Fall Fun

Fall has been fun so far for the boys! We've been really busy and they are learning all sorts of new things. Finn has been cracking us up with his one-liners. Today he told me I was pretty. It was the happiest moment of my day for sure! He went on a walk with Drew down in the ravine behind our house and came back shaking with excitement and all out of breath. He told me all about how they saw the water and then a bunny ran by and then they saw some deer! It's so fun to hear him tell a whole story about what he's doing and seeing. Mitch is doing great too - rolling a lot and sleeping pretty well (actually last night he slept through the night for the first time in several weeks). He's the most ticklish baby I've ever seen and I can usually get a good belly laugh out of him if I get him in just the right spot! :) Here are some pics of our latest fall adventures.

Mitch and Uncle Kevin - Jack's birthday party

Mitch and Auntie Di at Jack's birthday party

Finn takes a ride on the police motorcycle at the block party

Seeing what Mitch looks like as a girl

Finn and Annie playing in the puddles during the judging of the Iron Chef Competition at Di and Kevin's

Drew supervising the kiddos

My team (The Shamrock Culinary Institute) for the Ferry Family Iron Chef Competition

Mitch and Hannah at Di and Kevin's for the judging

Drew and Finn at Edgewater for the Lake Erie Boat Float - a contest for the best boat built out of recycled materials. So fun to watch!

Claire and Mitch at Mitch's first Warriors football game!

Mallie, Finn, and Annie at the Warriors game

Our Anniversary Trip to PA

We had a great Labor Day weekend in PA, visiting the pretty spot where Drew and I got married. It was so fun to take the boys up there. We stayed in an adorable little cottage (weren't feeling gutsy enough for a camping trip with two babies :) and had a blast hiking around and playing in the state parks in the area. Finn's favorite part: the covered bridge we had to cross to get to our cottage. He was thrilled every time we got to go through the "tunnel"!

The boys are doing great...Mitch rolled over for the first time yesterday! He's getting so big! He's laughing a lot and is very ticklish, which makes for some good entertainment for Finn. Finn is enjoying the fall, playing outside and learning lots of new things. His favorite toy is still the "helicopter" (actually a submarine) he got from Grandma Heffron a couple months ago. It's his pride and joy! He's really starting to speak in full sentences now, which is so funny to hear. He told me a long story yesterday about his trip to the nature center, where he saw an eagle, a bunny, and a turtle. He went on and on about how the fish were big and had teeth and how the eagle was "drinking the water". So cute! Here are the pics from our trip to PA.

Our family in front of the barn where Drew and I got married

Mitch getting ready for a trip to PA!

Finn giving me a flower he picked. He was so excited!

Drew and Finn looking at the boats at Moraine Park

Hiking near our cottage

Finn checking out a spider on Drew's leg

Finn and Drew attempting to fly a kite at Moraine Park

Hiking by the Slippery Rock Creek

Drew and Finn in the "tunnel"

Had a fun time, but happy to be home!

End of Summer

I can't believe that summer is over already! It flew by. Here's the latest news and pics. Today, when I got home from work, Mitch was just waking up from his nap so I went up to get him. When I opened his door I found him on his tummy in his crib! I couldn't believe it! He can roll! He's adjusting well to eating from a bottle while I'm at work (this wasn't going so smoothly at first). We are starting to really see his personality. He's laughing and smiling at us all the time and entertains himself by playing with his hands or by grabbing at his toys. He suffered his first bad bump on the head at the hands of his brother the other night (Finn threw his sippy cup at him). I felt terrible about it because I was sitting right there, but didn't move quick enough to stop it. So he has a little bump and scratch on his head. Poor guy.

Finn is definitely going through a phase of testing his boundaries. Lots of timeouts for that kid lately. I think he's just at that age and is also adjusting to the new schedule of mom being back at work. He is constantly testing me with how much he can get away with when it comes to the baby (being rough with him, getting too close to him, throwing things at him). He had a rough couple of days this week, but was much better today. Hopefully as we settle into the school year, things will get better. He's still talking up a storm. Here are some of his latest words/phrases: "ikeems" for ice cream; yelling "Go Fairview!" at soccer games at the high school or whenever we walk by the field (whether there's a game going on or not:); "Look mama! Yogurt in the eyes!" as he was spooning yogurt directly into his eyeballs; is always asking "You okay mama? You okay daddy? You okay baby?" Then, after asking all of us if we are okay, he says "You okay Finny?"

Here are some pics of the boys:

Hiking in the Metroparks

Checking out the Browns Training Camp

Mitch and Aunt Marla

Sprinkler time with the cousins!

Ohio State and The Columbus Zoo

These boys are growing up fast! I can't believe the changes that take place every day with them. Finn is talking more and more and playing very independently with his boats and trucks and planes. His favorite phrases lately are "up high", "around and around", and "up and down". He repeats these phrases like they're on some kind of recorded loop! He also loves saying the word "library", but it comes out "wy way way way" - sometimes with even more syllables added! Once he starts saying it he can't stop himself and repeats it hundreds of times. Whenever Drew asks him what he did today, he always answers "park", whether we've been there or not. The other day he told Drew we saw a horsey at the park (we hadn't been to the park that day and have certainly never seen a horse there! :) I have a feeling this is only the beginning of the tall tales! One day this week he walked into the kitchen and said as clear as day "Iwantadrinkandasnack". It's funny to hear him talking in sentences and phrases. And the biggest news of all......Finn has peed on the potty every day this week! Sometimes more than once a day! I can't believe it! He's kind of obsessed with the potty though, so we're just letting him try it out in the morning, after nap, and before his bath. He's doing great with it and I think I might even move the potty downstairs next week so we can use it more regularly throughout the day. I'm so proud of him for understanding what it's for and for initiating using it on his own without us even prompting it or mentioning it! Hopefully this is a good sign about potty training, but I'm trying not to get too excited!

Mitch is cooing and smiling a lot. He weighed in at 14lbs 6oz at his 2 month appointment - 90th percentile for weight and height! He loves playing on his play mat now and also loves sitting on my lap to watch Finn run around and play. He's doing pretty well with sleeping at night and napping, although he seems to be hitting a little growth spurt this week, waking up more than usual at night to eat. Hopefully it's just a phase! His little face is changing so much every day and I'm starting to be able to see what he's really going to look like as he grows out of that newborn stage. He's just as sweet as can be, he really likes to be held though and HATES his carseat. He will scream from beginning to end of every car trip I take him on throughout the day. If we're home though, he's as happy as a clam being held or playing on his mat.

We took a trip to Columbus this past weekend for the Dublin Irish Festival. We had dinner with Seth on Friday night and went to the zoo with the Gilbrides and the McCanns on Saturday morning. Then we hit the Irish Fest on Saturday afternoon and evening with everyone. It was a blast! On Sunday, we walked around OSU campus with Finn and Mitch. A really fun weekend! Here are the pics...I didn't get any at the Irish Fest because it was too hard to get to the camera while holding Mitch and chasing Finn around in the crowd. Hopefully Erin and/or Nora will email me some pictures!

Drew and Finn at the lake

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend (me and Finn wrestling over my sunglasses)

On the rides at the Columbus Zoo

With Kevin and Ronan in the aquarium

Checking out the manatees

Drew's Birthday!

Close-ups of our work of art (Drew's birthday cake) - thank you for your help Erin!

A happy little Mitch on his play mat

After devouring a Cookie Monster cupcake from the West Side Market courtesy of Aunt Kiki