Father's Day Weekend 2016

Father's Day Weekend... even though I'm not a father, this is one of my favorite weekends.  There's something about it that just screams taking it easy, having a barbecue, and spending some time outside.  In New Jersey, you never know what kind of weather you are gonna get for Mother's Day, but for Father's Day, you usually get some pretty good (and hot) weather.  As a result, we usually try to celebrate by going to the pool and eating out on the deck.  This year was no different.  

As usual, we celebrated Father's Day with my dad on the Saturday.  Since we live close to both sets of parents/grandparents, we like to split holiday weekends up and do one family each day.  So we do Saturday with my family and Sunday with Chris' family.  We do the exact opposite for Mother's Day weekend. So anyway, this year we spent Saturday with my parents by going to the pool and having a barbecue back at our house.  It was super relaxed, which is just the way we like it.  And we got to take some more underwater photos (using this waterproof camera), but this time I got to try out my new goggles and go under too!

rash guard | swim hat | water shoes

my goggles | Noah's goggles

water table | rash guard | swim trunks

On Sunday, we spent the morning at home and in our pjs.  After asking Chris if there was something special he'd like for breakfast, he requested pancakes.  So Noah helped me make the batter (just a mix with water) and I even tried to get fancy with a chocolate chip smiley face.  While I don't consider myself an expert pancake maker, Noah and Chris seemed to enjoy them and ate them up!  

We headed over to Chris' parents' house in the afternoon, but not before getting some photos of my best boys!  Noah wasn't in the mood for a traditional photo shoot, and instead preferred to make silly faces.  He even instructed Chris on what face to make and how to stand.  It was pretty cute to watch and I love how Chris just went right along with it.  

shirt | shorts 

At Chris' parents' house, we had another nice barbecue.  But it was so freaking hot outside that we opted to eat inside.  Thankfully we were able to get outside later in the afternoon when it had cooled down a bit.  This time we made sure to get a photo of Noah, Chris, and Granddad.  I was so bummed that we forgot to get one of Noah, me, and my dad on Saturday!

But the best part of the day was watching the boys play.  Noah was so excited to bring his new rocket launcher and his soccer ball.  While we have tons of trees in our yard, my in-laws have a very large and empty backyard... perfect for launching the rocket.  That is until Uncle Justin aimed it towards the house and the rocket landed on the roof!  Thankfully we got it down, but it was pretty comical since Chris had just warned him not to shoot it up there.  

^^^one of my favorite photos ever!

Chris finished his Father's Day weekend just the way he wanted... by giving Noah a bath and then watching iPad with him before bed.  Chris really does just love spending time with Noah.  He works pretty long hours and just cherishes the hour (or two at most) that he gets to see him each night.  These two have so much fun together and I'm excited to see how their relationship grows even more as Noah gets older.  Happy Father's Day!

How did you spend your Father's Day weekend?

Father's Day Weekend!

This past weekend was all about the dads in our life.  It was Chris' 3rd Father's Day and we were also able to celebrate with both of our families.  We kept the gifts pretty simple this year, since Chris hopes to participate in his company's golf outing as well as go to a baseball game later this summer.  So we just got him some cards, a balloon, and a personalized t-shirt :)

On Saturday evening, my parents came over for dinner.  We had hoped to do a BBQ out on our back deck, but since it had been raining on and off all day and was still cloudy, we opted to eat inside.  We still had the usual barbecue food and I'm so glad that it wasn't raining when Chris was actually grilling :)   We got both the grandpas a personalized t-shirt (like we got Chris) and a picture frame.  Noah basically opened the gifts for everyone this year ;)

Noah loves to help in the kitchen! He did a great job making the dip with Grandma.  Since Noah isn't a fan of burgers or hot dogs, I made him a hard boiled egg and made sure to have lots of corn on the cob for him.  

While most get togethers revolve around food, Noah gets bored with that quickly.  He instead wanted to play with Grandma & Papa.  They did puzzles, played cars, grocery store, and restaurant with all of his little stuffed animal friends.  

And since Noah loves cake and candles, we had to continue on with our tradition of singing at EVERY holiday.  Though I think we've decided we should practice ahead of time or at least agree on the words before we start singing ;)  Chris was so excited that Noah actually blew out the three candles all by himself... it was his first time!  He will be a pro by his 3rd birthday!

On Sunday, we got together with Chris' parents and brother.  We stopped by the house to give Granddad his gift and to get some pictures and play before heading out for lunch.  We were pleased to be able to enjoy lunch outside after expecting it to pour all day.  The forecast literally changed the day before into a sunny hot day!

We hope you all had a great Father's Day just like we did!  And if you want, you can read all about how we spent Father's Day in 2014 and 2013.  

Father's Day Guest Post | It's The Little Things

In honor of Father's Day this weekend, I asked Chris to do a guest post.  He is a fantastic father who is super fun and hands on.  He is not only great at playing with Noah and making him laugh, but he is always willing and happy to help me in any way.  Here's what Chris had to say about being a dad...

all photos are by Kristen Boylan Photography

Approximately three years ago, in 2012, we got some of the best news of my lifetime.   We found out Meghan was pregnant and one of my dreams was going to come true, I was going to be a father.   For weeks, I couldn't stop thinking about the gender of the baby and if the baby was healthy.   Eventually, we found out that we did have a very healthy baby (we heard the term "amazing heartbeat" about 50 times!) and we also found out it was going to be a boy!   Weeks later, reality sunk in.......I was going to be a father, but I had never even changed a diaper!   Thankfully in the weeks leading up to the birth, I did some online research and learned as much as I could about diapers, burping, swaddling, etc.   

On November 2nd, 2012, Noah came into this world, and I became a father.   Hearing his cry as soon as he made an appearance was the greatest sound I've ever heard in my lifetime.   Sometimes I close my eyes and think back to that day.   The first few weeks we had Noah at home, I tried to savor every moment.    Just having him laying on me and feeding him was such a cool feeling.   I looked forward to weekends more than ever because then I'd be able to be around him and Meghan 24/7 instead of being gone most of the day during the week.   I used to love feeding him airplane style and doing all other silly things to make him laugh.    I discovered new things each and every week.   Once I discovered that he loved watching me build towers and then knock them down, that's all I'd do!   Once I realized he liked tents and having a sheet pulled over our heads, I'd do that all the time too.   

As each week and month passes, I continue to try to find new and fun things to both entertain Noah and also allow me to act like a kid, which is such a refreshing feeling.   Looking at some pictures recently of us holding hands walking somewhere or playing trains, play doh, cars, and dinosaurs makes me realize how lucky I am each day.   Coming home from work, no matter how good or bad of a day that I had, hearing "Hi Dada!" as soon as I walk through the door is the best feeling ever.   I hope, over the years, to continue to be a major part in this boy's life and also sit back and watch him mature into a perfect gentleman.    He brings such joy and pleasure to our lives, I couldn't imagine not having him as a part of our little family.

I personally loved hearing Chris talk about how much he loves being a dad.  I had no clue he was researching online how to change a diaper or swaddle a baby!  I guess that's why he was a natural from day one ;)  

As usual, I'm linking up with Jess for "It's the Little Things" link up!  

Father's Day Crafts - Let's Get Crafty

This year for Father's Day, I took Noah to Earth Paint and Fire to paint some ceramic pieces for Daddy, Grandpa, and Granddad.  Noah made Daddy a platter (figure he can use it when we grill) and made Grandpa and Granddad planters.  We made Grandpa a flower pot for his birthday last year, but since I didn't seal it after putting Noah's handprint on it, it didn't survive being outside very well.  I hope this one will be better. 

Noah was interested in painting (while holding his snack cup of course) for maybe 5-10 minutes.  After that, he wanted to walk around or play in the sink.  My mom and I finished up painting the pieces, and then Noah came back to add his handprints to the three pieces.   While Noah did great and the gifts turned out great, I think I'll hold off bringing Noah again until he's a little older.  In the meantime, I should let him paint more at home.  

Noah had so much painting the ceramic pieces, but he also loved giving them to his Daddy, Granddad and Grandpa. Each time he gave one of the handprint gifts, he would put his hand up to the painted handprint to show them that it was his hand... it was so cute!  Noah also LOVED planting the flowers with Grandpa.  My dad is obsessed with his lawn and loves to plant flowers.  I think Noah will really get into it this summer when he comes to help me plant some flowers at the new house. 

  

^^^ On my parents' front table... our Father's Day and Mother's Day gifts and a picture from November 2013 :)