4th of july parade

 

Callan soon realized that taking his backpack to the parade was a great idea because he ended up filling the whole thing with candy.

 To start the parade they "passed the flag" down the street.  Uncle Brian, Avery, Grandpa, Kinsley, Daddy and Callan all got in on the action.

sweet Caitlin

 aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents...a great crowd to spend the day with!

 Daddy taught Callan that you are supposed to take your hat off and place it over your heart when the American flag passes by.

There were some noisy motorcycles at the end of the parade.

today's snapshot: matchy-match cousins

1st birthday

Last year I was in the middle of packing, getting ready to move (again). I got a call letting me know my little sis was in labor. A few minutes labor I got another call saying she had given birth (shortest labor EVER).

Fast forward one year...

I am in the middle of packing, getting ready to move (again). My niece, Caitlin, is now one.

Happy birthday, Caitlin!

Precious

Isn't my niece just precious?!

Airplanes

A few weeks ago, my sister, Brian, Avery & Caitlin all came to visit for a weekend. We thought that it would be fun to pack a picnic lunch and go to Gravelly Point, the park by the DC airport where you can sit at the end of the runway and watch the airplanes fly right over your head. Well, after Avery got the hang of covering his ears, the boys seemed to have a decent time. We didn't anticipate how loud it would be for poor little Caitlin, though.

father and son watching for the next plane to take off down the runway

poor Caitlin...we had to keep covering her ears every time a plane flew over head

Brian---"Are you ready, Avery? Here comes another one?"

Avery---"I'm ready, Daddy!"

8 visitors

Right after we got back from our Atlanta vacation we had 8 visitors come stay with us for a night. My "Aunt" Pat, Alicia ( Aunt Pat's daughter), Alicia's 2 daughters, my mom, my sister, and my sister's two kids. When everyone was here, there were 5 kiddos under the age of 3!

[Side Note: When we were little, my mom and "Aunt" Pat would take Tawn, me and Alicia to the Reading Outlets. On our way home we would ALWAYS get lost, and our moms would say, "Girls, please be on the look out for the brown signs so we can find our way back home." Us girls would be giggling in the back seat, "accidentally" overlooking those brown signs, hoping that we'd get to spend the night together instead of going back home. Ahhh, the memories!]

It was a full house to say the least, but it was tons of fun! We had kids sleeping in bathrooms, pack 'n plays set up everywhere and Gene and me on a half blown up air mattress. It was definitely a trip that everyone will remember.


Splish! Splash! The kiddos had fun splashing around in the fountain at Rockville...

(Caitlin was not so happy to be outside in the hot heat)

Playtime inside...

A walk around our neighborhood before dinner...

Caitlin the Cutie

Callan and I just got home from PA. Caitlin is such a cutie...and my sister is just amazing! When we arrived at the hospital the day after she gave birth, she was waiting for us at the end of the hallway fully dressed with shoes on! What a difference from her first labor experience. The nurse came in while we were there and asked what level her pain was (on a scale from 1-10). She said, "Well, I don't really have any pain. I guess if I had to say then it's a 2." Unbelievable!

"Callan, meet little Caitlin."

Does she look like she just gave birth less than 24 hours ago?!?!

Avery got lots of attention at the hospital from the staff while he was wearing his special shirt

Proud Daddy of 2!

Brian said we had to note that Nana was holding her in this picture...since she's crying :)

Yaaaaaaaawn!

The Big Brother performing his duties...helping carry his little sis into the house

Precious!

All 3 Klinger grandkiddos with Nana
(she's loving every minute of this!)

She's Here!!

Caitlin Aaron Swartz

has arrived!!

The baby and my sister are doing well! My brother-in-law is very on top of things and has already posted more details and a bunch of pictures HERE. Callan and I are leaving MD this morning to go to State College to see the little girlie. Here's how the events unfolded last night...

7:00pmish = My mom calls me and says that they are on their way to State College, because Tawn just left for the hospital. I'm figuring I'll have another niece by early morning.

A few minutes later = My mom calls back again and says that Tawn made it to the hospital but hasn't been admitted yet.

A few minutes later = My mom calls again and say that they admitted her because she was 8 cm already!

A few minutes later = My mom calls back and says that she's pushing!

8:00pmish = Baby Caitlin arrives!

Yes, folks, you read that correctly. My sister was in labor for a good hour. That's all! I'm praying my 2nd baby comes out that easily!

Congratulations, Tawn & Brian!

Avery is now officially a Big Brother!