The Little Mulligan: January 2016

Long time coming! Here's the big catch-up! The order of the pics is not completely correct but there are too many pictures to go back and reformat :)

SUMMER

This kid loves to play in any kind of water possible, at any time. Plus, look at that head of hair.

The Big Red Ball came to Rochester. A cool traveling art installation that is traveling all over the world. Fin LOVED it. Mac was not crazy about it.

More Red Ball!

Grandpa taking Fin on a motorcycle ride around the cul-de-sac.

Fin met Ms. Rochester the Dairy Queen of Olmsted County, he was adorably excited!

The Anesthesia Intern Crew!

Fin and I attended Rochesterfest Parade-Man, this guy loves parades!

Little Mac being a stinker...and sweet.

Jithma and I survived our first day of intern year!

Date Day in Red Wing, MN with the world's largest boot!

Fin participating in the Fourth of July races. He had a slow start (he is almost always surprised when the "GO" happens) but managed to make up some good time-he's speedy!

The Mulligan's at the driving range.

Happy, happy baby.

Mac took his first steps in July (I think!). He hasn't stopped running since!
Also, he is babbling like crazy! Lots of Spanish words and English as well. Hola, Hello, Dog, That, TeTe (bottle), Arriba, and more. He blabbers nonstop! He continues to be a great eater and decent sleeper. He sleeps the night through but sometimes wakes up at 4am....uffda.

Our silly crew having a good time.

Mama and Dada took turns camping out back with Fin. It was a blast! Stories, snacks, cuddles.

Sleeping soundly in the tent.

Fin telling me ghost stories before bed!

That post-bath hair! Impressive!

Fun up at Nanabob's cabin!

Miriam and Fintan-crazy, crazy cute. They have become really good friends. Miriam lives right next door and they play very well together. They both like to talk a lot and have elaborate rules when playing so they're a good combo.

Hanging out in the cul-de-sac with the neighbors on Mac's birthday.

Happy First Birthday, baby Mac! He's wild, sweet, smart, funny, everything wonderful.

Fintan at Great-Uncle Wayne's farm getting a ride in the tractor. He loved it! He rode up to the cabin with my cousin Lance and his family. We were all nervous for him to go without us but he did great!

Look at this Angler! Tim, Haley's boyfriend, was going to clean the fish and fry it. He was going to do it after Fin went to bed so he wouldn't be freaked out, but Fin really wanted to see it. Fin convinced them to let him see it. He wasn't that phased! Some questions but overall he was interested in the anatomy and then ate it when it was cooked :)

Auntie Noreen was the only person who could convince Fin to jump off the dock.

The entire Dahl crew at the Fourth of July Parade in Tower, MN.

Up in the North Country! Mama was at work.

Hiking around the woods with cousin Sidney.

Beautiful Days in Northern MN on Lake Vermillion!

Swimming around, enjoying the summer.

Mac's first cupcake!

Silly Mac, having a blast in Costco.

Try to catch me! Hee Hee!

Fin and his new violin. His lessons are going well. Practicing can be challenging but his focus is improving all the time and so are his mad violin skills.

We have a blast playing together.

Met Abby, Jason, and Odin up at the train store this summer. SO fun to see them and see little Odin growing! AAAND they're expecting another baby!

We took Naty to a Colombian restaurant in Minneapolis-look at that smile! She's so happy!

The Minnesota State Fair!!!! The great Minnesota get together! The annual Pronto-Pup before 10am!

The giant slide on the potato sack.

aaand then ice cream and malts :) Naty and Weronika were a little overwhelmed but totally into it!

The Dairy Princesses's busts of butter! The girl on the pink jacket was getting carved in butter in front of us! What ridiculous tradition...and entertaining.

Hanging with Auntie Vi!

Ribs and Beer.

A little hot after a day at the Fair!

On our way to visit Grandpa Pops and Wendy!

A little angel sleeping on the plane.

We rented a mini-van while we were there. Gotta say, pretty sweet ride, loved the space, and would unfortunately flirt with getting one someday-did I just say that?!

First stop- In and Out Burger in Las Vegas, obviously! Always delicious.

Getting ready to go on an early morning hike. Every morning we got up early and hiked, Fin LOVED it. Mac was great on my back. Naty loved being out in nature too. She'd never seen anything like the SouthWest before. Relaxing, great trip.

Hiking. Woot woot!

The Biggest, Greatest Sandbox.

Rock scrambling.

We went to the Grand Canyon for the day and saw bison on the way!

We spent one night in Vegas before heading home to Minnesota. We stayed at the Delano because per the internet it had the best pool for kids. It did not disappoint! The views were great, the pool was so fun. Fin every once in awhile says, "Mama, I miss Las Vegas." LOL!!!

FALL

Bath time fun!

First day of preschool! Fin is attending Aldrich Memorial Nursery School and he totally loves it. I think he is going to freak out over kindergarten-hanging with friends and learning all day? That's his wheelhouse. Oh, and gym. The other day Jeff and I were looking at lessons for Mac (music classes) and Fin says, "Mama. Dada. I just want to do sport things." Like Father, like Son.

Also, this kid keeps us constantly giggling. He loves his brother and looks out for him. He's also quite the negotiator, always using logic and rationale to make his argument. Very fun to see his mind at work.

Fin's first time watching Star Wars. It was so fun to share with him. He loves all of them. Jeff and I have really enjoyed sharing Star Wars with him!

Playtime, getting dirty. This awesome playground where you can build rivers, roll down hills, explore in the woods. The boys love it.

Love nap time with my boy. Even Fidel got in on the snuggles.

Obligatory playing in the leaf pile photo op.

This little guy turned 5 this year. Look at that angel face! Seriously. How can anyone resist this face.

At his group violin lesson. Getting better every day!

Celebrating Fin's birthday with the neighbors! Potato sac race, pin the tail on the donkey, pizza and cupcakes-obviously a blast was had by all!

Action shot! Look at Fin starting to fall! So funny!

Safety first when eating.

Went to Atlanta on a last minute trip to see some friends. Love to see, that even 5 years later, Fin is on their fridge.

At the Pumpkin Patch with Uncle Jason (and all of use too :)

The corn maze was so-so but we had fun jumping out and surprising people.

Alison, an au pair from Reunion, and Naty, and Auntie Vi and Uncle Jason all joined us. It was a beautiful day to be outside!

Brothers on a big chair.

Pumpkin with pumpkins.

Carving the pumpkins we picked!

Silly Mac.

Happy Halloween from Darth Vader, Han Solo, Yoda, and Chewie! May the Force be with you!

Fin trick-or-treated with the neighborhood boys. So fun seeing them run from house to house giggling and yelling!

Fin's violin concert. He played D-A-D, a pizzicato piece. He wasn't nervous and performed wonderfully. So proud of that guy.

WINTER

Someone was excited for the first snow!

Naty's boyfriend, Yeferson, came and stayed with us for 3 weeks! He was very lovely to have with us and the boys loved him. You can tell he has two younger brothers at home! Fin asks all the time when he will come back and visit.

Abby, Jason, and Odin came over for a visit. Miss these guys so much.

Fin rocking Mama's pj's from when she was a little kid. Super funny!

Some flight, somewhere... probably Mexico!

Captain Fin.

These boys. Fin is an exceptional traveler! He's an old pro at this point. Mac, well, Mac is currently a little too busy to be contained on an airplane. Mama and Dada are pretty worn out after a flight with Mac!

Beginning of December we managed to go to Cancun with Nanabob. We all had an absolute blast. Seriously, so relaxing just to beach or pool every day.

The first day Fin was obsessed with sand in his trunks so he'd frequently run over to rinse them out! He got used to it as the week went on :)

Listening to the Mariachi Band!

Fish Fritanga! They have a playset at the restaurant-pretty awesome!

This kid, what a difference a year makes. Mac last year was not so crazy about Mexico. This year?! He couldn't get enough! Loved the beach, the pool, the food. Anything! He's incredibly fearless around water though at the ocean, he didn't like it when Mama swam out into the ocean.

Me and My Boys.

Me and my boy.

Fin exploring.

Fintan also showed a big improvement in swimming this year. Much braver in the ocean and in the pool. He even doggy paddled 10 feet by himself in the deep end and is swimming underwater. Very fun!

Sweet Mac with NanaBob.

Maybe Fin's favorite part of the pool is the swim-up bar. He can't believe that such a thing exists! He orders his classic "jugo de piña", pineapple juice.

Celebrating Xmas with Grandpa and Mama Dee.

These two have so much fun together. Makes our hearts swell.

Obviously adorable.

Aaah! So cute!

Family pics!

Group Selfie!

At the Blue Gecko! Yum!

Mi Familia.

Back to Winter in Minnesota!

So much fun in the snow!

Xmas Day, watching Star Wars.

Xmas Day Dinner!

Fin wanted to play for everyone during Xmas dinner, so obviously we obliged...while all wearing our pjs/onesies.

Seeing Star Wars Episode 7 in the Theater!

Santa shopped at Patagonia! Yay!

Someone wasn't crazy about Santa.

Look Mama, I made the Millennium Falcon.

Fin and Miriam!

Celebrating Mama's Birthday!

Oh, and after Xmas, we adopted Bubba from the pound! He's a purebred Rottweiler and pure sweetness. We really lucked out. He loves the boys. Is extremely tolerant. Gentle. Loving. Overall, a great pup. It was bittersweet for me. Getting a new dog made me experience the loss of Diego all over again.