Thank you to Auntie Christy, Auntie Cindy & Cousin Lacey

Cindy & Christy bought Samantha a gift card to Build-A-Bear which is one of Samma's favorite places to be! Between her gift card from her aunties and her cousin Lacey, Samantha had an absolute blast at build-a-bear. Lacey came over and took Samma to the mall for a special "girls" shopping day and they went to Build-A-Bear and built "Zack" her penguin. She also bought him a few outfits, shoes, roller skates, and a Halloween Costume (he's a mummy).......so a big Thank you to her aunties who just made her day out that much more special because as she says, "I have been wanting to go to build-a-bear for a long, long, time"........

Here she is with a photo of her creation, plus all the loot to go with him! Thanks for putting a smile on her face this week!

Thank you Uncle Robin & Auntie Scott!

First of all, let me say that Samantha had so much fun correcting me when I said Uncle Robin & Auntie Scott.....

Samantha was so very excited that her godmother sent her money so she could get something she really wanted....a hermit crab. So we go to the mall, and we bought a cage and some food and two hermit crabs because she couldn't decide. So we got "hermit" (the orange one with the pirate face) and "Shrek" (the "gi-normous" almost the size of a baseball hermit crab)...see photo above..... And then the unthinkable happened. Poor lil "hermit" died the first night we got him. Samantha was devastated and crying so I told her we'd bring him back and get a new one. As she was mourning, she picked up Shrek and let out a screech. He was holding onto her middle finger, dangling, as she was hysterical asking him "why, why would you do this to me" and sobbing uncontrollably.

Long story short, we went back to the mall and gave them "hermit" back and she also returned "shrek" the psycho crab. So we came home with two new "small" crabs named "spongebob" and "della bella"....we just gave them a water bath and they well, happy as, ahem clams. HA HA.

Happy Birthday Samantha Carsyn

Happy Birthday to my first baby girl, Samantha

It was about this time 6 years ago that I started having contractions. I figured this was my second time around so I would just wait the contractions out and let Brian get some sleep. I was up all night long laboring every 5-7 minutes and finally, around 4 a.m., I woke him up as they were getting really intense and I was tired. Really tired. So we get up, make coffee, and call my parents at about 5:15 a.m. or so. I remember them coming on over, us leaving, hitting every bump in the road all the way to Mass General Hospital. She was my quickest labor, but the pain was so intense I remembering throwing up most of the time. Then I remember them telling me she was here! It was girl! Wow. Now I was lucky enough to have one of each. I remember cuddling her, holding her, not wanting anyone else near her. My first beautiful baby girl. Samantha Carsyn Welch weighing in at 8 lbs. 13 oz., 20 inches long on September 25, 2001 at 10:56 a.m. I remember our eyes connecting. That was the very instant that I felt such sweet bliss. Happy 6th Birthday to my "Lola girl" my little dolly, my baby girl. I love you always & forever.
I hope you have such a sweet and happy day.

Belated Birthday Bliss

Here are a few photos of Natalie opening her new shoes that Auntie Diane and Uncle Tony bought her for her birthday. That girl ripped open the package with a bit of help from her siblings and of course, tried to eat the package. When she realized they were shoes, well, she just wore those out all day long! She loves them! She cried when we took them off.

Thank you so much Auntie Diane and Uncle T. She is definitely a girlie girl and loves shoes just like her momma and sister, Della.

She loved the snack cup of well........anything that has to do with food, well, she's all for it!

We finally started "letters"

We have finally hit "4th" grade....the grade where we actually receive letter grades instead of check marks, check pluses, etc. We now get letters!!!! So here is Brendan, holding up his first test grade of the year - an "A"........we could not be any prouder of our son. Not only is he handsome and sweet, but he's intelligent too. Congratulations on your first "A" of the year Brendan. We are soooooooooooo very very proud of you. Love ya. Muah.

My photogenic babies!

Here is a quick shot that the local newspaper printed of the girls in their red/white/blue dress up gear while commemorating 9/11. Brendan & Samma's school wanted the kids to dress up so we dressed them all in kerchiefs (except for Brendan because he's too cool) and also put them in t-shirts that we made remembering our heroes for the day. We also went to our local fire station and brought cookies for the fireman (per Samantha's request) and the girls could not have been any more photogenic that day! Talk about making a momma proud!

Delaney, why are you mad????

Delaney, Natalie & I visited Grandma & Papa today after Samantha went off to school. Things were fabulous until we told Delaney we had to go home. So we pack up and we were halfway home when Delaney made this sad face. So of course, I get to a stop light and pulled out the camera. The conversation went like this: "Delaney, are you my pretty girl".......her response "no, I'm your sad girl"......."Delaney, why are you a sad girl. You are too pretty to be sad".......her response? "I am sad because I'm not at my grandmas anymore. I miss my grandma.......she's my best friend." File this one under: Grandma's pretty girl.......LOL

When you get bored, break out the pots n pans

The girls were bored this morning. Real bored. So I pulled out an old classic. Pots, pans and some spoons! Natalie was amazed at how much fun this truly was and then joined right in. My own little band. The Welch Brigade!

As we were cleaning out the garage, my niece Lacey came over and played with the girls. Of course, they all found their roller blades from last year (we forgot Santa brought them last year) and what a hidden treasure that was. IT turned out to be so much fun and the kids just loved it! I love to watch them play and just be kids. Natalie was feeling down and out this weekend as she had a double ear infection. We barely got a chance to put her down she was so miserable. Her tubes fell out of her ears already (that was short-lived) so now let's pray that this winter won't be horrible for her or she'll have to have them re-inserted once again. Delaney's fell out too and she unfortunately has a hole in her eardrum that hasn't quite healed up either. If you had a chance to check my mom's blog this weekend, you will see that she also has severely enlarged tonsils as well which cause her to snore like papa! So hopefully the ENT specialist will find a way to take care of these issues without surgery (yeah right)......let's hope!

Christmas in September

Brian and i decided to start to "clean up" our garage this weekend so we could get rid of all the old stuff and make room for some neatness in our lives! Anyway, we found a Christmas box filled with all kinds of stuff and Samma made herself right at home! So here she is, lying on the grass which is covered with beautiful fall leaves, posing in her Santa beard & hat.......bring on the cold, bring on the snowmen, bring on hot chocolate and cold brisk walks! Love this New England weather.......

But I want to get on the bus!

Here is my little "munchie face" when she got furious because Samantha got on the school bus and she didn't ......"I don't want to go home...I want to get on the bus and go to school. I'm a big girl too".........how sad is that???? Let's see how she feels about it all when it's actually her turn in a few years. Actually, she starts nursery school on November 14th so let's see how excited she is to be a big girl then!

On another note, I have to say something to Julie, my cousin, Chris' wife. I was thinking of you yesterday when EVERYTHING in my house was considered "Mine". I remember you posting a while back when Liam was coming to visit how Lucy made it known everything was "hers'.....well, Lucy has company! According to Della, everything is "mine, mine, mine" even the house! If she's playing with a toy and Natalie goes to grab a doll far off in the distance, she'll drop her toy and yell "no, that's mine".....so I just wanted to let you know that you have company with the annoying "my" stage. It reminds me of the pelicans on the movie Finding Nemo "mine, mine, mine, mine"........

Driver, Take me H-O-M-E

Here is the shot of Brendan and Samantha getting off the bus together for the first time! I will get a better photo today as it was downpouring and the photo was hard to get.....

Samantha's First Day of Kindergarten

Can you believe it? Where has the time gone? My little girl got on the school bus yesterday and was so excited! She wore her red, white and blue attire as the school requested. She was waiting so patiently for that bus to turn the corner as you can see from the photo taken from inside my truck because it was downpouring.....

She loved her first day! She left at about noontime and got on the bus by herself. She came home on the same bus that Brendan does and they got home about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. She said they did a scavenger hunt and had lots of fun. Her teacher is very nice she says and she is anxiously waiting to go back already today. Here's to a fun year at the Hollis School......

Remembering 9/11

Today, on September 11, 2006, Brendan & Samantha were asked to dress up in patriotic clothing for a luncheon at school with the Braintree Fire Department. We decorated shirts and put on iron on flags, bandanas and even wrote some phrases with fabric markers.
Today is a day for rememberance of how strong of a country we truly are. Take a moment today to think about all the wonderful heroes we have in our country, whether they be military, policemen, firemen or civilians. Today we are lucky to be here and to have survived such a horrendous terrorist attack on our country. So instead of remembering the viciousness of the attacks, let's give thanks to those who risk their every day lives for us and who help us keep the world a safe place to live every day! God Bless America!

September is here!

Yay for the Fall! School started last week for Brendan and so far, so good. The adjustment to the 4th grade is huge as he is now going from 15 minutes of homework to 45 minutes of homework, changing classes throughout the day and the expectations are much, much higher. He is adjusting and seems to be enjoying being back with his friends although he does dread getting up in the morning!

Samantha starts tomorrow afternoon (yay) and she cannot wait to be in Kindergarten. I cannot wait to see her in the afternoon at the bus stop with her big girl back pack and lunch. She is getting so big!

Della won't be starting until November 14th (that's when she'll be 2 years, 9 months and I am so looking forward to having a few hours with just Natalie......

Soccer started on Saturday and I took a few great shots of the kiddos. Here they are, my precious, precious soccer players!

Happy Grandparents Day!

Brendan says: I think grandma and papa are the greatest. The best things they do are: papa playing catch and fishing. Grandma: watching funny movies making me some dropped eggs on toast.
Samantha says: I think "silly" when grandma and papa come over.
Della says: I think "yay yay yay" when grandma and papa are coming over
Natalie says "gully gully gully"

Happy Grandparents Day to the best grandparents in the world!

Loving the Ride!

Here's a great photo of Della on the pony ride last weekend at Davis Farm Land. After I took the photo, Brian brought to my attention that this particular horse brings the term "hung like a horse" a little too far! LOL. Check out the unit on this horsie horsie! Hee hee.

Here chicken, chicken, chicken

Here chicken......I wanna eat youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! I can eat chicken you know! Seems like she's excited to finally find something she's not allergic to!!! Anyway, she chased this poor rooster around and around for a while. She had such a fun time being out in the open space chasing live animals that were extremely friendly! What a nice family day~ Figured we'd give the kids a fun little last "hurrah" before school starts this week! YAY FOR SCHOOL!

A beautiful day

Yesterday we scheduled an impromptu visit to Davis Farmland in Sterling, MA. It was such a beautiful day we decided to enjoy it (not to mention I am coming out of my "I hate the summer funk" now that we have reached the first week of September! Bring on the Fall weather). Anyway, the kids had a fabulous time and so did we. The animals were extremely friendly and the kids got to actually sit and pet the animals. The goats in particular were very cuddly as you can see and the kids just loved it.