First Beach Weekend of 2012

This past weekend Gabe was home both days and it was BEAUTIFUL weather! We spent Saturday cleaning and Sunday outside all day. It was 40s/50s and windy, but the sun was warm... all 3 kids got sunburns on their cheeks.  We started with a walk on Scarborough Beach which was very serene and great for walking with the stroller at low tide... lots of room for running and playing.  We then rode to the Scarborough Marsh and walked along the marsh looking for birds and other animals.  We rode along the coast all the way to Kennebunkport, stopping along the way to play at a playground.  It was so nice to be able to enjoy the summer tourist spots without all of the tourists.  We had a very fun day and the kids were exhausted by the end!

In other news, I took Benjamin to his 6 mo check up today- he continues his climb above the growth chart... I guess someone has to be up there.  He weighed 23 lbs. 4 oz. and was 29.25 inches long. Both N & J were between 15 and 18 months when they were this size!

Winter Arrives

So this year we had winter before Halloween and now at the beginning of March with very little in between. This storm was pretty impressive in that it dropped a lot of snow, then became quite warm so it was perfect for snowmen. James's favorite part, however was filling his bowl and eating the snow.

Benjamin Eats!

Ben has starting waking every 1-2 hours again which is just not working for me, so I decided to start some solids at suppertime, since I wasn't making enough milk to keep him content before bed. It is a week sooner than the other two, but he is huge, so I gave it a shot.  He LOVES food!  Shocker I know, but I was really surprised at how well he did, he even tried hard to feed himself since I wasn't fast enough.  N & J also wanted a part of Ben's first meal... they both thought it was so funny to see him eating "real food".  We are just starting with some cereal, but we will see how things go over the next few weeks. Thanks Alane and family for the fantastic bibs!!

Noah's Gymnastics

February has been a really cool month because Gabe is working in the ED and is much more flexible with his schedule. We spent the rest of February vacation week watching high school tournament basketball and relaxing at home.  Here are some pictures from Noah's gymnastics class which he just loves and is really improving him gross motor skills. He certainly would not have done the balance beam alone or swung on the rings a few months ago:)

February "Stay-cation" 2012

This year during February vacation we stayed at Uncle Russell's hotel for a few nights. Luckily for us the hotel is quite literally around the corner from our house. The kids were thrilled to stay in a hotel and swim in the pool, Gabe and I were thrilled to not have to pack a lot or travel far. We did do more than just swim, but the only pictures I have are from swimming. The kids loved the water and both N & J did so well swimming on their own. They also loved playing with cousin Trey who can now walk, so that seems to make him more fun... or it could have been his "cool toys". 

Daddy's Birthday

We had an all day celebration of Daddy's birthday this year.  A new dollar store has moved in across the street from our house, so Noah and James picked out some pretty exciting birthday party favors.  For the first time ever in the 13 years we have been together I bought Gabe a cake...... as it turns out they don't sell birthday cakes at the grocery store on Valentine's day, so this is what we got and Noah put his "flair" on it. Noah was pretty disappointed about not making a cake for daddy, so I am sure that there will be a late birthday cake being made in the next week or so....  For Gabe's birthday we went out to eat at the Japanese Hibatchi for lunch (way cheaper!). Normally this is a once per year event on Noah's birthday since he loves it there so much, but we convinced him that we could pretend it was his birthday too.  Like I said, Noah loves Hibatchi, Benjamin was indifferent, and James cried for most of the time... he was eventually won over when Gabe covered his ears so he was free to cover his eyes.  He was so funny b/c he wanted the rice and food so badly and you could see his constant inner struggle between having his ears covered and eating.  

"V Week"

So we are getting back on track with learning fun.  We have been doing lots with science and using our senses to explore, but I haven't had the time to take any pictures. We learned about ocean mammals and experimented with "blubber", as well as density of what floats in fresh vs. salt water.  Anyhow, Gabe was home on Saturday morning when we started out "V week" (yes, I have gone to entire weeks for letters since I just don't have time to do it all in one day;)), so I did break out the camera.  The boys made some valentine's cards with a cool mixture of paints.  The pink is actually glue and shaving cream, so all easily washable and great for using brushes or fingers.  Since everyone was already messy we broke out the shaving cream for more exploring.  Noah got some on his nose while smelling it.  We explored baking soda volcanos, vegetables and vacuuming;)