High Five

Christopher WALKING with the "popper!"



Aiden thinks he's at the local amusement park on Grammie & Dziadz's totally fun pony ride!



Grammie & Chris, still alive, awake AND smiling after a weekend together!



Who's having more fun, Dziadz or Aiden?



The dreary but peaceful beach.



Our cute little cottage in Ogunquit and our new mini van (just kidding... we haven't given in to the mini van idea yet)!




You may be expecting to hear that it was a bummer weekend because of the washout rain fall that we were showered with but, for anyone that has talked to me in Mike's absence, you might know otherwise. This was Mike's birthday surprise weekend. I spent the earlier part of this week secretly packing and organizing to have Aiden and Chris ready for an adventure filled, action packed weekend at Grammie & Dziadz Pt.'s while Mike and I headed to Ogunquit, Maine! I made a reservation at a small bed and breakfast that is minutes from Marginal Way (a gorgeous walk along the ocean for anyone that may not be familiar) and minutes away from downtown Ogunquit and Perkins Cove. It was an ideal location but the weather was less than ideal.

Thankfully we had NO agenda. No where to be, no time to keep, no expectations, and no little ones looking to be cuddled. What a break! Despite the rain, we still enjoyed several meals out which is the up most treat. We also braved the elements and the cold weather, hit up the Dollar Store for some fashionable plastic bag ponchos and headed out for a walk on Marginal Way. It would not be excusable to drive 2 1/2 hours to the ocean to never enjoy its beauty.... We may be paying the price later this week when we come down with colds but I post this on the blog so that I can refer back to it if I need to remember that were diehard ocean walkers for a reason. We had a super relaxing, worry free weekend which is always such a treat. I am not sure Mike and I have experienced a day of absolute "nothing" in the 7 years we've know each other so its one for the books for us.

The boys squeaks and squeals of delight are a sure sign that they had a blast in Belchertown. Grammie and Dziadz reported that they were well behaved and a true delight. I think the treat was really for the Hopkins family as Mommy and Daddy got some R&R and the little ones got loved and spoiled to death! You always know its a good sign when the boys could care less that Mike and I are around and that is always the case from the minute we walk into Grammie & Dzaidz's! Thank you Grammie & Dziadz for such an unforgettable treat!

Leading up to our weekend away, I had worked SO hard to keep "Mike's birthday weekend" a surprise. He knew that we were doing something on Friday night but had no idea that we were going away which made the treat even more special. Unfortunately I had to break the news to him sooner than I had hoped. I made it all the way until Friday afternoon... but, I woke up Friday morning and found a tick in a less than desirable place and upon calling my Dr. to find out what to watch for, she told me that wanted me to come in for a visit. Unfortunately of all days to need to go to the Dr.'s, I had no childcare options with such short notice. I called to cancel my appointment and the office was nice enough to offer to help watch the boys as they didn't want me to postpone the appointment. So, I packed up the boys and headed out in a hurry, feeding them lunch, changing two dirty diapers and getting them dressed and in the car in less than 10 minutes. They didn't know what hit them! Thankfully I was able to get a hold of Mike in the meantime who left work to meet me and lend me a hand in keeping the boys happy during my appointment. The Dr. decided to treat me for Lyme disease as a preventative measure and afterward Mike stopped home for something he forgot. Unfortunately his stop home was in the middle of my mad rush to pack all four of us for our "secret" weekend away... so I had to share the surprise a bit earlier than I had hoped, but it all worked out in the end.

Aiden and Chris are very busy perfecting their robot walks. They continue to get more and more mobile everyday but still find that crawling is most efficient. They love carrying on nonsensical conversations as if they were adults. They both very clearly know the meaning of the words "cat" and "dog" and are trying VERY hard to say dog but it comes out more like "daw." Chris especially loves carrying around pictures of the dogs in our families. As always, they are a true delight and especially after having a weekend away, we are refreshed and so in love with the little men in our lives!