Nelsons Visit Vienna

With four little boys, we sure had our hands full!

Reston Petting Zoo

The Nelsons flew from Michigan for a long weekend and we jammed in the fun!

Taffe and Miles checking out the monkeys

Feeding the baby goat

Taffe and Miles spent a lot of time together! Taffe had to learn to share everything, which he learned to love!

It wouldn't be a Ruddy reunion without a surprise!  Nana and Papa flew in and came right to the Falls Church Festival for a big surprise for everyone!

Learning to pedal with Papa

And the babies were there too!  Whenever they ended up near each other, Parker and Kingston loved checking each other out!

Looking forward to the next Reunion... Minnesota, here we come!

Chunky Monkey

weighing in at 18lbs and happy as can be!

Preschool!

Big stuff going on over here, like Taffe starting preschool! 

My boys before school

 Taffe wore a collared shirt and tie, just like Daddy! 

(The tie lasted for 45 seconds before it was yanked off!)

Our big boy, ready for school!

 Taffe paused momentarily when he heard another child crying.  Once he was inside the classroom and playing, he was good to go! Christopher and I spied for a little bit (c'mon we're 1st timers!) and it was so cute to watch.  The teacher called out each child's name and asked them to say, "here" and then raise their hand.  Our sweet boy, purposefully hid his hands behind his back. Ha!

Checking out some unicorns and fairy tale characters.

Upon pick-up the teacher said he did great... and the smile on his face was so telling of a fantastic first morning!

Welcome Baby Tommy!

My newest nephew, Thomas Garrison, arrived on September 12th.

Yes, he is as sweet and precious as he looks!  Congrats D & Josh!

A Happy & (slightly) Rainy Birthday

What a day!  We got rained in, but we had a nice day nonetheless!

The best gifts a mom could ask for:

Kingston & Taffe

 The rain was relentless. Our garden now has a river flowing through it.

 To avoid going stir-crazy, we headed out onto the porch. Who knew?  Rain calms a tired baby, and makes a toddler giggle.

 Neighbor "Big Collin," also provided some great entertainment by running around the cul-de-sac and hiding from Taffe. 

 While our dinner date plans got rained out, Taffe & Christopher made sure to have cupcakes for me!

Love and kisses to all of my boys for the wonderful day!

Rainy, Train-y Days

Rainy days are a good time...

...with boots like these,

...and friends like Jack.

Take me out to the Ball Game...

Take me out to the crowds!

 Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks (or ice cream)

I don't care if I ever go back!

 Root, root, root for the home team (or the Mets)

 If they don't win it's a shame.

For it's 1, 2, 3 strikes you're out at the old ball game!