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Happy 39th Birthday to Chad! We had a low-key birthday at home this weekend. Low-key is what the sleep-deprived people do. I'm already planning his 40th birthday pub crawl. Next year, it's on! Here is the birthday boy and his girls! Katie had her last class at Little Gym this week. It was show week so Chad joined us too. Katie loves it so we signed her up again for the fall. She improved so much from our first class 10 weeks ago. She's so strong and her instructor said she did great job.

Look Alikes?

So many people ask me if Marin looks like Katie, more specifically, whether Marin will have red, curly hair. Not sure if lightening will strike twice in the hair department but my answer of whether they look alike depends on the day. I see similarities and differences. Only time will tell. I took this picture below and Marin's expression reminded me of a picture I took of Katie at the same age. You can judge for yourself.

June 4th (Part 2)

My brother reminded me of the famous electric carving knife. We were like Pavlov's dog with the bell. You knew dinner was a comin' when you heard them plug in that knife! I forgot I had these pictures too. Steve, Julie and Susan (1977) Sean, Julie, Steve, Susan and Jeff (1979)

June 4th

I was thinking about my Nana and Grampa Kerrigan today. June 4th was their anniversary. They were married in 1934. Here's their wedding photo. I think they got married on a Monday. One of my favorite childhood memories was going to their house on Sunday night for dinner with my cousins. Here is what I remember.

• We always had to ask to be excused from the table.
• No elbows on the table.
• Nana called everything Roast Beef so we would eat it.
• We sat in the same seats each week- our unofficial, assigned seats.
• In the summer, we would walk up to the Reservoir. We would climb down the rocks to get close to the water. Some of the more talented family members would skim flat rocks off the water.
• The younger ones (me and my brother) rode to the Reservoir in the red wagon.
• I chased my cousins, Sean and Steve, until someone would pin them down so I could kiss them goodbye with a peck on the cheek.
• I idolized my cousin Susan. She's still the coolest!
• I learned the Redskins fight song from my Uncle Kevey!
• Nana would always make the meals and Grampa would always load up the dishwasher.
• Occasionally, Grampa would indulge in a cigar after dinner.
• Nana and Grampa had their special chairs on the porch.
• We would watch The Muppet Show in the living room.
• There were dolls and hummels EVERYWHERE. Nana was an avid collector.
• My black and white bathroom downstairs reminds me of the black and white bathroom they had upstairs. Classic decor! I could go on and on....

I have a daily reminder of them. The faded scar on my left cheek is one I got as a baby when I fell and cut myself playing on their porch.

Those Sunday night dinners remind me that good memories are not always the big events in life but the everyday ones.

God bless MARIE!

Marin had her two month doctor's appointment last week. She's tipping the scales at 10lbs and 1oz. and is 22 inches long. The doctor discovered a heart murmur but was confident that it would resolve itself as her blood vessels developed and matured. One side of her head is a little flat. We think it's because she clearly favor one side when she sleeps on her back. Now we make her sleep on her side most of the time. The doctor said that should help fix it. She also feels that her birthmark won't grow too much bigger than it is now. All in all, a good appointment. She's been chatting up a storm lately. She responds to your voice and it's fun to see her little personality come through. She also managed to roll onto her side the other day. Look out! Only a matter of time before she makes it onto the belly.

Last weekend, we had Marin baptized. When we went up to the baptismal font, the Deacon started referring to her as Marie. Just as he was going to anointed her, I leaned in and corrected him. Awkward! My favorite Katie quote from church was "Look at all the Ts!" meaning the crosses and crucifixes in the missilette. Also, when she said priest it sounded like police which made her questions sound funny: What is the police doing? Where is the police going?

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. We celebrated our niece Ella's 4th birthday on Saturday. Her grandmother brought sunglasses for the kids!

The Herolds came over on Sunday. It was great to have a few beers with some good company. Remy was nice enough to personalize some flip flops for Katie. It's hard to find Katie without these now. She really wanted some and I hadn't gotten around to picking up a pair. She's still getting used to wearing them so she shuffles along like and old lady.

Katie and I went to the Memorial Day Parade on Monday. She clapped as the veterens and current servicemen and women marched by. I was very proud. I was also very proud of my cousin Steve. He is president of the Massachusetts Military Heros Fund and the organization planted 20,000 flags in honor of the Mass residents that have died in service to their country since World War I. He also had many columns placed in newspapers around the state asking people to reclaim Memorial Day by taking the time to remember why the holiday was establish - to remember those who died for our country and its citizens. Marin may be taking after her father. I may have a future sailor on my hands...

Dr. W and More

Yikes, it's been a few weeks so let me try and catch up on a few things... Dr. W We saw Dr. Weisberg who is Marin's opthamologist (eye doctor) on May 3rd . He came recommended to us by her pediatrician regarding the hemangioma near her eye. He was great. Chad and I really liked him. He gave her a comprehensive workup with photos, measurements and an exam which included dilating her pupils. Hello bug eyes! We were there for a couple hours but Marin was a trouper. We all agreed that at this point we should just observe it and come back in 6 weeks for a follow up. I have a feeling that since its benign and almost always goes away in time, we won't be doing anything but it made me feel better that Dr. W had a baseline evaluation and got an early look so that he can compare it in the future. I even liked how he would dictate notes to his assistant in these complex terms all while gently rubbing the bottom of Marin's feet. All-in-all, it was worth the $20 co-pay. Mother's Day I had a great mother's day this year. We went out to breakfast with Grammie and then relaxed at home. My favorite part was when I was tucking Katie in for bed and thanked her for the great mother's day. I said that I loved being her mom. She said "I just love you being my mom." That was better than any gift. But don't get me wrong. I will be enjoying my new radio/CD/iPod/iPhone player and UV filter for my camera lens. Here are my two lovely ladies. K-A-T-I-E Oh! and Katie can now spell her name. I'm so proud! I'm sure it's more memorization but it still impressed me. And she can spell MARYLAND too. Go Terps! Fear the Turtle!

Life is a Highway...

...where is the next exit? Katie's love for the movie Cars has now leaped into the music genre. So much so that I created her own playlist on our computer so that I can put it on and hit repeat. "Life is a Highway" is the favorite song and it's constantly played in our house which is making me wish that my car would drive off that highway and into a ditch. As much as I'm sick of this song (and some others), I see the pure joy on on her face when it comes on and that makes it a little easier to endure. We've managed to integrate a few more songs to the playlist including Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z and John Denver. Some of these were iTunes downloads and some Auntie Mary contributed...um, thanks Mary. She was singing a song all weekend that we finally realized was a Lady Gaga song. I couldn't figure out were she was hearing these songs since our time in the car is minimal and that's usually when we listn to the radio. Last week, when I picked her up at daycare, one of the kids was performing Beyonce's "Single Ladies." Mystery solved. Here is Katie dress as part of Lightning McQueen's pit crew. Life is a Highway!