This 4th of July we went to the lake house for the weekend. The weather was perfect and we all enjoyed the long weekend.

Sunset over Lake Wallenpaupack Friday night.

Spitting up on Dad :-).

Hanging our with Mom-Mom by the fire.

Bubs is contemplating life.

Kisses for dad.

4th of July outfit!!

Cutest face ever!

Loving up Pappy Wood.

Grammy and Pappy came to visit the week after the 4th to get some Duke time in. We all had a really nice visit and the days seem to go by faster and faster.

Getting some lovins from grammy.

The Many Expressions of Duke

I am so happy that I am getting lunch!!

but what are you doing with the camera out mom?

I SAID, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THE CAMERA OUT??!!

That was a little harsh, please just feed me and stop taking my picture.

This is really annoying.

Maybe if I fake smile she'll put it down.

"cheese"

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Not sure our exact plans yet but I do know that Duke will be wearing these awesome shoes that cousin Rachel from MO sent to us. Her 1st born, Elliott wore these when he was little and she passed them down to Duke. Duke will be sending them back after he wears them this weekend for her new little guy, Jerrytt, to wear when he gets a wee bit bigger.

My pappy Wood wore American flag converse high tops on the 4th of July and we are keeping the tradition going and starting the great grandchildren early. I wish I had a picture of our pap in his shoes (anyone?).

Jack and his brother, Matt, ran a 5k last Saturday in Skippack. They both did AWESOME for being old (kidding). Jack hasn't ran in a year at least and he came in 13th - right along with the 16 year old spring chickens. The most handsome men in the race. Hopefully we get to see more of this throughout the summer.

Matt was going so fast that Kim couldn't get a good shot of him!! Way to go Matt and thanks for dedicating this race to Stoli!

#369 - looked like he never missed a day of running.

Our family enjoying the pool. Duke loves it!!

Duke's Christening

I don't know why this post looks like this but I can't get this space deleted??? Oh well. See far below.

Duke was baptized on June 12th at Corpus Christi Parish in Lansdale. My family came in for the weekend for the big event. Duke was very well behaved during the ceremony and actually seemed to enjoy it. The water didn't even bother him at all. I think he likes all the attention. We had a really great weekend with family and friends.

His eyes were as big as apples when the water was being poured on his head! But I think he kind of liked it.

Keeping a close eye on what he was doing to his daddy.

Gabbing to his Aunt Annie during the ceremony. He needs to be paying attention.

The Harper's!! My mom's side of the family.

The Horgan's and Colavita's!! Jack's family.

The Wood's!!! My dad's side of the family.


Having a good time hanging out with pappy.


Tell Aunt Annie (his God Mommy) what life is all about.

My niece, Avah, graduated from preschool on the Thursday before the christening. She was so proud and so fun to watch with all her buddies. She moves on to kindergarten next year!! Where does the time go?

The processional. She is all grown up (almost).

Today is 3 days since Stoli died. I still miss her so much. I thought it would have gotten easier by now but everyday I miss something else she did. I saw a dead stink bug while I was cleaning yesterday and remembered how much she LOVED chasing and eating stink bugs. Her breath would always stink afterwards, which is how you knew she got one. I hope they have stink bugs in doggy heaven.

Sweet Stoli

Yesterday our little Stoli died. My heart is so heavy with sadness that I can't even express it in words. I feel like part of my life is missing. She was so fun and fiesty that the house is eerily quiet today. Rose and I are just waiting for her to come ripping around the corner ready to play. I miss her terribly.

I miss her taunting Rose to play, greeting me at the bottom of the steps when I came down in the morning, laying by my feet on the couch in the evening, waiting patiently for the last bite of food and her whiskers tickling my face when she gave kisses.

She was not in our lives long enough. If you have a pet, hug them today because you never know when you are going to come home and not have them there. If only I could turn the clock back to yesterday morning.

She was so loving and gentle with Duke.
She always knew what was going on, even when she was asleep.

Best buddies. Poor Rose sniffed every spot that Stoli usually hangs out in today. She scoured the house for her.

"Hall and Oates", "Ebony and Ivory", "The girls"

She loved the snow!

We miss you so much stoli guacemole.

I am behind on some pictures!!

So I've been pretty busy lately with job hunting, being a mom, a wife and a not so good housekeeper! The spring has been busy with weddings, showers and parties of all kinds to fill up our weekends too. We are thankful to have so much to do but that doesn't leave me much time at the computer. Speaking of computer - I need a new one. Ours has been taking FOREVER to just move from one screen to the next and sometimes the screen doesn't even turn on. I want to throw it out the window right now. It's about 7 years old too so when I win the powerball, I will get a new one.

My niece, Avah, had her 2nd dance recital on May 2nd and looked as cute as ever. She is very much the entertainer and good at it. Duke had to be removed from the recital room because he was too noisey and I could still hear him yelling at his dad in the other room. Avah did great during the show.

My first Mother's Day was wonderful. I love being a mom more than anything else. Even when he is crying because he wants me to stop posting on my blog and make funny faces and noises at him. So for Mother's Day, Jack and Duke dressed alike (so cute) and we went to my MIL's for dinner. For Mother's Day we got the grandkids together in the park and took pictures to frame and give to her. I think it turned out great.

We have a momma fox and a baby fox living on the outskirts of our basketball court. They make the strangest noises. Our dogs, of course, are all over it. They banter back and forth. As much as I love the wildlife, I don't doubt that if she got ahold of one of them, she would hurt them so it makes me nervous. I see them hanging out on the court in the morning most days and sometimes in the evening. I don't have the heart to call animal control.

Last weekend we had Danny and Talia's wedding. Jack was a groomsman and I got to take pictures of the guys getting ready. It was a beautiful day for a wedding and a beautiful wedding.

Prunes!

Duke is starting solid food!! We had the little guy so backed up with bananas and rice cereal so we had to switch to prunes and oatmeal. He loves it.