Springtime Fun

We had our first ice cream of the year on a Monday afternoon...for dinner...

 

Preceded by a trip to Target with these three darlings...

A music class outside...

Then a little Kidchella at Kidville...

A date to The Jungle Book with my big girl Adelaide Jane...

And this big girl's first dance pictures!

 

The first visit to Muscoot of the season...

 

And a nice morning at the park complete with Brighton's first swing experience...

Plus play doh and bubbles at home...

 

 We certainly are enjoying this warm springtime weather, beautiful sunshine, and breezy evenings! Keep it up spring and we will continue to the fun!

Brighton Kevin: 7 Months

Dearest Brighton,

What a big month for you sweet baby boy! You have grown so much and experienced so many new fun things in life over the past month. Your personality continues to blossom and you have the ability to light up a room in an instant.

You celebrated your first Easter in March. Dressed to impress, you ooohed and ahhed through church & brunch. While your siblings enjoyed the majority of the festivities, you still managed to be in the action and I have no doubt that next year you will be hunting for eggs too!

Joy and delight to not do justice to your experience during our first trip to Disney. You loved being in the Bjorn and facing out to see Magic Kingdom. You clapped your little hands together and talked up a storm. You enjoyed the rides and were a total all star throughout the entire day. 

Your second trip to Naples was a success. You had a blast swimming around in the pool with everyone. You would kick your little legs in the baby floaty and had the biggest smile on your face. You played with your siblings and cousins. Were hugged and kissed on by Mimi, Papa, Aunt Kiki, Uncle Peter, Aunt Bees, and Aunt Amanda. 

 

You are sitting up unsupported and it is your favorite way to be in life. You want to be big like Adelaide & Aspen. You laugh and smile when you are upright and are even getting gutsy by taking your hands off of the ground for support.

We had a few hurdles to overcome this month though. We started sleep training you as the frequent nighttime wake-ups were starting to really weigh on daddy & I. The first night it felt like you cried off and on for the entire night. But by night two, you cried for a few minutes then went to sleep and didn't wake until about 4am. You made a few cries but within 5 minutes you were back to snoozing. At 7am, you woke ready for a bottle and to make it a great day. We are all sleeping much better now and you have even moved into your big boy crib! You are truly loving all of the space compared to the bassinet ;)

Another little blip in the month came when you had to have surgery. It is called a penoplasty which is basically a correction of a botched circumcision. In the original surgery, they did not take off enough skin so the pediatric urologist, Dr. Siederman, felt penoplasty was a must. We went to the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital bright and early on a Friday morning. An hour later, they were reviewing the procedure with me. The actual surgery is not difficult, but the putting you completely under as a 6 month old baby left this mommy in tears. As I waited for you in the waiting room, I called Mimi because I knew that she knew what it felt like and no one else would know my pain like her. A few hours later, you were out and awake. You woke up demanding to eat!! The nurses thought you were the cutest and were sad to see you go ;) Nonetheless you are so brave and took the entire surgery & recovery like a champ!

Brighton Kevin, you are such a special boy! You are getting so big and growing up before my eyes which is hard to swallow at times. You continue to adore your big sister and brother as well as being eager to let them know when you have had enough! You are the perfect 3rd child in so many ways and I cannot thank you enough for that gift :)

I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Meet Emmet Thomas: A Sip N' See

Sunday I hosted a little Sip & See for my best friend Whitney and her newborn son Emmet Thomas. Sweet baby boy is her 3rd baby and we have the exact same aged kids and genders (girl, boy, boy). Neither of us ever find out the gender. Adelaide & Caileigh have the same middle name. We found out on the same day that we were pregnant with Aspen & Aidan...the boys were born a day apart and as you can read they both have "A" names. When she found out that she was pregnant with Emmet, I was the first person that she told. Yes before her husband and her mom. It was the day after the doctors told us Brighton had a heart issue. She was the first person that I told about that horrible news. Just before Brighton was born, she threw me a little sprinkle with our friends here, spa themed, and one of the nights that I will always cherish. She has been my rock and my secret keeper. A true friend who I know that I can count on. There are no words to express the love and appreciation that I have for my dear friend Whitney. So it was an honor to be able to celebrate baby Emmet with her and our friends!

 

 

Emmet was born on Tuesday March 15th at 2:21am. Whitney's water broke at 1:55am at her house. Her husband drove 100 miles per hour to the hospital through the intense labor & contractions in the middle of the night. As they pulled up to the hospital and she stepped out of the car, his little head came springing out! A grande entrance indeed! 

When I awoke to the text at 3am, I literally thought that I was dreaming! "Its a BOY" I read in total shock! Those 3rd kids I tell you, they really have a way of making their presence known ;) 

 

You will notice that Whitney is wearing a cast. A week and a half ago, her daughter Caileigh screamed bloody murder in the middle of the night and she went running to see what was the matter. She tripped and shattered her arm. Emmet was two weeks old at the time. In all honesty, she hasn't missed a beat with the kids, still being a great mother warrior! 

 

Welcome to the world baby Emmet Thomas! You are as cute as a button and are so loved by many already!