Kaitlyn's birthday weekend

"The days are long, but the years are short"

One year and we don't remember life without our little pistol named Kaitlyn. Here she is, in all her birthday glory. She now says "cheeee" when you take her picture which results in a really funny face, but it is cute.
Kaitlyn didnt really like the lights off and the candles a blaze but when she tasted the cake, life got a lot better. James picked out her Barbie ballerina cake after specific instructions that the cake was for his SISTER and not for him. He did good!Our chef at work baking the "cake".

Ah, Buzz. We are hoping that by the time Halloween rolls around, Buzz is not a thing of the past! James wears his Buzz suit every. single. day.

Here's mom trying to get Kaitlyn's 1 year old bear picture. Kaitlyn had different plans for the bear. Usually she is on the receiving end of such tackles so it felt good to take out the stuffed bear.


Happy Birthday to our girl.

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september

we swear we went from baby to toddler overnight

And this is our preschooler in his classroom on his first day...

Tormenting the brother while he sleeps.

Taking a walk together
Running
Kaitlyn in the sky courteousy of daddy
Pals.

Family Vacation

Outer Banks with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Ali and Mark = lots of fun, excitement weathering hurricane Earl, joys of eating sand, no bedtime schedule and big waves. And there was a lot more to the trip that made it memorable! First vacation with Kaitlyn = the first vacation with two little mobile ones who require much attention which meant very tired parents. We're all happy that the induction into the family of four vacation club was successful :-)

here we are!

eating together
WALKING! We couldnt believe Kaitlyn started taking her first steps soon after she turned 10 months, a little earlier than her brother (we think she planned it this way).

The family

August

In a nutshell - Kaitlyn's 10 months old, sleeping a little better, but not well enough to help mom regain her full brain functions yet. Everyone LOVES the pool and we try to get in at least once a day. Kaitlyn has revealed her full blown personality which is: opinionated, stubborn, funny, talkative and a little on the fearless side. She lives to take anything of her brothers and loves to push his buttons. She's began taking her first steps much to our reluctance...we just cant believe she's already "there". Time sure does fly! But we are excited for her and smile watching how proud she is of herself as she walks across the room. James is becoming a preschooler through and through. He's doing so much more for himself and by himself that mommy can't believe the difference 10 months make! He's a very insightful and smart little guy and loves to talk about anything and everything. Just the other day he wanted to understand what an oven was and why we need to cook our food. He has enjoyed being a part of the pool project from start to almost finished (we still need grass!!). What we've learned to be true: The days are long, but the years are short. Can't believe the summer's almost over!

The kiddos in action

James helping at lunchtime to feed Kaitlyn, she got a big kick out of this and actually ate more for him than she did for mom!
Our two babies sitting together in the "snack chair".
James and mommy used up time stuck at home because of a stomach bug to make a tractor cake together. (obviously we made it on the tail end of the ailment when appetite was returning!)

Our Kaitlyn and her 9 month shot & here are her updates: army crawling - she'll crawl very vigorously when she sees paper, rock, crayon, actually pretty much anything that shouldn't go in her mouth. And she'll definitely give you a piece of her mind when you remove these objects from her. Maybe she likes using those 4 teeth she has? Mommy knows first hand how she is exploring with those little chompers :-( Like her brother, she LOVES the walker, loves walking holding onto your fingers and will spend all day at the train table if she was allowed. She's already taken her share of bumps from experimenting with getting down from that standing position & we hope she catches on quicker than that brother of hers!

Happy 3rd Birthday James

Three. Years. Old. We don't remember what life was like without this remarkable little boy around making us laugh. This year's birthday was marked with a specific request for a Firetruck cake (carried out by Grandma), a request to jump into the pool (again, Grandma and Grandpa) and another very specific request to go to Chuck-e-Cheese to eat chips, drive a steering wheel and give 'ol Chuck a kiss. Who wouldn't fulfill all of these 3 year old dreams?

yes, James is in this picture...at the top, in the air. Mom wasn't shying away, she's familiar with the rough and tumble ways of dad.

4th of july

What a great weekend we all had this 4th of July holiday. It began with a trip to the beach in Fairfield with the Imschweilers for pizza and some ocean time on Friday night. James enjoyed the ocean and the small waves from the Sound. Next beach visit will be OBX with BIG waves at the end of August. Kaitlyn enjoyed the taste of the salt water and like every baby, the crunch of the sand in her gums. Saturday we were on our way to Stafford Springs to the Plona picnic/reunion. What fabulous weather we had for this special event. And check out the kids! 18 beautiful children (some making funny faces). The day wouldnt be complete without a lot of time spent on the tractor and in the go cart. The weekend wrapped up with a trip to the cow farm for ice cream and the petting zoo at Silverman's farm.

Highlights: the ocean with cousin William and Julia, the tractors, ice cream with a straw, an early birthday present (the spray and rescue firetruck), fireworks, baby Kaitlyn's mohawk curtousy of Nate Moonis, more tractors, some animals and the grand finale: a trip to Costco. Life is defintely good.

Before the long weekend we got to meet Kylie Platenik! The newest member of the Trainor family. James and Will had a great time playing in the dirt in the bomb -err- backyard. And, the kids did a fairly good job posing for a picture: