Cousins!

At the end of October, we had a great visit from Ed, Theresa, Isla and Ashley.  It had been way too long since we'd been able to get together...in fact, a year had passed!!  Max and Isla had a lot of fun when we got together to celebrate a family wedding back in Oct 2012, so we hoped that they'd have a great time this time too.  I almost couldn't stand how cute they were together!!!  They're little besties.  It definitely made us realize we'll have to make the visits a more frequent occurrence.

We had fair weather while they were here...not perfect, but we got to spend a lot of time outside.  It's crazy for us southern-non-city-dwellers to imagine what it was like for our Manhattanite cousins to walk outside to a huge backyard.  I am sure Isla wondered where the trains, sidewalks, etc were.  We can't wait to introduce Max to the big city - hopefully in the spring.

Without further adieu...a photo dump of all our shenanigans.   

Outside playtime

Ashley being very interested in baby NC

Max & Isla taking a "rest"

Shelby Park!!

Monkey's Treehouse

big helpers

airplane, and the shirtless southern cousin

wagon ride

story time at the library

more outside play

Teesa with the kids

one of a million attempts to get a photo of the kids.  I think capturing a group of wild monkeys on film would easier!!!  Maybe next year :)

We absolutely cannot wait to get together again!!

Keep On Keepin' On

Well, I'd be lying if I didn't say the last 3.5 months have been filled with a little a lot more of this

than we ever expected.  

Thankfully, the bright moments continue to shine through...

kangaroos!

lollipops!

family walks!

haircuts, aka when did my baby boy get so big?!?

loving friends!

smiles!

swings!

 

growing brotherly love!

...and Friday night family selfies!

We wouldn't have it any other way....well, maybe a little more sleep, but mostly no other way.

Looking forward to catching up on family visits and Halloween very soon!

A Few of Our Favorite Things

Man, no one tells you how much life changes for everyone when you go from 2:1 coverage to 1:1.  I suppose when you move to more than two kids you're stuck with a zone defense plan.  We've spent the last 3.5 weeks working to figure out our new normal.  Lucky for me, as usual, I have had lots of help.  Between MP's paternity leave (which we have spread out as an extra day off each week), Nana and Papa spending time hanging out with us, and lots of visits and meals from our wonderful army of dear friends, we've had a great opportunity to bond as a family.  (If by bond, I mean three year old tantrums and meltdowns from sharing attention and a baby who's crying a good 90% of her wakeful, not nursing time...but really, all things considered, we understand this to be pretty normal all around.)

Lest we leave anyone too worried about us...here's evidence to our thriving.  Good thing I don't get the camera out [too often] when tears are involved.

Trains, cars, and legos, OH MY!

Selfies

 

The water park

Real live trains

Strange baby faces, or "don't throw that matchbox car at me!"

Less sleep than normal

Baby holding besties

Silly toddler smiles

Shelby Nature Play

 

Our awesome backyard

Lap naps at the pool

Getting to know us.

Crying photos (though we definitely prefer this silent version!)

And to round it out, our very own country music rain man tells us about his favorite book and song.