July 2013.

No, you're light years behind on life.  

Whatev.  I'm doing the best I can.  My kids are alive and well and I'm not willing to give up writing my monthly updates, so I'll just continue to write them a few months late :D

Brian was gone for the first part of July.  The boys and I stayed busy, as we always do when he's gone.  I must admit though, that this trip was more difficult than some of his other trips.  I mean, the day the Brothers managed to climb the counter, retrieve the finger paints, and paint the kitchen floor was .... especially challenging.  Thank you little baby Jesus for washable Crayola products.

They boys were just very very very clingy.  Most of my days were spent snuggling, with 1- 3 of them piled onto my lap.  This part, of course, was just fine.  The problems arose when I'd try to get up to cook or clean or you know, attempt to empty my bladder.  Full blown fits of rage would erupt from 3 angles.  I mean, how why couldn't I make them food while they sit on my lap???  Apparently, I am not a good enough Mom.  O_o

One of my saving graces while Brian is traveling is my friend Lisa.  The boys love playing with her 2 year old son L and her almost 1 year old daughter A.  We have play dates, go on outings together, and watch each others' kids so that we can each get some alone time.  It's funny, but we both agree that when we're watching each other's kids, life almost gets a bit easier, even though we have more kids.  I think it's the novelty of having friends over that chills them all out a bit and makes them less Mommy-focused and needy.  It's a beautiful thing.

Bri returned home on the 10th and jumped right back into Daddy-duty as he always does.  One of the boys' favorite things to do is to play on the big climbing wall/slide that Brian makes out of Brennan's mattress and box spring.  It's good exercise for them and pretty low maintenance entertainment for us!

Brennan and Brian got some extra quality time together during some of the Brothers' naps.  They painted together and Brennan decided to paint a butterfly mask for Daddy ... which it was on Daddy's face.  He also insisted on going for a run with Daddy.  They ran around the neighborhood and Brian was overjoyed that Brennan wanted to go and that he was actually pretty good.

Brian enjoyed some alone time with the Brothers while Brennan and I had a little weekend in Michigan.  When we came back, it was back to chaos as usual.  Kiernan got himself a nice battle wound.  He was trying to watch through the window while Brian mowed the lawn and slipped and cracked his eyebrow open on the windowsill .  He didn't care that there was blood running down his face.  All he wanted to do was "ride tractor!!!".  Brian and the boys worked on my new table too, trying to get it nice and smooth so that I don't have to chisel food out of the cracks on a daily basis.

We are taking full advantage of beach season.  The boys are obsessed with surfing, and are actually getting pretty good at body surfing - especially Kiernan.  All 3 of them rode some pretty good waves this time around.  It's so much fun to watch them!

Check out these gorgeous pictures of my sweet baby.  His eyes get me every time.  His Goldfish-caked smile isn't half bad either.

I've said it a million times before, but we are so lucky to have friends who love to play with our kids.  Brennan had a blast splashing in the waves with our friend Kyle.

True to his personality, Mr Beckett is the cautious beach bum.  He likes the water, and he'll body surf, but he really prefers to be with and adult while he's in the water.  And really, playing in the sand is his favorite thing to do.  

Also true to his personality, Kiernan has absolutely no fear when it comes to the water.  The photo on the left was taken right after he took a wave on the body board and rolled under the water.  Brian and I are always right there, but he managed to stand up on his own before we could even help him.  And it didn't really phase him at all.  He just runs straight into the waves and we have to make sure to keep up with him.  That said, he is getting much better at listening.  The photo of him looking at the camera while Brian and Brennan head out into the water was taken while I called his name and told him to stay with me.  

So that's July.  Who wants to take bets on whether I get August finished before August is actually over?

Ha.  Ha.  Hahahahahahahahahahaha. 

June 2013.

Oh June.  What a great month!  

First of all, I have to say that I've had a lot of fun watching Brennan grow & mature lately.  He is taking fewer naps, which provides for more one on one time with him while the Brothers are napping.  Some of the big favorites this month were puzzles and learning about volcanoes.  At one point he was "reading" a volcano book while watching a volcano video.  Brennan and I even had a nice little fro-yo date after a very, um, dramatic haircut for him.  It's nice to be able to spend a little one-on-one time with my biggest baby.  

My photografriend Lisa and her hubby have 3 kiddos - 6 year old twin boys and a 2 year old girl.  With as much traveling as we do and as many photo shoots they do on the weekends, we rarely have the opportunity to get everyone together.  But we took advantage of a free weekend in June and headed over to their house for a BBQ.  Brennan loves to play with the big boys, the littles love to run around together, and we parents love to be able to sit and chat while the kiddos run wild.  

Early June was filled with lots of normalcy.  The Brothers are starting to require timeouts on the regular, which just reminds me that they're quickly approaching ... 2.  They're still quite snuggly babies though.  I must admit that there are days when I'm just "touched out", but it's rare that I'll turn down a bedtime snuggle because I know that these moments won't last forever.

Brian filled up the pool in the backyard and the boys have had so much fun swimming and playing and trying to keep cool.  They love squirting each other with the hose and practicing their swimming techniques.   Mommy & Daddy are enjoying the ability to put our feet up and watch the fun with beers (and a camera, duh) in our hands.  

Father's Day was pretty laid back in our house this year.  The boys (and by that I mean "I") bought Brian a few small things.  We tend to keep Mother's Day & Father's Day to small, meaningful gifts, usually something that the boys make.

This year I found a great deal on a remote control helicopter and decided that it would be something that all 4 boys could enjoy together.  I hid it successfully in the bottom of my closet until 2 days before Father's Day when Brennan discovered it and yelled, "Daddy!  Look what I found!"  Brian smiled sheepishly at me and said, "Um, I think he found my Father's Day gift".  They all spend most of Father's Day enjoying the helicopter together and all-around enjoying the most important man in our life.  I always knew that Brian would make a great Dad, but I had no idea that he would be this amazing.  We are all so lucky to have him.

Much of June involved playing outside, getting dirty & sweaty, and taking baths to remedy the situation.  The boys love to draw with chalk, play hopscotch (kinda), ride their bikes and "fix" the cars.  Of course, Florida summers are pretty hot and the sun is intense, so we try to keep the outside times reserved for early mornings or evenings.  They also really love to be "naked" when they're outside, if you couldn't tell from the pictures.  We're totally that family.

Mr. Beckett looooooves to drive the car.  And Kiernan really prefers to ride shotgun, so there is much less arguing than I anticipated.  Whenever they drive around like this, I have visions of them in 15 years and my heart does little flip flops.  They're growing up too fast.    

As I said, bike riding is a favorite past time around here.  Brian recently found a great deal on a bike on Craigslist, so he has been biking to work occasionally to help build up strength in his leg.  Brennan's physical therapy has helped with his strength and it's becoming easier for him to ride his bike.  They've attempted a few father/son bike rides, but they usually only make it to the end of the block before turning around.  Baby steps ;)  The brothers love to get in on the bike riding action too, practicing on their trike or sitting on Brennan's big bike.  Kiernan's favorite part is wearing Brennan's bike helmet.

Uncle Cory came for a visit a few days before my birthday.  On Friday the 21st, we headed to the zoo for a few hours.  Since there were 3 adults, we decided to ditch the stroller and let the boys walk.  I think they really enjoyed the freedom, and it was much less chaotic than I imagined it would be!

My favorite thing about our zoo is the opportunity to feed so many of the animals.  The boys love the interaction with the deer, birds, and giraffes in particular.  It was such a great morning.

As it neared noon, Brian stalled and stalled.  He seemed to be taking his sweet time and the boys were getting hungry and tired.  So of course I was getting annoyed.  Then when we left he wanted Chick-Fil-A.  When I suggested we drive through and he refused, finally declaring that he wanted "4 to 5 fountain Cokes", I knew he had something up his sleeve.  I had no idea what it was, but I decided that I better just go with it.  Imagine my surprise when I was waiting for our drinks and my parents and sister walked through the door!

It was the greatest surprise.  I was over-the-moon excited to see them, especially George since I hadn't seen her since Christmas.  After lunch, we headed back to our house.  We chatted while Brennan and Brian played in the rain.  It was an awesome day!

On my birthday we headed to Brian's office for a cookout with our friends.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon.  My Mom & Brennan made me a cake and that evening we sang Happy Birthday and I opened a few gifts.  It was a wonderful birthday, and I have to say, 30 feels pretty good.

Sunday we headed to the beach.  It was nice to have lots of extra hands and the boys loved body-surfing. 

The difference in the boys' personalities is really evident at the beach.  While they all enjoy being in the water and playing in the sand, they each definitely have favorites.  Mr Beckett prefers playing in the sand, often under the shade of our tent.  He's a sand thrower, but luckily his favorite target is his own head instead of his brothers.  Kiernan likes to chase things.  I know.  Shocking, right?   Birds, waves, airplanes, people.  You name it, the kid wants to run after it.  On this particular trip he was having a blast pointing out all of the airplanes.  While he likes to play in the sand with Beckett & chase things with Kiernan, Brennan's favorite thing is to be out in the water with an adult (usually his Daddy) holding him and "jumping" over the big waves.

I can't even explain how much easier it is to go out to eat with more adults to help with the boys.  We seldom eat out at restaurants because A.) it gets expensive with our growing boys and B.) it's chaos.  So it's nice to have extra adults around to help control the chaos so that we can enjoy a meal at a restaurant now and then. 

Aunt George came bearing gifts for the boys and they kept her busy while enjoying those gifts.  She supervised time in the rice box sensory bin, helped with the painting kit she brought, and manned the pump for the airbrush kit she brought for Brennan.  Mommy enjoyed telling Brennan to "go ask Aunt George for help" while she was here :)

Of course, everyone got plenty of snuggles while they were here.  Each boy seemed to have a favorite person to stick close to.  Brennan had lots of fun with Aunt George, Kiernan loves his Grammy, & Mr Beckett wants nothing to do with anyone but Grampy.  So on the rare occasion that Beckett went near Grammy, we had to snap a picture to document that he does actually love her.

Going to the pool at their hotel was another HUGE hit.  Apparently I have 3 little fish.  It took Brennan a bit to get used to the pool and he insisted on wearing his swimmies.  I hadn't planned on putting swimmies on the Brothers, but had thrown them in the bag just in case.  When Kiernan saw Brennan's, he insisted on a pair of his own and wouldn't let anyone help him swim.  Beckett wanted a pair on too and required a little more assistance, but they all had an absolute blast in the pool.  It made me sad that they don't get to enjoy Grammy & Grampy's pool more often!

The boys also wanted to show Grammy & Grampy how we take walks around the block ... footloose and fancy free.  Brennan showed off his car spotting skills when we crossed the street and they all showed off their "Red light, green light" game.

It was so hard to see them leave, but it was made a bit easier knowing that Brennan and I would head to Michigan in a few short weeks.  What a wonderful way to end a great month!  

May 2013.

Other than our cruise and some visitors early in the month, we had a fairly laid back month.  

I sure took a lot of pictures of nothing then.  

But honestly, when you have subjects this cute, how can you not take photos of them?!

Brennan and Kiernan had a day of fun running through the sprinklers.  Mr Beckett wasn't a big fan of the sprinkler and had his own fun climbing and digging and eating gravel.  I didn't post any photos of Kiernan because he was naked the entire time.  Apparently he was in a nudie mood.  

Aunt Jen & Uncle Brian came to FL in early May.  Amid all of their visits to friends and family they stopped to say hello and took a trip to the park.  The boys enjoyed playing with Uncle Brian and had fun wading through the water with Aunt Jen and I when they got overly hot and sweaty.  Why their Daddy put the Brothers in long sleeve black shirts to go play at the park in the Florida sun (and why their Mommy didn't catch it before they walked out the door) remains to be seen.  

Early May weather is pretty awesome.  Hot, but not too hot, and the rainy season hasn't started to kick in too much yet.  Perfect weather for spending lots of time outside.  And so we did.  Baseball.  Sprinklers.  All of that good All-American stuff.  

We don't take advantage of living near the beach as much as we should.  Admittedly, it has been more of a production in the past.  But now that the boys are a bit older, stopping by to play in the sand or walk on the beach for a few minutes isn't too much trouble.  It's almost peaceful.  Almost.  

On Cinco de Mayo, we headed to Uncle Brian's Mom's house to spend the day with Jen & Brian while they were still in the state.  The boys loved running around the yard and playing all kinds of sports with Uncle Brian.  

They live on the water, so we were able to enjoy a semi-relaxing afternoon on the dock enjoying the scenery.  I mean, as relaxing as you can get while combining small children and a dock.  Brennan had a blast kayaking with Aunt Jen and Uncle Brian though!  We were sad to say goodbye to them, but they were heading to the Galapagos Islands.  Seriously.  They travel to the coolest places.  

Of course, the following weekend we headed out on our cruise.  We returned on Mother's Day and had a nice, laid back day.  Part of my Mother's Day gift was 3 picture frames with mats.  After I opened them, Brian explained that the boys were going to color them and then we'd take photos of their faces inside the mats to put inside the frames.  Super super super cute.  

Brian works on the weekends occasionally, and when he does, we sometimes go to visit him.  Actually, we often go to visit him during the week too.  His office is like little boy heaven ... cars everywhere.  One Sunday we went to visit and the guys were doing the majority of their work outside.  Brian's boss' fiance (my friend Meagan) had recently picked up their new puppy, so the boys got to run around in the trucks outside and play with the puppy.  It was like heaven on earth.  I love that my hubby's company is so family friendly.  

When Brian came home from work later that day, he and Brennan busted out their new Green Lantern kite.  Brennan was in heaven.  Life seems so wonderful and so .... simple when you see joy like this on a child's face.  And knowing that his Daddy made it happen melts my heart even more.  He may only want his Mommy to snuggle at bedtime, but his Daddy is a superhero in his eyes.  I love it.

This boy.  He is so full of excitement and love and happiness.  And my goodness, he is handsome.  I love him just a little bit.

And I love the Zilla too.  I sits quietly in the bushes, just making sure that everything is OK.  He's happiest when he's in the front yard with his Daddy.

Later that week, the boys decided to take the Camero for a drive.  Mr Beckett was elected the driver and holy bananas is he a natural.  He is a true car guy, cruising around the cul-de-sac with one hand on the wheel and big bro riding on the back.  Oh my heart.  I'm in trouble.  

Of course we do spend a little time indoors.  Brennan loves to paint, and the Brothers love to eat paint, so it works out.  Thank goodness for Crayola's non-toxic products.

Taking walks to the park near our house is always a fun thing for us to do.  It's good exercise for all of us and it sure does tire out the boys very well.  And now that they're getting older, it's not quite as stressful.  We can stand back a tiny bit and let them explore.  As always, Kiernan climbs everything in sight, Beckett sticks to the slides, and Brennan likes to try to play with the other kids.  

For the first time in a few months, Brian didn't have any business trips this month.  It was nice to have him home a little more.  The Brothers are starting to love to help him around the house as much as Brennan has loved it for awhile now, and being the super-dad that he is, Brian just takes it in stride.  He and Brennan camped out in their tent in our backyard for a night too.  We roasted marshmallows in our fire pit before bed and Brennan thought it was the coolest night ever.

I really enjoyed May.  Of course, I had the normal challenges of dealing with a 3 year old, getting the Brothers transitioned out of their cribs, and trying to keep up around the house with ... barnacles on my back.  But it was a pretty refreshing month.  I took a painting class that my friend Lisa teaches and found it incredibly relaxing and fulfilling.  I'd love for it to be something that I can do more of!  And Bri and I were able to enjoy a date night while Jen & Brian were in town.  That was the first night that Kiernan actually climbed out of his crib and poor Jen just took it in stride all night until she got him to go to sleep and stay asleep so that Bri and I could enjoy a nice evening together.  It was refreshing to spend some time together outside of the house without kids!  

April 2013.

Ahhhhh.  April.  It feels good to be catching up a little.  

Brian turned 30 on the 4th.  His birthday present to himself was knee surgery.  Poor guy.  My parents just so happened to have already planned to come to Florida for his birthday, so we were lucky to have them around during the process.  The surgery went beautifully.  The surgeon was able to remove the extra piece of bone in his kneecap and fix the tear in his tendon.  We were in and out of the hospital in no time, of course the process may or may not have been sped up because of Brian's sarcasm with the nurses.  

That evening we celebrated Brian's birthday with a delicious German chocolate cake that Brennan & Grammy made for him.  They also decorated the house while we were at the hospital.  (And did a million loads of laundry as you can see in the pictures.  Aren't Moms the best?!)