Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

The kids had an interesting evening, they were very excited about trick - or - treating. We waited for Daddy to get home from work and very soon after, they were ready. Christian was Thomas the Train, Connor was a Cow. Connor was randomly saying "Happy Halloween!" all day long, it was cute. He's starting to get it.

While Daddy was still getting ready, the boys and I brought the pumpkins to the end of the driveway. Those of you who know our house, know what a long driveway we have. Add to it no street lights in our development and makes the walk to our house even harder. So, we put our pumpkins at the end of the drive near the street and place a bowl of candy out with them. Christian rode his race car and pulled the pumpkins in the wagon, to the end of the drive. Very important job. Soon enough they were lit and we were off.

There were actually a ton of trick or treaters out in our neighborhood. Half of the houses have very long driveways, but we all made the trek to those with lights on. Many houses were really decked out too. Those who know Christian know that he's not really a big fan of candy. He only likes a few things, but even then it's still not his favorite. I find that amazing because I love sugar candy and Guy loves chocolate. Connor, on the other hand is the exact opposite and loves all types of candy, sugar and chocolate. He just loves food.

So this leads me to my favorite event of the night. After about 4 houses, Christian was already feeling done with this whole trick or treat thing. We literally had to make Christian get out of the wagon to trick or treat at this one house. He rings the doorbell, a man answers and Christian says 'trick or treat.' Connor is just standing there, eagerly awaiting his new treat. So, the man offers his bowl to them and Christian looks at him like he has 5 heads, and says "I don't want any candy." I think the man was a bit confused and surprised. After all, who doesn't want any candy on Halloween? Meanwhile, Connor is helping himself. The man offers Christian an apple instead, to which Christian is like "No" (A.K.A. that's pretty much poison to him.) So Connor ended up with 2 apples and a ton of candy from this man and Christian just retreated back to his wagon. It was nice of the man, but at the same time, it weighed Connor's pumpkin down a ton, but there was no way Connor would part with them either. In Connor's mind, this indeed has to be the best night of his life so far. He has learned a new and easy way to get candy! He was in heaven upon getting home and dumping out his loot...actually seeing what he got!

By the way, Christian and Guy went home slightly earlier and Connor and I continued along the street. Every house we'd pass Connor would say "How about that one" as not to skip any potential treat. Christian pretty much rode around in the wagon all night and Connor walked most of the driveways and up and down the street. I was amazed that he could keep going. He ought to sleep well tonight.

Treasures:
*Lots and lots of Halloween Candy, mostly for Guy and I to eat.
*Great Trick or Treat weather.

Getting ready to go out.

Connor hitting up our own stash before leaving.

Walking down a driveway.

The boys getting ready to bring the pumpkins down to the end of the driveway.

Christian has the wagon hitched up to his car.

Our four glowing jack o'lanterns.

Yesterday at Gymnastics they wore their costumes for a few minutes in the beginning and had a little parade and class picture. He takes the class with his friends, Rachel and Sarah in the pink and red Spanish Dancer dresses. Between dressing up at gymnastics, at school today for a party and tonight, I think Christian is all done with this holiday for another year.

Here's a sweater that I just finished for Joann's new baby Zachary.

The buttons all have puppy dogs and bones on them.

They love dogs so I thought it was fitting. It ought to keep him nice and warm.

Today Connor Was A Cow

Connor had his drop off class this morning and we were told to send them in their Halloween costumes. He was very excited to put on his cow costume this morning. I had also bought him a pirate costume, to which he looked at last night and told me "No Mama." He wouldn't even try it on. The pirate costume was cute, but I suppose in all fairness that he really doesn't know what a pirate is. He does however know what a cow is, and he consistently "Moo'd" his way thru the day. He kept saying, "I'm a boy, I'm a cow." I'm not sure he knew what he really was, but he stayed in costume for most of the day. I couldn't get it off him.

He had a great day at his school. I think that he's settling into it now that it's part of his routine. He really loves Kelly. Today he walked right in, saw her, got excited and hurried right over to her and plopped down next to her on the floor. I left with no problems at all & no crying. Yea. Separation is getting easier.

Heidi and I and the boys walked to the park this afternoon. The weather was glorious. We spent much of the afternoon outside and all the boys got out tons of energy. James and Cooper were super cute. When Connor finally made it down the twirly slide himself, they were at the bottom cheering him on. They did it all by themselves, like they knew that he needed the extra encouragement. It was an interesting moment for me to take in, where all three of them, the 2 & 3 year olds, seemed much older than their age.

Christian, Connor, James & Cooper

Connor taking a bit of a break at the playground earlier today.

Check out the size of the leaf Heidi is holding. Where on earth did that come from?
Keegan is on her back, taking everything in. He's such a sweet baby.

Have I mentioned how much Christian likes to cook? He spent several hours over the weekend practicing. He's content for hours just mixing his own ingredients, sugar, flour, salt, an egg or two, and whatever extra spices I feel like giving him from the cabinet. He does cooking at school and I think that is what is triggering his interest.....it certainly doesn't come from me! Maybe he gets it from his daddy. Daddy took time this weekend to make a few pretzels with Christian, which he loved making & then he devoured them.

Treasures:

*Perfect weather, enough said.

*Connor is settling in at school.

*Shopping time alone today for just a little bit....long enough to make a difference.

It's A Boy!!!

Zachary has made his entrance into the world! We have a new baby boy cousin. Joann & Pat had him today @ 12:59, so he's almost 12 hours old now. Mom and I drove into the Brigham to visit them tonight and he really was adorable. He slept most of the time, but every so often he'd open his eyes and peek out at the world. We're so glad that everyone is doing well and that he is finally here!!!

Every so often I am reminded of how big our boys are getting. Sometime I feel like they are still little, one in preschool and one not even there yet. Then there are moments like tonight, holding Zachary in the hospital where I am reminded of how small & precious babies really are. Looking at his tiny toes and fingers just reminds me of how much of a miracle babies are and how far we've come with our own two. While it's been a while, it also feels like it was just yesterday that each of our own kids were both newborns. I miss it, but at the same time I love the ages that we are at now.

Treasures:

*New babies, so exciting to finally see one that we've been waiting for :-)
*Listening to Connor tell Dad "No, Don't Do That!" He's finally using his words, even though he's bossy.

Autumn Festival

We had so much fun today. Guy finished putting a railing on some steps he built in the garage this morning. Soon there after we headed down to Newton to an Autumn Festival in the Centre. We'd been there before when Christian was about 2, so it's been a while since we went back. The boys loved it. There were all sorts kiddie rides and games set up. Upon arriving, Christian announced that it was 'just like Story Land' since there was a bounce house/slide set up shaped like a golden yellow shoe - just like in NH. That was the first thing that he went on. Connor gravitates towards motion rides while Christian likes to be in control, choosing slides, and fun houses. They both liked riding on a small train which went around in an oval - but after one lap Christian was looking at me telling me he wanted to get off (as he'd go by), while Connor was in heaven, again. Oh the fun. These guys live, eat, breathe and sleep Choo Choo's.

We could have a new addition to our family tonight as Joann is in labor in the hospital.....though she was there yesterday too. Might be a while still, but we can't wait to find out and meet the baby.

Treasures:
*Feeling better everyday, slowly but surely.
*Thank goodness my parents are here to help out - they've made a world of difference and the boys adore them.
*A taste of winter in the air today -I quite enjoyed the crisp air.
*The festival.....quite enjoyable.

Trains, Trains, Trains

We love trains. Well, at least the boys do, so we spent our day revolving our activities around them. The boys woke up rather early, but kept themselves amused for a bit before we had to drag our heads from our pillows. Have I ever mentioned how much I love sleeping? If you know me well, you know that :-)

We drove to Brookline and took the green line into Gov. Center. As if one trolly ride isn't enough, we switched to the blue line and took that to the airport. Let me mention, the airport stop on the blue line is only a stop. From there you have to take a bus over to the airport. The boys were in their heaven! Once at the airport, we walked around, went on a parking garage rooftop to look at the planes and eventually got back on a bus to ride the blue line again back to downtown. We stopped at the aquarium to look at the seals outside, walked down to the harbor and overall just had a completely enjoyable time. Did I mention how wonderful the weather was? It felt like a perfect fall day.

At one point we stopped and enjoyed a few moments at the new green space between Faneuil Hall and the Harbor. They have a new fountain that is fun to watch. Water spouts out of about 50 different holes, dances around for timed intervals. In between, various crowd thrill seekers attempt to run thru the fountain and try to avoid getting wet. The rest of the crowd watches, claps and 'ooh's and awe's.' We watched for about 15 minutes. It's quite relaxing. Connor, being Connor, suddenly decided to be like much of the crowd around him, and when his opportunity arose, he ran full speed ahead into the fountain - even though Guy was right with him. I happened to catch a good photo of Guy sprinting after him and catching him. I was just glad it wasn't me doing the chase :-)

Christian and I skated again yesterday and he's really getting it. I love that the boys are old enough now that we can go to the rink together whenever and just have family time doing something we all like.

Friday night was especially wonderful. One of my cousins got married this past August in B.C. Her Mom had a post-nuptial party for her and her husband in Worcester and reunited many family members on my fathers side that I haven't seen in so long. So long that I cannot actually be sure when the last time was. Anyhow, it ended up being loads of fun and it was great to see everyone and I think that most of my cousins felt the same way. Now, the harder part will to try and do it again or at least try and keep better contact.

Treasures:

*Seeing the world thru the boys eyes on the trains today. Pure amazement.

*The wonderful fall weather we've been having.

*Watching the playful harbor seals & seeing the how amused the boys were.

*It's a long weekend.....yea.

Christian and Daddy Observing A Train On The Blue Line

Connor and Daddy Watching The Fountain

Connor's Escape: Pretty Fast, But Daddy Is Faster

Taking A Stroll On The Faneuil Hall Cobblestones

The Boys and I @ The Harbor

The Skyline From Terminal B's Roof

The Boys & The Harbor Seals

Christian Taking Connor For A Ride

A Few Random Pictures From The Party Friday Night:

Christian is 5!

It's been so long since I've posted anything. Lets see. Christian turned 5 this past Wednesday. He is very excited about that and is telling everyone that he is now 5. He had off from school both Tuesday and Weds, so we went to Pump It Up both mornings for an hour. The boys had a complete blast. They get inside and they just start running and don't stop until it's time to leave. Our neighbor Ryan came with us the second day, on Christian's birthday, so it was extra special. We celebrated with a little cake afterwards, with Grammie and Grampy. We spent the afternoon at Heidi's house, then had another party with Daddy that evening. Christian made cupcakes for his party at school on Friday and finally today was his party with his friends at the gymnastics center that he goes to. It's been a birthday week celebration.....and it's over until next October.

Connor got his chance today to do his "nastics.'" He had the time of his life inside the gym, doing all the stuff that he only gets to watch the big kids do every week. Usually he's desperate to get inside the gym door when we are there for Christian's weekly class, and now I know that he is going to be one sad little boy come Thursday when he can't go back in. I am going to have to look into a class for him soon. He was especially good at doing the rope swing and the foam pit.

I joined Christian's class on a field trip last Monday to Honey Pot Hill, a nearby apple orchard. We lucked out and had decent weather and I think all the kids had a fun time. We rode the bus, picked apples, had a picnic, saw animals and pumpkins, then headed back to school. It's always enjoyable to do school related activities, esp. now that he's so much bigger and follows the rules. Christian and I also went to movie night at school Friday night. Some of his friends were there, so that made it extra fun. Bee Movie was playing and all the children wore their PJ's to school at night. How silly.

Tomorrow Connor is back to his drop off morning class. Wish us luck....I'm sure he'll be a little sad, but afterwards he'll tell me how fun it is.

The Birthday Boy At His Party

In The Pitt

A Scully Cap Like Grampy

The Birthday Boy And His Mama

The Boy On The Ice A Few Weeks Back

Taking A Break

In The Garden, Digging Holes

Treasures:

*Watching the boys have so much fun at the party today. Christian is really growing up into a bright little boy, Connor too, but it's so apparent in Christian now.

*The autumn weather is wonderful.

*I am feeling a bit better today. Huge improvement! Yea.

*A fun filled week ahead to look forward too.