Hanging with the Cousins

The weekend before Mommy went to Las Vegas, Nana and Grandpa babysat cousins Liam and Joergen for a few days.  While Nana worked, Grandpa was left to watch the boys by himself.  Colin and I decided to help him out for the day, although I'm not sure if it made things easier or harder having another little one running around.  It sure was great to have the three of them together though.

I tried really hard when we first got there to get a picture of all of them together but it proved impossible...

We spent the afternoon having lunch at GG's house and swimming in her pool.  GG just adored having them all together.

Colin and Joergen enjoying some pears together.

GG and Liam ready for their lunch date.

Joergen and Colin had too much fun with their water cups.  Afterwards they shared some chicken fingers and fries.

Another failed attempt to get all three boys looking...

Aunt Jayne walking Colin out after a fun afternoon.

Back at Nana's house that evening I attempted to get another shot of the boys.  I love this one of the three of them playing together.

Nana wanted to get in on the action and hoped to get a good shot of her with three of her grandsons....It was even more difficult than the morning....

I absolutely love this one because ever since Joergen was a little bitty baby he has always hammed it up for the camera.  Liam and Colin on the other hand are a little more tricky as you can see...

Grandpa jumped in on the fun but unfortunately that still didn't help us get a shot...

I finally got one where everyone was looking and it turned out blurry!

I love all of these photos because they capture the joy and chaos of having two toddlers and a preschooler in the house.  Colin loves the chaos and enjoyed every minute of his time spent with his cousins.  He just couldn't get enough.

The following week, Mommy and Daddy arrived home from Las Vegas and headed to Philadelphia so Colin could see his cousins again and we could celebrate Christmas together.  On our way, we made a surprise pit stop at my dear friend Michelle's brand new house.  It was beautiful and so was sweet Bethany.  I loved getting the two of them together.  Michelle and I give each other tons of mommy support over email so its nice to see each other's little ones in person.

Once we got to Aunt Jen's she snapped this photo for us.  We certainly don't have enough family photos so I was very thankful to get this one!  We are all finally back together.

Colin is holding his new present from his cousins, play food!

Colin "giving" Joergen one of his Christmas gifts.

This would be when Colin began perfecting his wrapping paper opening skills.  He insists on finding the edge of the paper and carefully pulling from there.

 

How cute are these two?  They both loves book and animals.  What could be better?  I loved seeing them together like this.

Liam also graciously allowed Colin to help him open his present.

 Colin is not satisfied until all of the paper is off.

All of the boys loved their presents.  Colin has had so much fun with his play food and other goodies since we've returned home.  We are excited that we will likely be living in New Jersery beginning next Fall and we'll have plenty more opportunities to spend time with the Derry clan and the Bonanno family. Can. Not. Wait.

Daddy Graduates from the Air Force Weapons School

Daddy spent July through December working extremely hard to become an Air Force Weapons Officer.  All of his perseverance paid off and he graduated in a weekend long celebration in Las Vegas.  It had been a long time spent apart so Daddy booked us a room in the Bellagio, one of the nicest hotels on the strip, while Mimi and Pappy babysat Colin at their house.  The hotel was absolutely gorgeous and totally decked out for Christmas.

I couldn't get enough of these adorable polar bears made completely of flowers!

 

Daddy had been out in Vegas for several weeks finishing up his training and I arrived in town Thursday evening while he was taking part in his patch night ceremony.  My wonderful high school friend, Sara, lives in Las Vegas and was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and treat me to dinner at her house.  I was so happy I was able to see her sweet daughter Julia again and meet baby Natalie for the first time.

After a fun evening, Daddy picked me up at Sara's house and we continued the night at the hotel New York, New York.  We spent Friday relaxing and enjoying an awesome dinner together.

On Saturday, Aunt Jen joined us to celebrate Daddy and his accomplishments.  She'd never been to Las Vegas before so it was definitely a treat.

Saturday evening was the big night: United States Air Force Weapons School Graduation!  Daddy was looking handsome as ever as we got ready in the hotel room.

All dressed up and ready to celebrate!

Aunt Jen was very proud of her little brother, can you tell?

Before we entered the large ballroom, each squadron within the school had their own meeting room where we could socialize before the graduation.  To my surprise, it turned out to be a graduation of sorts for all of the spouses.  We each received a certificate, Weapons School pendant, and a bouquet of flowers, not to mention a huge thank you for dealing with all of stress the school placed on our husbands.  It was an honor to be recognized and was greatly appreciated. 

Soon after entering the ballroom, we had a magnificent dinner.  My favorite part was dessert and not just because it was dessert but because of the fun weapons school patch on the top.  What a cool little accent!

Finally, the big moment had come: Captain Timothy Goodwillie, graduate of the Air Force Weapons School.

 

I could not have been any more proud of my husband as I was at this moment.  He worked so incredibly hard for six grueling months and had to push himself to limits he had never reached before.  He did it and will be that much better of an officer and pilot because of it.

 A closer look at the diploma:

Our little bun in the oven will forever be told all that Daddy accomplished while he or she grew peacefully inside of Mommy's tummy.  So happy that Daddy will now be home as the little bambino finishes cooking.

After getting the heck out of the shoes I was wearing, we finished off the night at a dueling pianos bar in the Paris Hotel.  It was a very special evening and one we will never forget.  There was so much to be proud of!

Meanwhile, back in Pennsylvania, Colin enjoyed his time running around Mimi and Pappy's house and taking a trip to Hershey Park's Christmas Wonderland.

Aunt Sis showed Colin all of the fun rides:

While Mimi took him to see Santa's reindeer:

From what I heard, it was a good day at the park!  I can't thank Mimi, Pappy, Aunt Sis, and Uncle Connor enough for taking care of our little munchkin.  He was in great hands and loved every minute of it.

Life on Barelyn Drive

While Daddy was busy working in Vegas, Colin and I enjoyed a lot of quality time at home with my side of the family. I wanted to share a few shots that didn't make it into other posts from our time together.

Uncle Connor is crazy.

Pappy is always full of kisses!

Mimi has a lot more patient than Mommy.

While Uncle Hunter and Susann were in town they really wanted to pick crabs so we found a neat little place outside of Baltimore to do just that.

Uncle Connor doing the honors of putting on the bib...note the lobster?

Uncle Connor teaching Colin a new trick.

"Mmmm"

Ok that's all, I just wanted to make sure I didn't forget these sweet pictures!

Christmas in July

I really wanted Colin to experience Christmas with my side of the family this year.  Since Uncle Hunter was visiting we wanted to make sure we did it before he headed back to Germany.  Hunter, who had not really thought about gifts, was a little hesitant for what he called "Christmas in July" which is apparently what you call doing an early Christmas on December 8th.  

Aunt Jen, on the other hand, was ready to go, Christmas sweater and all.

Colin couldn't wait to start open his presents!

Someone's excited!

Mommy and Aunt Jen were happy to have the whole family back together again!

Mimi made an awesome spread of appetizers and we got started on the gifts. 

One of Colin's favorite gifts was probably the stuffed t-rex he got from Uncle Connor. ROARRR!

Mimi and Pappy gave Mommy a sweetgrass basket from Charleston!! Wahoo!

Uncle Hunter got a Kindle.

Pappy was happy to have the family together and to open his present.

We got to continued the celebration the next day on Pappy's birthday.  He's not use to having Christmas BEFORE his birthday but I think he enjoyed two days of presents.

It was so great to be able to have the all of us back together after several years.  We made memories we will cherish forever.

Big Man on Campus

Colin was really bummed that he missed out on his special day visiting Aunt Jen back when the plague hit the family so I knew we had to plan another day trip.

Colin prepared by reading up on the University of Delaware's engineering requirements...no really, the morning we left Colin was hanging out in Aunt Jen's room while mommy got ready and he found a bunch of folders in her desk.  Out of all the folders he choose this one to open up and browse through. (It really was the same morning despite the different clothing...I dressed him up shortly after this photo...you've got to look extra cute when visiting a college campus)

Reviewing the engineering checklist.

Our first stop was Aunt Jen's sorority house.  Colin loved running around the downstairs and getting tons of attention from the coeds.  He was especially fond of the gigantic snack shelves.  Colin was in snack heaven.

Aunt Jen snagged a bag of chex mix from her shelf and we headed upstairs to check out her room in the house.  Colin was a little preoccupied with this new snack he'd never tried and therefore could not be bothered with any photos...

After spending some time at the house we headed over to the mall nearby for lunch and Build-a-Bear.  Upon entering the mall we knew there'd be a slight detour when we saw a line of mechanical cars.  Colin had never been on anything like this before and was various curious how it all worked.

After a few exciting rides, we made our way to the Build-a-Bear Workshop.  Whenever possible we try to include Aunt Jen in some extra special things with Colin (like taking him to see Santa for the very first time). This time, she was going to take part in Colin receiving his very first teddy bear.  When thinking about Christmas gifts for the little man I realized Colin did not have a nice sized teddy bear of his own.  We knew we had to remedy this problem and Build-a-Bear was the perfect solution.  After picking out the softest bear we could find it was time for Colin to stuff his bear.

 He was very unsure about the machine and thus didn't do too much stuffing himself.  We did make sure he kissed his bear's heart before placing it inside of him and sewing him up.  We picked out a special hat and scarf and then made "Teddy's" birth certificate which was probably Colin's favorite part since it involved the computer.

Colin had a great time visiting Aunt Jen at school and can't wait to visit her again soon!