Amelia & Noah take a Sunday Drive

Um, Amelia... Shouldn't that babydoll be in a carseat?

And they cruise off into the sunset.

Noah is awesome at driving this Jeep around. He actually puts it in 2nd gear and circles my parents' house over and over again at high speed with a huge smile on his face. His steering is amazing for a 2 year old. He's only crashed twice!

Bob took this picture of Amelia and I had to post it because she's so cute.

I forgot to mention in the previous post that Noah and Evan's bunk bed couldn't have come at a better time last month. Noah had been escaping his crib. At 3 o'clock one day (usually around the end of Noah's naptime) Mike had someone over to fix his treadmill. I was in the kitchen when all the sudden Noah appeared in the dining room grinning, "Hi, Mommy!" I yelled over to Mike to see if he let Noah out of his crib after his nap. Nope. He escaped and came downstairs all by himself. Later that day, Mike put Noah back in his crib and asked him to show him how he climbs out. Noah demonstrated for us. After a few more episodes of that, it was the end of the crib.

Brothers are COOL

See what you're getting yourself into, Baby Cronin? Here's your brothers on their bunkbed that they got about a month ago. Noah has hot pink sheets because that's all we had until I bought them their new bedding.

And stickers!

Noah covered his upper legs with stickers. He must've sat on some too because he wasn't wearing any pants and I actually found some on his inner thighs and between his hiney cheeks. Also, he has black ink all over his hands and face from a stamp pad. Evan walked in the room after Noah had applied his body art and said, "Hey Noah, I like your stickers and make-up!"

Evan Graduates Preschool...

For the third and final time. This fall it's Kindergarten! Evan's in the back row singing. His teacher's aid on the right in the floral dress is Aunt Missy!

Evan has an entourage of course!

The graduation was right in the middle of Noah's naptime.

He's up!

NoNo's stiil tired.

Girls, girls all over Evan. Don't worry, these ladies are his good friends.

That bracelet says, "Rockstar".

Evan poses with Mrs. Engiles.

Okay, now THIS is the girl he has a crush on. He says that she's the prettiest girl in school. And he's too shy to barely say a word to her. Very different than how he acts with Chaeli and Naomi.

Evan with his true love - chocolate!

Grandma takes out the boys for froyo

Be ready for your head to explode from cuteness overload.

And this is when the boys had long hair. Awww...

The boys work off the frozen yogurt by taking a long bike ride with Daddy through the campgrounds.

Mike has been so amazing during this pregnancy. He's been getting a workout in the morning (bike riding with our car dealer and his friends through Cape May or running on the treadmill - he looks amazing btw. He's losing weight as I'm getting fatter and fatter), then working all day, then spending quality time with the kids after work or on the weekends while also handling my long list of honey-do items that need to be done before the baby comes. The man's exhausted and still gives me time away from the kids to sleep, do housework or just sit my huge body in front of the tv and cry. (I'm such a nut lately). Meanwhile Mike is doing all the active stuff with the kids because I'm hyperventilating in the heat. Me who can't stand air conditioning or any hint of cold have turned into an enormous polar bear who needs the temperature to be COLD or I'm miserable. Usually, I just plant myself in a chair and let the kids run wild around me.

So with that, who has been saving me and Mike? My awesome, awesome mommy. She takes the boys EVERYWHERE... to the pirate ship thing, the beach, out for frozen yogurt, the movies, you name it... She runs around and plays with them tirelessly outside, sits on the floor and plays Imaginext and Legos for hours with Evan. She has sleepovers, gives them baths. She's saved mine and Mike's sanity time and time again. Especially since there's really been only one parent who can actively play with the kids for the past month - Mike! THANK YOU MOMMY!!!!!!!

Also, thank you Brittany for spending almost every weekend and playing ALL DAY with the kids. I know the bus rides suck and that Josh never sees you and that you love your little nephews so much that you drop everything to come and spend time with time with them. They have so much fun chasing you, playing with you, wrestling you... Noah always picks up the phone now to call "An' Bi'eee" because he has so much fun with you. Unfortunately, your mailbox is full. What's up with that? Anyway...

Finally, my darling Sarah who comes over twice a week after work to see the boys. Thank you for racing Evan repeated up and down the driveway (he on his bike, you running) even though you have yoga later on that evening in 110 degree temp. The boys love, LOVE playing with you. Noah hears your knock on the door and starts squealing, jumping up and down yelling, "Arah! Arah!"

Sorry I had to go on and on like that, but I want you all to know how grateful Mike and I are. WE LOVE YOU!!!

Farm Day

This goes back to one of the last days of school for Evan. Noah was home napping while Daddy was working and I helped out with FARM DAY!

The kids colored in pictures of a tractor then used a toy tractor to paint mud tracks on the paper. The girls carefully colored in their pictures. Evan scribbled some black crayon on his and covered the whole paper in "mud". That's my little artist!

"Cow" milking!

Relays!

They made butter too and spread it on crackers. Evan actually ate it! "It's okay, but I don't like it really." Of course.

Horseshoe Crabbies...

Are not really crabbies at all! They are relatives of the SCORPION woooooo. This is back in May when all the horseshoe crabs come up on the shore of the Delaware Bay in the moonlight and lay their eggs. It's supposed to be spectacular and there are people there from all over the world taking pictures. This beach is only a 5 minute drive from our home. I've lived in South Jersey for the first 18 years of my life and never knew about this. Thankfully my husband keeps me updated on the happenings around town. Ya, we didn't make it for the moonlight because the boys were sleepy, but we did see our fair share of horseshoe "crabs" and climbed some sand hills. And we ruined the mood for a teenage couple in a pick-up truck.

We'll end with Evan on a mountain with the setting sun.