February 2013

February started off with our monthly “baby picnic” at Holly FitzGerald’s (Jamie’s Aunt) house. Holly has been sweet enough to set up a monthly get-together at her house with John, Larkin, Reagan, Paul, the NC FitzGerald cousins, including little Evelyn FitzGerald, Dan & Maureen, Hap & Nan, and Kat. It varies from month to month who attends these get-togethers, but a good time is always had by all, especially John and Larkin. They have a blast seeing everyone and playing with cousin Evelyn, but their favorite part might be that on this day of the month, they get to scarf down probably 3 whole bagels with cream cheese and lox (an occasional treat and a favorite of theirs, just like their Momma).

I (Kat) was in DC for a much needed get-away and girls weekend with friends, so I missed this month’s picnic. It was so nice to get out of town for a few days, but I missed out on seeing John, Larkin, and Evelyn’s very first game of indoor hoops! Perhaps they’re taking after their Daddy? Although, if we’re being honest here kiddos, there are cooler sports out there…soccer, soccer, soccer (I’m not biased or anything, I promise. Sorry Paul).

We celebrated my birthday on the 10th of February. It was a low key weekend spent with family, and friends, Jess, Jon & amazing out-of-town friend Rachel (the original Ray Ray). On Sunday evening, Grandma and Grandpa cooked me a delicious meal at their house along with Paul, Jess and Jon. Celebrating my birthday was not something I wanted this year, but I will say this: the best part of my birthday was hearing John and Larkin say, “happy birthday Kiiiiiiii” over and over again every time I saw them or talked with them on the phone that weekend. It was so adorable and really made me smile on a weekend that I didn’t feel much like smiling.

The next weekend Dan and Maureen took John and Larkin to the lake cabin, or as John and Larkin like to call it, “big water” for a long weekend. They absolutely love going there and get so excited and jump around and dance when it’s time to get in the car to head to Watauga. Larkin especially loves stopping in “Boonetown” (a.k.a. Boone, NC) on the way there. They had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa taking long walks around the lake and pointing at the “big water.” They even got to go again a few weeks later (in March) with Nana and Bapa.

We also got to see Doug this month, when he came down for a guys’ weekend with Paul and friends at the Watauga Lake house. Doug was so excited to see the kiddos and was amazed to see how big Baby Reags has gotten. John and Larkin were pleasantly surprised when Uncle Doug walked into their room in the morning to wake them up. Next time Nessa will have to come too, especially because John and Larkin were asking for her. Who can say no to them? Although the guys ditched us to go to the mountains and we didn’t see him for too long, it was so nice to have Doug in town for a little while.

Doug, Paul, Pete and 6 more friends had a great time at the lake house, well, being guys. They cooked an entire pig (thank you Joel for the leftover delicious BBQ), hiked the mountain, and enjoyed the fresh mountain air. Oh, and everyone jumped in the freezing cold lake, some even a few times. Crazy boys. I’m going to throw it out there and say that drinking MAY have been involved. Why does that sound so familiar?

We had a nice weekend at home with the little ones while their Daddy was away. My friend Liz was in town and we spent lots of time with John, Larkin, and Reagan. I was quite impressed with how they opened up to Liz, especially little Larkin Lu.

All four grandparents continue to help Paul with the kids and rotate watching Reagan on weekdays. Reagan is eating solid food now and has gotten quite good at it. She was a little apprehensive of the whole thing at first, but now she’s a champion eater, no doubt because of all the encouragement and reinforcement she receives from her four doting grandparents every day. Nan has also been taking her out on lots of lunches with her friends, who all love and adore Reagan Roo (of course). Nan tells us that while she used to nap during these get-togethers, she now fights her sleepiness and stays awake so she can be part of the group and entertain everyone with her beautiful smile and infectious laugh.

John and Larkin are doing well. We are amazed by how much they are talking. Every day they are saying new words, and forming new, full sentences. On nice days they love being outside, using their push toys all around the neighborhood, going on the neighborhood tree swing, saying hi and bye to each car that passes, and taking turns holding Logan’s leash on a walk. John and Larkin have started talking more about their Mommy.

Everyone is still adapting, as expected, to our new realities, and to say that it is easy or that we are all as happy as our projected selves are, would be completely false. So, in truth, we are surviving. We all have bad days, and worse days, but I know one thing is true for all of us – if we didn’t have John, Larkin, and Reagan to be strong for and to make us laugh and smile, we’d be telling quite a different story.

– Kathryn A. O’Brien