MAC GRAD!

Almost there.....so we got back Monday night from our time in Atlanta..........Tuesday after work I drove up to Chapel Hill to see my brother graduate from the MAC program at UNC!!!! We joke, but he really might be the only one of us kids to get a master's degree so Kenan and I both drove up, along with our parents, to be there and support him as he graduated. Poor Graham had to finish up his AP tests in Charlotte - we missed you Boo!

I got up there around 8pm, changed really quickly and headed to dinner with the fam - where we had one of the best nights I can remember together. Again - sorry you couldn't be there, Grammy! We were at the restaurant just laughing and drinking until about 11:30pm when we decided to head back to the hotel - but oh no - big Ginny wasn't done! She wanted to hit the bars! My mother!!!!! So we went out again along with the rest of the student body of UNC who had just finished their exams. Good choice, mom ;)

Thanks, Davis, for graduating and giving us a good excuse to get together and enjoy each other! LOVE YOU AND SO PROUD OF YOU! Welcome to the real world :)

Precious little angels.

So we got back from Charlotte, had a day to do laundry, then packed up and headed to Georgia to see Nancy, Scott and our sweet little nephews! I couldn't wait - literally. I wanted to be down there when the babies were born, or lets be real, I wanted to be down there for the last 2 months :) but Paul who is able to think rationally and is a little less excitable, made the executive decision to give Nancy some time to recoup, and give the new family a *little* time to settle in before we bombarded them :) Either way, we raced down to Georgia, got in around midnight and we were up the next morning heading to their house by 9 to see the babies!

They are perfect. Truly, 100%, absolutely perfect. And healthy. And beautiful. And calm. And happy. And very very very lovable. I could snuggle with them all day long. Paul told me one night to stop being such a baby hog but I just couldn't help myself........Nancy and Scott did GOOOOOOOD :) It is something that I know Nancy's been dreaming about for her whole life, and now that they are here, she's just so unbelievably content that it has totally rubbed off on her boys because they are as calm and cool as could be. I think I heard TJ whimper once the entire time. Not even a cry.

Either way though, it was just a wonderful visit, I loved every second we got to spend with the new fam and I wish more than life that we were closer than 7 hours away (with Declan riding in your car its a cool 7 - probably easier sans crazy child)..................but my guess is the road to Atlanta will become a very familiar one for us :)

I will let Nancy be the updater on how the babies are doing but here are some of the pics from our trip!

AH!!!!!! Sweetness.

ummm Aunt Nancy.............we used to be besties - why are you holding that kid now?!??!?!

Someone needed attention so he started performing.....up and down........

Nan and I were going for a walk......Decky wanted in.

Double stroller baby!

Proud dad!

Proud uncle!

I got my eyes on you, girl.....

LOVE this one. Paul is so proud and so happy for Nancy and her boys.........very very cool pic.

Mom and Nana! With the boys.....so sweet

Nana - you too?!?!?!? What is with these kids?

Buddy got some play time with just his Nana one morning at the park - phew! He was starting to get worried ;)

Kisses. Wish that darn chain wasn't in the way!!!! This woulda been a framer!

Declan's new favorite activity - take a spray bottle, fill with water, and spritz in his face over and over and over...........loves it. 

Double fisting the pretzels. Piggy.

Matching outfits for the boys! How good does Nancy look? Insane........after giving birth to almost 15lbs of baby. Again, my hero.

Easter!

We had a great Easter in Charlotte! Paul and I have seen our family more in the last month than probably the last year - easy. We shot up to Charlotte on Friday afternoon for the weekend - pretty last minute but it was so nice to be able to just get in the car and drive - instead of planning months out and dreading a flight/flights with the crazy man!

Attempting a family Easter pic.........nooooot easy

As good as it gets - shovel in hand and all.

My brothers, both sets of grandparents, my cousin, his wife and baby girl, our friends Steve and Lindsey along with their little girl were all able to come over for a nice little Easter lunch................it was a really great day and then after we let Decky run loose in the sprinklers. He was a total mess but it was hilarious...some pics :

Little beauty!

The bros!

Post sprinkler run apple. My new favorite pic of this crazy child of ours :) Love him!

being sweet with the puppies.....the end!

PS - we need to get a dog for Declan. Paul............................................

Parenthood

Has anyone else besides Paul and I seen the show "Parenthood"?! They always end it with something like "Parenthood is all new next week - isn't that refreshing?" and then show a clip for the next week's show.
  But its so true - parenthood is all new next week - is it refreshing?!?! Well - if its been a bad week - yes, yes it is! If you're in a good phase then you just hope and pray it gets even better next week.
  In any case, this little snippet always just cracks me up because it is just constantly shocking to me how quickly things change and how stinking often you are kept on your toes during this whole "parenthood" thing. AH! I don't know why I'm still shocked, honestly, but I swear to the heavens the minute I start to feel like ok, I can do this, Declan switches it up on me. Like Paul always says, "I think he's f'-ing with me :)" hahaha! Seriously though, you start to gain a little confidence, thinking ok, this isn't that bad we're on a roll, something changes. Whether it be his napping, his eating, his attitude, how difficult it's going to be to get him in the carseat today, whatever! Its just a constant fluctuating thing (I can't think of a word right now, been a long day :) ) and it is absolutely like nothing I've ever known.
  I know Declan's general temperament, I know how much he sleeps at night, generally how long he'll go during the day, about when he gets hungry for a snack, but other than that I mean it is fair game! What will he do today? No one knows.....................will he say another word? Will he hate the waffle he loved yesterday? Will he sit and cry by the door to go outside or will he be ok playing for 30 minutes while the rain stops? Is he going to scream when I talk on the telephone because he wants it or is he finally learning that the telephone is mommy's and he has his own toys? What are we gonna get, buddy?!
  I love you so so so much. And you are an absolute joy, Decky, but boy you keep mommy guessing! You have done this from day 1 and I think this is pretty much how all children are and what most parents go thru but why did no one warn me about how much constant change there is?!?!?!??!?! I am not good with change so this is just a real fun learning experience for mommy.......woohoo!
  I am going to strap my belt a little tighter from here on out because I think the ride is just beginning................

but how can you not love this adorable little mischievous face?!?!?! oh you are a mess little man, but you are my mess! :)

THE BEACH!

I don't know how I haven't posted about this yet but a few weekends ago little buddy had his first trip to the beach - and it was pretty sweet. The day, or weekend rather, in general was a great one. Paul was home, had to meet with a few recruits but at least he was HOME. Sunday we did absolutely nothing, I layed out and read while Declan took an exceptionally long nap (always always alwayyyssss a good thing), and then when he woke up we took our first trip to the ocean to meet daddy and his soccer team! Paul had planned a small sided sand soccer tournament for his girls to round out the Spring season, which was such a great idea, and gave us a great excuse to head to the water in early April. Yes - early April. 

Declan shocked us all with how quickly he took to the water. SIIIKE - he's such a water baby, we knew he would love it - and he did. Obsessed, actually. He's a very focused individual and when he finds something new he likes, don't put anything else in his path. For an hour and a half, all he wanted to do was stand in the ocean and let the waves crash around him. Pretty cool.......except that mommy was cold :) hahahaa - what a wuss! A cold ocean isn't what it used to be like when I was an 8 year old.................

In very typical beach laidback style, we washed our feet off, put on a sweatshirt and walked over to this little shack that was selling seafood - Decky and Daddy chowed on grouper fingers (think chicken fingers, but fish) and we just chilled.........yep - chilled. It was really a fantastic afternoon/night. And we can't wait to do it again.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the day. The full gallery is here:

http://gallery.me.com/hoganpaul1#100494

Turn down your volume.....

Because as Paul said earlier, I am super annoying.............but I can't help it and Declan loves me anyway :)

So the kid is a peekaboo freak and seeing as blankets are not allowed at the dinner table so his usual mode of hiding was out, this is what he turned to.. Get it? ;) yea, I'm cool...........

So seriously, turn down the volume just enough to drown me out but still hear his sweet little laugh :)

- Posted on the run using BlogPress from my iPhone - because chasing a toddler all day does not leave time to sit on a computer and blog!