Big Brother Chris...

... or as he is more commonly known in our house, Uncle C! I just wanted to take a minute to write about how awesome I think he is. My brother has been away in New Zealand and Fiji for the past month (poor guy, huh!) and he is finally due back home tomorrow. We have all missed him a lot and are excited to spend some summer days with him soon. Chris and I grew up with the typical sibling squabbles, but ever since we have no longer lived together... we have gotten along really well. I love how he lets me be so real with him and we have fun laughing together. He is a super, duper uncle and my kids love him! On top of that, he is a truly incredible artist... particularly with photography (he might be famous one day if he gets around to selling some of his photos!) His past year has been filled with some ups and downs, but things are really working themselves out for Chris and I am just so excited for all that is to come for him. You know when you feel so proud of someone, you just want to squeeze 'em! That is how I feel about Chris and his latest accomplishments. He recently got a new job as the Art Department Chair for the school he has been working at for the past 10 or so years and he will be closing on his first home on Monday! I feel like Chris is starting on a new chapter in his life and we are so excited to be part of it and see all that is to come!

Here is a picture of Chris with my parents dog, Dacks. Isn't he handsome?!(Chris, not the dog!)

Too cute not to post!

2nd Annual Camping Weekend

This past weekend was our 2nd Annual Camping Weekend with friends. It was a great success and great fun for the kids and grown ups too! It is definitely a lot of work to pack up for camping for a family and requires lots of organization, but the girls had such an awesome time that it was worth it all! We were camping with our friends... the Kennedy's, the Colucciello's and the Alderman-Yonkins. All these families have kids the same age (or there about) as our kids and they have all grown up together and can have such fun together.

Below is a picture of our girls and Caroline Kennedy. Colin and I were day-trip campers. Thankfully, the campsite was only 11 minutes from home and Colin and I both came back to the house each night. I just wasn't sure how to deal with middle of the night eating while camping and sharing a tent. It worked out nice for me too since it was a super hot this weekend - I was glad to come back to a cool house! During the day, it was easier to have Colin around than I had expected. He did a great job hanging out/ sleeping in his stroller, the bijorn and visiting! (Next year, Colin will have to go visit Nannie during this weekend... I don't think having a newly walking toddler around camp would be any fun for me!)
Here is a picture of the kids making smores. You can see that we were really roughing it (it was the type of camping that you drive your car too!). It sometimes looked like we were a daycare on a field trip with all the kids running around.
During this weekend I had many moments when I felt an overwhelming appreciation for how great our lives are (I even got a little teary thinking about it... am I still hormonal??). First and foremost is how awesome my family is... Natalie and Sadie were such great kids and super campers, Nick was the BESTEST dad around and so fun to make this weekend special for the girls and me! Secondly, is how nice it is to have such an awesome group of friends that we can share this fun experience with.

We hope that this annual weekend continues for many years to come...

3 Months Old

Colin sure has come a long way... this picture was taken when he was probably 4 days old and was still needing the C-PAP support to breathe and had not yet eaten!
This picture was taken earlier this week on his trail run of the exersaucer. It is still a bit much for him, but fun to be in a different position and off the noggin for a bit. Gotta love the smile! I still think he looks a lot like the girls did, but he is starting to have a little bit of a look of his own - like a little man!
This picture was taken today while he was playing with his Daddy. He was full of smiles and having lots of baby fun.

Over the past 3 months, Colin has had to learn to live as the last in a family of 5 and we have all had to get use to having a baby around. Most of it has been a delight, but there are times when I feel totally overwhelmed (usually when he is screaming and Sadie is giving me sass.) Colin is having to be more patient when it comes to eating and going to bed than either of the girls ever had to be... I am hoping that this will make him a super laid back toddler and then teen. I love my alone time with Colin when I can just stare at him and try and memorize all his little baby features, because I know that like the others... time will fly!

Update on the Giumarra Gang

Colin is doing great. He will be 12 weeks this Thursday and he is smiling, "talking" and even beginning to giggle. He is starting to be awake and alert a lot more... and even sleeping better.

Sadie is just a pistol! In the above picture, she is wearing old boots of my friends and she is in her bathing suit. She loved it! She is constantly keeping us guessing and laughing. She is still having some adjustment issues with Colin and giving me a hard time about leaving her. After years of going to the babysitting room at the gym, she never wants to go and I get tears when it is time for me to leave her. It drives me crazy and keeps me guessing on what is the best way to handle it. She loves taking naps (but then never wants to go to sleep at night). She is swimming and biking. This summer she is taking Gymnastic class at the Y for a session and will be doing a session of swim lessons at the town pool.
Natalie is keeping busy this summer! She is going to "Q-club," the camp put on by Queensbury Rec. Dept. She is swimming every chance she gets and really doing a great job - swimming and jumping on her own. She is very into singing and is all about the new movie, "Camp Rock." She LOVES to do the summer work that came home from school and already considers herself an official 1st grader. Natalie is always wanting to be busy and bugs me when she always needs to know what is next before we have even finished doing another thing (I wonder where she gets that from??... ha, ha!)
Nick is a super dad and husband. Just today, he played with the girls by putting together a rocketship and having it go off in the driveway. Last week, he painted our dining room... it looks awesome! He is always working on the yard, mowing it and keeping it looking good! He is trying to get going on his summer project of the house addition, but has been in a waiting game with the concrete guys. He is hoping that the foundation will be completed soon and then he can get working at his own pace, rather than waiting for everyone else.

As for me... I am just trying to get through everyday, while taking the time to laugh, love and live. The girls make me so super happy, but at the same time they are constantly draining me of my energy. I try to work to create a balance of fun and structure for them during the summer. As for Colin, I am totally in love with him and just could look at him all day long (problem is that I just don't have the time to do that!!) I am loving all the baby time with him, yet getting excited about the future with 3 more independent children. (Like when I will get to read a book on the beach, while they play....) I love having the time this summer to be able to exercise so regularly. I am getting to run at least 5x a week and at least 1-2 good workouts at the gym as well. Colin often comes for me on the run and I like having that time with him and me. I have just registered to run a 8.4 mile run on Aug. 2nd. It will be my motivation to keep up the exercise!

That's the update!

July 4th with Friends

Those are some super cute kids, huh! All dressed up for the 4th!
We celebrated the 4th by joining our friends for a parade in Clifton Park. Sadie started off by not wanting to watch the parade. She has not been into "shows" ever since our trip to Disney World and she was scared of the Parade and the loud noise. She was being very cranky about it all and wanted to go home, but shortly into the parade... she learned that the people in the parade throw candy out to the kids. Her outlook on parades did a complete 180 and she was soon out in the middle of the road on the hunt for all the candy she could find. It was so cute as she would get a piece of candy and run it back to Nick and then run back out to the road! She continues to surprise us all the time!

After the parade, we went back to our friends house and had some quiet time as some of the kids rested, while the others played. We had some grown up time and played a fun game of domino's and ate all the yummy summer food! It was a perfect evening for a BBQ and outside family fun. We headed home before the fireworks... just not ready yet as a family to stay out that late!

Overall it was a great day!

Galway Lake Vacation

We just returned from a mini-vacation at Galway Lake with our friends, the Colucciello's. Galway Lake is a quiet and peaceful lake and we stayed in a camp house in a summer cottage community. It was all very rustic and very camplike, but good fun. The girls had a GREAT time being around other kids and having the freedom to run around and between homes. They fished, swam, boated and had smores!

As a kid, my family came to the Adirondacks every year for a family vacation and this was very reminiscent of those times. I loved watching Nick teach them to fish, Sadie spending hours working on how much sand she could spread on her body, Natalie swimming and swimming and all the fun! Although being there with 3 kids, I didn't get to soak up too much sun or sit and read my book, I had a great time being with my family and friends....