Peepah Comes To Visit!

Ah, but which one you ask? Well, if we ask Loch, it is "Peepah with the lost tooth" and not "Peepah with the sharp hair". Peepah Meagher flew in Thursday night to enjoy a simple dinner with us and see the boys off to bed. He did manage to get talked into reading Lochlain a last minute bedtime story - a book about Batman!

Lochlain likes to participate in the reading of this book, rattling off the names of the bat-vehicles and the villains. He also likes to demonstrate young Bruce Wayne's training regimen, especially...

...the meditation!!!

Still, it is one of Lochlain's favorite books to read even though it can sometimes turn into a scene from the 60's TV show:

Friday saw Bean off to work and the boys off to daycare. Dad and I stayed at home to run errands, hang out, and get ready for my 2nd Birthday.

FUNNY IF YOU'RE A MEAGHER DEPARTMENT:



So, yeah - Dad helped bake my birthday cake! Look - he even used the mixer:

Later, he provided technical assistance with my broken power supply (which arrived today and is working perfectly - good work, Dad!):

"Now, John Joseph - don't forget a second SATA power connector!"

Then Dad kept the boys busy as I made dinner - he was especially helpful keeping Seaniebear out from underfoot:

Milky Milkerton sez: "Don't crush my bad arm, Peepah!"


The Angry Cuddles

Before I knew it, it was time for my second birthday celebration - with a cake Peepah made pretty much all by himself (bet he never did that for Feather!)

A great 2nd birthday party - all Meagher birthdays last a long time!

The boys received presents from Aunt Feather - she made them superhero t-shirts! Lochlain had received two Green Lantern shirts from Feath that he loves and wears a lot (well, one of them - the black shirt's GL icon started to come off) at Christmas. Seaniebear got a tshirt that said "Please Don't Feed the Seaniebear" but with the "Don't" crossed out and "Juice and Pancakes" pencilled in at the end - he loves to "read" it to you when he is wearing it. Well, when they got their new shirts - they loved them and had to wear them right away!

The Brave & The Bold

Bean ended up reading us all Spoon, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Peepah was amused by Seanie leaping off the bed every time the page was turned to point out one thing or another. NOTE: Please notice that Milky Milkerton is not wearing his sling at this point. Though he would go on to complain about his arm once or twice between this time and game time (9:00 AM) the next day, he is completely recovered.

Another fascinating read.

We did a lot of other things with Peepah that weekend - including going out to dinner sans kids, going to the movies, going to (of all places) Peepah's favorite supermarket and doing this puzzle:

But what was really great was having Peepah attend Sean and Lochlain's games on Saturday. He got to see Seanie attend his team picture AND play his game (which got a little rough for a bunch of 3 year olds) - though Seanie at one point did assist the other team in scoring a goal on his own net:

This is not a picture of Sean's "assist" - I was too busy yelling at Sean
to turn the ball around and go the other way at that time to take pictures


Loch fields this ball cleanly - a good stop. And then keeps it. Sigh.


"So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb."

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
But summer has been ended, now starts the season fall;
there is some joy in Greensboro - mighty Lochlain hit the ball.
(with apologies to Ernest Lawrence Thayer)

Playing Catch-Up

You know you're waaaaay behind in your blogging when your cousin Mary Jo from CA mocks you. So let's play some catch-up - starting with Father's Day. My memory is slightly hazy as it was mid-June, but I know I awoke to breakfast-in-bed and entertainment. The entertainment? A puppet show performed by Loch, Sean and Bean!

Of course, the boys wrangled me into their games later on in the morning - first I had to be examined:

But somehow, I became Doctor Daddy. Obviously, I missed the day in class when we did stethoscope training:

The next featured "holiday" was Seaniebear's birthday! I made one of my famous cakes:

Sean and Lochlain sure did like eating it:

We even got to celebrate at school - where Seanie got his special birthday hat:

Then Uncle Richie, Aunt Cass, Carter and Baby Tristan came to visit! We did all sorts of crazy things with them - like:

Read a bedtime story! It was ssooooooo interesting,

we all had to gather around to hear it!
Bean is such a good reader!


I hung out with Tristan - and also started her on my infamous early
walking plan (not pictured here)!


We ate popsicles!


We watched TV and used Uncle Richie as a pillow!


Candyland (Dora & Diego version) was played!

Then we went to NY for Baby James' Christening. We forgot our camera apparently, but Feather took a lot of pics of it - and Seanie's family party the day after. Of course, I got to hold Baby James:

Then, MORE people came to visit us in NC! Uncle John, Aunt Neese, Dom and Ryan stayed with us for a few days. We did a bunch of stuff with them:

Preparing for bed


Dom's captivating rendition of "Superhero School"

Hiking to the "Secret Playground"
(it's really not a secret - but we did hike to a far away playground)


Hanging at "The Secret Playground"


John & Denise at dinner


Bean & I at dinner - lovey

Bean & I at dinner - thoughtful
(though Beany looks more apprehensive than pensive, if you ask me)


Bean & I at dinner - fighting
(though, truth be told, it was a sucker punch)

That leaves us with the summer suddenly ending! Which meant that the boys started their first-ever YMCA Sports endeavors! Seanie is playing soccer - with his team the Wolfpack! I get to help out at the practices while Bean takes Lochlain to his Teeball practice. Seaniebear (as he is known to his coach and introduces himself to his teammates) shows the most hustle on the field I've ever seen (as long as it isnt during what would normally be naptime). He gets so into it, he ignores his teammates, the ref, the whistle, the coach, Daddy, etc. - he has literally just ran away kicking the ball with his little legs.......Lochlain is somewhat bored with Teeball according to Mommy - mostly as there is not a lot of action as you wait for the ball to be hit to you.

Both boys had their first games this past Saturday - and at different times so we both got to attend each game (though it was a slight PITA going to the fields, leaving the fields, and then returning a short while later.

Lochlain before his game - giving the "thumbs up"!


Patiently (?) waiting for the ball to come his way


Could he be the next Pele?


Coach warms up the team with some stretches


This picture (to me) is the quintessential 3 year soccer game.
You have a crying kid, children tripping over each other, a kid without a team shirt, kids out
of the action altogether, coaches, the ref, parents....

Well, that is it for now - here is a family shot taken last week: