Fall

I see that my posts our now more and more spread out. All I can say is, time flies when you're having fun! With two kids in sports, we feel like we have been tugged in all different directions. However, one thing that I make sure we do is stop and breathe...and enjoy the wonderful crisp fall air.

I love fall! It is one of my favorite seasons. I love the fresh apple cider, hay rides, pumpkins...the list could go on and on. We had the opportunity to go to a local farm and enjoy the slides and apples, and great company a few weeks ago. Then on Columbus Day, I took the kids again to this little hidden jewel. It was a flower farm not too far away that was less crowded and had all the wonderful things most "bigger farms" had. I can't get enough of all the fall activities! Can we just push winter off for a little longer?


The slides were great! Even I went down them several times, it made me feel like a kid again!

Baby B loved being outdoors and seeing all the action.

It was a nice, sunny day out!

G with some church buddies on the hayride...he lucked out and they are also in his same class at school!

The three at the top before going down the slide together. They were so cute helping each other up on things and waiting for each other at the bottom.

Little M surprised me with the slides. She kept wanting to go down and would just throw herself down the slides all by herself. For those of you that know her, she is NOT the adventurous type!

There were these huge bales of hay that the kids could jump and climb on. They loved it!

I think the look on M's face says it all!

Visit from the Great Grandparents

This is a little out of order, but we had a great visit from Cedric's grandparents for a week and half. They came all the way up from Florida. They didn't go out much because it's a challenge walking for long periods of time, but the kids loved just hanging out and reading books, playing doll houses and games with them. We had a wonderful time and hope to keep the tradition up of seeing them at least every two years. Our kids are so blessed to be able to have two living great grandmas and a great grandpa.

First Day

Sniff, sniff...is summer over already? Where did the time go? This week was the first day of school for the kids. The weather even seemed to change just in time for it. We welcomed the year with the crisp September air in the morning.

This year, G is in second grade (didn't he go into Kindergarten just yesterday?) and T is in Kindergarten (My baby? Really?). The kids were excited to start school and have come home every day happy and wanting to go back. I guess that's a good sign! Here are some shots of their first day. I have been missing having them home with me, but I am ready for the routine again too. Here's to a great upcoming year!

T getting off the bus...she was so proud of herself and happy!

Five Years Ago

Five years ago, I gave birth to Miss T, our spunky, fun-loving gal. After an easy delivery, she came out with blonde streaks in her hair and a huge nose (thank goodness her face grew into her nose). If I hadn't given birth to her, I would have wondered if she was really mine. Our little girl turned five a few weeks ago (I'm a little slow in posting). This year, she has become quite the girly girl with her sparkly rings, bracelets, lip glosses, etc. So going along with that, she wanted to have a beauty shop party. We invited just a few of her friends. We did nails, hair, and just primped ourselves. We did our girly girl thing. It was so much fun!

Here's to our strong Miss T. She's had a rough year with her eye issues, but took it like a champ. She has proven to be our sweet girl, who speaks up when she needs to. She always has a goofy smile on her face (I can't take normal pictures of her anymore). She will light up a room any day. She constantly thinks of others and will do anything for people she loves. Love ya, girl!

Minor League Game

We always enjoy a good minor league baseball game. The crowds are fewer, we get a wonderful view, and the tickets cost less than $30 for our whole family! We are fortunate enough to have a stadium less than an hour away. After every home game, they have fireworks and the kids can run the bases. We just layed out a blanket and enjoyed the game from the lawn. It was so much fun!

To the Falls

In our attempt to make up for not going to the beach this year, we tried to take the kids to a fake beach with some cousins...sort of the cheap way out. Cedric didn't have any vacation saved up since he just started a new job a few months ago. We weren't sure how Baby B would do on a long drive and then all the sun exposure...so we headed to a state park about an hour away. It has a sandy area for the kids to play and a little lake for them to swim in.

I hesitate to post my feelings about this trip because we have heard nothing but great things about this place. I have to say that the kids had a wonderful time, which is all that matters. I do, however, want to get on my soapbox for just a minute about this place. The signs were all there from the time we stepped foot out of the car. First, as we are walking into the park, I see dirty socks just lying in the parking lot, along with a bunch of trash. No big deal. Then, we get there and lay our stuff down and see dirty diapers, just left right there on the sand (if you look closely enough at the very top picture, you can actually see one). Disgusting, but I can handle that (as long as the "goods" stay in the diaper). As we were there, I looked around and there were at least three small children (obviously not potty-trained aged) swimming in the "lake" area...with nothing but their birthday suits on. Wishful thinking was that they'd hold it if they had to go. And what topped off the day and what completely culminated my feelings of utter disgust was the trip to the bathroom when we had to go home. I have seen filth, but never like this before. People just did their business right on the floor next to the toilet. Seriously, is that necessary? Women's hygeine products that weren't so hygenic, left right out in the open. I felt like running into the woods and doing my business there...it would have been cleaner! What's sad is that the facilities are so nice (several stalls and showers) and have great potential to be a wonderful family place. Why do people have to be so lazy, dirty, and inconsiderate enough to turn it into a disaster?

Anyway, one of these days I may be brave enough to go back, but if I do, I will make sure we do not have to use the bathroom, and that the kids do not do any scuba diving in that water! Maybe that's what we get for taking the "cheap" way out on the beach experience!

Reason #1 to Never Fall Asleep Before Your Brother...

You will find a cat on your face...



We had been spending quite a bit of time at my brother's house. They have this neighborhood cat that roams around and likes to hang out in front of his house. The kids took a liking to it and named him "Gnochi (from Curious George)." Well, one night T decided she wanted to sleep with her pretend Gnochi. I came in to say goodnight to her and found her passed out, with Gnochi plastered to her face. I think we all figured out who the culprit was pretty quickly.

All Because of...

Gobstoppers, Pixi-sticks, lollypops, popsicles, cupcakes, Air Heads...anything and all things sweet...used as potty bribery. I can say that we are about three weeks into this with no accidents and I couldn't be more proud of her. One day, she just decided that diapers were for babies and she wanted to give them up to her baby brother. From that day on, she just started going on her own. I am a huge fan of letting kids go when they are ready. I've tried agonizing over it, spending hours trying to get them to go, resulting in no progress, screaming kids, and messy accidents (with G and T). Then it was like a light went on for both of them and they decided one day to do it...no coaxing or kicking or screaming. The same happened with M. She also, of course knew that if she did go in the potty, there'd be a nice hunk of sugar (in one form or another) waiting for her afterwards. That was enough to get the job done!

Way to go, M!

Summa Summa Summer Time...

Here's a summary of the "summa" time happenings so far in the Moran home...

G ended the school year with a bang. He received the principal's award for his class. This award is given out to the student who demonstrated good character throughout the year. One boy and one girl is chosen from each class. In a testosterone filled class of 18 boys and 6 girls, he came out on top. He was so proud of himself...

Baseball also ended, what a great season! Here's G with one of his best pals...

Summer does not officially start without the good old slip n' slide...

...and a jump on the moonbounce.

Our tradition each year is to do outdoor summer concerts...

B also enjoyed his first show.

We have also done a lot of running through fountains...

...and pool days in the backyard.

We went to a 4th of July parade...

...and saw some fireworks too.


When it's too hot out, we hang out at home (sit back and unwind)...







...and when it cools down in the evenings, we try and go for walks almost every night as a family.




Thanks for going on our journey through the first part of summer. I can't believe it is well into July already! We have been having a wonderful time together. Stay tuned for more pictures of our adventures this "summa!"

An End to Preschool

T with her best friend, Lily...

T getting her preschool graduation certificate...


The pictures above are from T's last day of preschool and her field day (sniff, sniff). T had a great year at preschool. She learned a lot and made some great friends. Now, we have a kindergartener on our hands. Watch out, elementary school, here she comes!

The New Do's

For those that know me, you know that I am one to go from one extreme to another when it comes to my hair. I finally grew it out pretty long. I went to get it trimmed about a month ago, keeping the length. I couldn't take it anymore. I needed a new "do" fast. So I chopped it a few days ago (sorry, I don't have any pictures yet). Immediately when I got home, Miss T wanted her hair just as short. I had just taken her a month ago when I got mine trimmed. I couldn't bring myself to pay another $20-30 to get her hair cut at the salon again. I was feeling a bit adventurous, so I decided to do it myself. I've cut her hair before, but not this short. So, 1.5 hours later and several repeated snips here, there, and everywhere, this is the end result... I am still not used to it being this short yet, but I think it looks cute on her. I cut M's hair while I was at it, but she has such little hair that you can't tell.
G also had "crazy hair day" at school. He decided to do the mohawk thing. He also borrowed some of his sisters' hair clips, which probably wasn't such a good idea.
Now, we are ready for a hot and wild summer!

Our Two Month Old

I don't really celebrate the "monthly" birthdays, but it is so amazing how much a baby can change from month to month. B turned two months yesterday. He had his shots yesterday, which was sad. Later that night, every time he moved his legs, he'd screach in pain. I felt awful for him. He is healthy and happy, and that's what really matters. He is over 12 lbs. now, which is in the 65th percentile. All of my other kids have been in the 10-25% range, so he is our big boy!

Also, take a look at his hair. We seriously have a variety of hair colors in the Moran household. I think this one is going to be lighter like T. I can't figure out if it is on the blond side, or has a redish tint. Pay attention to the peach fuzz on top :)

He coos and gurgles at us and we eat it up! Check out the video below of him in his swing. There's a mirror under the mobile and he just smiles at it all of the time, thinking it is someone else smiling back at him. It's the cutest thing.



We are so blessed to have him. We love you, Bubbie!