Fall Hiking

We spent a beautiful, warm, fall Saturday hiking at Potato Creek State Park.  The girls were more interested in the playground than the trails but we had a great time!

 

First Day of School

Today was Back-to-School day in the McNally household. It started at 4:25 AM when Lucy woke up, new lunch box in hand and said, "Daddy, I need pants". She did go back to sleep.....It ended when I picked them up and Claire says to me, pointing to the boy next to her, "Mom, this is my new friend". I say, "What is his name?". Claire says, "I don't know!". They had a great day. They were pretty worn out by tonight but I think that it will be a great year!

Lucy is ready, Claire is a little more hesitant....

Holding hands, "B-Bear" in tow

I know you want to take our picture Mom, but it's raining!

George- Eight Months

It is getting harder to take these monthly pictures with the monkey. George thinks that he needs to wrestle it to the ground instead of sit next to it...... I love that guy!

 Pinned ya, monkey!

 Say Uncle!!!

 Yeah, I got him, didn't I?

Yeah, I did!

Potty Party 2012

Thirteen hours, twelve pairs of underwear, nine pairs of pants, three dresses, twelve juice boxes, a whole lot of peanut M&Ms and finally.... a bottle of wine. This is the quick rundown of our "potty party" in an effort to get our three-year-old twins potty trained. Judd summarizes it as a successful failure. We survived! Here are a few pictures from the day:

 First drinks of the day, "Cheers" to a potty party..... Claire's shirt says it all; "Here comes trouble"

 Two hours later, girls in no clothes, George's face says it all, "This is hopeless Mom, why don't you get it together and try brushing our hair".......

 "This is not what I had in mind, Mom!"

 Ten hours in, Lucy setting the table for our "Potty Pizza Party".... judging by all the cups, she realizes that we've been pushing fluids.......

The final toast of the potty party...... Here's to hoping that it worked!

I LOVE LUCY

Miss Lucy is such a darling.  This morning, she lines her stuffed animals all in a row on the kitchen floor.  She talks to them for a few minutes and then says, "Ok, stay there, I'm going to go get my camera.". 

They had been asking a few questions about our wedding (they saw a picture on the wall). So I decided to show them the wedding DVD. It made Lucy start weeping! It wasn't her normal three-year-old cry.... she was actually weeping. When I picked her up and held her, she started laughing and crying and gave me a big kiss. I was rocking her to sleep tonight and she looks at me, holds my face in her hands, starts weeping again and says, "Why you get married?". After talking to her about it, she explained that she cried because she saw me crying on the recording. This girls melts my heart on a daily basis.

"Let's Go To the Movies!"

We took Claire and Lucy to their first movie yesterday, "Ice Age, Continental Drift".  When Aunt Julie walked in the door (she was going to stay home with George), Claire twirls around the room and yells, "We're going to the movies, we're going to the movies!" .  Julie responds, "What are you going to see?".  Claire yells, "I don't know!".  They ate popcorn and drank fruit punch the whole time.  They had a blast!  At the end, the credits are rolling and Lucy is sitting on my lap.... She leans her head back, looking at the screen, and says, "Whoa, Mommy, why are we going down?".

Lucy and Claire's 3rd Birthday Party

We had a great time for Claire and Lucy's 3rd Birthday party. They wanted a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. Claire asked for a Goofy cake and Lucy wanted Minnie Mouse. Both families were able to come and the kids had a great time. All the kids made their own pizzas. Other than Judd and I letting one of the pizzas catch on fire in the oven, the party was a wonderful success! The girls very much enjoyed playing with their cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and all their new toys.

 

George- Seven Months Old

Happy 7 Month birthday to our little monkey.  George's smile says it all.  This guy is THE happiest child I have ever seen!  He is so easy-going, smiles and laughs all the time.  He is also incredibly ticklish, which I LOVE!  The belly laugh that results is priceless.  He sits up on his own now.  This has resulted in a serious side to George as he carefully inspects and watches everything that is going on (typically his sisters doing something crazy).  We love him more everyday. 

Three years old! Happy Birthday Darlings!

Overwhelmed...... if I had to sum up the last three years of life with Claire and Lucy in one word, it would have to be, "Overwhelmed".  For the first six weeks of your lives, it was a complete and perpetual state of being overwhelmed, overwhelmed with diapers, feeding schedules and sleepless nights.  This moved into putting the house in lockdown to baby proof for twins.  Now, it is trying to wrap our brains around potty training two at once (still unsuccessful, by the way).  But when I step back for a few moments and think about life these days, it is an overwhelmed state encompassing so much more.  How did these little beings that dropped into our lives completely steal our hearts?  How is it that three years ago, you were completely helpless and, today, you can walk, talk, dance, sing, laugh, run and play?  Being a part of your growth is an amazing adventure.  When I think about how far you've come already, I get so excited at the journey that is yet to come. When I try to put into words how much you mean to me on your third birthday, I can't think of anything except "overwhelmed".... it's impossible to put into words what it does to me to hear you, Claire, sing youself to sleep at night or to watch, you, Lucy, absolutely melt into laughter and giggles when daddy tickles you.  Yes, at times life is overwhelming but every moment is worth it because the love that I feel for my girls is completely over the moon. 

The girls on the steps of the Golden Dome.... third year, third step!

Six Months of Georgie

I can't believe our little man is six months old!  George is such a ray of sunshine in our lives.  He loves life, loves his sisters and smiles, laughs and even waves hello to everyone.  I can't imagine our lives without this guy.  We love you George!

One Month

 Two Months

 Three Months

 Four Months

 Five Months

Six Months

Ready to Roll

"Ready to Roll"- A contingency for which I did not plan when I got the walker out of storage...... George being pushed around by his big sisters. Lucy says, "Claire, you ready to roll?"...... yikes!

Zippety-Do-Da

Just another Zippety-do-da-dinner at the McNally house.  Claire and Lucy were practicing their songs for the preschool program and George was getting the BIGGEST kick out of it.  It is hard to hear his belly laughs over the singing but he sure does love his big sisters!

Happy Easter~

We had a wonderful Easter week with our families.  It started out with brunch and an egg hunt at Grami Tami's and ended with dinner and an egg hunt at Grandma and Grandad's.