Finn the tree hugger

MJ and Grandpa Boozin'

It's a Dougherty's right of passage - child must be photographed with some sort of booze while adults laugh...

Birthday Photos

Ain't he cute? We had grandma and grandpa Schneeman and the Winsor's over for a special birthday dinner.



Harry Potter Birthday Cake





Winsor's gave Seamus a horn that is so loud I think itmight endup as a chew toy for Bear...(unfortunately the boys love it...)



The Castle (which I put together all afternoon yesterday - I couldn't let Seamus think building castles was only for boys and dads.)



It was a great day.

Happy Birthday lunch for Seamus!

So mom and dad got to take Seamus out for a special birthday lunch (thanks Grandma and Grandpa for watching Finn and MJ). On the way to lunch he said a few times that his head hurt - mostly I could just hear him whispering about it from the back seat. He kept saying he was just fine when I pressed him about it. After a wonderful lunch, we got back into the car to pick up the other kids and head over to school. Again I can hear him muttering about his head and I said, "Seamus, do you have a headache or did you hit your head?" And he replied,"No, mom, it's just my scar, I think Voldemort must be near by..."

Four Years Old Already...

Sometimes it feels as though life runs in fast forward - for me today is the epitome of that feeling. Seamus turns four years old at 4:30 this afternoon. He's been talking about his birthday constantly for the last month and so I was a little surprised when he crawled into bed with us this morning and we said Happy Birthday and he replied enthusiastically "Really? Today?" I guess for most of us the anticipation is a bigger deal than the actual event. James stayed home this morning and made apple pancakes for us and started putting together the Castle from Grandma and Grandpa Dougherty. He heard Seamus tell me that he didn't think I could put it together - that "Dad was the best at that". Sad but probably true.

So Seamus, Happy, Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. I have so many hopes for you this year and I'm looking forward to exploring the world through your eyes - I think this might be a year of fun firsts - I bet you'll try on ice skates for the first time this winter. I bet you'll be swimming on your own at the lake this summer. I bet Bob and Paula will take us over to the "bike riding" hill at St.Kate's. So much fun stuff - so many things we don't even know about yet.

While you were three, you went from simple sentences and some blurry words to complex thoughts and tons of interesting vocabulary. You finally have the words to communicate your wild imagination - which is always so much fun to hear about. You've discovered some new stories and right now you are in love with Harry Potter and his crew. We're half way through the second book and I'm still trying to figure out how we're going to take a break before starting the third. You aren't scared by the story and you seem to understand the nuances of the trouble Harry faces. I have to admit that I'm loving this time of story reading - I often feel a little thrilled when you want me to keep reading after we finish the chapter and more often than not we get to read a lot longer than I had intended.

You're back at preschool with Mary Jo and Nancy. You LOVE them and school - this morning you asked why we couldn't just go in the morning and not wait until after lunch. You're getting to bring treats for the first time today also (the beginning of the long school birthday tradition). We made some cookies to share and I know how excited you are about bringing them.

You planted a Sunflower garden this summer and you're already talking about your plans for next summer - makes me think garden is a gene we pass on (thanks, Dad). You brought flowers for Mary Jo from it on the first day of school and you were so proud. So was I.

What can I tell you about your-four-year-old-self? Well, you and Finn are best friends right now. Sometimes I don't know what to do when the two of you are running around like lunatics having fun but you're supposed to be getting ready for bed or school or something other than laughing and wrestling. I hate interrupting the fun you have because I know this time is so fleeting. And so far no one can make MJ laugh like you can - I hadn't ever seen an infant belly laugh - but somehow you can make her squeal with laughter. I'm going to try and get some video of it today.




By the time you're able to read these entries and understand them, the events of these early journals may not even be part of your memory. I hope that some if not most of it is, but only time with tell. We're doing this so you have a picture of your childhood and also so that you can see what is in our hearts as we're making this journey with you. I've come to realize something recently, I read a long time ago that you always have a different relationship with your oldest child, and I thought that was kind of silly. But now I see why that is true. You're "firsts" are also my "firsts". And so while you maybe got more attention than your siblings at first, you also have to muddle through my learning how to be a parent. And I hope as an adult you're gracious about my mistakes and know how much fun I had stumbling through this process with you. I often feel like we're in this together - helping each other be better people - you've taught me a lot about patience and consistency, about laughing and letting go.

The only way I can imagine that you'll ever know how much we love you, is when you hold your first child for the very first time. It is a feeling unlike anything else in the world and I can't believe it's already been four years for us.

We love you.

Happy Birthday Grandma Barbara!

What can we say about Grandma Dougherty? First of all, Ain't she cute? I've known Barbara for a little more than 10 years now (James has known her a little longer...) I was welcomed into their family with wide arms - and Barbara led the charge of making me feel included and loved. I immediately loved New Jersey mornings at the breakfast table chatting over coffee or late nights sharing some red wine. We never seem to be at loss for things to talk about - and I'm so grateful for all the love and kindness she's extended to me over the years. So I always knew how lucky I was to have a mother-in-law who I respected and loved so much - and then we had KIDS - and Barbara decided to jump into becoming Grandmother-extraordinaire. There are no grandchildren as loved, spoiled and supported as Barbara's.

I hope my kids are able to appreciate as adults the kind of woman who raised their father, who loves them as a grandmother and who loves life in her own right. Barbara is wholly compassionate, intelligent, hard working and totally dedicated to her family. There is nothing more important to her than her kids and grand kids. She was uber-conscious of treating the kids equally - and I think about that all the time now as a parent. We may not get to see eachother every day or even near as often as we like - but her influence and love are never very far away.

Happy Birthday Barbara, thinking of you today and always! We love you!

The Clark NJ Dougherty's (& Their Metal Head)

These are the Clark, New Jersey Dougherty's (holding MJ and Connor).



John is James's Godfather and his rockstar (although he didn't wear a tie when he was Connor's proxy godfather...but that's another story) uncle. Maureen is his aunt extraordinaire - also known as the "go-to aunt" for babysitting, picture taking, kids supplying...etc. The girls, Megan and Katelyn (otherwise known as Knucklehead One and Knucklehead Two) are totally and wholly adored by the boys (and us too).



Beginning when we lived in New York, we started meeting John and Maureen in Newark for Portuguese food (Newark is known for this food - less so for its urban charm). This has become one of our favorite traditions - the food and Sangria are great (unbelievable actually) but spending an evening with John and Maureen without all the chaos of kids or parties has been a real gift for us.

This year Katie, Andie, James and I said goodbye to grandma, grandpa and the TWO new babies and drove with Seamus and Finn up to Clark, NJ (Thanks grandparents!). At which point we then said goodbye to the two girls, the two boys and a babysitter named (I'm not kidding) Vinny, so we could say "Hello" to some adult time with Sangria. Now James and I have been talking this tradition up a lot, and I hadn't thought much about the neighborhood the restaurant was in, but let's just say that as we're nearing the place, Andie asked in her sweet southern way, "Is this where the restaurant is?" What's a few abandoned cars, some blown out windows and the realization that one of us carries a gun when we come. But true to the quality of the company and the food, we had a fabulous time and I think Katie and Andie would even come back with us.

During our last vacation to New Jersey it was a present bonanza - every time we saw them the kids got more treats - bribery might not be ethical, but let me tell you it sure works. Our house is covered with reminders of them, and we hear a lot of "Uncle John gave that to me..." sorry girls John does get most of the credit. It's hard to compete with a guy who is really, really tall and a lieutenant in the police force (he sent the boys model police cars for Christmas - BIG winner - made Santa look pretty bad).




So, I have not finished writing thank you notes from the NJ trip when I get a package in the mail yesterday. I considered not opening it until I had completed the previous thanking. But I did. Here's what it contained...





It came with a letter address to MJ.

Hello Mary Jeanne,

You are receiving this gift for one of three reasons (you pick one):
1.) Seamus and Finn are too straight laced and we need you to be the rebel of the family.
2.) This is a shameless attempt by the Clark Dougherty's to be mentioned on the Dougherty Clan website.
3.) We saw the gift - thought it was funny_ and you were the only one we knew who it would fit and whose parents would actually dress her in it.

Hope all is well.

Guess what she wore to drop off Seamus at preschool and is now napping peacefully in...

We love the Clark Dougherty's. Thanks for all the fun.

School Daze

So Seamus started back to school on Thursday - as you'd expect he was very excited. The biggest crisis we have this year is that he now goes two AFTERNOONS a week and since he's still a two hour napper - we're not sure how this is going to affect our quality of life. But when I expressed concern to the teacher - I wasn't sure how he'd fare without his nap - she said in classic Mary Jo Culbertson fashion, "Two days a week isn't going to kill him." We shall see.

Finn also started "school" - he's got an hour and a half play time with the same teacher and in the same class room where Seamus goes. He thinks he's the coolest kid on the planet now. A good percentage of the kids on Friday were screaming bloody murder and the parents were looking panicked and terrified that their child would be 18 and still unable to attend preschool because of separation anxiety. Mary Jo sent all of the parents packing with a wave of her hand and a sharp "You will NOT accompany your child into the room", all the while carrying a screaming, immaculately dressed little girl. I was not at all concerned, first because Finn was elbowing his way into the room to get at all the toys, and secondly because I'd been through this with Seamus last year. We parents come back a little while later after a kids free trips to the grocery store or with a little Brewberry's pick-me-up and sure enough, the room is silent, the kids file out cheerfully with artwork and big smiles, and we are all left to wonder how in the world Mary Jo does it.

The pictures are from playing at the park after class.

Catching Up

So we're approaching the end of summer and it's been a fun few weeks. MJ is still a peanut, but she's rolling all over and very animated. She's babbling all the time (just like her grandma). Finn seems so much older than he did when MJ was born. It's been wonderful to watch him discover his imagination - he'll spend hours every day playing with his little animals or pirates or dinosaurs (sometimes all together). He's just a very content little boy. He's working on potty training still - we didn't work on it while we were in NJ and then the day we got back we all got the flu so that put a damper on training. I'm back at it today and hoping we'll make some real progress over the next few days.

Seamus and Finn moved into their "big boy" beds last weekend - they are officially in bunk beds now and so far so good. They've slept well - especially Finn who had outgrown his toddler bed and was hanging out of it half the time. Seamus has erupted the last few days. He's changing and growing - seemingly from one minute to the next. He's riding a bike confidently (still with training wheels - but fast enough that he can keep up with us on a walk). He's so excited for preschool to start (tomorrow). And all summer he's only been interested in the baby pool or the shallow part of the lake - he'll swim underwater and hold his breath but ONLY if he can still touch. Something happened in him on Sunday - not only did he enthusiastically jump into the big pool with James (which he used to do only begrudgingly) he actually SWAM. He could make it from the ladder about half way across the pool before he'd start to panic a little. He had so much fun - it was wild for me to watch. I was so surprised and slightly terrified. If some one could tell you when you discovered you were pregnant with your first child that in less time than it took you to finish college, you will go from a hosting tadpolish being, to birthing an 8 pound baby, to watching a walking, talking, SWIMMING person who will enchant you, adore you, and sometimes terrify you; you might appreciate how fast its all going to go.

Seamus asked me this week, "Mamma, where do people come from?" And the most truthful thing I could say to him was "Seamus, we all came from God, and boy am I glad that he sent you."

Delinquent Posts

I don't know what's gotten into me lately, but I haven't had lot of time or energy for posting. And I'm sitting on tons of pictures from our trip out East and the week or so before. Here are a couple goodies...

More later... it's time for Harry Potter and naps...