Aidan's 1st Birthday

Aidan's first birthday was October 4th. We had a wonderful party with both sides of the family. Rob's grandma and cousins came over from Indy and my family all came over from Zanesville. We had a beautiful day. We were able to eat outside and the kids weren't stuck in our house all day.

Unfortunately Aidan got sick after his lunch during his party. So bad that he ended up getting a bath. I debated on whether or not to give him cake, but I figured how could a kid not have some cake on their first birthday!! So, we let him dig in and then we ended up having to clean it all up again, as he got sick during his nap. The good thing was he smiled the entire time!!!!

His party theme was Cupcakes and Teddy Bears. My cousin, Erica, made the most adorable cakes. She made 2 cupcakes and a teddy bear cake that was just for Aidan.

Here are a few pictures from the party.

Cakes Erica Made
Aidan's special cake

He was smiling at the teddy bear

Enjoying his yummy cake

San Antonio

Rob and I had a nice few days in San Antonio. And I think our parents survived watching the boys for a couple of days. It was so nice to have a few adult meals, but I was ready to come home.

The weather was beautiful. Hot and Sunny!!! We had some great food, got to see a lot of sites. We went to the Alamo to see where Davey Crockett had been. I was amazed at how small it was.

Here are some pictures from our trip!!!

Updates on Cole & Aidan

HI ALL!!

Well believe it or not, Aidan is going to be a year old next weekend. I can't believe how fast the time flies by!! Cole is now 27 months! He is talking up a storm and saying 4-5 word sentences. It's fun to watch him role play with his toys. He mocks Rob and I on his play cell phones/blackberry. But he's always talking to the same person...Uncle Dave!! His favorite phrase lately is "Doing Guys?" It's so funny when he says it. He's been into Dinosaurs, Trains and Coloring. He likes to try and write his own name. He knows the first two letters are C-O.

Aidan has been crawling ALL over!! He pulls himself up on everything. He's let go a few times, but nothing more than that. He's been watching Cole too much and the other night Rob and I saw Aidan trying to climb on the pack-n-play. I hope he doesn't becoming a climber like Cole is!!!

Rob and I are heading to San Antonio this weekend! Rob won a sales trip so we're going!! Should be fun, but I'm nervous leaving the boys.

Joanne and my parents are tag teaming to watch the kids. I am sure they will be ready for a vacation when we get back!!

Here are a few recent pictures of the kids. ENJOY!!

Ripley's Aquarium

We had one rainy/overcast day on vacation so we decided to make a trip to the Aquarium. I was a little nervous after seeing one of the Jaws movies when Jaws breaks through the tunnel at Sea World!! This Aquarium had a Sting Ray Bay and then a Tunnel you stood on a people mover to see all the fish. In this area they probably had a dozen different sharks! Cole had recently watched Finding Nemo, so he was very interested in the fish, sharks and turtles. Unfortunately we didn't find Nemo there. HA!

At the Sting Ray area the Sting Rays would swim up so you could touch them. We didn't but others were. Then you could go down below to look at the swimming.

Here are a few pictures we took.

A huge Sea Turtle

Cole loved the Jellyfish.

Aidan looking into the lower area of Sting Ray Bay

Cole and Molly looking at the big fish!!

JAWS! Isn't that a scary sight!!!

We had a lot of fun at the Aquarium, but it's probably not somewhere we would spend money to go again. Somewhat pricey for the little time we were there. But it's nice to say we did it.

Family Vacation

We just got back from a wonderful family vacation to Myrtle Beach!!! We went with 3 other couples. We only knew 1 of them when we went. One of my very best friends from high school, her parents, hooked us up with a great place to stay. It was perfect. We each had our own 2 bedroom condo with a full kitchen!! Since there were 8 adults and 6 kids under the age of 3, we were thankful for the kitchen to make meals instead of eating out every night!

We started our trip off on Thursday evening and stayed on my parents boat in Marietta. They were down there for the Sternwheel Festival. It's so much fun every year, we were so glad we were able to be there for at least one day. We spent Thursday night and Friday night on the boat. We ended up leaving at 4:00 am on Saturday to start our long drive to Myrtle.

Cole and Papaw looking at the boats

The drive wasn't too bad...well, it might have been for Rob, you'll have to ask him. We stopped around 7:30 am for gas and doughnuts. The kids woke up then. Then we stopped again, about an hour later for diaper changes and to get the boys dressed.

Once we arrived to Myrtle, Aidan was REALLY ready to be out of the car!! And so was everyone else. We met up with Scott & Laura and their 2 kids at Broadway at the Beach for lunch. Cole & Molly got to feed the fish after we ate.

Cole and Molly Crates feeding the fish

We did a lot of swimming at the pool and took the kids to the beach one morning. The babies were eating lots of sand, Cole was screaming he wanted to be in the water with the BIG WAVES, Molly was screaming she wanted NOTHING to do with the ocean!!

We had such a great time, I'm ready to start planning next years trip.

Enjoy the pictures below of our fun!!!!

Cole on the waterslide (he called them YELLOW SLIDES)

Aidan in his elephant floaty

My beach babies

It's been a while

Well, it's been quite some time since I've updated the blog and Rob likes to remind me everyday!! We've had so much to do lately!! I am actually glad summer is coming to an end so maybe we stay home and not be so busy during the winter...HA! I doubt it!!

Some of the things we've done since I last posted...Rob and I had a group date night with my best friends from High School. My parents watched the boys for us and took them to BW3's for dinner. We went to Indy to visit the newest Ward cousins, Caleb and Olivia. Caleb was born in June and Olivia was born in July. We had a playdate with our friends Bill and Wendy and their 2 kids over Labor Day weekend. Rob did a lot of Referring soccer that weekend, so I took the boys to the Zoo one day. Then we took our nice 10 day family vacation! That will be a whole other post.

So, now you know why I've been lacking on the blog lately!!!!

School Festival

The Kids Daycare had a festival on Sunday. The had inflatables, food, ice cream etc. Cole had so much fun jumping on everything. Aidan really wanted in that bounce house with his brother!!

Cole in the Bounce House

Aidan wanting in the Bounce House

Picnic with College Friends

We also went to a cookout on Saturday with some of my sorority sisters from college. It was so great to see everyone and catch up. Misty drove 7 hours from Virginia, Ellen drove from Pittsburgh, Tricia drove from Kentucky. Amanda and Julie came in from Cleveland and Nikki came from Mt. Vernon. A few people that came last year didn't make it...but hopefully they'll be able to come back next year.

All of us girls!!! Gosh we look good!


All of the mom's with their kids!!! (8 boys, 4 girls and 7 moms!)

The little girl next to Cole was born on the exact same day!!

I am sure Kelly will be sending out her email to host again next year. It's crazy we have to pick a date a year ahead of time! Last year, Nikki, Amanda and I were all pregnant. It was great to see the new babies this year!

Touch a Truck

A park in Hilliard did an event on Saturday called "Touch a Truck". We took the boys and Cole loved seeing all the cars and trucks. Here are some pictures. He got to sit on a Police Motorcycle, up in a couple of Fire Trucks, in an Army Truck, on a Tractor and in a Sheriff Deputy Car (just like Uncle Doug will drive!). The worst part was getting him to understand he had to wait his turn in the long line of kids!! It was a good thing we got there early, because by the time we were ready to leave there were kids EVERYWHERE!

Sheriff's Car (he's at least putting on the seatbelt!)

We hope we never see him in the back of the cruiser!!

Up in the Fire Engine!

On the tractor

Aidan was there at the event, but he was in the stroller, so we didn't get any pictures of him. I'm sure next year he'll be right up there in line with Cole. And Aidan will be the one crying he doesn't want to wait in line!

Finally have time!!

Well, I finally have time to update the blog after our crazy weekend!! Here are some pictures from the Irish Festival.

Aidan Sleeping During the Festival

Cole as a Leprechaun

Aidan and Aunt Katy

Cole Kissing the Big Ten Football Trophy. GO BUCKS!!!!

We had a lot of fun that day, but boy was it a LONG night!! The kids were great!!! And they even slept in the next day! Even better!!!!!

Busy Weekend!

We had a very busy weekend. Saturday we took the kids to the Dublin Irish Festival. It was a lot of fun. We hadn't gone for a few years and decided it would be a good time to go this year. Our neighbors Dan, Tess and Addison went with us. The kids had a lot of fun listening to music and watching the Irish step dancers.

Cole's favorite part was watching the bag pipe teams. Aidan just enjoyed everything...he even took a little nap!

Sunday we had an ice cream social at our church. In Worthington on Sunday's they have a concert on the green. This week was The Ohio State Alumni Band. Cole loved seeing the drums and hearing the band music. He would yell "BAND!" Aidan of course just smiled and laughed the entire time. Both enjoyed the ice cream and other yummy goodies.

Well, we have another busy week ahead of us. 3 cookouts and a possible trip to the State Fair.

Check back for some pictures of the festival and OSU band.

Family Night at the Zoo

We went to the zoo last night for Family night. We went with 4 other families! We had so much fun and all the kids go along great!!! Cole loves the zoo so much!!! I think he would like it if we went everyday!!! Cole got to touch a starfish and even went in the bounce house and on a huge bouncy slide.

Here are a few pictures from our night.

Cole checking out the Gorillas

Cole touching some sea creatures

Cole with Zachary & Natalie

Aidan enjoying the ride in the stroller

Spaghetti Anyone

I made spaghetti last night for dinner and the kids love it!!! Check out these great faces!!!

Cole was insisting he needed his picture taken!!!

Swim Party

Cole had Addison, our neighbor. over on Sunday for a swim date. They had so much fun playing in the water together. Addison is about 8 months older than Cole. She and her mommy stayed and had lunch with us and all she talked about that evening was that Cole ate her hot dog. Well, she wasn't eating her hot dog, so Cole thought it was free game! Here are some pictures of their fun!!!



While Cole and Addison were playing Aidan was taking a nap. I went to check on him and found him asleep sitting up. Check out the picture Rob was able to sneak.

Little Aidan

We took Aidan this morning for an Ultrasound. He was having some bathroom issues over the weekend and we noticed a bulge on his right side below his belly button. Our thought was it was a hernia. We called the on-call dr. and she said just to make an appointment for Monday to have him checked out.

Rob took him in on Monday and the doctor said he couldn't be 100% sure if it was a hernia during the exam so he wanted an ultrasound. We took him in at 9 this morning. The ultrasound did not show an active hernia, but the tech said it is still possible that he has one. She said the bowel can move in and out of the hole if there is one. So now we just wait and if it happens again we'll call the doctor.

Good news is no surgery....as of now!!

Love to you all!!

Got a mini...van!

Well, this weekend it happened!! We've upgraded to a mini van!! The Jeep was great for one kid...but now with 2 it's difficult to get everything in to go away for a weekend. Especially if we're taking the dog with us. Some how I always got stuck sitting between the 2 car seats and the dog got to ride up in the front.



This will make our vacation to Myrtle much more enjoyable on the car ride there and back. And Cole will be able to watch DVD's all the way there!!! Poor Aidan will still be facing backwards, but not for much longer! Maybe I can put up a mirror so he can see the DVD screen in it. :)

I'll try to post some pictures of the new wheels this week.

Good Intentions

Well, I've had all intentions in doing this blog and just haven't seemed to get around to it. In the last 2 months we've been so busy!!!


Cole turned 2, we've been to numerous cookouts, played in our kids pool outside, spent time in Zanesville with my parents, went to Rob's family reunion in Indy, watched fireworks (Cole slept through them, but Aidan loved it!), went to a wedding, got together with my high school friends and had Cole's 2 year and family pictures taken. WOW, that's a lot of stuff!!!

The bad thing is, summer's almost over and that means cold weather is coming back BOOHOO!

On the upside we still have our vacation to Myrtle Beach coming up in September. Then Rob and I are taking a trip to San Antonio just the two of us. Rob did so much sales that he was able to qualify for a trip for 2!!

Here are some recent pictures. Check back for some more updates! I hope to update more this weekend.

First time for everything!!

Well, I thought I would create a blog for our family. We have so many relatives that live out of state it's nice to have a way to keep in touch and read about what all we've been doing. So this is my attempt to start a family blog!!

I'll try to keep everyone updated on what is going on in our world as much as possible. We're always so busy it will be a fun way to share what all we've been doing.

Keep watching for updates!!

Love to all!!