Overheard...

I overheard a frustrated middle size child comment on her tired, hungry, whining smaller sized sibling:

"I wish Mom could google a way to get her to stop crying!"

I wish it were that easy :)

Poor Buddy!

Erin's little monkey had a rough week. Nothin' Grandpa D and a good wash cycle couldn't fix though. Thanks Grandpa!

Seamus' Eyes

This post is for you, Mom. You haven't been able to see Seamus since he was born and I thought this photo was pretty good at showing his changing eye color. They are still mostly slate, but they look to be turning brown. Welcome another browned eyed kid into the minority club (I think)! (If you click the photo you can see up close)

These pictures were taken at an outdoor wedding that we went to on Saturday.

The Birthday Boy!

Our very sweet, rather quiet, charming, creative, funny, loving and generous son turned eight on Friday!!! Happy birthday Aidan, we all love you dearly!

We celebrated with his favorite dinner - spaghetti.
Then the kids played Pin the Tail on the Donkey, thanks to Teresa's last-minute creation

We had his favorite cake, chocolate of course!

We opened presents. Yahoo! Legos!
Did I mention he was creative?! Here is a sample of his creations from last week. He went from turkey decoys to robots. Lots of treasures can be found in the recycling bin!!! And thankfully we have lots of little toilet paper rolls to delight an eight year old boy.

More Fun at Bay Beach

Molly Grace, Aidan, Margaret
Joe and Erin

Seamus took in the sights and sounds
" Where's Erin??!!" (a question heard often that day :)
Grandma D having a great time with Aileen and Teresa (who is looking a little sick)
Joe!
Erin rode the helicopters with Mike

The Whole Clan of Cute Cousins!

Aren't they an awesome group?! I think a baby, sometimes two, were born just about every year since 1992. Well, maybe not quite :).

Left to right: Moira (16) Seamus (2.5 months) Joe (5) Margaret (6) Molly Grace (5) Aidan (8) Teresa (10) Aileen (8) Owen (16) Mara (3 months)
Sitting row: Colleen (13) Bridget (12) Eileen (14) Erin (2) Conal (10) Emmett (14)

The goof-ball shot...
Wooooaaaaahhh! (nobody got hurt)

The New Bundles in the Bumbos!

There's nothin' cuter than babies in Bumbos. Seamus and new cousin Mara pose for the cameras here. Grandma D., maybe you got a better picture? (I hope you got one with both babies looking). They were adorable!

Fun With Family!

As always, summer is just not summer without Tim and Suzy's annual visit. Aileen, Joe and new baby Mara bring us all added joy. We sure do miss them and wish so much they lived closer. We always pack in so much fun while they are here but it always goes by too quickly.

Here's Eileen adoring Joe, who has a way of always keeping the laughter coming at a steady pace, with a few burst here and there...
Isn't this a sweet picture of Colleen, Seamus and Bridget...
Princess Margaret, Princess Aileen, Conal, Teresa and Joe

Seamus and Joe enjoying all the ruckus

Smiley Seamus

At 2.5 months old, Seamus is a smiley guy who loves the attention from all his siblings and his parents who are quite smitten with him!

Milwaukee Zoo

Every July we attend Baird Zoo, the summer gathering for Baird (Mike's employer) employees. It's always a fun treat for the kids!

Teresa and Erin
Five year old Molly Grace















The kids practice their acting skills....
















Seamus getting a nap with Mom



















Riding the train!