Pumpkin Painting

It is officially fall.... cold and rainy outside.  We were supposed to leave for the fair today, but given the cold rain forecasted for today and tomorrow we have decided to go tomorrow instead.  We spent the morning painting pumpkins and the afternoon making lots of apple pies and apple sauce from our recent apple picking trip.... What could have been more fun??  We did let Ben paint his own pumpkin this year... It was quickly apparent that he preferred his fingers to the paintbrush I offered..... also that he liked to eat the pain, so..... we quickly traded his paints for some finger paints and took the chance that he wouldn't eat enough of the paint to be toxic;)  

It is funny to look at things that we allow our kids to do now that we would have been horrified to let them do the first time around (and I am sure many of you reading may be horrified too;)).  We have found it much less stressful to go through the following triage in our heads... #1- Could they be seriously injured as a result of this? #2- Could it permanently ruin/damage something we care about or will it just wash later (even with some effort)? #3- Are they having fun? We definitely do more laundry and washing, but everyone seems to enjoy themselves more:) Happy Fall! 

One More Time...:)

We are absolutely thrilled to say that we are expecting baby #4 at the end of March!!! Noah and James are so excited, but Noah has said repeatedly that we have enough boys and he would really like a girl this time..... we will have to see how that works out;)

Noah's Bus

Noah has had a great week so far at his "new school".  Each day he has said that his favorite part is riding the bus.  I wasn't able to get a picture on the first day and he was upset about it, so I snapped one today and here it is.  The former Cathedral School space is gorgeous and all of the kids really seem to enjoy it... hopefully we will get back some sort of consistency soon.  No word yet on where they will be at school next week, but our family will be at the Fryeburg fair until next Wednesday.... can't wait!!

Owl's Head Transportation Museum

 

 

We took a last minute morning trip to the Owl's Head Transportation Museum for their Earth Movers and Shakers event on Saturday and it did not disappoint! It was raining when we left... Gabe checked the weather for Owl's Head which reported a 15% chance of rain so we didn't bring rain coats.... I should have known better... the weather wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't cold and the kids had a great time.  James's favorite part was the "train in a case" and Noah and James both really liked being able to get into the excavator.  After lunch we traveled back to Portland to meet our dear friends who are moving away, for a picnic at the playground complete with lobster rolls:)  Sunday morning we got up early again and headed to the Cumberland Fair to play with Jonah and Amelia one more time before they left for Connecticut. We will miss you Melman Family... come visit soon!!

Noah's Week Off;)

 

 

 

We woke up Monday morning to the news that there was a "small electrical fire" at Noah's school, so school was cancelled for the day... great we thought, another day at home:)  Later that day they decided to cancel school until Wednesday..... then they decided to cancel for the whole week.  Well, we took full advantage of having an extra week of Noah home.  Everyone else in the area had school, so it was a great chance to do all of those things that would otherwise have to be saved for the weekend and be very busy.  We attended music class on Wednesday (which Noah had been a little upset about missing), Thursday we went to the Bounce Zone in Saco and had the entire place to ourselves, and today we went apple picking.  The timing could have been better since Noah was just starting to get adjusted to being at school... he did get to go for 5 days at least:) Overall it was just a very fun week!  We are looking forward to a busy weekend too.  The most exciting part for Noah I think has been that they have another day off on Monday, then Tuesday they start at the old Cathedral School in Portland for who knows how long and he gets to take the bus.... he is beyond thrilled... pictures to follow:)

Noah's First Day of Kindergarten!

Well, it has finally happened..... we officially have a "school aged child". Noah started Kindergarten last Monday.  So, to be honest we have all survived the first week... I have just been a bit slow to blog it:)  Daddy was able to take the morning off from work to walk to school with us.  We live too close to school for bus service, so we walk him to school each day.  I was really excited that we didn't have to deal with the whole riding the bus thing (and I still am glad he doesn't have to ride the bus), but the reality of walking to the school and back at least twice during the day and rearranging nap time/getting everyone ready and out of the house on time has taken a bit of adjustment for all of us.  By Friday though I think we were finally into a routine that will work well:)  

After the first day Noah said that his favorite part was music, but he was disappointed that he doesn't get to ride on the bus... he even asked when we will move to some place else so he can ride the bus.  Luckily I did figure out after a few days that it is not the riding the bus part he wanted to do, but that the bus kids get to leave "sooner" than the walkers do and he didn't like feeling left behind since there are only 3-5 walkers on any given day from his class.  James had a rough time at first asking repeatedly where Noah was, but thankfully that has become less frequent.  He is so cute because every day after school he waits patiently for Noah, then runs up to him, gives him a big hug and says, "Yay Noah! I missed you! What you do at school today?".... so cute.

**I do have some new pictures that Noah has taken over the summer that I will try and remember how to add them to his "collection" at the right... he is getting pretty good with the camera.

Benjamin's First Birthday Party

We had Benjamin's "birthday party day" this weekend.  Noah and James were so excited for this and planned most of the day before hand... especially the food.  We used the "Hungry Caterpillar" theme per the kids insistence. Ben wasn't sure what to do with the cake and all of the people around him at first, but James happily jumped in to demonstrate what to do;) We had to bathe him after, but he very much enjoyed himself. Thanks everyone for joining us for a very fun day!

Benjamin Turns One Year Old!

This big guy turned one today!  In honor of his first birthday he took 3 steps on his own and seems to be really interested in trying the whole walking thing.  The kids and I were in their bedroom and Ben was standing holding onto my leg, but really wanted to see what Noah was doing on the bottom bunk, so he just let go and started walking over.... he was so proud of himself!  There is also a chance he can now say, "Uh Oh"... Also today he got two more molars, so his current tooth count is up to 11:)  Over the past 2-3 weeks his personality just seems to be exploding.  He is just so fun!  He will laugh and put up with almost anything and gets very frustrated when he physically can't do something his brothers can do.  The most frustrating thing for him at this point I would say is the bathroom.  We have to keep the door closed because he can open the toilet lid.... the second he hears someone open the door he makes an extreme effort to get there before the door closes..... if it does close he then cries, screams and tried to twist the knob.... yes he can reach the door knobs.

Noah and James really wanted to celebrate Benjamin's "real" birthday and bought him some cupcakes at the store with Cars rings on top.... Ben did pretty well with the cupcake;)