bike rides

We've taken a couple of "bike rides" on the Monon the past few days to help Declan get used to his bike.  He's doing pretty well, it would just help us out if he'd go a bit faster (as I type that I'm thinking to myself there will be a time when we are telling him not to go so fast!).  Conall isn't into the bike rides just yet, there's always a rock or leaf that needs picked up:) 

*BC and Declan just came home from a ride and BC said that he had to jog all the way because Declan was riding so much faster!  Hooray Declan:)

new boo 36 weeks

Here we are at 36 weeks!  We had another great appointment yesterday, nice low blood pressure, gained back 2 of the 3 pounds we lost 2 weeks ago (most likely because of the twizzlers my mom bought me!) and new boo is head down, bottom up getting ready to make an appearance whenever he or she is ready...oh and we're 3 cm!  New boo's heartbeat sounds amazing too.  But the best part of the appointment was when Declan asked Dr. Adams how she gets the baby out!  Her answer was that the baby comes down from a special place in the mama called the birth canal, so if you hear him talking about the birth canal at the end of my tummy, he learned from the doctor!  The carseat is ready, the bassinet is out and the little diapers are waiting:)     

2 yrs + 1 month

Oh Conall D...he is embracing being 2!  "I do, I do" or "me, me, me" is what we're hearing a lot of these days!  This little bear is so independent, don't even try to help him put toothpaste on his toothbrush or open/close a door.  Yet he still wants to sit and eat on my lap (which is getting quite difficult with new boo growing).  Last week he went down the slide in the little pool by himself, I normally stand at the end to catch him, but "I do" wanted no part of it.  The first time was a face plant, but the next two times he stood right up:)  He's liking Declan sitting in back of the car because he now sits where Declan did!  He's doing decent in his big guy bed.  Naptime is much easier than bedtime.  He'll roll around, jump, laugh, cry for me for about an hour before he finally falls asleep at almost 10!  Last night BC and I both sat in there and really wished we would have counted how many times he said mama, it had to be in thousands!  I still have mixed feelings about how he'll react to new boo, but we'll soon find out.  We love you Boo 2!

4 yrs + 1 month

Declan B is so four years old now!  Last week his new big guy car seat (high back booster) came by FedEx (they love when the UPS or FedEX guy comes) and he was more than excited!  He asks about everyday if we can go on a car ride so he can get used to his new seat...it's in the third row and he thinks it's just awesome!  At the pool he's now doing Spiderman, Batman and Cannon Ball jumps!  This picture is him coming up from a flip with dad:)  He's doing great swimming/floating on his back and going underwater.  He's been a big help with getting things ready for the new baby.  He helped me sort out clothes the week...one pile for boy stuff and one pile for girl stuff, that was the pile for the new baby, he wants a sister so badly!  Funny thing is, all of the stuff is boy!  He's also been a big help in the kitchen, I think it's because we've been making a lot of zucchini bread:)  By this time next month he'll be an even bigger brother!  We love you Boo!

4th of july week

Happy 4th of July!  We spent the week/weekend visiting family and friends at the lakes (yes, lakes...we hit 3 of them!).  We started our trip off at the gma & gpa Butler's house.  We had a hot day out at the sandbar on Wawasee with Aunt Tam, Uncle Bill and Jake.  Later that night pop pop made homemade ice cream to follow a big grill out dinner:)  I have to mention that the night before my brother Rob and nephew Dalton took BC spear fishing!  And then he had to wake up early for a morning of racket ball with my dad and his friends!  He's such a trooper:)  We had a wonderful 3 nights there and enjoyed the fireworks too! 

Here's grumpy bear on the boat, he did have fun just doesn't look like it in this picture!

Declan had a blast swimming, he did so great in the lake! Thanks to aunt Tam for catching him as he jumped in many, many times!

Declan loved climbing up the ladder:)

Playing basketball with Jake!

Heading in from the sandbar.

Uncle Rob got out Kenzie's old four wheeler for the boys to ride!

Thursday we stopped over to visit our friends the Stahl's on Syracuse Lake.  The boys had so much fun playing with Aubree and Blake.  The hose seemed to be the favorite!

Friday afternoon we drove over to Sylvan Lake to spend a couple nights at the island.  The kids were in the water pretty much all day both days:)  I wish I could explain to you how hot it was Friday night...3 of the 7 kids were up most of the night (which meant we were too), it was 95 degrees at 1 am!  Thank goodness we had a breeze the next day.  After grilling out Saturday night we watched an awesome firework show! 

Here's the cousins in the lake, just the beginning of many jumps and splashes! 

Conall and Caitlin sharing grapes during a swim break:)

Conall bear trying to sneak up stairs!

Emmie on the raft:)

Declan swimming with a boat.

Spaghetti and strawberries for lunch:)

The O'Rourke sisters...Kori, me and Emily:)

The O'Rourke Brothers (minus Seamus) and cousins.

Kienan, Emily, Andy, Cohen, Kori, me, BC

Crash, Emmie, Delcan, Erin, Conall, Caitlin and Kylie

I guess it takes 3 O'Rourke's to grill!

oh boys

How happy is he?  I think he likes it:)

How this little one hasn't had a trip to the ER is beyond me!

new boo 34 weeks

Just had our 34 week check up today and so happy to report that everything is wonderful!  We are down a few pounds, but it's hard to eat when it's so hot and your boys eat your food:)  Heartbeat sounded great and we're measuring right on time.  6 more weeks if new boo stays put, but if it decides to pull a Conall, we're looking at more like 4 weeks!  We go back in 2 weeks:)