The 5 Fighting Irish

Life's A Beach

2012-01-24T18:58:00.000-08:00

Grand Anse Beach
Grenada
January 2012

And so it begins

2012-01-16T19:05:00.001-08:00

White Coat Ceremony Jan. 16, 2012
St. George University
Medical School
Grenada

My favorite dress pattern

2012-01-14T23:21:00.001-08:00

I've meaning to post about these two dresses I made for a silent auction at Memphis' school back in October. I really love how they turned out. The pattern is from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing book. I've made it many times before and I really do love it. The material on the bottom dress is from one of my favorite illustrators turned fabric designer, Sarah Jane. I picked up some more of the white fabric to make a birthday dress for Leia. Can you believe she's going to be one in less than three months, I can't! My favorite little detail about these dresses are the PS I love you tags with the hand embroidered size stitched into them. I thought it made them look a little more professional.

LA Temple

2011-11-14T23:11:00.000-08:00

We took the kids and my parents to the LA Temple a few weeks ago in October. We were married in the LA Temple 8 1/2 years ago. The grounds were just as beautiful now as they were back then.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-05T22:48:00.001-07:00

Lots of fun and LOTS of candy. We hope you guys had a wonderful Halloween, too.

Loving these beach days

2011-10-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

KIDS + BEACH = ONE HAPPY DAY

Canalino Jog-A-Thon

2011-10-21T23:17:00.000-07:00

Merrick's school did a jog-a-thon on Oct. 14th to raise money for their school. Merrick ran/walked the whole 45min. Grandma Donovan, Leia and I were there to cheer him on and give him lots of high fives. We are so proud of him.

Leia trying baby food

2011-10-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

We've started giving Leia baby foods and as you can see she reallly loves it (joking). She doesn't seem to like anything I give her. So far I've tried rice cereal, applesauce, bananas, avocados, mashed potatoes and a few other things. The only thing she really likes is ice cream but who doesn't right. Whenever the boys eat fudgecicles around her she attacks them. I'm sure she'll come around soon enough.

Family Pictures 2011

2011-09-24T23:35:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten

2011-09-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

Merrick started Kindergarten this year at Canalino Elementary School in Carpinteria, California. He has Mrs. Keturi and she is the SWEETEST teacher I have ever met. She has a piano and a guitar in her class and uses music as a form of teaching. Merrick has just barely started making friends with some of the kids in his class ( Miguel and Isaac) and I am so glad because for a while I thought he was going to boycott all things Kindergarten, he really misses his friends in New York, so do I :0(

Mafia Car

2011-09-24T23:07:00.000-07:00

This little beauty is the car we're driving these days. It was a hand me down to Sean's parents and so when family comes into town this is the car they get to drive. It's suppppperr long and the trunk is humongous. We joke about it being a mob car.

Sean hates it but I told him that maybe with a car wash it might not look so bad.

Here it is with a car wash. DRAMATIC difference, I know.

MOOD-New York City

2011-08-11T21:29:00.001-07:00

Ever since I moved to New York I've had two BIG things on my bucket list:
One to visit Purl- Soho and Two to visit MOOD. I went to Purl last year and finally, FINALLY got around to going to MOOD this year with some of my girlfriends. We had a great time and to top it off we met Anya from this season's Project Runway ( she's definitely my favorite contestant and I think she's going to make it to Mercedes Fashion Week). Thanks ladies for the best farewell girls night ever.

Brooklyn

2011-08-11T07:50:00.001-07:00

We met up with some friends in Brooklyn yesterday and had yummy Grimaldi's pizza on the grassy knoll where the kids could run until they were tired.

Then we got ice cream by the water and watched the boats go by. This is our first family shot with Princess Leia in it.

Leia.

The boys.

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.

Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Good Times.

Grandma comes to visit

2011-08-09T21:21:00.001-07:00

The kids with Grandma Hewitt. Merrick would not stop making funny faces so this was seriously the best picture out of the group. Little Leia being cute as usual.

WHO is this kid??? And why does he look soooo big? I mean I know he's 5 years old and getting ready for kindergarten but where did the time go? I love him he's my bud.

Oh Memphis, you just melt my heart.

Dear Mom: Thank you for taking the boys to California for a few weeks, they haven't stopped asking to go back ever since. We love you sooo much and can't wait to spend a little bit more time with you before the big move to the Caribbean.

GRENADA

2011-08-03T05:07:00.000-07:00

Grenada= Gorgeous!

Medical School here we come.

2011-08-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

That's right folks Sean was accepted to St. George University on the Caribbean Island of Grenada. He starts in January so we're heading to California for a few months and then off to Grenada at the end of December. We are so proud of Sean and we just know that he is going to be a GREAT doctor.

Leia- 3 months old

2011-07-14T03:12:00.000-07:00

I love this laugh. It is so precious.

Little Leia is officially 3 months old. She is cooing, laughing, finding her hands (and then trying to eat them of course), rolling over from her stomach to her back, trying very hard to sit up but her abs aren't strong enough yet (we're working on her sit-ups), sleeping through the night (from 10pm to 7am with a quick feeding and then sleeping through to 9am, I LOVE THIS BABY!). She loves to wear her mamas handmade goodies and she misses her brothers sooo much (they're in Cali hanging with the grandparents for 3 weeks). We love having her in our family and can't wait to see her grow up.

Pack it up, Pack it in

2011-07-14T02:55:00.000-07:00

Now that Sean's done with his Master's program and Merrick's out of school there's not really any reason for us to stay in New York. So I've been slowly cleaning up the house wherever I can starting with drawings on the walls which apparently was a preferred canvas for my children.

Merrick saw my super cool magic erasers and wanted to help with the cleaning so I directed him to this drawing that was sitting idle behind our dresser for the past two years. It was a drawing Merrick did when he was 3 (with chalk thank goodness) of a round guy with big hands. I loved it so much I didn't have the heart to erase it back then so we just put the dresser in front of it. But the time has come to get our apartment in order and so I moved the dresser and told him he could wipe the guy off. Well, apparently Merrick was in love with this drawing too, so he requested we keep the goofy guy up a little bit longer and his wish was granted. What can I say I'm a push over when it comes to my children's art.

Memphis does not like to be left out of anything. So when he saw me snapping some pics of Merrick and his drawing, Memphis came running in saying "Me too, me too" Hah classic Memphis.

Goodbye Preschool

2011-07-14T02:39:00.001-07:00

Ms. Jessica and Ms. K, Merrick's pre-school teachers
P.S. 65 The School of Innovative Learning, Staten Island, New York 2010-2011

This is his class "Stepping Up" to Kindergarten

End of the year- Crazy Hair Day

2011-07-14T02:34:00.000-07:00

I wanted Merrick's hair to grow out long, long, long so that for Crazy Hair Day we could spike it out all over. These pictures hardly do his hair justice.

Memphis got a haircut

2011-06-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

Memphis' hair has been getting soooo long and with the New York heat it was time for him to get a haircut. But Memphis loathes getting his hair cut so my brilliant solution was...

to cut his hair while he napped on Sean's lap.

Not bad eh?

When he woke up we asked him what happened to his hair and he just shrugged his shoulders and said it was gone.

Oh my goodness- what a brother

2011-06-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

LOVE

Leia's Blessing

2011-06-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

Leia received her baby blessing on June 5th, 2011. It was a beautiful moment in our sweet girls life. The dress was made from a vintage pillow case and the headband from some felted material.

Leia 7 weeks

2011-06-01T20:12:00.001-07:00

She smiles, she coos and she is a very GOOD sleeper. We love having her in our family.

Graduate Degree in Microbiology

2011-06-01T20:05:00.001-07:00

Sean did it!!! He graduated on May 20th, 2011 at 10 am (in the pouring rain, outside) with a degree in Microbiology. I could not be more proud of him.

Arts Award

2011-06-01T20:03:00.001-07:00

Merrick got the "Arts" award for the second time this year. The teachers were raving about his attention to detail and his level of drawing. I'm so proud of him.

Dresses

2011-06-01T19:56:00.001-07:00

I can't get enough of Leia in super cute dresses or of Memphis' eyes in this last picture both just happen to melt my heart.

Leia

2011-06-01T19:50:00.001-07:00

I wanted to get a picture of this shirt before she outgrows it. It matches her diaper cover.

"Mario"

2011-06-01T19:46:00.001-07:00

Merrick has been nicknamed "Mario" by his teachers for his love for Mario Brothers. He put this ensemble together all by himself.

Da Brothers

2011-06-01T19:36:00.001-07:00

Sometimes she laughs, sometimes she cries either way these are her brothers and she's stuck with them for life.

Microbiology Award

2011-06-01T19:28:00.001-07:00

Sean received the Microbiology Award for having the highest overall GPA in his program. Not only did he receive a plaque but he also received a monetary award. Woo hoo way to go Sean.

Sumo Wrestler

2011-06-01T19:26:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when Sean entertains the kids.

Princess Leia

2011-06-01T19:21:00.001-07:00

I found this Star Wars onesie before Leia was born and could not resist bringing it home with me.

Princess Leia

Easter Dress

2011-06-01T19:14:00.001-07:00

Leia's first photo shoot in her Easter Dress. My mom crocheted some flowers for her and we were testing it out on her cute head.

Merrick's Growth Chart

2011-06-01T19:11:00.001-07:00

Merrick made this growth chart and stood next to it to show me that he was five feet tall. We printed a large size image of Mario and he colored it in.

Leia's 1st bath

2011-06-01T19:08:00.001-07:00

Leia's 1st bath

Little Leia Week 1

2011-06-01T19:05:00.001-07:00

This is our sweet Leia- week 1 of her precious life in our family. She looks so tiny here.

Leia Anne Donovan

2011-04-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

She's here! Leia Anne Donovan made her grand entrance on Monday, April 11 at 10:41am. She weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20 inches long. She is an amazing baby and is adjusting well to our big family. She is absolutely ADORED by her brothers who want to hold her every chance they can. Now that she's here we can't imagine life without her.

Memphis turns 3

2011-04-03T21:03:00.001-07:00

Happy kids. Can a mother ask for anything more?

Check out Memphis' new hairdo... yup that's how he's rolling into his threes.

Merrick wanted to give Memphis some presents so he went around the house and wrapped up some things that already belonged to Memphis like a Tom and Jerry DVD and a painted wooden bird house. Memphis still acted surprised.

Cheesy Smiles. So cute!

I thought my little guy was going to ask for a Spider-Man cake but in the end he requested an Incredible Hulk cake. We colored the cake purple and then did a green icing. The cake was a homemade yellow cake from the Better Homes and Garden cook book and it was SOOO good.

Girls Night Out

2011-04-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

Girls Night Out. From Left to Right: Tanya, Kim, Ali, Catlin, Christina, Aubri, Christy, Natalie, Rachel and a VERY 9 month pregnant me.

Good Friends. Some outlet shopping and Mexican Food. Best night EVER.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-04-03T20:36:00.001-07:00

Merrick's class had a St. Patrick's Day party and these were the centerpieces I brought for the kids. Merrick helped me paint the ceramic planters and then we filled them with gold wrapped rolos and made rainbows out of pipe cleaners. They were a big hit.

Every year we put out a trap the night before St. Patrick's Day to try and catch our friendly leprechaun unfortunately every year he somehow gets away. He's pretty sneaky but this year not only did he leave us a few gifts he also....

played a few tricks on the boys. Memphis got some green colored glasses

while Merrick got a green mustache and goatee.

The best part was that I sent Merrick to school with his mustache and told him to just tell people that the leprechaun played a trick on him. His teachers got a kick out that.

Our friendly little leprechaun also turned our milk green and left us Lucky Charms and gold chocolate coins.

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

2011-04-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

After we went to the Please Touch Museum we just had to try some good ol' Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches from the two famous hot spots in South Philly. Sean stood in line for some of Pats cheese steaks and I sat in line for some cheese steaks from Gino's, which happen to be right across the street from each other. In the end, we decided that Gino's had the best Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches and let me tell you something, we can't wait to go back.

Please Touch Museum-Philadelphia

2011-04-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this museum. If you ever get the chance to visit Philadelphia, with kids, you should definitely go to this museum.

Pizza Fieldtrip

2011-04-03T20:02:00.001-07:00

Merrick's Pre-school class went on their very first field trip last month to a pizza parlor. The owners wore Mario and Luigi hats and talked to the kids about how pizza was invented. The kids loved it and the best part was they got to eat lots of pizza and then each of the kids were given a pizza kit to make their own personal sized pizzas at home. His school is amazing and I am so glad he gets to be a part of a wonderful institution.

February 2011

2011-03-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

February came and went but we stayed busy with lots of crafts and indoor play.

Merrick turned 5

2011-03-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

Merrick at Pre-school. He got to sit in the birthday chair and then all the other kids sang Happy Birthday to him. I brought in Cupcakes and they were a hit.

Merrick's Birthday cake. I can't believe he's 5. Five just seems like such a big number. We love having Merrick as part of our family and can't wait to see him continue to grow and grow.

Christmas 2010

2011-03-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

Disneyland

Lego Store

Chuck E. Cheese

Christmas 2010- Baking Cookies with Grandma

2011-03-06T19:40:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2010- Christmas Day

2011-03-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010- Christmas Eve

2011-03-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve- Cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer.

Sean also got on the roof right before bedtime with a bell and pretended to be Santa's reindeer. The kids were so excited they ran to their beds and fell right to sleep so that Santa could put their presents under the Christmas tree.

Christmas Eve Party- Grandma Donovan playing a game where you try to shuffle a cookie from your forehead to your mouth. It was Hilarious.

White Elephant gift exchange. Merrick definitely got the best present of the night.

Meghan and Fawn- Love them.

Meggie.

Chicken Fighting in Grandma's kitchen. The kids LOVE this game.

Oggie Doggie.

Grandpa Sears playing on the ol grand piano.

Grandpa Donovan's coveted creek after a rainstorm.

Christmas 2010- Grandma and Grandpa Donovan's House

2011-03-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

Cool uncle Brandon hanging out with little Memphis. I love Sean's family they are all so great and so great with our kids.

This Christmas was very special because we got to spend a lot of time with Uncle Dustin who just got home from serving a mission in Puerto Rico. We missed him and are really glad to have him close by to us again.

Christmas 2010- Mema and Grandpas House

2011-03-06T18:42:00.000-08:00

This Christmas we were able to find a way to fly home for the holidays. I took the kids a little early while Sean stayed back and finished finals and then he came home for Christmas. The very first day we were in town we got straight to work on decorating my parent's Christmas tree. We skipped getting a Christmas tree in New York because we were going to be gone for so long so the kids were really excited to do all of the decorating. The tinsel was a little tricky for their hands but we made it work.

Christmas 2010- The Nutcracker

2011-03-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

I know it doesn't seem as if Merrick was very excited in these pictures but trust me he thought The Nutcracker was pretty cool especially all of the fighting scenes. At the end of the show he asked why we weren't in the show and I asked him if he'd like to be in a show sometime and he said yes. He is such a sweet kid and I'm glad we were able to continue this tradition with him.

Family Picture

2011-01-11T02:15:00.001-08:00

So many great pictures I really just can't decide which one to make prints of and frame on our living room wall.

Happy New Year
Love, The Donovans

Donovan Family Pictures

2011-01-11T02:07:00.001-08:00

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Christmas 2010

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

2010-11-28T21:17:00.000-08:00

John and Tanya Gough (good friends in NYC).

Alton Brown from The Food Network.

Jimmy Fallon and his late night crew.

Spider-Man= Memphis' hero

Woke up at 2:30am. Left our house at 3:30am. Caught the 4am Ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan. Carried 10lbs of food, two camping chairs, 4 blankets, snow pants, camera, jackets, hats and lots of water all on a double stroller. Arrived at our viewing spot at 5:30am. We were up front and had the best seats in the house. We got McDonald's around 6:30am and took naps until the parade started at 9:30am. It was the coolest thing to be in front and to be so close to the balloons and floats. The kids loved it. I have to admit though that it was very loooooong like two hours long. We were all very happy to see Santa at the end which meant the parade was over!

Merrick's Pajama Day & Class Party

2010-11-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist making Merrick some Thanksgiving pajamas for his Pajama Day at school. It was the day before Thanksgiving break so they were going to have a Thanksgiving party on that day too.

I transferred a picture of a turkey he had colored in class onto a t-shirt.

Some turkey print pajama bottoms.

Merrick and Ms. K (his teacher). She had each of the kids come up and talk about what they were thankful for and Merrick said "I'm thankful for my big turkey feast" which I'm assuming was the party in his classroom.

Merrick bringing me his "Thankful for:" picture which consisted of a hand print in paint that was turned into a turkey. That smile just melts my heart.

Sewing Bug

2010-11-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

I've got the sewing bug again and it's all for little girl dresses. I've failed to mention over these past five months that we're pregnant with baby #3 and the doctor says he'd put money on it that

it's a girl. I will find out for sure what we're having on Wednesday but for now a MAYBE on the girl is just FINE with me. I love my boys and I will probably have plenty more rambunctious little bambinos in the future but for now a girl will suit our family just fine. I made these little dresses for one of my friends who has two daughters.

Turkey hats at Playgroup

2010-11-28T20:20:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for Thanksgiving with some cute turkey hats a friend of mine put together for playgroup.

Fun Stuff

2010-11-28T20:13:00.000-08:00

The boys doing one of their favorite things: Face Painting.

Bobo the Sock Monkey, the newest addition to our family.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Halloween Day (Sunday)

Church Trunk-or-Treat (Saturday)

We hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween weekend. My two little skeletons sure did.

Merrick's Quilt

2010-11-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

I finally finished it. Yeahhh! I made this log cabin quilt for Merrick with pictures of all the people who love him to keep him warm and snug when he had to take naps at school. He goes to a pretty fancy public pre-school and although I love the school it's an all day program and I worry that he will miss us after being home all these years. So I decided to make him a special blanket, something that he can look at if he doesn't feel too tired or can cover him up if he does decide to get a little shut eye (which he does by the way, so they say). I, of course, was very nervous with the assembly of an actual quilt so each step in the process took a month to complete but I finally got the bias tape on and sent in with Merrick today. I hope that when he lays down for nap time with his new blanket that he will know how special he is and how much his family, near and far, loves him.

Aunt Meghan comes for a visit

2010-10-25T23:58:00.001-07:00

A few weeks back one of our favorite Aunties came out for a visit. Aunt Meghan came out to the big city to visit her 2 favorite nephews, one of her favorite brothers and a sister-in-law that talks too much but that she still loves :0) We took her around as much of the city as we could but in the end we could not convert her to the New York way of life.

One Saturday the fam went to the super cool Lego store in Rockefeller Center and the boys had a blast. What you see above is pretty much what Memphis likes to do with his lego guys at home.

The boys could honestly stay at this store for 2 hours just rearranging body parts and accessories. The best thing about this store is that it has a beautiful view of the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink. I can't wait to take the kids here in another month when the Christmas Tree goes up.

Memphis knows how to fight back so watch out.

Stone slide in Central Park.

Sean took Meghan out one night without the kids and they had a blast. Sometimes you just have to experience New York City without all the strollers and extra luggage that comes with kids ya know. But in this shot Meghan was excited about Phantom of the Opera and wanted to take a picture under the billboard and without her knowing, this mystery guy steps right behind her and makes this pose. Sean is the one taking the picture and grins a little bit but takes the shot and doesn't say a word to Meghan. The mystery guy walks away unnoticed by Meghan. Sean hands the camera back to her and she scans through the pictures to check the shot. When she comes across this picture she does a very loud "Oh My Gosh" the mystery guy totally hears it and starts cracking up as does Sean. Sean says it was like Meghan felt violated because the whole time she didn't even sense that someone was behind her. Oh man I love this story. I need to print this picture out and frame for a good laugh every now and then.

This is our very own Naked Cowboy. He struts his stuff in Time Square and I'm thinking he has to be pretty rich don't you think? I mean this is what he does day in and day out and he can still afford to live in this expensive city. Maybe its time I ask Sean to put those dreams of Medical school aside and see about getting him some more guitar lessons.

The yellow guys my favorite too. M&M store in Time Square.

While Merrick was at school every day Meghan spent her days taking pictures of Memphis. I can't complain because she got some very cute shots of him being happy as usual.

We love you Meghan. Good Luck in Oregon. We miss you already.

Merrick's First Day of School

2010-09-18T07:04:00.001-07:00

Merrick and his really good friend Aiden. They are in Ms. Kosh's class together.

This is what you get when you ask Merrick to pose for a First Day of School picture. Ya know something you might want to frame to remember the moment your child started his path to higher learning but Merrick is so full of silliness this picture actually captures the moment perfectly.

There he is folks hard at work coloring inside the lines. He has already learned to sound out "sit" with an emphasis on the ssss sound and he can tell you that "amarillo" is the color yellow in Spanish. I'm excited for him and this new adventure.

Grandma and Grandpa Donovan come for a visit (Part I)

2010-09-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

The boys got a drink to share at Dylan's Candy Shop

Dylan's Candy Shop

Central Park

Central Park Zoo

Lion King on Broadway AWESOME!

Hershey Factory

There were 3 Elmos on this corner I think it confused the boys just a little bit.

Every guest deserves a trip to Time Square.

This is grandpa's effort to let the kids color on him. This and only this was all he allowed.

This is grandmas effort to let the kids color on her.

Thanks grandma and grandpa for letting the kids have a little fun with their body crayons.

Grandma and Grandpa Donovan come for a visit (Part II)

2010-09-18T06:10:00.000-07:00

The above pictures are of the Staten Island Children's Museum

GD and GM on the Staten Island Ferry

M&M Factory

Hershey Chocolate Factory

Naked Cowboy in Time Square

At the park

Fruit and Vegetable Stand on our way to the Hamptons

2010-09-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

One day while my mom was visiting I got this crazy idea to pile everyone in the car and go for a drive to Long Island. The Hamptons are on Long Island so I thought maybe we could rub elbows with the rich and attempt to see some beautiful homes and maybe even a celebrity or two. Well I was in for a very LONG journey and too stubborn to turn around I kept going but it took us almost 4 hours to get there and don't even get me started on the drive home. But we did mange to find this fruit stand with a play area on the drive in and I think it made the trip somewhat of a success.

Washington DC

2010-09-18T05:37:00.000-07:00

We're checking Washington D.C. off our bucket list.

Grimaldi's and the Brooklyn Bridge

2010-09-18T05:24:00.000-07:00

Me and my mama

The crazy line at Grimaldi's on a Friday evening.

Brooklyn Bridge

After playing at Coney Island we decided to finish the day by picking up a pizza from the famous Grimaldi's under the Brooklyn Bridge and eating it at a park that was just around the corner from the pizzeria. The buildings behind us are of Manhattan.

Coney Island and New York Aquarium

2010-09-18T04:41:00.001-07:00

My mom came out for a visit in August so we decided to check out Coney Island and the New York Aquarium for the first time. Coney Island is in Brooklyn and its pretty much a pier that has multiple small amusement parks on it. We all had such a good time. Well, maybe I take that back. Memphis DID NOT like the rides as you can see from the picture so he took his nap while Merrick and I rode on all the rides even the super scary rides.

The Boys

2010-08-12T01:45:00.000-07:00

Just some random shots of the boys for the grandparents.
Merrick in the boys reading nook.

The boys were way overdue for haircuts.

Did I mention they like to pose themselves.

Merrick reading to Memphis.

Oh yeah you've got to love these ones.

Memphis has so many facial expressions he's so funny to watch.

Arts and crafts while Memphis naps.

Staying Busy as usual

2010-08-10T04:12:00.001-07:00

We've been staying busy around these parts so I'm unloading some of our summer pictures on you so that you can see what we've been up to.

We rent a 2 bedroom in New York but it really is too cramped in the boys room so Merrick decided he needed his own room.

Nothing beats a cupboard in the kitchen. Look it even has a shelf for your toys.

Beating the New York heat.

Grow! Garden Grow! This year we planted pumpkin, zucchini, basil, tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and jalapenos. Merrick planted some sunflower seeds which are very tall right now.

If you think that you can buy the kids a pool and that they will actually just sit quietly and play in the pool well you've got another thing coming.

Doctor's say Memphis is healthy and strong and actually tall for his age.

So much work for just one mama to clean up.

Art in the morning what can be better.

Happy 30th Birthday Sean

2010-06-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

A little Shake Shack for dinner, yummmm, (the long line didn't even phase us we were ready for it), some New York City sky scrapers on a nice clear day, some Whole Foods dessert section perusing, a little Barnes and Noble shopping, a little Best Buy shopping (The Office Season 5) and the kids safe and snug at our co-op babysitting group (thanks Pilgrim Family), it was a great night!
Happy Birthday Sean we love you sooooo much !

Random Photos of our lives on a day to day basis

2010-06-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

Merrick being silly for the camera.

My sad attempt at getting a picture of the boys together this time Memphis was the stubborn one.

This is by far the kids favorite thing to do in our WHOLE apartment. They love to kick everything off the bed (they get especially giddy when I have folded laundry on the bed ready to be put away) they take off sheets kick off the mattress pillow top and jump until they don't think it's funny anymore then they walk away (laughing, I'm sure) as I take a deep breath and begin the picking up process. I think the part that I think is funny is how enthusiastic they are about the whole process and how much real deep down joy it brings them.

Morning Art
A blank sheet of butcher paper to start the day with ahh what could be better?

June in New York

2010-06-17T05:22:00.000-07:00

June has been a very busy month so far. Sean and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary on June 6th, then we celebrated Sean's birthday on the 11th, this weekend we will shower Sean with even more love for Father's Day and it seems like we've been celebrating every occasion in the city which always, always puts a smile on my face. So until I can get all of those activities organized and loaded on to our blog I'm gonna give you a little something, something to hold you over. Of course you know that something always pertains to the children, right?

Can't go wrong with a piggy mask from Target.

Train tracks as gun, way to be creative little dudes.

A day at the park, Merrick's quite time activity (face painting- not so quite when he actually starts acting like a tiger) and Memphis waking up from his nap heading straight to my arms for a hug.

Why do I even try ?

2010-06-06T15:35:00.001-07:00

Some days we like to hang out at home but instead of relaxing the kids put me to work. Just the other day Merrick asked for tacos for breakfast, FOR BREAKFAST what the heck? And on this particular day after slaving in the kitchen to make gingerbread men the boys asked for Homemade Pizza for lunch. I figured why not this way I can have pizza left over for dinner for Sean and the boys will fill up early and then we can head to the park on full stomachs. But as you can see from the picture sometimes pizza sounds fun to make but not always what your really in the mood for. The pizza turned out great but I was trying to watch my figure so I opted for Chili (not sure if it's better?) and Merrick ate a few slices but then wanted cereal. Memphis just played with his pet dinosaur....

until...

Merrick walked away from his cereal then Memphis went in as the clean-up crew. He does this a-lot around here and every time he does it just cracks me up. He just slides abandoned plates towards himself and starts digging in. At some point I should limit his seconds but for now I think I will let him continue this janitorial effort to waste less food in our home. Besides his cheeks are still in the cute category right?

Teach me to draw books

2010-06-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Merrick learning how to draw cartoons from some books we got at the library.

Gingerbread Men

2010-06-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

The kids begged me to make some gingerbread men, they are pretty excited about them ever since they started seeing previews of the movie Shrek Forever After.

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam

2010-06-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

Merrick at church. He's getting so big.

Just another day in the Donovan Household

2010-06-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

Some painting on Duck Canvas to be turned into place mats.

Topped off with some face painting ( Merrick's favorite character is Frankenstein but he pronounces it "Chickenstein"). This is his fierce Frankenstein look.

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge for playgroup

2010-05-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

I loved, loved this day and although I want to do it again with no kids and preferably with Sean I really had a great time. Thanks to the sweet Katie Allen for planning it and for the other wonderful girls in my ward who were brave enough to attempt to walk the bridge with their kids.
New York, I still love you!!!

Riding the Staten Island Ferry

2010-05-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

All watching the boats go by.

The boys playing peek a boo with our friend's baby boy.

Merrick's new thing. He calls this taking a silly picture.

Memphis being independent and wanting to put the straw into the juice box all by himself. Our friend Aleisha is the girl with the pony tail behind Memphis and she got the wonderful pleasure of speaking to a complete stranger the whole time while we were on the ferry. Good times.

Memphis turned 2

2010-04-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

Memphis turned 2 at the end of March (can you believe it?) and so of course some celebrating was in order.

His birthday fell on a Sunday this year so we had to open presents first thing in the morning and then rush off to church.

I wanted to make my little cutie a nice birthday shirt with robots and the number 2 on it and this is the pose that he gave me when I asked him to show me his shirt. It's sort of a hold-my-breath and stick-out-my-chest kind of pose but I'm really glad I got it on camera. What a babe that Memphis is.

We ran out of birthday themed wrapping paper and all I had left was Christmas wrapping paper so you can imagine the confusion when out come the kids to see a mound of "Christmas" presents but explain that the presents are really only for Memphis.

So handsome.

Dearest Little Memphis,

What can I say, WE LOVE YOU!!! You are so easy to please and I can tell that you are very happy to be a part of our family. You love us and we couldn't ever imagine a day without you in our lives. Sometimes I just look into your eyes and feel warm all over inside and you give me your special bear hug that tells me I'm doing okay as your mama. From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed you make us smile. You love to eat, you love to follow Merrick and play anything he's playing, you love a good nap but most of all you like to be outside. Your daddy thinks that you'll grow up to be a big football star I think you'll grow up to play any sport that uses a ball. We're excited to watch you grow and hope that you will continue to be full of life. Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Boy.

Lots of Love,
Mama, Daddy and Merrick

Auggie Doggie

2010-03-21T23:15:00.000-07:00

A visit from Auggie Doggie on St. Patrick's Day made my kids very happy. My boys wore green crocks on St. Patty's Day, I usually like to get them a pair every summer since they practically live in them when the weathers nice.

Memphis + Socks = Happy Independent Toddler

2010-03-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

When is it official that your baby is growing up? I mean can you still baby them even though they are showing signs of independence? That's the case with Memphis. He's our baby but he is a full blown toddler ready to do things on his own without any help from mom. He found some socks and wanted to put them on but his were a little too snug to master with his chubby fingers so I offered to let him borrow mine which he had absolutely no trouble putting on. He was pretty proud of himself.

Speseghetti anyone?

2010-03-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

Please don't think that I love Memphis more because I happen to be focusing on him tonight but some things just need to get posted and these pictures of Memphis eating homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs is definitely one of them. I think he liked my birthday dinner more than I did.

The BIG 3-0!!!

2010-03-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

This is my profile picture at 30 years old. Ya know so that I never forget.

This is my cake's profile picture of 30+ candles ( Merrick and I just wanted to see a lot of candles on the cake).

And this was my birthday cake decorated by the one and only 4 year old that says that I'm beautiful because I have a heart. Of course when he's mad at me he likes to tell me that I don't have a heart like the tinman in the Wizard of Oz. Four year olds are so smart and funny. To anyone else who turns 30 this year have a wonderful birthday and please don't be like me and spend all your birthday money on fabric it's really pathetic!

Disneyland 2010

2010-03-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

We finally made it out to California. We've been waiting for this trip for a long time. Fisrt stop- Disneyland to use our Southern Cali passes one last time before they expire. Disneyland was a ton of fun but what I could not get over was the weather. It was BEAUTIFUL here. Not that I don't think New York is beautiful too but California has some amazing natural beauty and it's here all year round. Like those flowers up above were everywhere I loved it. The kids loved the sunny weather also but then again they are Californians so it's hard for them to forget what to do when the sun comes out.

Emergency Room

2010-03-21T22:26:00.000-07:00

This is the result of a late night at the ER combined with a good dose of Benadryl. Sweet Merrick came down with an awful allergic reaction and was freaking out that bugs were crawling all over his body. He had about 3 hard nights until we gave up trying to solve the problem ourselves and Sean took him to the ER where he was prescribed Benadryl. Needless to say the Benadryl made him very drowsy and this is how he stayed for the rest of the morning.

Winter Wonderland

2010-03-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

We had quite the wintery wonderland here in New York throughout the month of February and althought I loved every minute of it and let me tell you I really, really did Sean and the kids were not too faund of it.

Can't get enough

2010-03-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

I can't get enough of these cheeks and eyes and this adorable look, oh how I do love him.

Merrick joined the CIA

2010-02-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

Stalking my baby with a camera

2010-02-11T20:49:00.001-08:00