Owen's birthday

Joey turned 4 June 22nd. Just a few weeks later, Owen turned 3. Sometimes I still can't believe they are only 13 months apart. Joey was only 4 months old when I found out I was pregnant again. What a blessing! Now 3 years later, my little Owen turned 3. Owen looks up to his big brother. They sleep together every night and he always inches closer to him to make sure he is touching him. At times, they wrestle and hand starts flying and the tears come rolling, but they share a special bond. The Dargan kids are so close in age and are always together that they sometimes don't know what to do when they are not with each other. It's sweet!

We celebrated Owen's birthday at Dairy Queen. He had a smile on his face from ear to ear. He told me all he wanted for his birthday was candles to blow out. How innocent and adorable. Owen is such a sweetheart. He is tough, but has a huge heart and aims to please. He danced and sang and smiled the whole time. He loved being in the spotlight and celebrating with his cousins. I think the highlight was making his own ice cream sundae. He ate 2! Happy Birthday Owen. We all love you!

Daddy takes off

Sometimes we wake up in the Dargan house and receive a wonderful surprise. Daddy stays home from work. This stirs up a lot of excitement for the kids. Once they find out they usually start to dance around and jump on the bed and start singing some song about daddy not going to work. On these days, we may head to a park or have a special lunch or if we are really lucky, head to the beach. A trip to the beach and boardwalk is filled with smiles and laughs. It's just nice to have fun together. I love seeing the kids playing together and making up games and just being kids and having fun.

Joey turns 4

Wow, another Dargan birthday!! Joey turned 4 June 22. He talked about his birthday for months. We celebrated it in style with the Bossy Frog Band held at the Dargan house! He had a blast. Our family and friends celebrated with us and a good time was had by all. Time just goes so fast. Joey is growing into this wonderful little boy. He has an unbelievable amount of energy and it doesn't take much to get him going. He loves to cuddle, but will drop anything to run or have a sword fight. He often speeds through the house with his super Joey cape (from his Auntie Lauren). Sometimes he is Buzz Lightyear and sometimes he is Spiderman. He had this adorable run. It's hard to explain, but it's just natural. He reminds me so much of Joe and from what Grandma explains of Joe, he acts just like his daddy did. He has a captivating smile just like his daddy. Happy Birthday Joey. We love you!

Ryleys graduation

Ryley had her big day June 18, 2010. She graduated Lollipop School. I can't believe it's Ryleys last year of preschool. First of all, words can't express how adorable she was on her graduation day. She was so proud of herself. She practiced for weeks so that she knew all her songs by the big day. Every night at the Dargan house, there was a practice concert along with the help of Joey, Owen & TJ. One thing about Ryley is that she takes things very seriously. She wanted to be so prepared for her big day. It really was cute. She sang and danced on stage and even walked down the isle in a cap and gown. We are so proud of her. I remember dropping her off for her first day when she was 3. I cried. I cried again this past year and she was 5. I can't believe she is starting Kindergarten in September. For the past 5 and a half years, she has been with me. She would go to school for a couple of hours and I was always so excited to pick her up. The thought of her being gone all day every day makes me a little sad. I am proud of her and she is ready to go and I am excited to send her. I am just going to miss her. I remember bringing her home from the hospital and it was just Ryley and me. Now, she has just turned into this beautiful, caring, smart and amazing little girl. I am so proud of my daughter. Some day Ryley, you will read this. I hope you can feel all the love I have for you.

TJ's first haircut

I finally broke down and decided to get TJ his first haircut on Memorial Day. Eight years ealier on this day, Joe proposed to me in Hoboken and we started on this wonderful journey together. Life is a little different now, Here we are going through our last "first haircut" and married for almost 7 years!

TJ looks very handsome with his haircut. I guess it was time. His bangs had grown down to his chin and his hair started to resemble that of an old man's "comb over". You could see the "before and after."

The beginning of summer

The beginning of summer is bringings lots of excitement to our house. Now that Joey is done with school, we are just waiting for Ryley to finish so that each day will belong to us! Stay tuned to see an update on Ryleys big graduation from preschool! For now, we just continue our fun. The other day, we had a great day with our cousins. My Dargan clan took another exciting trip with Auntie Lauren. Those trips are always fun. We started off with a trip to Greenwood Farm where the kids had the opportunity to see and hold baby animals. Everyone had a great time, but I think TJ took it to the next level. He chased the turkeys and tormented the baby chicks. He was so cute. He had a smile from ear to ear. Ryley was gentle as always. She held a baby chick and even milked a cow. Joey was hungry the whole time as always but still enjoyed seeing the animals. He loved touching the baby chicks. Owen took a while to warm up and then towards the end, he was hugging and kissing the baby cow.

A nice lunch under a shady tree could have been the end of a great day but Auntie Lauren and I took it that extra step and headed to the beach and made the day even better. The cousins played in the sand and ran away from the waves and had a wonderful time. There is so much in life to enjoy. Sharing it with your family makes it even more special.

Congratulations to Joey!

I feel like I have not written too much about us lately but I should be because I have so much to say. We have been busy! How could we not be busy? When you have 4 kids that are 5 and under, you are always busy! The hot weather has set in and we are so happy. Ryley is filled with joy that she can wear a sundress every day. Joey and Owen wake up with such excitement every morning and can't wait to get outside. I just wish they understood that you can't really play outside at 6:30 in the morning. Maybe some kids can, but if you know my kids, they don't exactly talk or play quietly outside all the time. Most people I talk to get to sleep in until at least 7 or 7:30. Not me. I hear the door swing open every morning at 6 am and every morning they jump into my bed so excited. They just want to chat and find out what we are going to do that day. Every morning I beg for more sleep, but they cuddle up next to me with arms wide open and share big kisses with me and I somehow get the energy to start our day. I just wish I had a little more of their energy.

So what is new with us besides summer starting? Well, Joey finished his first year of preschool. Congratulations to Joey! He did great. We are so proud of him. His teachers told me what a good boy he is and how much they love him and are now going to miss him. I told Joe that and he said, "of course, he is a Dargan. I mean look at that face." Joey was proud of himself. He should be. He tried hard and he learned a lot. In his pictures, you could see the smile on his face in school. So I dedicate this blog to a great school year for Joey! We love you Joey!