First Day of PreSchool-2010

 This was Noah's first day of Preschool, so he is officially growing up.  He was so excited for school, a little disappointed that he didn't get to ride the bus, but overall he did so well!  I found this back pack at the LLBean Outlet for a STEAL... I had intended to just take off the embroidered letters, but I realized that they were actually Noah's initials backwards, and since he can't read does it really matter?  

Rick Charette- 2010

Yesterday we went to the Maine State Wildlife Park to see Rick Charette.  Of course, we were running late and I was irritated to see how many people were there ahead of us and how far away we would have to park.  After parking we ran into the Franck, Bosse and Reed families (we all parked right next to each other!).  We stayed at the park way longer than we planned, but the kids were all having such a fun time and we were enjoying catching up with old friends! Oh, and Rick Charette was the same as I remember when I was younger:)

More of Noah's Photography

I just added about 57 more pictures that Noah has recently taken (I had to pare it down from 155).... check it out.  I still think that some of his pictures are so cool... Gabe and I were trying to think of what that game show/show was where you are shown a picture really close up, then you would have to guess what it is while they zoomed out... there are a few in here like that:)

Route One- Ellsworth to Brunswick

We finished up our mini-vacation by taking Route One on the way home.  We stopped in Bucksport at Fort Knox and the observation tower, which Noah handled better than I had thought.  We also made a stop in Belfast to get Noah a new pair of sneakers (apparently he is now a 10.5 and we had been making him wear size 9 sneakers... oops).  And, no trip to route one would be complete without a stop at the Maine State Prison store... 

Mount Desert Island Visit- 2010

Last summer we didn't make our annual visit to the region, because we had a few things happening, and this year we went really late in the year. Needless to say, we were happy to be able to spend some time here this year.  We stayed at the Claremont Inn in Southwest Harbor for two nights to be able to attend a wedding. On Saturday we visited the Mt. Desert Island Oceanarium and was able to have a brief visit with our dear friend Audrey.  The kids spent Sunday at the Blue Hill fair while Gabe and I did wedding things.  Sunday night my wonderful cousin Hillary came to watch the kids for the evening, then stayed with us for the next day.  Thank you, thank you Hillary for helping out and putting up with us for the day!  We loved having you play with us for the day!  On Monday we hiked Bubble Mountain to the balancing rock, as you can see from the pics, Noah wasn't too interested in it at first, but we did eventually get him to stand and "push" the rock. We had a picnic lunch in Northeast Harbor (while Noah slept in the car) and walked up to the bakery for some really good treats:)  Afterwards, we drove around the island and played some mini golf and set up our tent for the night.  We spent Monday night camping and had a cold trip to the top of Cadillac Mountain for the sunset followed by really good, but expensive, ice cream at Ben and Bills:) 

Matt & Rachel's Wedding- Southwest Harbor, ME

Last weekend we were lucky enough to attend Matt & Rachel's wedding in Southwest Harbor!  We try hard to get to Mount Desert Island once a summer, so this was a great reason to go this year.  What an amazing weekend!  We joined the festivities on Saturday for the cruise around Somes Sound, followed by the wedding and luncheon Sunday afternoon and the "Barn Party" on Sunday evening. Thank you to all of you who watched our kiddos while we were able to enjoy ourselves, catch-up with old friends and relatives AND enjoy some amazing food and hospitality. I only remembered my camera for a few of the events, but it was so beautiful there I am sure you get the idea:)  Thanks Matt and Rachel for a wonderful weekend!  Congratulations!!

Noah- 3.5 years!

Noah is such a fun kid right now.  He loves imaginary play, building things, and has recently started drawing actual things and not just scribbles.  He continues to be a sweet, sensitive kid with a very tender heart.  He is always willing to help out with James or with doing chores, especially jobs with daddy.  The top pictures were of a "city" he built all by himself with "a door here and here, two rocking boats up high, that's silly.  One, two corn, a red triangle, and this blue thing".  He has made some pretty major and exciting gains in his overall development.  As I mentioned in a previous post his language has improved which has led to some pretty funny things.  Every time he says something cute I say, "I should write that down", and then I forget.  The few funnier ones I can remember are:

1- A few months ago we were backing the car out of the driveway, Gabe was post call and we hit the side view mirrors which made an awful sound.  Gabe and I sat there in silence and Noah, from the back seat says, "Uh... guys... we have a problem"... no damage done to either car, but Noah certainly lightened the mood in those few minutes:)

2- Noah has been doing SO WELL with potty training to now only wearing diapers at nap and bedtime (largely because he tends to hold his poop until then).  Over the past week or two he has started pooping on the potty and each time he does he labels it according to it's shape or appearance- banana poop, pine cone poop, crumb poop, whale poop, and raccoon/plain poop..... I am sure no further description is necessary.  It baffles me that he comes up with these things on his own. 

3- Last week I was getting Noah dressed for the day up on the changing table and I don't remember what we were talking about, but he says to me, "Mommy, when I get bigger I can reach my gummy bears, whistle, and drive a car".  Nice to see where his priorities are:)  Even better was next day I was trying to remember exactly what he said so I could tell Gabe, I couldn't remember one of them and he pipes up from the back seat and tells me exactly what he had said.

I could go on all day about these kids, but I will spare you any further rambling:)  We love them both so much and are enjoying every minute of this journey with them both as part of our family!!  We are off to Southwest Harbor this weekend for a wedding, pics soon after I hope!

James- Almost 15 Months

James... where should I start... He has become such a cool kid.  It has been so much fun to really see his personality take off.  He has started giving hugs, kisses and getting into trouble... he too has a very gentle and sensitive personality (shocking I know) so we have to be careful not to raise our voices too loudly at him, and at the same time he can throw an impressive tantrum when he doesn't get his way.  Over these past few months he has started walking confidently (this is the only decent video I have of it), finally got another tooth (he is up to 7 now), shows an interest in using utensils, and does a wonderful job feeding himself and using a straw. He still only says "dada", but that is becoming more specific with it.  Thankfully he has picked up the baby signs very quickly and has over 20 of those, so he still can get his point across. His latest fascination/developmental milestone/headache for us has been putting objects in other objects... he is good at hiding things, particularly in the diaper pail, the garbage can and the toilet. He is so funny with the toilet... he appears to just try and empty Noah's potty into it just like Noah. Luckily I have been able to rescue everything thus far (I think).  The garbage can is now locked, much to Gabe's dismay, and the bathroom door stays closed ALL of the time, and I just fish things out of the laundry when I wash the diapers.  Last week I found a phone, a cow, a music shaker and about 8 snappi's for the  diapers... luckily they all sanitize easily.  The best thing about James being #2 is that I know this is a phase that will pass.  Last night Gabe was playing with the kids for a few minutes before bed and his comment was "wow, James is really sneaky with putting things in the diaper pail".  It is almost as if he just needs it to go in there,  that's where he thinks it belongs... more OCD to come I am sure...

Brothers

Now that James is walking and getting into things, life has changed a bit for everyone.  The most exciting change (and the most challenging) is that the boys love to play together (most of the time).  It has presented challenges for us in negotiating between the two of them or letting them figure it out on their own, but those times make all the other times totally worth it.  They have started to be a bit devious together as well.  I usually sneak in to check on them before I go to bed... the other night I smelled something familiar and aromatic, but couldn't place it.  I walked over to Noah's bed and it was SOAKED.  I figured it was urine, but he was dry everywhere except his bed, the blankie and the floor... maybe he had spilled his water bottle... nope- HAND SANITIZER- almost an entire bottle!  The upsides: no one appeared to have eaten it, James appeared uninvolved AND it had all evaporated on its own by morning (I did try and clean it up, but I couldn't take his sheets or blankie away). The hand sanitizer was back in it's original spot "untouched"... the next morning from Noah "I put the stuff on my blankie".  Fast forward 3 days- this morning I walk into their room and James' mouth, face, hands, crib and diaper bucket are smeared with prescription steroid cream, and once again, the emptied tube was gently placed in its original spot. Noah is not all to blame though b/c on that same day before nap time James dumped a mug of warm coffee on himself and ate sidewalk chalk... surprisingly no trips to the ED or calls to poison control that day;) 

The first video was from the other night just before bedtime.  I had gone down cellar to get the laundry and when I came up all I heard was lots of laughter- Noah was jumping on his bed and laughing, James was "jumping" on the floor and laughing even harder when Noah would fall.  You can even see in one clip that James falls in an effort to get Noah to copy him.  The second video has no picture, just the sound (so don't forget to turn the music off at the bottom of the page). This is an almost nightly occurrence- I put the kids to bed at the same time, things are quite for about 30 seconds, then laughter, sometimes for a solid 30-45 minutes.  I have yet to figure out what they do in there that is so funny, but it must be something good!