Reed is FOUR

Reed's birthday was a lot of fun--a special celebration at school with four walks around the sun, remembering his life highlights, and then a party with Grandpa Stu and Grandma Joanie with a gorgeous cake decorated with lots of help from my friend Emily.

Reed and I had a nice playground date by ourselves and played the peekaboo game on either side of a tunnel. 

Reed thinks that the world celebrates Cinco de Mayo for his birthday, which is fair because our neighborhood hosts a great little party every year and it usually falls right around his birthday. This year the Cinco de Mayo party coincided with our party to cheer on the runners for the Syracuse Mountain Goat 10k race, which goes right through our neighborhood. That's usually called Goatfest, so this year's celebration was called Cinco de Goat and entailed partying from 9am until past 5pm on Sunday 5/5.

The party involves several tents of food and drinks, including mimosas to start the day and margaritas throughout, along with kegs of local beer. The children of the neighborhood run wild through the backyards and through the street, which is closed for the day, and there's a huge bounce house in one of the yards which gets sloppier and sloppier the more sloppy the parent supervisors become throughout the day. Beckett got knocked in the teeth and everyone ended up grumpy and sunburned but we had a good day.

This is the last memory of the day, with the other kids playing cops and robbers in the next yard but Reed in the swing with Beckett pushing him.

Our neighbors surprised Reed with some pretty awesome hand-me-down presents, including a working motorized Gator and a new bike with training wheels. He was overjoyed.

TJ's wedding Part II

It was snowing and cold all weekend in Syracuse but it was 70 degrees and sunny in Chapel Hill, so we hit the playground circuit HARD.

All dolled up for the wedding. Look at my handsome guys!

This is the first time any of them had worn a suit. Don't they look amazing??

All the boys had big jobs for the wedding. Reed was the ring bearer, and Theo and Beckett were in charge of the photo guest book.

TJ's wedding Part I

Last weekend we traveled to Chapel Hill NC to celebrate my cousin TJ's wedding with the rest of the Lovejoy clan. I still can't believe we drove 22 hours in four days and dressed the kids up in the fanciest clothes they've ever worn and it all worked out so well. It was magical to be there and to have the kids be there to watch TJ and Georgia's beautiful wedding and see how much love they have for each other.

The rehearsal dinner Friday night was at a fancy restaurant with an unexpectedly long cocktail hour. We got there at 6 and realized that dinner wouldn't be served until closer to 7:30. The kids had been cooped up in the car all day and the day before and they were wriggling and bouncing off the walls. I was pretty sure Jeff would have to take them all back to the Airbnb because there was no way they could keep themselves together for a 3 hour formal dinner.

Then the most magical event of the weekend occurred (no offense to TJ and Georgia; it was more miraculous than their nuptials): I had taken the kids for a walk through a nearby mall to burn off some energy by running through the hallways. Beckett noticed a children's museum in one storefront, and commented that it would be fun to go there. Of course there was a closed sign hanging from the door. I noticed on one of the signs near the entrance that they occasionally host parents' nights out. As the boys ran screaming through the mall, chasing each other and falling over, a thought briefly danced through my head: "Man, wouldn't it be amazing if TONIGHT was one of those nights?" Just then, a man came through the door from the museum wearing a name tag. I asked him if the museum was closed, and he said, cheerfully, "Yes, unfortunately it is. We're hosting a parent's night out tonight and I'm just running to get pizza for the kids." Awestruck, I asked if there was still room for more kids. "Yes, definitely!" was the reply. "I can get you guys signed up right now!" I called Jeff to hurry with the credit card, we walked inside, and magic and wonderment ensued. Theo ended up choosing not to go, which was the right choice for him because he had a great night with Grandpa Stu and enjoyed all the food, and quietly listened to the conversation and speeches. Beckett and Reed walked into the museum, kicked off their shoes, and never looked back. We came back at 9pm to tired, sweaty, pizza-stained kids. It was nothing short of a miracle.

Theo hanging with Grandpa Stu.

My mom, her sister Teddy, and their brother Crom.

 The Lovejoy sisters regaling the rehearsal dinner crowd with a family favorite.