Today's Topic... Katie!

Katie is doing fantastic! She had a rough time early on, then turned into a colicky monster from about 5-10 weeks, but after that she came back to join the human race and has been our shining star ever since! Here's a few random shots of Katie... no captions needed, the subject says it all!

Love those Wildwood Days

It was time for our Annual Wildwood trip with Aunt Janet... and what a trooper she was at a whopping 8 months pregnant! Actually, she was even further I think but who's counting! As long as I didn't have to 1.) deliver a baby or 2.) rush all of us to the hospital in the middle of the night, I didn't see a problem with it!

It was Katie's first beach trip and consequently, my first time bringing a baby that young to the beach. To say I packed the nursery is an under-statement! Despite my fears, we all managed to have a great time, avoid sunburn and not deliver any babies!

Katie's 1st time on the boardwalk, posing with the siblings

Rides never get old

Only a true gamer such as Aunt Janet can hold a baby, toss a coin AND win a prize, all at the same time, while pregnant. She actually won twice...

She drives like granny but she looks good doing it!

Since I was always off with one or both of the older kids, Janet was often left alone with her big ole' belly and Katie. She got lots of stares...

Katie did great on the beach and even enjoyed her baby cabana!

Despite her protests, these things must be documented.

Aunt Janet somehow snapped the picture just seconds before the shrieking began.

Shower-iffic!

A baby was coming... but first we needed to throw a baby shower! Fooling Janet is no easy task but regardless, we still had fun trying! The hall looked adorable and everyone waited eagerly for Mommy-to-Be to make her grand entrance! Baby Newby received so many beautiful gifts - I couldn't' wait to go help Janet set up the nursery!!


Mrs. Callan made the cake and it tasted as great as it looked!

Surprised or not surprised, that is the question!

Hurry up and open sister, we'll be here all weekend! What a lucky baby!

I like playing scribe b/c I can oh and ah and not miss a thing!

We blend in this picture... you'd never know there was a preggo!

DON'T TOUCH THE TROPHY!

Lookie at what came to our town! A local Catholic High School was having a fund-raiser... brilliant! Byron took Ryan and his buddy Nick and stood in line to get up close and personal with the Phillies World Series Trophy. But not too personal... I wonder how many times they tried to touch it??

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!! Ok, 2 months late but at least I'm getting to it! We spent the morning with Pop and Grandmom and the gang, but for some crazy reason my camera didn't make it very far. I did get a shot of Daddy and his girls tho!


From there we ventured to D-town to hang out with Pop-Pop and all of our cousins. We had such a great day and are so thankful we have so many people to celebrate with!

A moment of love...

Em isn't much of a snuggler - capturing this picture was truly a miracle! I think she was already dis-mounting as I zoomed in.

Sensational Sisters

Anthony was carving Ry's name into the stick. Ryan thought that was the coolest thing ever!

Posing with a handful of the grand kids. Katie was trying out for a role in New Moon, hence her pasty skin. She'd make a vampire baby proud!

Ryan loves his "baby" Natalie!

Caroline isn't picky about her bottles...

Girls (really do) Just Wanna Have Fun!

Emma started her 2nd year of dance last fall, dancing with her friends in the Teeny Boppers class. In addition to ballet, they were also introduced to tap and boy did she love that! She performed tap for the recital to the tune of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun... and boy did she ever!

**Disclaimer - these pictures are out of order because while I was on a blogging hiatus, Blogger apparently changed something and I can no longer re-arrange photos as I used to. RUDE!

Here's the party girl, just hours before her big number!

Post-production, posing with the Grandmom's & me

Rehearsal night... too bad she lacks in confidence!

First Grade or Bust!

With the school year winding down, we had a bunch of activities with Ryan and his class. We begin with bumper bowling... who knew bowling could be so much fun! The lanes were abuzz with 6 year old chatter... the competition was fierce and the stakes were high! Actually, it was pretty tame considering 4 classrooms of Kindergarteners were all in the same bowling alley! Thanks to Mom-Mom who came to play with the girls, I was able to chaperone this trip and it was quite the time. I was also extremely impressed that Ryan picked up bowling, like most things, right from the start and that no Kindergarteners were injured in the process, tho I can't speak for the lanes themselves.

A few weeks later, it was time for a wedding... Q & U were getting married! Finally, I was thinking they'd live together in shame forever! It was an elegant affair with a huge guest list - who knew they were so popular! The kids had a blast and it was very cute... they even let Emma join in on the fun!

And lastly, the grand finale... the last day of school!!! Ryan got his final report card, and once again, it was perfect - he scored all 3's!! He found out his teacher for 1st grade and was eager to compare what friends would be in his class next year. He has made quite a transition and we are so proud of him!!!

It was PJ day...luckily he managed that "fresh out of bed" look!

Pool Time!

Memorial Day Weekend means one thing to our kids... the pool opens! This weekend was unseasonably warm and nice, as far as Memorial Day Weekends go. The water was freezing but hey, I didn't have to go in it so all I cared about was sunshine and a nice breeze and I got both! The kids were fishes in the pool and monkeys on the jungle gym and for the first time ever, didn't need me or hang on me because they had their own friends there. The downside of that was that Katie DID need me so I still haven't had a chance to sit on a lounge chair and admire my kids from afar. One of these days...

Posing in their new swimsuits

Emma sporting her new pool gear, courtesy of Uncle Mike & Aunt Loretta for her birthday. She wore the flippers too - she was quite a sight!

Katie in her adorable new suit... she didn't get wet this time but I thought it was appropriate for her to wear it the first day... and before she grows out of it!

Baseball Randomness

It's been quite a baseball season, with most of it being rained out and numerous make-ups being scheduled. Aside from rain, the weather has also been tricky in that last week Ryan had to wear Under Armour to his games, it was so cold, and the parents were shivering and layering in blankets. Days later we were sweating and trying to avoid a nasty sunburn. So with Mother Nature's trickery, and a baby who's been sick and miserable, I haven't had much opportunity to get action shots. And when I finally got out there, I realized that a super zoom lens will be on this years Santa list!