Tuckers Mad Science Party

The boys spent the afternoon celebrating Tucker's 10th Birthday. And boy did they have a lot of fun! Thanks to Mr. Stan (Tucker's dad) who brought Mad Science to LIFE... with lab coats, safety goggles, explosions & much more! Thanks to Ms. Amy (mom) who took all the wonderful photos so that I can share... it just looks like everyone had so much fun!




Why am I not surprised that Amy told me that Morgan made sure to write EVERYTHING down in his lab book after each experiment (Uh, McGrew family - do I have to worry about my kitchen blowing up now that you gave my son the tools to do that? Hee hee!). When Morgan got home he looked in Ryan's lab book and said, "Ryan, you didn't write anything down!"... well, if you look at the photos... it looks like Ryan was having wayyyyy too much fuuuunnnn!!!




HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY, Tucker... and thanks for inviting my boys every year to your amazing parties! The McGrew Family always knows how to create lasting memories! We'll definitely miss you next year when we're in Guam!

Dear Mia... Love, Mommy

Happy Birthday, my sweet Mia! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and can't believe how quickly you're growing! This year feels like a blur! You're a sweet & funny little girl and we all love you so much! This is what I've noticed...Morgan calms you... it's with Morgan that you gave the first kissy kiss! Ryan makes you laugh a lot and smile... he knows how to cheer you up! You love to imitate your big sister - Daniella. Even when people aren't looking you're copying what she does! Even Bella (our dog)... when Bella barks... I sometimes hear you make a noise that sounds like barking! When Daddy walks into a room, you SMILE and giggle! When I ask you to say, "Hi Mama" you usually respond, "da da". But, you're definitely a MOMMY's GIRL! When you're crying that's when I hear, "Ma ma Ma ma!" I often get your "scowl face" - most likely because I'm the one who tells you "NO" all the time and sets your limits. I don't care... it's funny, half the time I think you're making that face just to get a reaction... which you usually do.
Things you're doing... You LOVE to imitate & copy cat your family. You sign more, sleepy, thank you & please. Word you use most is "UP", it's sounds more like "uppa". You also say "Uh-Oh" every time something drops. Of course your scowl is your face of choice lately... hope you grow out of that one! You love to dance! Play peek-a-boo & when you hear "OH-NO" you put your hands on your head! You love the book "Five Little Monkeys, tease Mr. Crocodile"... because of the "OH NO" that repeats throughout the book! Your FAVORITE book is, "GOODNIGHT MOON" and whenever Mommy reads, "... and the quiet old lady who is whispering 'HUSH'"... you put your finger to my mouth to make me say "shhhh". You love to wave bye-bye or hello to people.... but if people come to close you cling to mommy's shirt and lay your head on my shoulder! You will watch Blues Clues Sign video and it captures your attention... you love Blues Clues! You babble a little - but more content to watch everyone around you... there's always so much going on around you! You use to be very stingy with your smiles... but not so much anymore!
Things I did differently the 4th time around? Let's see... it sure helps to have Morgan, Ryan & Dani around to help out. They entertain you so I can do other things like - cook, clean, laundry, BLOG! Having a diaper warmer was a luxury, zip-up sleepers are the BEST (stinkin' snaps... what a pain), soothing sounds in the background to block out the noise when napping, rice cereal in your bottle - wow, I never did that before... you are the rice cereal champ! And the best part is having our friend SARAH PIRT once a week, sometimes twice come and hang out with you so I can go volunteer at the kids school, go to doctor appointments or just do grocery shopping. Although you give Ms. Sarah a hard time when she comes over... you know you LOVE her and believe me, Mommy appreciates her more than you'll ever know! *Thanks, Sarah!
God has truly blessed our family... I know I say that often, but it's so true... I truly feel blessed! For a moment I was sad when your 1st birthday arrived... it's a milestone that you're growing up! I will cherish every moment with you, my sweet baby! I'm so happy that I'm your mommy! I hope you will always know that you are SOOO VERY LOVED!

"Mia, how old will you be next year?"TWO!

. o n e .

"Mia how old are you today?"

IT'S OFFICIAL... we're on the MOVE...

Well... it's official. WE SIGNED WITH A REALTOR today... in fact, he just left our house! We're putting our house on this crazy market! Please anyone and everyone... say a little prayer for our family - as I'm sure my stress level will be above and beyond normal. It's definitely a different market this time around... when we sold in Virginia our house was on the market for 6 days... and back then... that was a lot of time! We will open our house to the masses on APRIL 1st... (on fools day!)

We'll keep you posted on the progress and outcome! Do you know anyone moving to the Charleston area? Send them our way!

My Birthday Girls

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my SPRING BABY GIRLS!

It's hard to believe that our girls are 7 and almost 1 year old! We are getting ready to celebrate Mia's 1st birthday with a few of her "little people friends" here at the house... and since it's going to be a Monkey Luau Party we decided to try on a few of the outfits that are in her closet. A girl has to know what to wear to a party, right?!

Anyway... some of these photos came out too cute - so I thought I'd post them for you to see... you know I love sharing my kids with you... being so far away - this certainly helps to keep everyone connected! To see more photos... go to the top of this page and there is a small slideshow on the top right.

I can really tell how much Dani absolutely LOVES her little baby sister! It's so sweet to see her take care of her and talk to her and read to her! It definitely was worth going through ONE more pregnancy to have our girls!!! I pray that our kids will always love each other and uplift and encourage each other through all their stages in life!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!

Our youngest with our oldest... baby Mia with sweet Bella girl!

We'll be sure to post pictures from Mia's Monkey Luau party... stay tuned!

4 plus 2...

This is Madison... Dani's best bud from kindergarten. She's also our neighbor! Dani & Madison also take gymnastics together... until Madison made the team and is now going a couple more hours during the week - we miss our "girlfriend time" on thursdays... but CONGRATS Madison for making the gymnastic team... that is so awesome!

Lucky for us... Madison's family just lives down the street... so the girls got a chance to spend the day together yesterday. In fact, we also had Tucker McGrew (Morgan's first pen pal friend)... here are the kids at the park yesterday... it was a gorgeous day in Summerville! I'm so glad that my kids have GOOD friends who come from GOOD families and have GOOD manners! Taking care of 6 kids yesterday wasn't so bad!!

The pool & playground is just walking distance from our house... and the crew was there cleaning & getting the pool ready for the warmer weather... SPRING IS DEFINITELY HERE! AAAACCcchhoo!

Tucker was so sweet pushing Mia on the swing... thanks Tuck!

Dani absolutely LOVES LOVES LOVES her baby sister!

Mia's many faces...

It's fun feeding little Mia now because she can feed herself! This is her first time eating pasta! They were cute little bunny pasta... she loved it! As you can see - I had fun capturing all the many faces of Mia!

OOhh, this feels squishy!

What do you mean I'm eating bunnies?

Yummm!

I'll need a nap soon!

Ha! Ha! Just kidding!

... but I don't want to take a nap!

Oooh NOO! I shouldn't have joked around!

tee it high... and let it fly...

Wednesdays are GOLF DAYS for my boys! Morgan & Ryan are both taking Golf Lessons with Coach Perry... they've only had 2 lessons - and it's such a treat for them to go!!! I love that Morgan & Ryan love to do things together! I know it's hard to believe that these two are only 13 1/2 months apart... especially with their height difference! Who knows... Ryan just might catch up to Morgan... only time will tell! Now that Ryan is interested in golf... it looks like we'll have to buy him his own set. For now he's sharing with his Big Bro.

Coach Perry, Ryan, neighbor Nathan & Morgan - Coach Perry gave the boys such a nice compliment yesterday. I asked him about the Summer Golf Camp and if the boys were eligible to attend. Coach Perry replied, "Absolutely! If all my students were as well behaved as your two boys I could have as many kids in the class!" He limits his classes to 7 kids... luckily it's just my boys who consistently show up! Not a bad deal!! Literally $12 a lesson for each of them! I LOVE A DEAL!

the boys worked on their "chipping" techniques

Ryan looks like he's up to something in this photo! This one keeps me on my toes!

Look-alike Meter...

This is so cool... you upload a photo of your child and mom/dad and see who they look more like! Now that Morgan has glasses... he definitely looks MORE & MORE like Daddy Dale every day! In fact, 33% more!

Maybe this is only because their angles were the same in this photo... with the light shining the same way on their face... but 30% - WOW!

Hmm... Daddy always said he thinks Dani looks more like HIM... well, not according to this "meter"... hee hee! 21% bammm... she's mine - BABY!

Who do you think Mia looks like? 19% says Mommy...

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Vintage pictures - Free genealogy

That's just "barong"!

Ryan's barong arrived and here he is trying it on. I still remember Ryan asking Daddy, "why do they call these shirts "barong"... can't they make it "ba-right?"... ha! That was when he was 6 years old!

Ryan is so excited to be in Auntie Jenny (Ranchez) & Uncle Rob (Perez) wedding this summer in Malibu (along with his little sister - Daniella)... this is his chance to do his "thang"... you see, Ryan was a bible boy a couple of times... he was in Auntie Carmen (Diehl) Thieszen's wedding when he was just 3 years old and another time at Auntie Evelyn (Ramirez) Schultzes wedding also at 3. Both times he never quite made it down the aisle! The first time was because he was scared and chickened out... and at Auntie Evelyn's he got distracted by all the beautiful glass stones that were laid across the path at their gorgeous beach wedding in Santa Barbara. Ryan will be turning 9 years old on June 11... and this may be his last chance to do it "ba-RIGHT"... to make it down that aisle... and to stand proud!

Ryan LOVES dancing at weddings... he cracks me up - he came home from school one day asking me to mail a letter he wrote to the Jabbawokeez (Dance Crew from San Diego)... you'll see he has a few Jabba & Kabba moves.... (for those of you who watch America's Best Dance Crews)

You might want to scroll down and put a pause to the playlist music at the very end of the page!


The video below is a typical evening at our house... what a zoo!
(oops, watch Mia at the very end of the clip!)

Have You Heard?

I wanted to share these beautiful images and video clip (below - click on the site). Thank you Caryn for sharing these with us! We LOVE and MISS you & your family very much! Thank you for ALWAYS being an inspiration to me!