Halloween 2007

June - it came, it went, we conquered

So, June was a month we were looking forward to. We were anxious for the neighbors to get out of school and anxious for Mark's baptism to introduce him to the family.

We were also anxious to celebrate my birthday in California with Tita Patty on her graduation day! We all (Gallaghers, RaRa, me and the boys) flew out to CA for a whirlwind tour to Laguna Cliffs for the longest graduation in the history of the world!! Just kidding Pat! We were all so proud of Patty and the positive impression she made on everyone in CA, especially her patients. We enjoyed each other and the laughs and silly things we did as well as the delicious dinners we ate. Here's Patty and Clare enjoying our dinner spot!

After we returned from CA, Mark was baptized on Sunday, June 17th which also turned out to be Father's Day. We had a wonderful intimate baptism at St. Michael's Church - where we were married - and lots of family and friends were there to celebrate. Mark's godly parents were in attendance - thanks to Beth and Michael for standing in - Mark looked cute in his nine month old outfit because, of course, that was all that fit. It was hot and the party at RaRa and Poppy's house was fun with Uncle Brian, the chef, on duty.

And then finally to the end of the month and the beginning of true relaxation, Kevin and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary a bit early in Cancun! We enjoyed the sun, relaxation, absence of the words Mommy and Daddy (for a few days) and the drinks. We also enjoyed each other's company - a thing we haven't had the opportunity to do much lately. It was perfect and we wished our friends, Ryan and Alisha, could be there with us - but we thought of them often and had a special drink in their honor!! It was a spectacular vacation and we hope to do it again next year!

Four month old checkup

We're back in VA after seeing friends and family for a week in NJ and PA. We all had such a good time. Poppy and Rara even bought Ryan a new red two wheel bike from Target which Ryan gets up at 6 am to ride every morning - thanks Poppy and Rara!!

We missed Dada and he missed us a lot too so we spent the entire Memorial Day weekend at home swimming in our pool and catching some rays. We took some pictures too! Here are the Andris boys all together on the couch for a picture.

This week was Mark's four month checkup and he weighs in at 16.5 lbs and measures 26 inches long. He is in the 90th percentile for height and weight for his age. He may outweigh Ryan at some point soon. He has started eating rice cereal although he cries when we feed it to him - I don't think he likes the taste. I mixed some with applesauce this evening and he gobbled it right up.

Next week we are headed back to NJ and then to CA for Patty's graduation. We hope to see lots of family at Mark's baptism and are looking forward to spending some more time with Poppy and Rara. See you all soon!

Summer's here

It's been a while since my last post...we have been busy going on the potty and making arrangements to visit Tita Patty in California!! We are all so excited.

Our traveling begins this week with a trip to PA with Grammy Andris to visit her digs and visit old friends. On Saturday it's Alisha's shower in Quakertown, PA and then off to New Jersey to visit Rara and Poppy for a couple of days.

Then back to VA for Memorial Day and then back again to NJ (a week later) for our trip to California for Tita's graduation from prosthetic school! Hooray Tita!!

Mark's baptism will be on June 17th (Father's Day) and so we will be in NJ preparing for that for two weeks! Boy will Dada miss us!!

Mark has been smiling - hence the picture (taken on my camera phone). And Ryan has been enjoying the weather by running through the sprinkler in the front yard - good thing we have a pool!

Love to all - hope to see most of you in May or June. Will write about the trip when we return!

Stubborn runs in the family

So, this week Mark is ten weeks old and I decided Ryan needs to be more aware of Mark's presence and start interacting with him. I asked Ryan if he would be willing to help me feed Mark - he agreed to hold the bottle.

And today, I asked him to sit with Mark & hold him for a picture - he obliged! I couldn't believe it! And so, the result is this adorable picture of my two boys - FINALLY!!

Ryan and I have been battling the past couple weeks with going on the potty. You can see from the picture that he has his big boy underwear on this morning. We are 2-0 so far - no wet undies yet - but the day is young!! We have also talked about going to school in the fall and he understands that he has to wear big boy underwear to school. He has asked me to stop "cheering" for him when he goes on the potty - and so I cheer silently - but we are making progress I think. I am looking forward to many more days where Ryan asks me to stop embarassing him by "cheering."

A plentiful Easter

Easter was fun! Ryan participated in three separate Easter egg hunts and enjoyed himself. By the third one, he had the egg finding down to a science. Boy do we have a lot of candy. Although a bit chilly, the weekend was sunny and Poppy and Dada were busy working on the deck. The lattice has been measured and will now be stained to match the deck. The summer is coming and we are ready to enjoy our backyard and of course, the pool.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. Mark's outfit (compliments of Mimi) was adorable with the cottontail on his behind. And just when we thought it would never happen, Ryan sat for a picture with Mark (and Rara). Hooray!

Easter is coming - we can't wait!

So, Easter is coming and we've been talking about the Easter bunny on a regular basis. Ryan is concerned about two things:

1. Where will the Easter bunny park his car? (I've already told him he just hops here!) and

2. Whether Jack (Poppy and Rara's dog) will scare the Easter bunny away.

Ryan plans to have a talk with Jack to explain he's not allowed to bark and scare the Easter bunny away. I haven't filled Ryan in on the fact that the Easter bunny brings candy yet - he eats enough as it is.

And just when I thought we turned a corner with Mark, he seems to have outsmarted me again. Not napping during the day - boy has that been productive. And so, today's picture is from yesterday when Mark didn't beginning napping until 4:30 p.m.. This is Mark passed out at 8:30 p.m. Check out those cheeks!!