonathan lives across the street!

5 Year Anniversary & Mother's Day

This morning, Tim took Alex to Lowes to their build and grow workshop to build me a Mother's Day present! Tim said he really loved building the flower box for me! This is going to become a Saturday tradition for them :)

Tim and I celebrated our 5 Year Anniversary yesterday by going to dinner at The Precinct - very yummy as always. Tim surprised me with flowers on Thursday and we all know - he never gets me flowers... I was thrilled!

The Zoo - updated children's area

Evan right before he climbed to the top of this and went down the big slide.


Alex in the tunnel.


Mackenzie in the tunnel.


Alex and Mackenzie petting the goats together.

Katie and Evan - she was getting in on the action!

Like I said in my mommy bootcamp diary - we went to the zoo today with the Reckman girls, Mackenzie and Katie. They really enjoyed the new play area and petting the goats.

Mommy Bootcamp: Day 4

We woke up early today because we had an appointment to tour a pre-school at 9am with the Reckman girls and Christie. It was overwhelming to think about them going from somewhere so small like Mary's to a bigger place, but they both loved it and wanted to stay! Alex got cornered on the playground by a bunch of girls, who coralled him into a playhouse and he was crying when I went over there and said, Mommy - they just won't leave me alone! I am sure that he won't mind this behavior in 15 years :)

After the tour, we all went to their favorite place - the zoo! We of course saw the regulars, the monkeys the lions, the rhino, the polar bear - but this time we went to two new places that we hadn't explored before. We visited the insect house, which was full of some of the biggest, scariest cockroaches I have ever seen, ants, big hairy spiders and a bunch of screaming teenagers (school field-trip). Mackenzie seemed terrified, Alex thought it was cool... My favorite part was this outdoor rainforest, which was full of tropical plants and butterflies. It is also Zoo Baby time at the zoo and believe it or not - there was some baby cockroaches, they were not cute though... We also discovered a new outdoor rainforest area with a lot of monkeys that we hadn't found before - it was very cool. There were two nocturnal houses with a couple new zoo babies, that were adorable. It was very cool landscaping, with a big waterfall and big trees for the monkeys to swing from. Not sure how we have ever missed this place! We finished up the day by taking a train ride (Alex, Christie and Mackenzie) and going to the children's zoo that had just reopened with a new playset. Evan is so brave and climbed it and went down the big slide by himself. Then Alex and Mackenzie surprisingly wanted to pet the goats, so I went into the coral with all the smelly goats so that they could brush their coats. They thought it was the greatest thing!

The boys were exhausted so they took a nice long nap until Tim got home! My sister came over and we watched Oprah because my friend Trisha was actually on it for that show! Tim came home bearing gifts! Roses for our five-year anniversary, which is tomorrow and a potted plant of cala lillies for Mother's Day. Wow, I was surprised!

Mommy Bootcamp: Day 3

Today we just hung out at the house for some much needed rest. Alex woke up wanting pancakes and I hate making them, so we went to McDonalds for their Hotcakes and brought them back to have breakfast outside. Of course they had like two bites and were done - they do not eat anything! We played the rest of the morning until it was nap time. I actually had a lot of work to get done during naptime today - it is year-end evaluation time!

Once they woke up from their naps - we went over to Jonathan's house to play again and they had a good time. Alex didn't want to leave and so jokingly, I said, see ya later - Mommy's leaving and he was like, okay Mom, see ya later! He is fast to give me up :)

In celebration of Cinco De Mayo, I made Tim and I pomegrante margaritas and the boys apple juice with a splash of red gatorade (so it would look like ours) cocktails and we sat outside and enjoyed them before our Beef Enchilada dinner. Overall another really fun day with the boys!

Mommy Bootcamp: Day 2

Since I was feeling sore from Sunday's race, I decided I should try to work out the soreness by taking a morning jog with the boys in the jogging stroller. First of all, that thing weighs like 30lbs by itself, then throw in the boys - another 55lbs, it is hard to push that thing! Anyway, we took off to Panera in Hyde Park and stopped in for a bagel, before heading back home! The boys loved it and I really did nothing but make different muscles sore... As we were approaching the house, Alex saw Jonathan outside, so he just had to go see him. We hung out over there for awhile, played in the sand and hit some balls with Jonathan, until lunchtime.

After naptime, we headed up to Ault Park to swing and play on the slides! The boys really loved putting their feet under the water faucet! We came back home and set up shop outside and played with their water table somemore. By now I needed a glass of wine, but it was after 5pm, so I thought that was acceptable :) Amy stopped by with Eloise while they were on their evening stroll and she hung out in the Cozy Coupe while the boys were being boys, hitting things, knocking over flower pots and getting dirt everywhere. It was another successful day!

Evan's First Reds Game

We didn't brave one Reds game last year, so this is Evan's first game - he had a good time. I am also including a picture of my sister and her FIANCE Michael - congrats again guys!

Mommy Bootcamp: Day 1

I am home with the boys this week because Mary is on vacation and we have a busy week planned! I am so excited to be able to stay at home with them this week! Today we got up and got ready to head down to Newport on the Levee for a visit with the fish at the Aquarium. It has been awhile since we have been, but Alex absolutely loved it! Afterwards we went downtown to meet my friends at Burrito Joes - I had to get my post-race BLT Burrito - yummy! The boys enjoyed black beans and chips and cheese and then we headed home for naptime for the boys and quiet time for Mommy! I got all of my summer clothes down from the third floor and put away all of my winter clothes! A very productive naptime!

After naptime, the boys played outside on their water table and got soaked!

Once Tim got home from work, we headed down to the Reds vs. Mets game for the boys first baseball game of the season with Michael, Krista and Michael's San Diego family! We had a great time, but the boys only lasted until the 7th inning!

Derby Day 2010

Krista and Michael threw a great party for Derby Day - no mint juleps for me since I had the half-marathon on Sunday... I think Tim drank enough for both of us. Oh well, the food was good and I had to carb up - right? The boys had a great time playing in the back yard and riding the stick horses (from Mimi) and horse baloons (that were supposed to be for decorations).