Monday, October 7, 2013
Puzzle Whiz!
Luke completed his first 100 piece puzzle today when Kyle was at school, with NO help from me! If I remember correctly, he has Kyle beat by about 6 months on this milestone. And he just has the most wonderful patience...it is so relaxing and almost therapeutic watching him peacefully plug away at a puzzle. LOVE that little boy. He was SOOO proud (not really captured in this picture), and so was I :)
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Fun in Maine! (and other recent pics...)
We had a great day in Kennebunkport with Nonnie yesterday! We started at the Seashore Trolley Museum, where we got to ride on a trolley and also see lots of trolleys in various stages of restoration. Very cool place!
Then we headed to the beach. The boys had fun running all around, building sand castles (and promptly knocking them over), watching the waves, wading in the water, and collecting sea shells. Luke filled a whole cup with shells, which he was quite proud of. And it was the first thing he asked for this morning when he woke up :) Too bad his cup was sitting out on the deck in the rain filled with water and sand :(
Then they had lots of fun at the playground that overlooks the beach. SUCH a great playground, with a GREAT view! It was hard to peel them away, even Kyle with the promise of a "restaurant dinner". But eventually we did and enjoyed a yummy meal at the Maine Diner. We packed a lot in and had a great day and visit with Nonnie! Here are some pics from the day, along with a few others from recent outings...
Then we headed to the beach. The boys had fun running all around, building sand castles (and promptly knocking them over), watching the waves, wading in the water, and collecting sea shells. Luke filled a whole cup with shells, which he was quite proud of. And it was the first thing he asked for this morning when he woke up :) Too bad his cup was sitting out on the deck in the rain filled with water and sand :(
Then they had lots of fun at the playground that overlooks the beach. SUCH a great playground, with a GREAT view! It was hard to peel them away, even Kyle with the promise of a "restaurant dinner". But eventually we did and enjoyed a yummy meal at the Maine Diner. We packed a lot in and had a great day and visit with Nonnie! Here are some pics from the day, along with a few others from recent outings...
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Boys' Birthday Party!
Here are some pics from the boys' birthday party last Saturday, as well as some from Kyle's actual birthday on Sunday. It was a great weekend of celebration! Each year their birthdays get more fun, as they get that much more into them. Thank you to all who helped celebrate and make them feel loved and special. LOVE my not-so-little 5 and 3 year olds!!
Thursday, August 29, 2013
First Day of School 2013!
By all accounts, Kyle and Luke both had a great first day of school today! They came home happy, with good reports from their teachers. And it was all smooth sailing getting ready this morning (pretty easy to be out of the house by 8:45 when Kyle starts his/my day around 5am every day!). Amazingly, they were even somewhat cooperative for back-to-school pictures, with the promise of a first day of school present (construction vehicle sticker books).
They are in different classes but at the same preschool this year (Kyle's 3rd year there, and Luke's first). Kyle is going full-days (9-2:50) and Luke is going four mornings (9-11:20). I think it's just right for both of them, and exciting for me...four mornings each week ALONE in the house!!
PS: Three blog posts in five days...I think that's a record for me!
They are in different classes but at the same preschool this year (Kyle's 3rd year there, and Luke's first). Kyle is going full-days (9-2:50) and Luke is going four mornings (9-11:20). I think it's just right for both of them, and exciting for me...four mornings each week ALONE in the house!!
PS: Three blog posts in five days...I think that's a record for me!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Happy THIRD Birthday Luke!
Love love LOVE my sweet, spunky, funny, fun, independent, happy, smart, adorable little THREE year old!
Friday, August 9, 2013
WPI, Potty, Friends, Outings, Etc...
This post will be a bit random, because I feel I'm long overdue for an update. So here goes...
First and freshest in my mind is our visit to WPI on Tuesday. Whenever we drive by, I always tell the boys how Daddy and I went to college (and met) there. So I thought it would be fun to walk around campus with them. And it was a GORGEOUS day! Soooo much new, cool stuff to see since I was last on campus. Once I was able to peel Luke away from all the construction happening on the quad, and the sad little water fountain that Jared and I always made fun of, we checked out the gigantic new soccer/baseball fields with very cushy turf built on top of the new parking garage! They LOVED running all around chasing each other. Until we were kicked off. Apparently a gate was left open that wasn't supposed to be. Woops!
Then we toured the gorgeous new rec center. And it was really cool, as we were walking by it, I asked a few guys wearing official-looking WPI shirts if we could take a peek inside. And one of them introduced himself as Chris Bartley, the men's basketball head coach who has built a powerhouse D3 program (26-3 last year, national D3 coach of the year, and they only graduated one senior!). He was super nice and actually ran to catch us as we were leaving to give the boys (men's size medium, as you'll see in the pictures) WPI basketball t-shirts. The boys were psyched! Makes me proud as an alum to see such athletic success at our alma mater. I look forward to taking the boys to (at least part of) a game this year.
And we also went to the campus bookstore, hoping to find t-shirts for the boys. They had Kyle's size, which I bought. But not Luke's, so I ordered his online. The only bummer was afterward, when we were clear across campus, I noticed Kyle was toting a little stuffed animal key chain that I didn't buy. So we walked all the way back to return it (much to Kyle's dismay). Hopefully the boys learned a little early lesson about shoplifting :)
And here's a hodgepodge summary of other things you'll see in the slideshow...Annual Truck Day, car show, Luke being a silly goose, Kyle being a super brave boy before getting tubes in his ears and adenoids removed (man can that kid hear now!), Davis Farmland, celebrating Jared's birthday, the zoo, watching the trash truck, lunch with Great Grampy, fun Rayla camp day (including Ca and I water skiing for the first time in 10+ years!), fun Foley camp day on Lake Champlain, blueberry picking, fun visit at my friend Kim's parents' beautiful B&B in the Adirondacks, fun visit at Trish's beautiful new vacation home in VT, WPI with Orbit pizza afterward, and playing in the rain this morning.
Oh, and the big news is that Luke is potty trained! I started Sunday and he's done really well. A couple accidents but I take responsibility for them. And he's very independent with the whole process, although his underwear/shorts-pulling-up-abilities leave a bit to be desired. Although he's not bothered by his dishevelledness, just me :) He's sooo proud of himself, and likes to tell anyone and everyone that we see (whether we know them or not) that he's wearing big boy underwear :) SOOOO proud of my little baby! I still have him in a diaper at night, but that I know will come with time. My boys are growing up :) :(
First and freshest in my mind is our visit to WPI on Tuesday. Whenever we drive by, I always tell the boys how Daddy and I went to college (and met) there. So I thought it would be fun to walk around campus with them. And it was a GORGEOUS day! Soooo much new, cool stuff to see since I was last on campus. Once I was able to peel Luke away from all the construction happening on the quad, and the sad little water fountain that Jared and I always made fun of, we checked out the gigantic new soccer/baseball fields with very cushy turf built on top of the new parking garage! They LOVED running all around chasing each other. Until we were kicked off. Apparently a gate was left open that wasn't supposed to be. Woops!
Then we toured the gorgeous new rec center. And it was really cool, as we were walking by it, I asked a few guys wearing official-looking WPI shirts if we could take a peek inside. And one of them introduced himself as Chris Bartley, the men's basketball head coach who has built a powerhouse D3 program (26-3 last year, national D3 coach of the year, and they only graduated one senior!). He was super nice and actually ran to catch us as we were leaving to give the boys (men's size medium, as you'll see in the pictures) WPI basketball t-shirts. The boys were psyched! Makes me proud as an alum to see such athletic success at our alma mater. I look forward to taking the boys to (at least part of) a game this year.
And we also went to the campus bookstore, hoping to find t-shirts for the boys. They had Kyle's size, which I bought. But not Luke's, so I ordered his online. The only bummer was afterward, when we were clear across campus, I noticed Kyle was toting a little stuffed animal key chain that I didn't buy. So we walked all the way back to return it (much to Kyle's dismay). Hopefully the boys learned a little early lesson about shoplifting :)
And here's a hodgepodge summary of other things you'll see in the slideshow...Annual Truck Day, car show, Luke being a silly goose, Kyle being a super brave boy before getting tubes in his ears and adenoids removed (man can that kid hear now!), Davis Farmland, celebrating Jared's birthday, the zoo, watching the trash truck, lunch with Great Grampy, fun Rayla camp day (including Ca and I water skiing for the first time in 10+ years!), fun Foley camp day on Lake Champlain, blueberry picking, fun visit at my friend Kim's parents' beautiful B&B in the Adirondacks, fun visit at Trish's beautiful new vacation home in VT, WPI with Orbit pizza afterward, and playing in the rain this morning.
Oh, and the big news is that Luke is potty trained! I started Sunday and he's done really well. A couple accidents but I take responsibility for them. And he's very independent with the whole process, although his underwear/shorts-pulling-up-abilities leave a bit to be desired. Although he's not bothered by his dishevelledness, just me :) He's sooo proud of himself, and likes to tell anyone and everyone that we see (whether we know them or not) that he's wearing big boy underwear :) SOOOO proud of my little baby! I still have him in a diaper at night, but that I know will come with time. My boys are growing up :) :(
Sunday, July 28, 2013
HBN 2013!
We had a fun HBN visit today! We were a day early on Nonnie's birthday celebration, but we were happy to be able to celebrate her special day together :)
Monday, July 1, 2013
Fun Visit with Auntie Jayne and Nonnie
Here are some pics from our great visit with Auntie Jayne and Nonnie over the weekend...
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Parade Day and Story Land
Luke and I had fun at Kyle's school last week for "Parade Day". We got to go twice, first for his morning class and then back for his afternoon class. They do a really nice job choreographing the day, and the weather was beautiful. Crazy to think that next year both boys will be marching in that parade!
And then we had a fun little "vacation" at Story Land. The first day wasn't great. It began with a 4 hr (should have been 3 hr) drive up that featured 5 mph traffic on 495, getting stuck on a NH back road behind a bike race (literally), and two grumpy, fussing, over-tired, constantly coughing boys who refused to sleep.
When we got to Story Land, we did the antique cars which were fun. We then waited in line about 20 minutes for this raft ride (waiting in line...NOT Kyle's strength). And when it was our turn, as our raft was pulling up, they shut the ride down because it started thundering. Needless to say, that did not go over very well with my boys, especially Kyle. And then it POURED! I've never been so soaked in my life.
So we went to the restaurant for dinner drenched (the boys were pretty dry because I shielded them, but I was soaked). I asked for the warmest table they had, so of course they put us directly under an air conditioning vent. But all was okay when Kyle discovered that, in addition to his grilled cheese and fries, they gave him an unexpected pickle and cup of ketchup (which he tried to drink at the end). "And I didn't even ask for them"! He just couldn't get over it :)
But the second day was much better. The boys loved staying at the hotel (VERY tough getting them to settle down to sleep though), having a huge yummy breakfast at a local diner, and going on all the rides. Kyle, who not too long ago was afraid to go down the little slide on our swingset, LOVED all the "thrill" rides! No fear, just pure elation. Loved watching him have such fun! His favorites were the polar (roller) coaster and flume ride. He wanted to keep going on them! Luke wasn't quite as into them but was a good sport. It was an exhausting couple days but they had lots of fun so I'm glad we did it.
In other K & L news, Kyle still has fluid in his ears (and has hearing loss from it) so will be getting tubes put in and adenoids removed next week. Soooo hoping that helps his overall "state" (heavy breathing, CONSTANT colds, poor listening/attention, waking at 5am, etc). A girl can dream, right?
And Luke has reached the very annoying but very age appropriate milestone of climbing out of his crib (a bullet I dodged with my rule-following Kyle). He climbs out (and back in) with ease. Within seconds of me putting him in. It's not dangerous, because he does it very smoothly/effortlessly. Thankfully (knock on wood) he usually stays in his room. But it's turned him into a sleep-deprived mess! My sweet, easy, happy little boy is now a fussy, tantruming, can't-handle-things little disaster.
The novelty of it has him getting up at 5am (a couple mornings in the late 4's). Ick. And getting him to sleep at night and nap time is now VERY challenging. I tried taking all the toys and books out of his room, thinking he'd have less motivation to climb out. But then he started playing with his blinds, the heating vent, plugs, and my least favorite, emptying his dresser. That plan kind of backfired so I put everything back so that he sticks with toys. I ordered him a mattress that's being delivered on Sunday. Hoping that will help. I want my rested, happy-all-the-time little boy back!
And then we had a fun little "vacation" at Story Land. The first day wasn't great. It began with a 4 hr (should have been 3 hr) drive up that featured 5 mph traffic on 495, getting stuck on a NH back road behind a bike race (literally), and two grumpy, fussing, over-tired, constantly coughing boys who refused to sleep.
When we got to Story Land, we did the antique cars which were fun. We then waited in line about 20 minutes for this raft ride (waiting in line...NOT Kyle's strength). And when it was our turn, as our raft was pulling up, they shut the ride down because it started thundering. Needless to say, that did not go over very well with my boys, especially Kyle. And then it POURED! I've never been so soaked in my life.
So we went to the restaurant for dinner drenched (the boys were pretty dry because I shielded them, but I was soaked). I asked for the warmest table they had, so of course they put us directly under an air conditioning vent. But all was okay when Kyle discovered that, in addition to his grilled cheese and fries, they gave him an unexpected pickle and cup of ketchup (which he tried to drink at the end). "And I didn't even ask for them"! He just couldn't get over it :)
But the second day was much better. The boys loved staying at the hotel (VERY tough getting them to settle down to sleep though), having a huge yummy breakfast at a local diner, and going on all the rides. Kyle, who not too long ago was afraid to go down the little slide on our swingset, LOVED all the "thrill" rides! No fear, just pure elation. Loved watching him have such fun! His favorites were the polar (roller) coaster and flume ride. He wanted to keep going on them! Luke wasn't quite as into them but was a good sport. It was an exhausting couple days but they had lots of fun so I'm glad we did it.
In other K & L news, Kyle still has fluid in his ears (and has hearing loss from it) so will be getting tubes put in and adenoids removed next week. Soooo hoping that helps his overall "state" (heavy breathing, CONSTANT colds, poor listening/attention, waking at 5am, etc). A girl can dream, right?
And Luke has reached the very annoying but very age appropriate milestone of climbing out of his crib (a bullet I dodged with my rule-following Kyle). He climbs out (and back in) with ease. Within seconds of me putting him in. It's not dangerous, because he does it very smoothly/effortlessly. Thankfully (knock on wood) he usually stays in his room. But it's turned him into a sleep-deprived mess! My sweet, easy, happy little boy is now a fussy, tantruming, can't-handle-things little disaster.
The novelty of it has him getting up at 5am (a couple mornings in the late 4's). Ick. And getting him to sleep at night and nap time is now VERY challenging. I tried taking all the toys and books out of his room, thinking he'd have less motivation to climb out. But then he started playing with his blinds, the heating vent, plugs, and my least favorite, emptying his dresser. That plan kind of backfired so I put everything back so that he sticks with toys. I ordered him a mattress that's being delivered on Sunday. Hoping that will help. I want my rested, happy-all-the-time little boy back!
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