Party Time!

Aiden  - "I'm cute and I know it!"

Aiden helping to wrap Livia's birthday present.  They love crinkly paper and if they keep that up, Christmas could be easy this year!

The heat got the best of Aiden last week after our afternoon walk.

Chris doesn't believe in sleeping but still managed to be all grins!

Chris still smiling later that night....

Chris looking scared while sporting his new summer hat!

Wednesday was daddy's night off. The boys and I headed to my parents for dinner and a visit so that Mike could enjoy some time to himself. The boys and I had a great visit and I know that Mike enjoyed having some time alone to get some projects done and relax. Mike and I both agree that it is important to try to do this regularly and hope that we don't wear out the welcomes at our parents as it has been an awesome help to have the extra set of hands on the nights that we give each other some free time. We are hoping to make it a regular occurrence if our parents agree :)

This has been a gorgeous week weather wise! Thursday that boys met their new friend Mathieu, who is 5 weeks younger than them. Mathieu's mother, Caroline and I met at one of the many parenting classes that I took through Baystate. At a follow up class, post-birth, Caroline and I talked more and exchanged contact information. I was excited to meet her for a walk with our boys on a sunny Thursday afternoon. It was great to bump things off of her and hear about Mathieu's progress while sharing tips, tricks and tales of our babies. Caroline and I are planning on walking again soon and I am excited because it will be neat for the boys to have a friend their age.

Friday night my girlfriends came over to celebrate an early birthday for me. It was so nice to see them and they spoiled me with good food, wonderful company and awesome presents... Thanks ladies! The boys even managed to be on their best behavior as we avoided our nightly fussy period... whooo hooo!

Yesterday Mike and I took the boys for their first"hike." We both put them in front packs and went for a walk along the railroad tracks down the street from our house. It is important for me to note that the railroad tracks are inactive... I don't want anyone thinking less of us, assuming we are putting our boys in danger, at least not this early in the game. It was fun to get out without the bulk of the stroller but the bugs that have now arrived put a bit of a damper in our plans to make it a longer walk. The boys did great and love to be in the front packs as it keeps them close to us and allows them to gaze up at who ever is holding them, or the sky depending on what catches their eyes first.

Following our walk, we kept the boys in the front packs and decided to make it a productive afternoon. Mike worked on the deck and I worked in the kitchen. Unfortunately during Mikes time working on the deck, Cali made a sneaky get away and managed to find her way into the great outdoors. Typically, you wouldn't think it would be hard to spot a pure white cat in green surroundings but when you find yourself preoccupied with other priorities and don't notice her disappearance for a few hours... well, that's another story!

Needless to say, Cali made a great escape. We are guessing she made her run for it around 4 pm. It wasn't until about 6 that I noticed I hadn't seen or heard her which is unusual. It is quite typical for her to come whining to me every hour for more food. We have quite the stress eater on our hands! When we hadn't heard from her, we questioned whether she could have been hiding in the house but after checking all of her favorite spots and shaking the food dish with no reply, we knew we had an escapee on our hands! Mike began to search around the perimeter of the house, road and woods. I continued to look inside. As it got closer to 7:30, I was getting nervous knowing it was getting dark and getting fearful of the sounds of the deep woods late at night. I don't know whether its coy dogs or coyotes but some animal has quite a cry late at night that can compete with the boys loudest shrills! Needless to say, the search continued until Mike found her totally buried in brush and happy as a calm, deep in the woods of the conservation next door. Mike said she "ducked" as he called her and ran as he made the move to catch her. Lucky for her, we know whats best and after a bit of a struggle, Mike saved our now grungy kitty. Cali made her way inside and upon closer inspection, Mike decided it would be a good idea to give her a bath. She HATES getting wet and ran circles around the inside of the house with Mike chasing her for three laps until I finally decided that I had laughed enough and I stepped in to help. Cali was the given a flea bath for preventative measures because we don't need that nightmare anytime soon. Thankfully the "grunge" was only temporary as was her attitude for the remainder of the night... she has since forgiven us!

Today the boys had a busy day. They attended their first birthday party for their little girlfriend, Livia Locke. Livia turned one and the boys had a blast visiting and cuddling with anyone they could! Christopher was interested in Alexis, 13 and Leah, 8, who took a liking to him and did a great job holding him. He was quite the ladies man. Aiden was enthralled with Livi's balloons and loved being held by the adults. Following Livi's party, we headed to my parents for my birthday celebration and dinner and dessert of my choice. Everything was wonderful and we had a great time. The boys loved all of the attention and so did we. Even Maddie, my parents golden retriever got in on the action and enjoyed licking Aiden to death :) It is always awesome visiting with family and having a few extra sets of hands.

Tomorrow we are headed to Grammie and Grandpa Hopkins for a Memorial Day picnic and some visiting time... we can't wait!

Of note this week, Chris worked relentlessly at my parents this afternoon trying to work his fingers into his mouth. He tried for at least a half hour without giving up and got the fingers in once but wasn't so sure about them once they were in and gagged himself. Aiden is still in love with his hands but doesn't have the same fascination as Chris with trying to get them into his mouth. Both boys continue to "talk" more and more and love hearing themselves!

Visitors this week were: Grammie/Dziadz Pt, Grammie Hopkins, Great Grammie Tag, GG Mimi, Caroline, Mathieu, Uncle Andrew, Leeanne, Leora, Heather, Juliet/Keith/Livi & Party.