Emil meeting “The Queen”
First, Happy New Year! I had been hoping to get all of the December posts done in December, but that turned out to be too lofty a goal for this mama. So now here we are, January 1st, getting caught up. Which I guess is fitting since, you know, resolutions and all. One of my resolutions being to stay caught up with life… if that makes any sense.
Uncle Billy pile-up
Anyway, flash back a few weeks to the weekend of December 17th. Andrew invited his brothers, Bill and Ryan, plus Bill’s family, plus one of their childhood friends, plus two of his coworkers to our house. Total number of people under one roof: 8 adults, 5 children. It was a blast. The purpose: the Bengals-Rams game. Reina’s 5th birthday also happened to fall on that Saturday, so of course we had plenty of celebrating to do!
Duet
Princess for a day
We had a fantastic time. Annie is one of my all-time favorite people. She is funny and positive and helpful and smiles a lot. We managed to take all 5 kids to the playground AND to Winslow’s Home (okay, we split up for that) and handled a few meltdowns with dignity and grace… all while keeping a good sense of humor and occasionally “Creepy-Baby-ing” the other.
Birthday cupcakes!
Rapunzel
Grubby hands grabbing
Check out Milo’s fingers… hoping for a good one?
Three brothers enjoying some home-brewed beer and fire.
It was a successful weekend. I particularly enjoyed watching these three grown brothers spending time together acting silly, having serious discussions, sharing stories of their own families… as I pondered what our three boys would grow up to be like. It is fascinating to think about the future in this way… wondering what role each son will take on in the family. I strive to raise our boys to be as well-adjusted and kind-hearted as these three.
Happy New Year! Up next: our pre-Christmas trip to Ohio!
Looks like a fun weekend! And congrats to the Bengals for still making the playoffs despite that loss to the Ravens!!! I think I’ll send the boys Ravens jammies when they win the Superbowl. ; )
I think the Bengals let the Ravens win to go into the playoffs underrated. Ravens jammies would be a big hit in this household. Milo adores the Ravens because (a) he was born in Baltimore and (b) they’re purple. Oliver adores the Ravens because Milo does.