Happy 30th To my Kid Sister!

WE had a blast celebrating Brianne on a daytime pub crawl in Rockville Center. Awesome to share some cold beers with some of my favorite people on the planet. 

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

Mother Nature- you made us earn it this year. That's for darn sure. But with a couple 50 degree sunny days under our belt, I think it's safe to say winter is finally gone. AND WE ARE SO HAPPY THAT SPRING IS HERE! I can't believe I lived without my yard for 4 months. I have learned as a Stay at Home Mom, taking away "outside" is like taking away one of my arms. But we survived and we're back. Rain or shine, the Ferriter girls are outside again, on the swingset, down by the "river," picking up and exploring every rock, stick and pine cone. Our winter coats are packed up, and our spring rain gear is out, and we are not looking back!

IT's a Sister Thing

Even though they get on each other's nerves from time to time, I have seen Keeley and Cora becoming real buddies lately and it's a heartwarming thing. Cora is determined to do everything Keeley does, and with each passing month, she is getting the skills and the language to keep up a little better and stay by her side.

 These two, deep in the world of pretend, playing doctor in their new spring dresses.

 Art is my "go- to" when these ladies need an activity to keep them on the right track.

 Even though she still eats the crayons occasionally, Cora is starting to draw a bit, too. Keeley made about 20 Easter cards this year, all on her own motivation. She wanted to cover all her relatives; that is an undertaking!

Had to capture this one- the first movie they sat through together (Frozen), on one of Emmet's "on call " nights lately. It was a big Mom milestone to watch our first "chick flick" together, just the three of us on the couch, with neither one of them fighting or jumping off or crying.

People Everywhere Out of the woodwork

The hardest part about the winter was definitely the isolation, for the kids and for me. Between the relentless snow and the stomach bugs and colds going around, it was hard to see anyone on a regular basis. I appreciate more than ever now our park playdates back in the day- to -day, and our time spent with friends in the sunshine this past week. 

 Morning snack at Meckaur Park ( left to right : Hannah, Madison, Cora, Keeley, Samantha, and Avery)

 Getting silly with Shaelyn Mahoney

 Out in the backyard at the Safino house, watching the kids while the guys watched The Masters

Easter in West Babylon

We headed down to Long Island after 8:30 mass here at St. Mary's to celebrate with Nanny and Papa and all the extended Fitzpatricks. The girls had a ball Easter egg hunting in the yard, and the sun came out to make it an ever more fun experience after the long winter. We had a delicious ham dinner with lots of yummy sides and had to travel back to Bethel that night with Emmet's schedule. But beautiful memories had by all, as usual. 

I love these classic little girls' Easter dresses that Mary Ferriter got for Keeley and COra!

Finally, a little boy from the next generation! Happy first Easter James Gorman Gleason!

 Cousins! Janine and Brianne- hilarious...

Emmet and Grandpa Fitz :)

Easter Bunny has arrived

Easter was much anticipated this year by Keeley, who has a vivid imagination and is a die hard fan of Santa and the Easter Bunny. She has very specific questions about him that I wasn't even sure I knew the answers to: "Where does he live? Does he have a family? Does he know we are lactose intolerant?" As always, she keeps us on our toes. Well, he did come and even left some muddy footprints to prove it. The girls were in heaven eating Peeps at 7 am before mass.