Cousins Dinner!

Another non-planned event!  We invited Cioci Kimmy, Uncle Jason and the girls over along with Auntie Lauren, Uncle Matt and Molly for a chicken wing feast!  We figured it was the last weekend of summer before school started so why not get the cousins together for a fun dinner and playdate!

Yummy dinner!

Jason isn't too thrilled about this picture, but it's the only picture I have of Molly eating!

Maddie and Chloe playing.

Cioci Kimmy brought big cookies for the kiddos.. I'd like to 

think they're excited about them perhaps?!

Reading time. 

Cousins Day, finally!

We finally did it - we had a cousins day today!! It's been so so long since we've all gotten together and hung out! We made our way to Cioci Kimmy's house this morning around 11am (of course after a Dunkin Donuts coffee run!) where Auntie Jen, Kaleigh and Mel and Auntie Lauren and Molly and the girls were waiting for our arrival. The kiddos were so excited to see each other and play outside together. Our day consisted of watching the kiddos play on the swings and slides, jump on the trampoline and watch the older girls swim in the not-so-warm pool! (One would think since it's mid-August the pool would be super warm, but nope! These last few chilly nights and even today it was breezy and cool made for a cool water pool!)  Us adults were able to have some chit-chat time, but our kiddos kept us pretty busy throughout the day, even during our pizza lunch! Thank you Cioci Kimmy for hosting cousins day today - I know I can't wait for the next one!

My favorite of the day.. all the little cousins together! 

Play and Pool Fun at Auntie Lauren's House

This afternoon we headed over to Auntie Lauren and Uncle Matt's house. AJ, Molly and Chloe played outside for a bit before we all went in for a delicious lunch of cheeseburgers, chicken sausage and Michael's delicious zucchini relish.  AJ even joined in on the fun of eating a cheeseburger!! (He's been willing to try to new foods lately and I am soo stinkin' excited about it!)  He ate about half of a cheeseburger - go AJ! After lunch we put Chloe down for a nap and headed into the pool. It was a bit chilly at first, but after awhile we got used to it and AJ and Molly were loving chasing after each other on the porch. There were even a few cousins hugs!  While we were swimming, AJ told me had to go pee. Instead of drying off and going inside, I decided to take him to a shaded and secluded area around the pool and had AJ drop his draws and pee. According to him he was 'feeding the dirt.'  The things that come out of kids mouths!  Thanks for letting us come over and hang out for the afternoon guys!

Thinking about going in.

Still not sure.

Molly wanted a hug, but AJ wasn't too interested.

Finally got a little smile out of my little guy. 

Think AJ might have had a bit of fun with Molly?

AJ's 3rd Birthday Celebration

What a difference a day makes!  From thunderstorms and no power yesterday to a gorgeous (and not humid!) sunny day today... we really lucked out when we rescheduled AJ's party to today!  Family and friends gathered to celebrate our little man, dino style!  My heart is full from all of the love we had surrounding us today...  Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate our first born!

The birthday boy!

Classic picture.. the birthday boy picking his nose! 

Katie showing off her dinosaur skeletons from the dino dig!

The dino dig was a big hit - as well as the dinosaur glaciers, which lasted 

all about two seconds in the hot summer sun in the water table!

Everyone got involved!

Next up was the dino bubble maker!

This picture makes me laugh... Both AJ and Laurie have the exact same expression on their face!

The dino bubble makers were awesome!  All the kiddos loved them!

AJ loves his Laurie!

T-Rex made a visit for some pictures... First up was Katie..

Then Mel!

Kaleigh wasn't too into playing the scared card... but then the wind blew and Mr. T-Rex started to fall into her and the next picture is priceless...

She legitimately got scared and thought he was trying to get her!  It was so funny!

Even Uncle Steve wanted to take a picture with T-Rex.

Riley wasn't too phased that there was a T-Rex behind her!

Cioci Kimmy tried to get AJ to take a picture because he wasn't so interested at first...

But he started to warm up a little bit... luckily Mr. T-Rex is friendly and doesn't bite!

Maddie wanted in on the fun too. 

AJ playing camera shy and not wanting to be seen with Mr. T-Rex for a picture...

Molly wasn't scared at all!

Neither was Xavier!

But I think Daddy was trying to get him a bit scared...

The dino-riffic cake!

The birthday boy taking a rest before cake time!

Blowing out the candles with some help from Katie

The two blondies.

We asked the kids to get together and roar and this is what we got! 

I absolutely love seeing all the kiddos together having fun!

Traditional birthday family picture.  I love how Chloe is intrigued with her brother!

Our little family.

We couldn't leave Mr. T-Rex out from our family picture!

For the late stayers at the party, we had a special surprise - fireworks!

Michael working his magic!

I promise they looked more like fireworks in person than just a big blob of fire!

A perfect end to a perfect day for our big boy!