Happy Birthday Granny Meg!

May 31st we celebrated a special lady. My brother and I put our heads together and planned a birthday get-together for our family at his house in Chapel Hill. Since her birthday fell on a holiday weekend, it was a great time for us to take a little road trip. So, one mom, two kids, and six grandchildren got to spend some quality time together.

My brother made an amazing birthday meal for my mom and she had fun opening presents.

The cake was definitely a hit with the kids! 39 looks great on Granny Meg!

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you and hope that you have a wonderful year.

Gilfillan Family Vacation

Typically we do not go on vacation until August. Ashley and I got married in August so for the past 8 years we have coordinated our vacations around our anniversary. This year, thanks to planning by Sandra and Will, we went on vacation early!

We had such a wonderful time; the weather was gorgeous- not too hot (as it often is in August) and the sun was out every day. We hung out at the pool, at the beach, at the playground and the Veteran's Memorial park. The week went by faster than we wanted it to, but we were so happy to get to spend a week with the boys and Ashley's parents relaxing (sort of) and having fun.

The boys are ready to go back!

Complimentary Competition

Twins = competition. A and J constantly compete over who can run faster, talk louder, get dressed first, turn off the light first, walk down the stairs faster...you get the picture. So yea, there is a lot of free competition around here.
But that's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about compliment mama competition- my favorite!!!

J: "Mom, I love your shirt!"
A: "I love your shirt and your shorts!"
J: "well I love your shirt. And your shorts. And your hair!"
A: "I love you shirt. And your shorts. And your hair. And your whole face.
J: "I love your whole self!!"

This is one sibling rivalry that I love hearing. The sweet compliments the boys give me are so sincere and innocent. Makes me feel so loved.

Happy Mother's Day

This year I celebrated my fourth Mother's Day!! Ashley and the boys made me feel so special. I am so lucky to be a mom, but also to have my mom, grandmother, mother-in-law, and grandmother-in-law all so close by and so actively involved in my life and in the lives of my boys.

Bald is Beautiful

Andrew was helping me put away laundry and here's how the conversation went:

"why doesn't Daddy have hair?"
"well sometimes when people grow up they lose their hair."
"and then they cut it?"
"well daddy shaves his entire head now but he lost his hair."
"but not me and you, right mama?"
"not me but I'm not sure about your hair, honey. your hair might fall out like daddy's when you grow up."
"AWESOME!!!"

Nasty Dirty

My boys go to a preschool/daycare where they believe that "kids should be kids". For my three boys, that translates to playing in/sitting in/rolling in/eating (?)/pretending to swim in dirt. When I pick them up in the afternoons they are so dirty that you literally can not tell what color they are wearing. They are NASTY DIRTY.
Tonight I had to let the water out of the tub and start over not once, not twice, but THREE times.

So that left me wondering, how young is too young to shower??

Then I had a great idea for an invention!! A plastic shower curtain that has two arm openings/sleeves for a mom to stick her hands through to wash her kids.

Happy Birthday Boys

April 10th we celebrated two very special boys! Believe it or not, Andy and John are 4!!!!

I wonder if their birthday will ever roll around when I do not think about the way these boys came into the world. I will probably always be that embarrassing mom crying at their birthday party when my memory takes me back to the day they were born. Beautiful then, so tiny and fragile. Beautiful now, so vibrant and energetic. I can not wait to see what the next year has in store for these two!

They have come so far..