Keira's first haircut

I know she's 3, but Keira finally got her first haircut. She has refused to get it cut or trimmed until now, and I was afraid to do it myself until she was on board. She finally agreed to get a trim, and went with me to the hair salon. I got mine done first, so she could see the process. She was very excited when she got in the chair, and was very good for Lindsay! Now that she knows it won't hurt, she said she'll let me trim it...so we'll do it at home until she's ready for a much shorter 'do!

Liam is 2!!

Liam has had the year of the endless birthday! Since Keira loves to ride her tricycle, we decided to get one for Liam, and gave it to him in July so they could ride together. Liam can't quite reach the pedals, but is learning to steer in the meantime (as I pull him with a dog leash attached to the handlebars!). At the beginning of August, Gramps and Grammy were in town and gave Liam his birthday presents while they were visiting. Then we arrived at the lakehouse in NY mid-August... The cousins weren't going to be around for Liam's birthday, so we decided to celebrate Oma and Liam's birthdays early while everyone was still here. Liam's side was Cars and Oma's side had margarita glasses. (photo below)
Finally his true birthday arrived, August 24th, and Liam officially turned 2. We made him waffles for his birthday (photo below) and had an ice cream cake for desert. He's had a great birthday and I can't believe our baby boy is already two years old!!

Visit to Hilton Head

Barb has a time share in Hilton Head, so the kids and I went for a long weekend to visit everyone. We left Saturday morning and stopped on the way at my mom's for lunch with her and Nana. We then spent the rest of our time in Hilton Head hanging out on the beach and the pool. A great time was had by all!! Keira and Liam had fun with their cousins, and I had a blast with mine (and my aunt too!).

Good times on the beach

(back) Barb, Keira, me, Liam, Brian, Jen, Deb
(front) Haley, Tessa, Ethan, Kylan

Kids having fun in the condo with their cousins
(left) Haley giving Liam some tattoos
(center) Tessa showing off her tattoo handiwork on Keira
(right) Kylan and Liam with their tattoos

Liam's big boy room

We've been working on Liam's room for quite a while, and it's finally finished! He is still adjusting to his big boy bed, but it getting better about staying in it. Or we pick him up off the floor as we head to sleep and put him back in his bed. :) The stripes took a lot of time, but they were totally worth it, and look great! I pulled the colors out of the beautiful quilt my friend Andrea made for Liam when he was born.

View standing at his doorway (straight ahead)

View from the doorway to the left
View from his bunkbeds

His ceiling is full of stars that glow in the dark, complete with the constellation Orion (of course!).

We also have been working on the back yard, and Chris built a box around the playset and we replaced the mulch with sand. It was a lot of work (moving nearly 2 tons of sand by wheelbarrow around the house takes a little time!)...but it turned out great, and the kids love their new (huge) sandbox.

This photo was taken a few weeks ago and it's amazing to look at the grass (or lack there of) in this photo. With all of the rain we have gotten lately, or backyard is actually a yard and looks much greener than the photo!!

Light the Night Kick-off Event

We are once again participating in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night evening walk and fundraising event. It is the nation's night to pay tribute and bring hope to thousands of people battling blood cancers. We walk in honor of my dear friend Emily Shimpach who found out she had CML while she was pregnant with her 2nd daughter. She is doing great and responding to her medicine, and we are thankful for that! Her oldest daughter Ava and Keira are two days apart, and in February we shared a beach house with their family in Florida. We had a great time and we hope to do this annually for many years to come!

We'll be walking in Raleigh on October 17th, and would love for everyone who is interested/available to join us! If you can't walk with us, but would still like to support our team, click on the blog title above and you can give us a donation. Any amount is appreciated!

On July 27th, there was a kick-off event for the fundraising season, and our family went up to Durham for it. We listened to a few speeches and then headed out to the Durham Bulls game. We had a great time (even though we only lasted a few innings before the kids were ready to go home).

The kids burned some energy at the playground on the upper deck before the game started.

Liam and Keira watching the game. They had more fun watching Wool E Bull than the actual game!

Keira gets here chance to meet Wool E Bull up close and personal!
Liam wanted no part of it, and held on to Chris for dear life!!