the beach in a nutshell

I'll have to admit I was a bit nervous about our Hilton Head trip this year. I mean, sure it was the beach and we spend lots of time wth O family (their house, our house, near and far). But this was all 10 of us together...for a week...in a three bedroom condo.

Needless to say, my fears were for naught. Everyone had a blast. Sure, there were some tantrums. And sure, every night was a new and different sleeping arrangement. And maybe everyone came out of the vacation a little less rested than going in. But that doesn't mean we didn't have fun. See for yourself!

 

better than expected

The last few days have been filled with pleasant surprises, where things turned out better than we expected. As someone who anticipates the worst...this was fantastic.

John's neck surgery went well! He's in far better shape than we thought he would be, and is at home recuperating while I rock the Florence Nightingale role (working at home all week! Woo!). The surgery was nerve-wracking because it was on his neck and, while necessary, not of the You! Must! Do! This! Now! ilk...so we're happy to know that we made the right decision.

E turned six years old! Since the big day was situated between vacation and John's surgery, we weren't able to have a "proper" birthday party. Sure, we celebrated at the beach with a party...

...and then she had a day long celebration on her actual birthday, including flowers, a balloon and muffins for breakfast; Popsicles for her class at school for snack; and a family celebration at home with Nonna, Pop-pop, Grandmom *AND* Cousin H that night...

But, at no point were goody bags handed out. Which, according to E, is what makes a birthday party a birthday party.

But, perhaps E's easy going attitude was due to the fact that she finally got an American Girl doll. We ended up getting her the Just Like Me doll, that was true to its name.

I think she was excited...

Which, in turn, brought us to our other big surprise. We were worried how A would handle E getting an American Girl doll first. Last year, she was a bit upset about E getting such cool stuff. So much so that she had to be physically restrained by Uncle Dave so that she wouldn't run off with it.

This year, she was super-psyched for E and totally zen with the thought that she would be getting her own doll next month. It was amazing and so cute. So much so, that John and I (big softies that we are), let her open a birthday present very early.

The names are a bit of a moving target. E's was originally named Lacey...then she switched to Hailey Jessica...and last night she changed to Kaylee. A named hers Jessica, but has since taken to calling her Jessie. I'll keep you posted on what they change them to tonight.

six

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

You would think that, after six years of doing this parenting gig, I'd have some semblance of an idea of what I'm doing. But, nope. Luckily, you make my job very, very easy. And so much fun, to boot.

Now if I could only figure out a way to slow down time so you would stop growing up, that'd be perfect.

Happy 6th Birthday, E! Though, no matter how big you get...you'll always be my baby.

vacation* with the cousins**

I've been MIA for the last few weeks because last week, we were on vacation in Hilton Head with some good friends of ours. The week preceding vacation was a nightmare of trying to wrap of Hellish 2010 Project 3 of 3 prior to my departure. And, this week is pretty crazy because tomorrow, someone turns 6 (SIX!). And then, on Thursday, John is having surgery on a degenerative disk in his neck.

The vacation was tons of fun, and everyone got along famously. We hit up some old haunts from when John and I went as kids, and even got a night out with the help of a brave (and well compensated) babysitter. I'll try and post some vacation pictures soon...but half of them are on my actual camera instead of my iPhone. So here's one from my iPhone of a relatively quiet moment for the kids.

All six of them. Under six years old.

 

* Not sure it could be correctly termed a "vacation" because with the cooking, cleaning and heiny wiping going on...it's more like "Regular Life in a Better Location."
** The girls aren't actually related. Maura calls E and A her "cousins" because "cousins are your friends who live far away from you." So cute.