Daddy's Birthday (and Uncle David, too!)

John's birthday was on Friday--he turned the big 33. We celebrated by taking a run before a nice dinner, because you know, he needed to prove he wasn't getting old. I happened to find Alaskan King crab legs (aka crabs on steroids) at Wegmans. That was literally all we ate because the meat is so filling. Made for an easy dinner for me to make! Here is a leg, and the picture doesn't do it justice for how large it is!

John posing with his food.

AJ singing Happy Birthday to Daddy:


John about to blow out the candles--note, the number 1 was all I had in the house as far as candles go. I really thought I would have had regular old candles in the house, but nope--randomly had a number 1!

On Saturday it was Uncle David's birthday. We went over to my parents house in the early afternoon to spend some time at the pool. John got tickets to the Redskins preseason game and was taking his brother, my stepdad Jose, and Jose's friend Billy. After the pool we cooked out and ate before the guys headed on out. David and Roman joined us at the house to hang out and Nicole joined us after work. We watched a little of the Skins game before heading home.

On Sunday we all had a relaxing day before meeting up to go to Dinner at Mike's to celebrate John and David's birthdays. Here are some of us at the table:


Jose enjoying himself:

AJ doing his "I GOT YOUR NOSE!". Roman enjoyed it!


This picture is priceless: AJ still has Roman's nose (his thumb) and Roman's face looks like 'WHAT?!":


John and I being silly:

Just the three of us:

David and Nicole:

Nothing can capture the taste of Flourless Chocolate Waffle. This is what I was addicted to when I was pregnant with AJ and have never been able to shake the craving. I used to drag John out to Sweetwater (a Mike's sister restaurant by our house) just to get dessert. Thanks for saving me some, Dave (sarcasm because you can't share this dessert). MMMM:

And another good dessert of Mike's, the Key Lime Cheesecake:



The boys being boys:



Thanks for looking at our birthday weekend!

Church Is Fun

Seems like these days AJ keeps making us laugh with the things he says. Some of them are not so great ("Mommy, I've had ENOUGH!"-said to me as I was getting him to clean up his toys) and some of them are really funny ("Daddy, can you do me a favor?"). He is chatty for sure. So it came as no surprise that he would exclaim at the end of church, "CHURCH IS FUUUNN!". Well, not sure how much fun it really is for him considering we are Catholic and go to a pretty traditional church, but nonetheless, it makes me feel good to know that my son enjoys going to church!

After church this morning we went to Starbucks and AJ was a total ham. He was enjoying his 'coffee' (chocolate milk) and donuts. He said hello to everyone and had conversations with those that were interested. What a fun age.

"You're Pretty, Mommy"

This morning I was ready for work before AJ woke up at 7:20am. When I went in to get him, he said "HI MOMMA!" he then gave me a hug and a kiss and looked at me then said, "You're pretty, mommy".

Needless to say, it melted my heart. What a great start to the day!

Poconos Part II

In the second half of the week, AJ, David, Nicole, and Roman joined us in the Poconos. Here are some photos. Leah and Roman hugging it out on the golf cart:

We went to a petting zoo--AJ feeding an animal:

And AJ and I in front of some props at the petting zoo:

AJ and I playing a game (no idea what it was called):


AJ's first trip to Knobels Grove. This is an amusement park I grew up going to and now I get to take AJ! Of course, AJ got really sick in the middle of the night the night before. Poor kid. Nonetheless he was a trooper.

AJ's first real ride! He LOVED it!

And another ride. AJ didn't look like he loved it, but he did!



The three kids on the boat ride all by themselves:

Another ride, right before AJ decided he hated the sounds and wanted off. Roman was to follow while Leah looked at them like "hey guys, this is too much fun!"

Leah and AJ looking cute pre show:

AJ becoming a knight:

Grandma with her two boys:



The three kids, outside of the greatest breakfast place: Piggy's.

Kayla and I decided to to go rowing. How FUNNY. I was way in over my head. It was fairly hilarious.



WE SURVIVED!

At the beach--well lake beach.



The Boys hung out with me while I was getting ready--they were so cute jumping on the bed and then laying down together. They then read some books together--super adorable.

All of us, using my tripod, for a group shot:



The girls posing!



AJ looks like he is being bossy, but he was being cute with Leah on the 'bump':



The three kids on the golf cart:

Super fun week!

Saturday Snuggle Time

I love Saturday mornings. I appreciate them so much being a working mother. I don't get the chance to snuggle with my family as much during the week, so we try to make a good effort to snuggle in bed on Saturday mornings. AJ is at the age where he can enjoy just laying down with Mommy and Daddy (with a little kickle's on his back of course). It makes such a great start to the day! We just finished breakfast and playing with a puzzle where AJ was able to identify all of the colors and shapes (Octogon and Pentagon included!). Such a proud mommy.

Pocono Trip Part I

We went up to the Poconos with my family last week. Sadly, John just started a new job and didn't have the vacation time to come with us. I went up for half of the week by myself, then came back to get AJ mid-week. I know, sounds crazy--but neither John nor I wanted to be without AJ for an entire week, so we felt it was a good compromise. The drive wasn't that bad either.

Anyway, this is a trip we take with my Aunt Mary and her family and usually my Uncle George and his family are in town as well (they also have a house up there). Aunt Madeline had knee surgery (we are praying for a full recovery!), so they couldn't make it. We still had fun!

In the beginning of the week, I went with my family to Jim Thorpe. The town, as you can see from last year's blog, is so cute. They have some small museums and boutique stores. I go a little crazy every year. I have three favorite places: Marianne Montelone Designs (clothing and jewelry), Big Creek Vineyard, and The Country Cottage. I bought myself a beautiful scarf and necklace, a lot of wine, and John and AJ jams and Apple Butter.

My Mom and I posing. Wow, we look a lot a like here.

We then went to lunch. Here is Leah being as cute as ever:

And of course I had to get a picture with my girl:

In the first half of the week, we also hung out (ate a lot) and went to the beach. I don't have any pictures from that. That is it for now, I'll post the second part of the week, which is way more exciting anyway, tomorrow :).