June 6 = Messy Hair Don't Care Day

I love this girl...

And Rosie's still up to her shenanigans of jumping in the stroller for walks...

April 10 = Walk Day

The weather is getting nicer so we went for a short walk today- I can't do much more than a short walk... this body isn't moving the way it used to ;)

June 19 = Father's Day

Liam is obsessed with going for walks.  Here's a picture Zachary got of the two of them on one of their many walks.  They'll start out both walking and then Liam will say "dada shoulders" and hitches a ride for the rest.

So I have been uncharacteristically lazy about the holidays here lately.  I did nothing for Father's Day.  No gifts, no cards, nothing.  I feel awful about it but Zachary's had a lot of time off and has been spending a lot of time at home and therefore I haven't had the opportunity to sneakily get things for him.  So I tried to do a photo shoot with the D A and D like I did a while back to update his pictures but... it didn't go so well.

I thought this picture of Malia was too cute:

So one thing that made Father's Day great no matter what else happened was the final NBA game of the season was on.  We got delicious food from McLoughlin's and brought it home to snack on while we watched the game.  This is the first year that I've been really into watching each game so Zachary got to fully enjoy each game instead of knowing I was bored out of my mind.

We were pulling for the Cleveland Cavaliers- they started the series by going down 3-1 and came back and won the whole thing- the first team ever to do that!  It was so exciting so Zachary had to go get Liam to share in the celebration.  I'm posting a video I took- Zachary ran up the stairs and I just knew he was going to get a sleeping Liam up so I started the video a little early making sure I caught what I was pretty sure was going to happen.  Excuse the mild profanity- Zachary was a bit excited.

June 18 = Playground Day

Liam doesn't take naps very often but when he does, he usually is slow to get up:

The weather was really nice this afternoon so we all walked to Liam's favorite playground.  We all had so much fun!

June 12 = Smithfield Day

We went to church this morning- the kids love playing in the nursery at Daps' church!  Grandma made a delicious lunch that the kids loved!

They slept well last night but not the nights before and it's definitely catching up with them.

Liam continued his need for walking multiple times a day- he's got a new habit of walking and then asking to get on Daddy's shoulders.

Malia grew very attached to an Elmo doll at the church and when we were leaving, I asked if Daps could return it instead of me having to pry it from her hands, they said she could keep it!  I'm still going to try to leave it tomorrow so it can be returned but we shall see.

Sweet snuggle time:

June 10 = Joshua Radin Concert Day

Well today was one of my favorite days ever.  I'm going to start at the beginning.  This was the first time the kids and Zachary had been to my parents new house- here it is!  How cute!

Liam was loving going for walks with Dad- here are some pictures Zachary got.

Zachary went to the gym and my friend Alexandra came to visit us.  We took the kids to a nearby park:

And later, my mom had gotten the kids a sprinkler toy so we brought that out and got them in their bathing suits- Malia had a blast... Liam wasn't so sure.

Also here's a video- it's kind of long- of Malia talking to a garden gnome.  I wish I knew what she was saying!

 

Then later it was time for the whole reason we came down to NC... the Joshua Radin concert.  Joshua Radin is my favorite singer.  Ever.  My friend, Jaimie, introduced me to his music in college and I loved his voice- I loved the acoustic guitar- I loved all of it.  I would get on the elliptical at the Student Rec center for an hour and read James Patterson books- all of the Alex Cross series- and at the time he only had one album out so any time I hear one of the songs from his first album, I immediately picture the characters from this series of books in my head- it's so crazy.  Anyway.  Back in 2011 when Zachary went on deployment, he bought me tickets to see Joshua Radin in Raleigh- he bought two so I could take a friend with me- I chose Jaimie because she introduced me to him in the first place.  We got to meet him after the show and I got him to sign my navy blue chucks that I was wearing- I assured him they were brand new.  So anyways- I was super excited to go and even more excited that Zachary was going with me and my brother and Grace were going to!  We ate at McAlisters before the show- yummmm.

I left my ID in the car so I was branded as underage.

The show was amazing.  We were in the front row... I got to sit in the seat closest to him- I was so so excited.  

 Here's Matt and Grace in the nice blue lights:

During the show, Zachary was trying to get a picture of me with Joshua Radin in the background and a girl behind us asked if he wanted her to get a picture of the two of us- I love it!

 
Zachary had a bit to drink but nothing compared to the people sitting across the aisle from us.  I had to get a picture of them to remember.  Since Zachary was intoxicated he struck up a conversation with them which presented the perfect opportunity for me to snap a picture!

Before the concert started, I bought two t-shirts.  I couldn't pick between the two so I just got both.  I still wear the one I bought from his 2011 concert all the time so... it's fine.  Also, I was kind of hoping they'd give me a wristband like they did in 2011 when I bought two shirts (that time one for me and one for Jaimie) but they didn't.  Sad.  But in the middle of the show, Zachary bought me this awesome lyric book and when he bought that, they gave him a wristband!  He came back with the book and the wristband and I about started crying.  It was such a great experience.  He got to hear these songs that he's heard before as background music but really listened to the words this time.  And when he heard this one song, Belong, he got emotional thinking of Liam and his struggles.  So I decided when I got to meet him, I'd ask him to write out part of the song for Liam.  So when I got up to him, I told him a little about Liam and said that he loves his music so much- when he comes on, Liam says "It's Josh!  It's Josh!"  He seemed so touched and wrote out "You hear it say 'Be Strong.'" It was such a great night- one I'll never forget!

March 9 = Go For a Walk Day

Here's a quick picture of my babies eating at their table in the playroom.  They had waffles and strawberries and both ate every bit that was on their plates.

Later we met two friends and their sons at a playground.  Both ladies have boys and are expecting boys in one month and three months.  We got there first so the kids played on the playground until our friends got there, then we went for a walk and then played on the playground some more before eating a picnic lunch.  On the way home, Malia and I dropped Liam off at his group session and the elementary school across the street.  We got home and I did a little cleaning and then decided it was too nice outside to be inside so instead of driving to pick him up, I drug out the jogging stroller and we walked about a mile to the school.  Liam got so excited when he saw the stroller instead of the car!  It was a great day with lots of fresh air and exercise!

March 5A - Matthew, Grace and I go to DC

Matthew and Grace had decided they wanted to go to DC this weekend but instead of staying at a hotel there, Matthew made the economically savvy decision to see if we'd be home.  Since Liam and Malia weren't home, I was happy to tag along with them and go places that I wouldn't be able to go with two children in tow.  We went to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.  Matthew gave one of the statues his phone to take a selfie- I thought this was hilarious.

Then we walked to the Lincoln Memorial.  It was a pretty long walk... but we made it.

As we were nearing the memorial we saw a lot of people posing for pictures and one pose that seemed common was tilting the head to one side.  We decided to try it:

 The Washington Monument was between the museums and the Lincoln Memorial... I snapped a picture on the way back.  It was perfect weather for a walk around DC.  I've really only walked around DC two other times- my first trip was in June of 2012 when I was very pregnant with Liam and the other was when I was pretty pregnant with Malia and also during the summer.  So it was nice to walk carrying just my own weight and not to be sweating.

 So funny story.  Our plan was to go to the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture.  So that was our first stop.  We walked and walked and walked and found out it hasn't opened yet.  I watched a 60 Minutes piece on it and was so excited to go but if I had listened to the very beginning of it (which I always miss from fast-forwarding through commercials) I would have heard them say it opens in September.  Oops.  Here's the closed building we walked to but weren't able to enjoy from the inside.