Pool Party

Sunday August 16, 2009

this is becoming an annual tradition, and i love it

a pool party at mom's house

the litchfields, the rowans, the o'briens

and this year my cousin michelle and her husband john and their twins joined us too!

{though this year we're a month late

the past two years it ended up falling the week before willy's birthday}

but this year we've got lots more kids in the mix!

miss aila and me

getting some shade in the screen tent

auntie krissy, emelyn & aila

look at those eyes!

and this white eyelet dress from auntie rachel is just the most precious dress

every little girl should own one!

i was babysitting emelyn & oisín for the day

while megg and tom were at a wedding

they were both on their best behavior

miss emmy wanted to swim just about all day

(no surprise there)

but thankfully some of her other aunts & uncles

were happy to keep an eye on her from time to time

oisín loved to be held and to whatever i was doing

it was great hanging out with him all day

not great for my back, perhaps,

but he's worth it!

sweetie pie!

this was quite an adventure- trying to get all the kids
in or around the swing!
you can't see them all in one shot
but i did my best!

as soon as picture time was over and we were trying to get the kids off

the swing and back into their parent's sights,

we find these two practically making out.

given willy's reputation with the ladies i'm not exactly surprised

but damn it was cute!

Willy & Emily

Willy & Matt having some fun in the pool!

and selfishly,

this was my favorite part of the day.

after swimming for hours

playing with the other kids

getting some sun (through the layers of sunblock

i applied at an extraordinary amount of intervals

--those kids weren't burning on my watch!)

eating lunch

then snacks

and yet more swimming

oisín was beat!
he got all psyched up for dinner

{the boy can eat!}

emmy was finally eating

and i got a bite of my veggie burger in,

jenn o'brien and i were talking

when all of a sudden jenn says

" is oisín sleeping?"

i look over and he's doing the head bob!
jenn and i laughed so hard i thought we

should start betting on who would pee themselves first!

clearly the little man needed a nap

but auntie jen needed a picture first!

classic!

Aila Babe

Miss Aila. My beautiful niece.

She hasn't had as many photographs as her big brother and of course I feel terrible about that. I now understand why second and third children never have as many photos as the first. Its not an excuse but at least it makes sense to me now- when there is just one baby there, its so EASY to take pictures, but once there's two, even with numerous adults around its not as simple to concentrate on and get lost in the simplicity of the new baby. There's a toddler running around, wanting to play, wanting to kiss the small baby you're holding in your arms (and so you're protecting her while encouraging him)... in short, its chaos most of the time. Good chaos, but nonetheless it makes it difficult. And the days and weeks pass. Its awful, but I'm trying to be better about taking more pictures. To help document her story and how much I love her. My first Godchild.

Speaking of my Godchild, while up in Maine at the beginning of the month we took the opportunity to take some photos of miss Aila in her Baptismal gown (made by Cheri Dauphinee) since the actual day of her baptism was very gray and cloudy (and again, busy). Isn't she such an angel?

love this shot of her tiny fingers, complete with those precious baby dimples.

the trim on her dress which is from her Nanny's wedding gown.

her beautiful diamond cross (a gift from her dad)

some more fun shots from maine.

her tiny toes.

she's always crossing her little feet

so i was glad to capture this shot.

sitting on my belly while we chill out on the bed

waiting for mom to get ready

{don't ya love that belly?}

while we were in maine, miss aila rolled over for the first time.

it might have been a fluke as i guess it was more of a fall

{i didn't witness this- matt and marilyn had her downstairs}

but then the following week she did it for real!

such a big girl

At 3 months she could stand up on her own if you hold her hands.

And as of last week she could stand up holding onto the couch for at least a few seconds, all on her own! I can't believe she's already to these stages, and yet she still seems to tiny to me.


this shot is from 7/25, willy's birthday party.
a little younger. still gorgeous as ever.

the cutest thing is that willy sometimes calls her "aila babe" (probably because kris does the same). he loves his baby sister so much. asking for her first thing when he wakes up. and saying "hi pretty girl" and kissing her many times a day.

i believe these shots were from 7/18. during a visit to matt & krissy's, uncle danny was holding aila out on the deck and she was smiling up a storm when he made faces at her. it won't take until she's old enough to ride in a go-cart, i'm sure she'll have uncle danny wrapped around her little finger very very soon.

miss aila will be 4 months old tomorrow.

and i've enjoyed each of those months getting to know you immensely.

love you aila babe!

Meg & Nick's Wedding

friday july 31, 2009

meg & nick's wedding

poughkeepsie ny

love was in the air!

jen d (probably my last picture of jen where i can call her jen d-- she's now jen s), lorella and paul

miss jessica and miss amber

laura in her maid-of-honor gown, jen & jessica

jessica and me

not a great shot of dan and i

{what else is new?}

but it will do

lorella and me

the 2 people in my life who hate the camera more than anything else

looking awfully photogenic if i might say so myself.


the happy couple

eric, nick & dan

{i love how well our guys all get along.

they're each so different

and the common bond is us crazy marist girls

and yet somehow it works out so well}

the marist girls

jen, laura, lansing, meg, lorella, jen, amber & courtney

the bride cuts the cake

we also did lots of dancing at this wedding

the girls, the guys, all of us!

dan had a great time swinging me around the dance floor

and not that i've gotten any taller than i used to be

but he did clotheline me pretty good one time!

it was as if he were dancing with krissy!

we died of laughter

then got right back to it.

thanks meg & nick for a wonderful time!

the wedding was awesome, and it gave me a chance to catch up with my girls,

go to the Palace Diner for breakfast on saturday,

and give Dan a mini-tour of the place where i spent

4 of the most exciting years of my life!

Mike & Maureen's Wedding

don't they look happy?

maureen goode became mr. mike jolls

on sunday july 26, 2009

these kids sure know how to plan a party

we all had a great time

even stanley and chris

who were "seated" at our table

and certainly ate and drank their fair share

a few more favorite snapshots of the night

cindy & mr. p

dancing!

shawn, steve & mike

getting a little touchie feelie

chris & steve

thanks for a great night!

we had a blast!

Walking at Minot Beach

i found a new walking spot
utilizing my scituate town beach permit
i drive to the glades
and walk along minot beach
its beautiful there
and sometimes its even a little cooler
than at home
though when it gets to be 90+ degrees
and you're half way through a 10 mile walk
it doesn't seem to help
i've found....

watching the waves roll in
is soothing
even when i'm exerting myself
{no, the water isn't quite this blue
i've taken the liberty of editing this one
but its pretty ain' it?}
another similar shot
using a different setting
and less editing
i choose the first one ;)

the clouds were definitely this beautiful
this particular night there were parents and kids
loading up in kayaks and paddling around
laughter and leisure in the air everywhere
it was calming

this sign just cracked me up

i swear i sang Journey's

don't stop believing the whole rest of my walk

not a huge fan of grafiti in general

but this was clever

almost every home along this stretch

has an american flag

waving proudly outside

i love it

something about the red, white and blue

against the blue of the sea and the sky

the fact that it faces out into the ocean

almost as if to welcome those coming ashore

'this is america and its beautiful here'

it makes me happy

and this beauty

is the view from the parking spot next to mine

again, not a proponent of defacing property

but if all grafiti provided people

with direction to stop

and take in the world around them

it might not be such a bad thing...