Gabe had a resident retreat last weekend in the western part of the state, so we decided to continue on to Santa's Village. Gabe didn't ever remember going here as a child, so it was an exciting time for him, as you can see in some of the pictures:) My parents met us there and we had a wonderful time despite the fact that it was cloudy and 45 degrees to start the day. I had brought winter hats for everyone, but didn't think we would need the mittens, so James wore Noah's socks on his hands all day. Noah and James both had colds (it has already started and they haven't "officially" started day care yet!!!) so Noah wasn't as bold as when we went to Storyland, but he still had a great time.

Lantern Inn 09

When we go to Santa's Village we always stay at the Lantern Inn motel and campground. They have activities like hay rides, candy bar bingo, etc, but they also have a "petting zoo". These pictures are of Noah and Gabe petting the sheep and goats. I wasn't able to get a good picture of Noah's reaction to the animals breathing on his hand, but I think Gabe's reaction is a good indicator of how excited Noah was!

Noah's Hat:)

Noah requested that I take a picture of him wearing James' hat. He looks at this picture now and laughs wicked hard! He keeps repeating "Noah too big, Noah too big, head too big". He has been making a real effort lately to put together longer sentences, to say things in the correct tense, and to get the little words in like the, in, are, & etc. His latest sentence is "mommy, where are you?" over and over again, even when I am in the room with him:)

James and the Exersaucer

The other day I noticed that James was trying hard to sit up in his bouncy seat and getting very frustrated. Often when he is fussy and bored these days I make him happy by sitting him up straight and giving him toys to look at and grab. So, I pulled out the exersaucer the other day and, although about 3 weeks younger than Noah was, he loved it! It has been great to be able to put him down for a bit and not have him cry:) As with all of the other toys Noah thinks that it is the best toy and tries to teach James how to play with everything on it... I can't believe how fast time is going by!!!!

Smiling Man:)

James is becoming so much fun these days!! He hasn't started laughing yet, but he is all smiles (when he isn't crying that is) . I have tried to get a good picture of his cute smile, but it proves challenging sometimes:) I have come to the realization that I have to go back to work in about a week and a half!!!!!!!! I think I have been in denial up to this point... The bottom picture is of James getting one of his first bottles and Noah being right there to help. Noah takes his big brother roll quite seriously sometimes. James, like Noah, is an extremely good eater so the bottle hasn't been a problem, but I decided to take advantage of Gabe being home to try it out just to be sure:) We have also found a WONDERFUL daycare that both kids will attend. Noah started 2 weeks ago going just a few hours at a time and he LOVES it (thankfully)! James will start going with him on my first day of work, September 23rd.

Rip dam, Nesaudihunk Falls, & Kite Flying

Noah had a great time spending the day with Dad, Grampy & Grammy Civiello, & Auntie Annie. They took a tour of the Golden Road hitting Rip Dam and Nesaudihunk Falls, of which Noah slept through some in the car:) He also got to fly at kite which he has been dying to do for a while. We often see kids flying kites on the beaches and in the parks down here, not to mention the several Curious George episodes where George flies a kite:)

Shoveling

Noah seems to have an innate draw to copy and learn "man things". He is big into copying almost anything these days... it is funny to see what small things he picks up on to copy. Mostly, however, he likes to help and he had seen this shovel on the back of grampy's tractor and insisted on using it:)

More Tractor

I dare say that Noah's favorite part of the whole trip over Labor Day was Grampy Civiello's tractor.... even more exciting this time b/c he got to show Dad how he can drive it and move the bucket up and down. The middle picture is of him looking at the bucket deciding if he should get in or not b/c Gabe (not thinking about the 2 yo mind) jumped into the bucket while Noah was driving.

Baptism/Graduation Party

After the baptism ceremony we were joined by lots of friends and family to celebrate the baptism as well as Gabe's graduation from medical school. It was a wonderful time for both of our friends and families to get together, especially those we don't get to see often!

James' Baptism

James Louis was baptized at the First Congregational Church in East Millinocket when we were home over Labor Day weekend. This was especially meaningful to us b/c this is the church I grew-up in, I was baptized in, we were married in, Noah was baptized in, & now James too. It's great to be able to have a home base from which to grow that you can always return to:)

Happy 150th Caribou!

So in a last minute whim Mom & I decided to take the kids to Caribou for their 150th Birthday celebration. We met the Pelkey's and Uncle J-me for the parade. The parade started at 1pm, but we were so far along the parade route it didn't reach us until2:15/2:30, then it lasted until almost 4pm!! There must have been every tractor, marching band and business in the County in the parade:) We had a blast and Noah's favorite tractor is the bottom picture.

Storyland 2009

This is Noah's second trip to Storyland and what a difference a year makes!!! This year he was tall enough to ride ALL of the rides... I didn't realize how tall he was in comparison, but there were many 3 year olds, much more articulate than him, standing outside many of the rides crying b/c they weren't tall enough to go on them. I think Noah has reached a stage that he will do almost anything that dad suggests b/c he doesn't know that he should be scared. Having said that Noah, without hesitation, when on the roller coaster, the spinning ride, and the log flume twice (among other rides I never would have guessed he would ride on)! Watch out Pelkeys, soon Noah will be going on all of the roller coasters at Busch Gardens soon:) We have a picture of his first log flume ride with Gabe and his face looks horrified, but yesterday I had to buy a frame for it b/c Noah looks at it so much and says, "you and daddy, weeeeee" (he doesn't have the whole you and I things down yet). He insisted that we put the picture in his room and it was the first thing he said to me when he got up this morning. Surprisingly, the thing he struggled with the most and refused to go in was the ball pit! It was a very fun trip that ended with Noah and Gabe sleeping most of the way home while James screamed... who knew they could both sleep through that?!?!

Fireman Noah

This may have been Noah's favorite time of the summer (although the boat rides are still high on the list:)). He was fortunate enough to be able to go and visit Chief Brown at the East Millinocket fire department and "drive" the fire trucks. I have tons of pics, but here are just a few highlights and I hope they portray the excitement that he felt! To all of our surprise he was not afraid of the big fire trucks and ambulances at all. This is despite the fact that every time he hears a siren he clings to my leg in fear, no matter how far away it is. He insisted on driving every fire truck, ambulance, and rescue vehicle in the station. The last picture is of him on the old fire truck that was in the back garage of the fire station. When we told him that it was time to leave he spotted this one and insisted on riding it. He has talked about this visit everyday since and requests often to go back to the fire station:)

Noah, Grampy & the Tractor

Noah has had a blast being able to see and do lots of different things this summer! On his most recent visit to Grammy & Grampy Civiello's, grampy took him for a ride on the tractor and let him drive... despite the very serious look on his face he thoroughly enjoyed himself:) As it turns out, Noah is also a very good tractor operator.