the latest wells family antics

Part of Chris's birthday was to spend the weekend in Saratoga visiting friends and golfing. First we went over to the Mittler's house so we could visit with some of his high school friends. Matt and Amanda Twinam came over as well. As you can see, these visits now revolve around our kids. It was nice to catch up with old friends and have the kids make new ones! Here is Richie and Julia in their matching Buzz Lightyear pajamas.

It was a big birthday for Chris and I this year. His revolved around beer and golf. You can see the "cheers" in this picture. Chris got a bottle opener to install on the roof and Richie immediately had to get his drink. After all of the presents, cards and signs, Chris and I were able to have a nice quiet night out alone without the kids. Happy 35th Birthday to my favorite husband!

I came home to a nice surprise today. Dawn (our nanny) and Richie made pizza for dinner! It was the perfect night because Chris is away in Maine tonight. It was half broccoli/red pepper and half pepperoni. The kids were really good and the 3 of us had a fun, silly night together. Yes, he put his elbow right into the pizza for this picture!

Our friends Dudley (from Clarkson) and Jen came to Boston with their kids for a visit. They started the day with a trip to the Children's Museum. All of the kids had a blast (there were 9 of them!). We went to lunch at the Barking Crab and then the Saunders came back to our house for naps. We all spent the evening at the Tilden's house. Glad they came to visit and we were able to play with their kids. Hope we can do it again soon. (Molly, our new friend Jane Besse, and Angela)

Since Angela has been able to stand, her favorite spot is the easel. Although we can't let her play with the crayons much (because she likes to eat them), when she does she knows how to color! This is amazing to us because Richie has never showed much interest in coloring. We went to the library for a Play Doh party. Can you tell what Richie made (in his bag)?? Raisin toast.....yep raisin toast. And he carried it around for days and cried when it finally dried out and broke.

Since we have had quite a few really nice days already, here are some pictures of how we have been enjoying them. This summer is going to be very different. As you can see, I have 2 big kids already. Richie's feet finally reach the pedals on his bike and he prefers to go down the slide head first. Angela won't get off the swings and will be running around the playground in no time. I will have my hands full!

We got the best phone call today on the way home from work/school. Kelley had tickets to the Big Apple Circus for us! Of course we ran home, changed and turned right around. Since Kelley, Heidi and the boys were going to McDonalds for dinner, we had to as well. It was a really fun Mommy/Richie night. We don't get much time alone without Angela and we both appreciate it when we do. After we shared a chicken mcnuggets meal in the park Richie and I ran up to the circus to meet up with the boys. The Big Apple Circus is a small circus, but wonderful because it is an intimate setting. We had great seats as well which helped. Needless to say, the boys had a blast! (Colton, Riley and Richie. Brayden had fallen asleep)

The marathon in Boston is a BIG deal. It is always a very fun day getting to cheer on the runners, usually with nice weather and the best part.....a day off of work! This year was as festive as always. We went to the Lutchen's in Newton. We were able to see Caryn run by (she did amazing this year - 3 hours 13 minutes!) and play with some school friends. Jennifer had Issaic, Ohad and Daphne over as well. The kids were very interested in making signs and then cheering at the road. (Jennifer, Issaic and Richie)

I ran my first "real" (chipped) 5K with a bunch of my friends. It was the Boston Athletic Association's (BAA) 5K the day before the Boston Marathon. I did OK (31 minutes 54 seconds), but it was just a lot of fun running with a bunch of the girls. It was cold and rainy and there were a LOT of people, but we still managed to squeak out a decent time. Caryn did not run the race, but she was in town to run the actual marathon. After the race we went out for a big yummy breakfast with the other Boston girls....made the 3.1 miles all worth it! (Kara, Lisa, Caryn, Jenn and I)

Richie has been having a lot of "girl" time recently! We had a play date with Maddie and the Ryans (Emma and Molly). The kids loved the Aquarium (of course Nemo was the winner as usual) and then ran around together at lunch. It is so fun watching our kids grow.

Richie's day care center had an art show. We all went and it was one of the cutest things ever! I was going to skip it because I also had a library meeting, but Richie kept coming home from school telling me all about the event. He was telling us about what he made and the snacks they were going to serve. As you can see from the pictures he drew a self portrait (a term I can't get enough of him saying!), made a beautiful sculpture, helped with a group Jackson Pollack painting and many more. Day care also made a movie with pictures of all of the kids making their art work. It was truly.....adorable!

We were lucky enough to get to spend Maddie's 3rd Birthday with her and her family. Richie was a little overwhelmed by the Princesses, but loves hanging out with those girls. He still tells everyone that Maddie is his girlfriend. We talk about how fun it would be if we could be in laws with the Hardings! (Richie, Maddie, Grace and Haley - Maddie's cousins)

It is baseball season again and finally Angela's turn to come with us. It was the perfect night to take the kids because it was really warm (for April). AND it was a Red Sox game against the Yankees!!

Yep, it is 10 months already. Angela is pulling herself up, standing unassisted and even does a little bit of crawling. Still no rolling over. She can get wherever she wants, but put her on her back and she is helpless. Ah, my kids are funny. Angela is also saying Mama now. But she saves it for when things are really bad and she REALLY needs me. Richie at 10 months!

On the way home from NY we stopped at cousin Nancy and Scott's house for Easter with my extended family. It was so wonderful to see more aunts, uncles and cousins that we don't get to see that often!!! We again did lots of playing and had an easter egg hunt. Even Regina had a blast with her cousins Zepoli and Ember! I will have to get better pictures from everyone else that was there.

Well I guess we had some good kids this year because the Easter bunny came and he was VERY generous!! The kids loved all of their presents, but they especially loved getting to spend time with their cousins. Richie and Jakie are really best buds. YES, I love the Easter outfits.....matching!!!

We started the Easter part of the weekend at the beach at Aunt Donna Jo and Uncle Hutch's house. We visited with family, colored eggs, had a wonderful meal and played, played, and played some more. PS - I LOVE the girlie Easter outfits!!

I was not that interested in getting a year older (especially a big one like 35 - dare I say it), but with these 2 smiling faces it wasn't such a bad day. Unfortunately I had to work, came home to packed and then drove to NY. BUT I got a new watch, some really nice cards and a trip to NYC sans kids...... One of my birthday presents was a day/night in NYC without the kids. It was awesome!! We left the kids with Babci and headed down Friday after lunch. We went to a show (Rock of Ages - it was full of 80's rock music, just my speed) and then had sushi. In the morning we went for a run in Central Park and had a NY bagel. It was the perfect trip.