If you had money on Ben...

...being the first one with an ER trip for falling on his head... you'd be out of luck because it was Jack! He is fine, but yesterday he took a pretty good digger onto his head. He was playing outside and didn't get his hands out in front of him when trying to crawl down a small step. He has a pretty good bump on his forehead and some scrapes on his face, but the ER doctor felt that he was fine and didn't do any x-rays so as to spare Jack the radiation. It's always something around here.


Today, the weather was beautiful and since Dave is on vacation, we took advantage of the day and took the kids to the playground. We really had a nice time as a family Mairead is LOVING the extra time with her daddy- I think she knows that he is not really 'supposed' to be home this much, so she is trying to spend pretty much every second with him.



Of course, Jack spent a lot of time playing with cars and trucks- his favorite thing to do.


Ben toddled all over the park.


But he did come back to spend some time with his big brother.


Mairead had a blast checking out every part of the playground.

The other day, Nana and Grampy were out working in the yard and Mairead was a big help. She helped plant some flowers in the window boxes.

Playing in the dirt was a lot of fun.

This funny face is because she was sniffing the flowers.

We have been having a lot of fun with the kids while Dave is on break. It's not all good news around here since yesterday involved Jack's trip to the ER, my car getting sideswiped in a parking lot and the paint being scraped off of the front fender (no note, of course), and the news that Dave's car is totaled. He was in a small accident THREE weeks ago, and they just told us yesterday that the car is a total loss, so we need to find a new one asap. The car thing is bad news financially, but Dave and I were also a little bit sentimental about the car since we brought Mairead home from the hospital in it, and Dave and Mairead have spent countless hours in it on the road to and from day care. When we tell her she is going bye bye with Daddy, she says, "Blue car?" I guess we will have to get another blue car just for her.

The important thing is that overall, everyone is happy and healthy. We know that we are lucky to have all that we do. My parents watched the kids last night so that Dave and I could grab some dinner together and take a break from the nuthouse, and we know that most parents would kill for that time!

On a very special positive note- welcome to the world, Eli Benjamin Hickok! Eli is Mairead, Jack, and Ben's newest cousin, and he was born just this morning! Congratulations to John, Michelle, and big brother, Noah!!!! Their blog is linked on the right and is the 'Baby Boy Hickok' one. Hopefully we will have some beautiful pictures of Eli soon!

You've got a little something on your face...

The boys will eat pretty much anything you put in front of them, but they have recently learned that some things are more delicious than others. Oreos, for example, have become a fan favorite. That makes sense since they are Mom's favorite cookies. They say that everyone has a different style of eating Oreos... that seems to be true with my three! Believe it or not, Ben has only ONE Oreo, yet still managed to make this much of a mess.

Mairead managed just fine...

And Jack had only a few crumbs.

Maybe a pretty pink raincoat would have kept Ben nice and clean.

Both boys really could have used one when Nana let them try fudgsicles for the first time! Their teeth have really been bothering them. Ben actually has one tooth poking through now-- it has been taking forever! Fudgsicles are great for teething.

Right, Jack?

Ben thinks so, too!

I forgot to post these pictures... believe it or not, these are from April 7. In Massachusetts, early April is NOT usually the time to break out the bathing suits, but our crazy weather had us reaching for the swimmies early this year.

Ben and Jack thought it was a great idea to take a dip out on the deck.

Mairead had all the right accessories for a quick swim.

Hopefully we will be posting more pictures of warm weather, soon. Dave is on vacation this week so we had hoped for lots of sunshine, but so far, we may not get our wish. Either way, we are happy to have him home with us for a whole week!