Picture Time!

Ethan turning one meant it was time for another McGrath "photo shoot." Here are some of the gems from Janel Bantz Photography & a few "traditional" poses from JC Penney's. As always - we had a great time, and I love how their personalities shine. Enjoy!

Here's Patrick, who will turn 6 in August.
And Nate, who will turn 4 this month!

Our little E... He turned 1 on March 6th! He continues to be in the 95% for height & 80% for weight. He's our tallest kiddo yet, and he's keeping up with his big bro's very well - as evidenced by his constant hurt knees!

This picture CRACKS me up! Hy-ster-i-cal!

But, this is one of my favorites. I love it.

They are all laughing & yelling in this picture taken on our front stoop. Ethan LOVED the the attention from Patrick & Nate. Every morning, he runs to them with hugs.

I love my boys!

The Annual Family Trip to Hilton Head!

Ahh... Hilton Head. The ocean...pool...bike rides...sand castles...alligators...perfect weather...nighttime storms...schools of Manta Rays...Uncle Marc fishing sharks...waverunners...birds...a house full of cousins...late night dinners...and lots of memories!

Every year the boys enjoy exploring the island even more! This year...Patrick loves the pool. Nate loves the ocean, and Ethan loves it all! It was so nice to let Ethan run around and explore the beach. He walked right into the ocean without hesitation.

Here's Patrick riding some waves with Evan, his cousin.

Nate couldn't get enough of the ocean! And thankfully, Memom loves going deep - so Nate had a great time jumping the waves with her.

Ethan is a true "daddy's boy." Nothing makes him smile more than the sight of daddy...except for the sight of the ocean while holding daddy's hand!

One of Ethan's favorite activities at home and on vacation is to lounge in a chair/couch/bed and hold onto a remote/phone/sippy cup. Here he is lounging on the beach - having a great time!
Our littlest surfer!

The boys had a great time playing with their cousins and uncles! Here is Uncle Joel playing football on the beach! Later, Uncle Joel and Uncle Marc each took them putt-putting. It was one of the first times for Nate to go putt-putting, and he loved it! He was very animated as he described the bumpy things his ball had to go over to get to the hole. Life is so good. The pool was where Patrick spent most of his time... with his beloved goggles. It cracks me up how the lenses distort his eyes - but he loves these things!

Katie was a huge help with Nate - especially in the pool.

One afternoon, I took the younger boys (Evan, Patrick, Ryan, Nate & Ethan) to Harbour Town to play at the playground and see the ships. Their favorite thing to do was to climb the tree! After playing, I thought it would be nice to walk the pier and see the lighthouse and ships... along the walk, the heat sunk in. The boys drank all the water I had and quickly lost energy... especially Nate!

Here's a pic of the boys on the pier... this is moments before Nate's final breakdown. According to Nate, his legs simply quit working. So... I carried Nate, Evan pushed the stroller and Patrick & Ryan shared the task of carrying my backpack. I'm sure we looked quite hysterical! After a not-so-quick trip to the restrooms, I rewarded them with ice cream. I love the photos of them sitting on the curb eating their treats. I know I will always enjoy this memory!


The last evening, we always take a few photos on the beach. So... here are my boys!

Patrick - Age 5 3/4

Nathaniel: Age 3 3/4

Ethan: Age 15 months

Our Family

The cousins photo... this one is always funny. By this time, they're pretty much over the photos. Ethan was crying, Nate was in "Nate world" playing with a stick from his lollipop and the others are starting to daze. It's a neat photo to look back on each year.

Colin (14), Ethan (1), Katie (12), Carolyn (9), Andrew (10), Evan (6), Rachel (7), Ryan (5), Patrick (5) & Nate (3)

Until next year... happy summer!

Happy 1st Birthday Ethan!

We had such an awesome time celebrating Ethan's 1st Birthday! Just like on the day he was born - it was a beautiful weekend. I keep saying it, but it's true - Ethan brings the sunshine in!

Here's Ethan on his actual birthday (Saturday, March 6) unwrapping a gift from us. He had just as much fun climbing on the box! His brothers of course were a "big" help.

And then came is birthday party on Sunday! ALL of his cousins were her to help him celebrate. Thank you so much.... Colin, Katie, Andrew, Evan, Carolyn, Rachel, Ryan, & Timothy, plus 2nd-cousins, Raya & Wagner! We also were joined by his grandparents and my Papaw Vic & Mamaw Carol.

This event also turned into an early St. Patrick's Day party.... as you will notice by the cake and hy-ster-i-cal hat/bib my mother brought for him to wear! He is definitely our "McCutie!"

He ate the cake, but was almost expressionless (which is not like Ethan at all!). I think he may have been a bit puzzled by all the people just staring at him. (The 3rd child isn't accustomed to so much attention:)!))

What I love about this picture is Rachel's sweet face, as she is looking on. I also love that I have VERY similar pictures of Rachel watching Patrick and Nate take their first bites of 1st birthday cakes as well!

Here he was finally smiling. (Maybe the hat was too tight? HA!)

As you can see, he ate it up!


Here's my cousin Jamie with her son Wagner! He's just 3 months older than Ethan... but Ethan's actually a bit taller! (Ethan is our tallest baby yet! He's 32 inches, compared with 31 inches for Nate when he was 1 and 29 inches for Patrick at age 1)

I love this one... it's representative of everyday life for Ethan. Nate just can't hug Ethan enough! But, very often the hugs are a bit too hard... Here Nate is giving Ethan a sweet "Happy Birthday" hug - but Ethan looks a bit worried!

I love these next 3 photos... This is my grandfather & Carol with Ethan. I think it's so wonderful to have these photos of different generations together! But, these pictures are priceless... Check out Ethan's face at Carol in the second photo... we all laughed hard at Carol & Ethan!

Happy Birthday E!
Thanks so much to all of our family for making the trip to help us celebrate! Especially for those who travelled more than 10 minutes - Jamie & Lance, Scott & Ashley and Papaw Vic & Carol! We love you!