Memorial Day at the Cabin

We spent Memorial Day weekend at the cabin with Bill & Brigitte. It was a great time. We met several neighbors, enjoyed wine on the back deck, played cards, listened to old music on Keith's record player, drove over the Guardsman Pass to Park City for lunch, and sipped mimosas on the front porch. 

The snow is almost totally melted so we discovered all sorts of things coming into view on the property like the snowmobile, a concrete slab (on which we'll eventually set our hot tub), a large front deck, TONS of chopped wood for the wood stove, and a fire pit (for s'mores roasting!). It's like a treasure hunt. 

Luke and Anna enjoyed running and bike riding up and down our dirt road (obviously the Yankees sweatshirt is from Grandma Brie and Grandpa Bill... I don't really approve, but it was a little chilly and we don't have a Red Sox one :) ... 

 Bits of green are popping out... it will look even more lovely when the Aspens and ground bushes bloom...

Anna is just chasing Luke in these photos but she spent a bunch of time on her bike as well...

 There are two swing supports between trees in our back yard, with really long ropes hanging down, which makes for a really long, fun swing ride!

 In case you were wondering, Claire enjoyed her weekend as well, giggling and cooing as she was tickled by Grandma Brie....and sleeping, eating and pooping, as 10-week olds do.

Two Months

Look who's 2 months old today!

Bikers

Luke LOVES his strider bike and is constantly scooting around the neighborhood on it. So naturally, Anna always wants to follow. She is getting pretty good!

Comic Book Kids

Patty took one of our photos of the kids and had it turned into a comic-style image...isn't it pretty cool?

A Peek

Here's a little peek into an average evening at the Duffy home...

Luke poured an entire can of corn into a bowl and ate most of it before I noticed. Since he still wears diapers at night, I braced myself for a particularly disgusting result...

Anna thought Claire would like to have some baby doll friends with her in the swing. The little one on the right is actually a doll that my Auntie Carol made for me (with a matching handmade cradle) when I was little; she has held up pretty well for a baby in her 30s!

Then Anna proceeded to snuggle, hug, kiss and sing (loudly) to her baby sister until Claire started crying in protest and I had to pull Anna off her!

Not captured on camera this night - frequent intervals of Luke & Anna playing nicely together, then fighting like mad... three kids pooping in their diapers/ underwear--and big ones--my kids only do big messy ones... a gigantic mess of Legos, other toys, and dinner crumbs all over the floor, which Luke refused to pick up because "it's too much work Mom"... a constant search for Luke - now that the weather is nice he keeps disappearing on his bike or on foot...usually just to our front yard or our neighbor's, but it's still a little nerve-wracking... significant amount of potty talk; everything is poop this and poopy that with Luke lately and naturally Anna is copying everything her beloved big brother does!

Just another evening in our house.

Class Hike

I chaperoned for a hike with Luke's class last week (Luke is in a blue long sleeve, looking back toward the camera):

 Teacher Terry is pretty ambitions with these three and four -year olds... she took four kids at a time around the corner of this graffiti-clad rock for a great view of the entire Salt Lake valley...

 They loved it of course. When I asked Luke if it was scary at all, he just sighed and, sounding slightly annoyed said "Of course not Mom."

 Luke has been with this class for two years and with frequent co-oping in the classroom, I've gotten to know all of the kids really well. And it's amazing how much the kids have grown up in just two school years. It's a great group... Teacher Terry always says it's one of her favorite classes (and parent groups) ever. Next year the class will be split up between morning and afternoon sessions, so they won't all be together again, which is a little sad. 

Party Kids

Last night we attended the end of year party at CCNS (Luke's school) where next year,  Anna will also be a student and I'll be on the board. So we polished the kids up...

 AMAZING - two out of three looking (and smiling!) at the camera... the third one is exempt at this age...

We all had a good time at the party... Keith and I got to hang out with CCNS parents that have become great friends over the last two years... Anna enjoyed dancing to the live band... Luke and a bunch of his pals had a BLAST going up in the elevator then down the stairs over and over and over, laughing their heads off all the way. We parents actually didn't realize what they were doing for quite a while, except that we knew that they were in the building and not bothering us or getting into any major trouble. They didn't break the elevator and no one got hurt, so it was all good! 

The Moment(s) I Became a Mom

In honor of Mother's Day next week, I decided to look back at the first photo taken of me with each of my three babies. It was quite a moment each time and I'm glad Keith captured all three. 

I remember these three days vividly and fondly. Holding these healthy babies after the long journey of pregnancy and childbirth was really amazing.

You'll notice that I was wearing the same horseshoe necklace for each birth. I bought it for myself as a good luck charm a few months before Luke was born and decided to wear it again for Anna's birth. So of course I had to wear it again when Claire arrived. I think it worked.

Luke... June 7, 2009

Anna... March 24, 2011

Claire... March 19, 2013

Noticing the World Around Her

Claire is spending more and more time awake and alert. She definitely notices Luke and Anna when they're up in her face, talking to her in extra loud voices and waving their hands/ poking her until I notice and shoo them away :)

Here she is laying down on one of those activity mats that has toys dangling for her to stare at and eventually swat. 

Flashback

Here's a photo of Luke when he was 6 weeks old...

 ...and here's Claire, taken yesterday, at 6 weeks old...

When I snapped this one of Claire I immediately remembered the Luke photo and thought it looked similar!

Brushed

Anna is always cute, but she looks especially adorable when her hair is brushed and neat :) 

I can never get it looking quite this good (this is Patty's work)...

Photo Shoot

Yesterday I propped Claire up on the couch and took a bunch of photos. I put Anna in the same spot and took her photo at the same age (6 weeks old). Anna was smiling for her photo shoot and, though Claire was not in these pics, she has started to smile at me, which is endlessly cute!