Liam's Birthday, Part 2

On Liam's actual birthday weekend, while Joergen and I got some "work" done at the Please Touch Museum...

... Dad and Liam were up in Boston, trying to see the Irish over all that snow!

While we've hardly taken out our shovels, Boston has been smacked with snowstorm after snowstorm this winter.  I couldn't believe that it was actually taller than Liam!

Liam had an awesome time at the ND game, and continued his streak by seeing the Irish take home the victory.  I don't think this kid has ever seen a loss in person!

Our travelers returned home on Sunday, which was Liam's true birthday.  Joergen could NOT wait to give Liam his birthday present!  He was so proud to give it to his big brother.

Liam then got to open his presents from his IL family and friends.  He was psyched to get the Spider-Man game for his LeapTV from the Dunlap Derrys (he LOVES this game!).

 And his first real fishing pole from Grandma and Papa!  Can't wait for the ice to melt on the pond to try it out!

He was so pumped that Aunt Doreen had given him Sorry-- his favorite board game!

What birthday would be complete without a phone call from Grandma and Papa?  I loved his sweet expression while he was on the phone with them.

Happy 6th birthday to our smart, strong, silly, determined, competitive, sweet, compassionate Liam.  We love you to the moon and back!

Liam's Birthday Celebration, Part 1

Liam's 6th birthday happened to fall on the weekend that Notre Dame's men's basketball team played Boston College in Boston.  One of Dad's best friends from ND lives in Boston, so he decided to take Liam on a special birthday trip to cheer on the Irish.  Lucky kid!

Since Liam would be away for his big day, and since we were going to be with the G-willie side of the family the weekend before for GG's birthday, we decided to celebrate Liam that Sunday with a family party at Bogie Macaws in York.  Nana made all the arrangements and threw him one awesome party!  And since bakery cakes are not an option for this birthday boy, Nana made him a birthday cake to rival that of any bakery.  I loved his face when she lifted the lid!

It's Leonardo- Liam's favorite Ninja Turtle!

Bogey's is a very fun place, and has the perfect mix of things that adults want and kids want in a party.  Great food and drinks, plus an arcade and "ballocity" for the kids.  Everyone had a blast!

Nana, Grandpa, Liam, and Dad

Aunt Jayne and GG enjoying their bloody marys

Mom, Joergen, and Uncle Tim

Opening presents with his trusty assistant

I've never seen a kid so excited about receiving hangers at the bottom of a box of clothing!

Aunt Jayne assisting Liam with his birthday corsage.

The boys had so much fun at the arcade!

The 2-story ballocity gym was such a hit! Colin helping Joergen gather ammunition, while Joergen takes aim.

Colin and Joergen climbing through the gym

My favorite almost 2-year old! She could have cared less about the play area-- she just wanted to take other people's shoes out of the cubbies and try them on!

Our big guy blowing out his birthday candles.  6 already?!

Who wants cake? (Meee!!)

 Thank you to everyone who made Liam's day so very special!

Antonia's Confirmation

I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow, our first niece... our first godchild... our first connection as a family went from being this sweet little baby...

September 2001

... to this sweet little girl...

December 2003

... to this sweet young woman!

February 2015

I feel like it was just yesterday that I held Antonia on her baptism day, and suddenly, here I was, flying out to Peoria to celebrate her Confirmation.  I was honored beyond words last year when Toni asked me to be her sponsor, and I couldn't wait to be there to witness her receiving this incredibly special sacrament.

Since her Confirmation fell on a Tuesday evening, we decided I would take this trip on my own so that the boys wouldn't miss school.  They were pretty disappointed to miss out, and although Anthony wanted so badly to be there too, it meant the world to me that he sent me to represent :)

I was able to catch a flight right into Peoria, just in time to get some lunch with Toni, Aidan, Uncle Andrew, Grandma, and Papa.  Anthony and I had decided before I left that we would Face Time him when I got there so he could give Toni her confirmation gift over the phone.

We can't wait to share the experience of seeing Pope Francis in Philadelphia with Toni this September!

That night, Toni had a volleyball game, and I was pretty excited to watch her play.  I had honestly never seen a volleyball game before.  It was so much fun, Toni is a natural, and her team continued their undefeated streak!

Toni's Confirmation dinner (well, really night before Confirmation dinner) request was to go to Flat Top Grill.  I hadn't been there in ages, so that was a really fun treat.

On Tuesday, everyone had work and school, so I got to sleep in (*gasp*) and hang with my canine nephews.  Seriously, what could be better than a lazy morning, drinking coffee with Knute and Rockne?!

Tuesday night was Toni's big night.  The mass was absolutely beautiful, and presiding was the Bishop of Peoria, Bishop Jenky... C.S.C!  Bishop Jenky is not only a Holy Cross priest but a member of Notre Dame's Board of Trustees.  As he spoke in his homily about the great power of God, and likening it to this awesome, powerful storm he had witnessed at Notre Dame years ago, I couldn't help but remember being a senior at ND and getting the phone call that Antonia was born.  Who would have guessed that I would now be sitting here 14 years later as her godmother and sponsor, listening to the homily of a Holy Cross bishop?!

That moment is one that I will never, ever forget.  I couldn't be more proud of Toni or more honored to have been there by her side.

Toni and her proud dad

Grandma, Toni, and Andrew

Toni, Andrew, and Aidan

GG's 91st Birthday

We had a great weekend in York partying it up in celebration of both GG's 91st and Liam's 6th birthdays.  We'll get to Liam soon enough, but for now, it's all about GG the Queen Bee.  We got into town on Friday evening, just in time for everyone's favorite time: cocktail hour!

Nana made a great dinner, and afterwards, it was time for cake and presents.

Good thing she had these two to help her blow out her candles!

Hooray!

Joergen and Liam just adore their GG!

After GG opened her cards and gifts...

... it was time for an after-dinner aperitif.  I won't say the name of the drink here (my boys will be reading this someday!) but we'll just call it a delicious mix of Bailey's and butterscotch schnapps :)  Now that's what I call a happy birthday!

The next morning, Liam got a little piano lesson from Nana.  He wishes he lived closer by to have more piano lessons!

We headed over to Normandie Ridge that afternoon for lunch.  One of the residents thought Nana and I were sisters.

After lunch, we hung out in GG's apartment for a little visit.  Joergen, whose imagination tends to run wild these days (and Grandpa, who is always up for the ride!), turned GG's "grabbers" into rifles... of course.

On Sunday, Uncle Tim and the fam joined in the fun, just in time for Liam's birthday lunch.  Before we left, I got some time to catch up with my #1 girl Genevieve.

Lily, Joergen, Liam, and Genevieve, all waiting patiently for the next party to get started.  Stay tuned!

Getting ready for the Pope

Philadelphia has been all abuzz this winter in excitement... Pope Francis has announced he is coming here to attend the World Meeting of Families in September!  It will be his first trip to the US as pope, and we are beyond excited to have the opportunity (along with millions of others, no doubt) to hear him celebrate Mass on the steps of the Art Museum.

In anticipation of his visit, we have been saying the Prayer for the World Meeting of Families every Sunday at church, and Liam has really taken to this prayer.  He brought it home on a prayer card and has been praying it almost every night before bed.

He then asked Fr. Cioppi if he could lead the congregation in the prayer one Sunday, and he was thrilled to be told yes!  It was really touching to see him so bravely stand at a podium in front of our entire congregation and lead them in prayer.  He's now doing this every few weeks at church.  Joergen has really picked up on it, too, and can now recite the prayer by heart.  I have no idea what to expect in September, but one thing I do know is that these boys are ready :)

Nova vs. Georgetown 2015

It's a lot of fun to be at Villanova during basketball season, so I was excited to take Liam back to the Wells Fargo Center for a game this year!  The AD's office hooked us up with a great lunch before the game and terrific seats to watch the Wildcats take on the Georgetown Hoyas.  He couldn't wait to show off his new Nova t-shirt and cheer the 'Cats on to victory!

We had such a blast during the game, and Liam even managed to get himself up on the Jumbo-Tron not once, but twice!  He was so excited... and convinced that he was now "famous".

Liam has proved to be a serious good-luck charm at sporting events-- every game I've ever taken him to has resulted in our team winning, and this was no exception!  Our afternoon was topped off by running into Liam's good buddy Brigid in the concourse, whose mom is a 'Nova alum.  Love these lil' Wildcats!