Happiness is...?

...getting the thing you want most in the world - x4!


At least that's the case for my friend Conor and his wife Gen.

If you're ready this and not already familiar with their story, Conor and Gen gave birth to quads one year ago today, after years of health problems that prevented Gen from conceiving and many, many, failed attempts at IVF. Theirs is one of those stories usually turned into a show on TLC or the Discovery Channel: you know the ones you never intend on watching but get glued-to after the first ten minutes, a lump in your throat and tears in your eyes. Check out their blog link here on this page to learn more.

The McNulty Quads have become quite the local celebrities, being featured on local tv before they even exited the womb. Conor's blog also has quite a following, as much for his witty observations throughout Gen's pregnancy and now as a father, as for the darn-cuteness of the kids themselves. The result is a sort of Quad Fan-Club that I believe even includes people from out of state that Conor and Gen have never met, but who found encouragement and comfort in their story.

The Fan-Club was out in full force today at Ancil Hoffman Park for the first birthday of Molly, Ally, Libby, and (the one boy) Russ. Of course, despite having participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure first thing this morning, I couldn't miss the opportunity to hob-nob with four babies at once, plus I got the bonus of seeing my friend Mala's little 2-month old girl, Evani.

The Quads have nicknames. Above is Molly, "The Diva"

This, I believe is Ally, aka "Curious George"

Meet Russ, aka "Bubba"

...and I don't have a photo of just Libby, but here is one of all of them eating their birthday lunch.



Evani managed to sleep right through the celebrations, much to the joy of her momma and poppa. It didn't stop her Aunty Michelle from snapping a photo of her cute little face.

Although I couldn't stay long, I did get to kidnap Russ along with my friends Mala and Linh. Linh took some pictures of those shenanigans and I'll post those another time (ie: when she sends them to me, nudge-nudge, hint-hint Linh!) Two out of four of them are already taking steps without help, but Bubba isn't quite there yet. I had a lot of fun holding his little hands as he walked from person-to-person; he really is a little flirt. He also seemed to enjoy playing with my keys as they made lots of jangly sounds, like a rattle. (See men, there really IS a reason women have so many keys on their keyrings!).