Big Trucks & Bowling

The kids and I recently had a great visit in E. Millinocket. The top pic is of Noah and Grampa riding in Uncle Jon's "big truck". Noah got to ride in the "front" seat, my dad said that Noah was so excited he just talked the entire trip to Millinocket to drop the truck off. The middle picture is from our visit with Great Grammie Civiello. Noah enjoyed playing with the toys that both daddy and grampy used to play with, and James very much liked all of the attention from everyone:) The bottom picture is from our trip to the bowling alley... Noah had a blast, hopefully he will get a little stronger and be able to get the ball down the lane soon (thank goodness for the bumpers!).

Bradbury Mtn. Hike

We recently had a rare Sunday when Gabe was off AND it was a beautiful day outside! So, we decided to check out Bradbury Mtn. State Park for a hike. This turned out to be a perfect little mountain for us. It was a mere 0.3 miles to the top which gave surprisingly beautiful views. Noah hiked the whole way up and was very proud of himself for that:) He, of course, refused to hike back down, but that worked out better for Gabe and I b/c we could take the longer trail back down to the parking lot. In the top picture that is his map in his back pocket.... he always reads maps and directs us where to go, just like in Curious George;)

Noah & James:)

Noah has recently been going through a conflicted time of becoming 3 and "being a baby like James". He does have more and more moments though where his tender heart shines through, especially now that James is more interactive. Noah loves to read to James and teach him how to use all of the toys, he also talks to James which is so funny to listen to:) James equally loves Noah, which is quite evident by his facial expressions when Noah is near.

Trick-or-Treat 2009

The kids had a great Halloween this year! Noah LOVED being a turtle and James tolerated his skunk costume well!! Noah wasn't in the best mood at the start of tick or treating, so we weren't able to get great pictures, but I think you will get the idea:) The first few are of getting dressed and Noah modeling his costume. As it turns out, people in this area don't start trick or treating until it is dark out, so we were ready VERY early and Noah was very anxious to get trick or treating so the top pic of him at the door is of his very first trick or treating stop... yes, this is our house, but he didn't care... all he cared about was that he could walk up to any house, ring the door bell and someone would give him candy. He ate quite a few candy bars for supper last night! The 3rd from the bottom pic of James is actually of him asleep... he fell asleep two different times through the course of the night... his costume was nice and warm and cozy:) The last pic is of the boys in their long-johns just before bed... not that they needed them b/c it was over 60 degrees! Overall, I think that Noah's favorite part of the night was when we got home and people would ring our doorbell and he could run to the door and hand them candy!! I am just happy that Halloween is over so that we can stop watching "Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin" everyday... of course now we just watch "Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving" or as Noah says, "Watch Mr. Brown please":)

Fall Fun 2009

We have had a great fall this year, lots of visitors, family and fun. The bottom two pics here are of a night we were able to spend with the whole Pelkey family:) Noah was dancing with his pajamas on while Jacob played Christmas music on the piano. He would stop periodically and place everyone in specific seats in a circle around his dance floor... it was too funny! Noah is rapidly approaching three... he seems to be torn between wanting to do everything himself, and I mean everything, to wanting to be held anytime James is being held. Besides the frustrating stuff he is also becoming so fun to play with. He repeats everything that he hears, even the things you think he doesn't hear, his pretend play is great, and he is starting to get the concept of Holidays, thus is very much looking forward to trick or treating:) James is also growing and developing well. We recently had his 4mo well check and he is a whole inch longer than Noah, but weighs a pound less, he is also on the verge of rolling over. The best thing about James though is how much he loves to smile, laugh and coo, especially at Noah. It is amazing to me how much he looks up to, and loves him already!

James- 4 months

Two days ago James turned 4 months! On one hand, he seems to be growing up so fast, but on the other, he seems to have been a part of our family forever. He is becoming such a fun little guy!! He started laughing about a week ago, he loves playing with toys and trying to eat them, and most of all he loves Noah! He is just enthralled with Noah no matter what he is doing... if Noah is playing with his toys, James will sit and watch, if Noah cries, James starts crying for no reason. It is so cute to watch them b/c Noah is just as fond of James, especially since he is starting to play a bit. I have some great video of James in the exersaucer talking to me that I will try to post a bit later... enjoy!!

Pumpkin Carving- 2009

The idea of pumpkin carving was way more exciting to Noah than the actual work:) He had been insisting all week that his pumpkin have a smile... when it came time to gut the pumpkins he somehow knew that it would feel gross and refused to touch it, but was more than happy to watch and stir the pumpkin insides with a spoon. He was a big help carving and picked out the only smiling pattern, of a cat. We then made english muffin pizzas and made our first fire in the fireplace. When we told Noah we would have a picnic in the living room for supper he was very confused and wanted to go outside to have a picnic, but it was snowing (that's right) so we stayed in:) It was nice to have some relaxing family time!!

Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Festival

We have busy weekends this fall!! I have been slow to post everything b/c every extra minute I have I am trying to get the kids costumes done in time for Halloween (2 costumes and 2 kids is a bit more challenging than I thought:))... stay tuned for those pics. Thankfully my mom came down this weekend to help out while Gabe was on call so I could get some sewing done:) On Saturday evening we were able to go to the Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Festival and it was so cool!! What a great fund raiser. You could buy and carve a pumpkin for $5 and they were all lit when it got dark. We didn't get Noah a pumpkin, but instead settled for a tshirt and some face painting:) There was also a live band, which Noah was thrilled about. And of course Stevie's French Fries were there too:)

Leaves!

It is fall already!! It seems like just yesterday we moved into this house. Last Sunday was one of those great fall afternoons for sitting around and enjoying family. Noah got up from his nap and put his Patriots/Brady shirt on, we watched a little football and then got to play in the leaves:)

Fryeburg Fair 2009- Trip Two

Our second trip to the fair was the following Saturday. We have never gone on a Saturday before b/c of how busy it is, but it was Gabe's only day to go. So, Grammy Civiello came down and we all got up really early and had a great day for Gabe's first trip to the Fryeburg Fair! The top pic is of Noah being very excited about the goats, then driving the fire truck and watching the old fashioned tractor. The bottom three pictures were of Noah's favorite part of the fair... the big equipment sales and demos... you can tell by his pose on the white truck that he was scared, but he did climb up there all by himself:)

Fryeburg Fair 2009- Trip One

Making it to the Fryeburg Fair this year was a bit tricky b/c I thought tenting with the two kids by myself was a bit too much:) So, instead we took two day trips which were exhausting, but tons of fun!!!! The first Sunday of the fair the kids and I made the trip with Nanny, Aunt Amy, and what is left of the Pelkey brood. The top 2 pics are of Noah enjoying a fair donut. The next is Noah feeding the goats in Old MacDonald's farm. The pictures of Noah at the water pump are some of my favorites... I didn't have room to put the whole series here, but there are several of him trying to figure out #1 how to wash his right hand and still work the pump and #2 how the pump actually worked.