Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Impromptu picnic

The crisp fall air has been motivating us to get outside more. We actually ENJOYED some yard work this weekend (and three extra sets of small hands are pretty helpful when it comes to piling up brush... granted, they did UNPILE a bunch of it trying to make a fort later on... but it was better than nothing!) We set out for a picnic last week and hoped to do some kite-flying with the fall breeze... but we were thwarted by a big frisbee golf tournament and the crush of players and spectators that took over all of the best kite-flying fields in town. We settled for a roadside picnic by a (most likely very polluted) river, but the boys were none the wiser and as happy as beavers. (They've been very into beavers for some reason, all those sticks in the yard are being used to build their very own beaver dam... I've thought it best to just not bother telling them they need water to have a dam, why ruin the fun, right?).


Always in motion

Strong man

Always happy to pose

Eating leaves and grass is a good source of fiber, right?


Daddy taught them how to skip stones. They need more practice!

Our very own Huck Finn.

First day of school, round two.

Eamon started a week after the big boys this year. The most exciting news was that he switched schools and will be going to preschool in New Braintree now. At first he was not excited at all and kept telling me that "I don't like to talk to PEOPLE, Mom". But, after going in a few weeks early to take a tour and meet the new school nurse, he seemed a tiny bit happier. And after a day of orientation where he was reminded of all the fun toys at preschool ("a big firetruck! paints! fake food!"), he was feeling EVEN better, although he was uncharacteristically nervous and yanked on my arm for the entire hour we were there. His first week back, from all accounts, he spoke very little, but he did enjoy running into the school nurse at church on Sunday where he proceeded to whoop it up and wave his best rockstar hands at her in the parking lot. Progress! Yesterday, his day 3, he actually joked with the nurse and talked to OTHER KIDS. It's only a matter of time until he actually PLAYS with someone! Here he is, big backpack and all on his first day!



Not to be outdone by her big brothers, Little Miss has been pulling herself up on every item she can get her hands on these days. The boys particularly like it when she towers precariously over her dollhouse and they dance around her yelling "Godzilla baby" until she laughs so hard she falls down! Here she is tiptoeing around the couch. She is so fast and so curious that for the first time EVER, we had to break out a playpen to jail her in just so we can safely use the bathroom, start a load of laundry, or do any dishes. We never had to rope off the boys much, but then again, they were closer in age and we didn't own an entire toy store worth of tiny Legos and game pieces when they were babies! Sadie is CONSTANTLY underfoot and her favorite spots (as with her brothers, it must be genetic) are IN the dishwasher or splashing away in Clara's food and water bowls. She has an uncanny ability to sense when the dishwasher door MIGHT be unlocked so she can crawl in and do some damage. She's got a whopping 8 teeth now which is good because she is a staunch meat eater, although she'll also chow down any veggie or really ANY sustenance that finds its way into her pudgy fist! And yes, she really IS that happy ALL THE TIME. :)


Wednesday, September 8, 2010

It's That Fair Time of Year Again


Summer is winding down once again, but making way for fun, fairs and fall! First off was the Hardwick Fair, a perennial favorite with the boys. Eamon decided he was old enough to ride a horse and go through the hay bale obstacle course this year which was new for him and ogled the tractors of course, which is nothing new! Liam really seemed to love the cows and spent a long while thoughtfully perusing the selection of 4H offerings. Colin was thrilled to find some cowboy hats for sale since he'd been asking for one for a while. Sadie fell asleep but was the cutest little advertisement for Local Farms that anyone could hope for.


We tried out the Spencer Fair too since the boys have been loving carnival rides this year. I went on the Zero Gravity ride with them to start us off and realized I must be officially old because I had to keep my eyes tightly shut to keep the inner rumblings of bile at bay. I kept yelling to Liam and Colin to close their eyes but they kept screaming "Why? This is awesome! This is crazy! I'm losing my mind!" I skipped out on their second and third rounds on that ride and stuck to taking Eamon on the tamer things. He LOVED the big truck ride and spent most of his tickets on it repeatedly! They all won blow-up hammers at the Strength Game and proceeded to beat each other with them constantly the rest of the day. Liam won at Whack a Mole (I think it was actually Whack a Mouse which I'm glad about... he can use his newfound skills to tackle the vermin that will try to get in the house come winter). At any rate, he let Eamon choose what prize he wanted and of course he chose the rockstar guitar which has sparked many jam sessions in his room with his big brothers using bins and toys and books and pan lids as drum sets. The big guys went all the way up the ferris wheel by themselves which only made me nervous once they were at the top and Liam kept peeking over the edge! And "poor little" Sadie spent yet another happy day sitting in her stroller laughing watching the boys careen around her. I dread the day she realizes she wants to be out and about causing trouble too!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Back to School 2010

Colin and Liam started off First Grade and Kindergarten yesterday with a bang! They were very excited and stayed up far too late talking and laughing and fooling around so that we had to wake them for school, but once they got going, they were practically vibrating with excitement. Liam ran to the bus stop, ran around the bus stop, ran back and forth across the street nonstop at the bus stop and ran right up the steps onto the bus when it came. Not one backwards look, no quivering of the lip like Colin had when he started Kindergarten, just jumped in head first! Colin, an old pro now, was busy giving advice about which seats Liam could sit in, how to behave in the hallways, what part of the playground he could and couldn't use and was in all his glory being bossy and "helpful".

They both seemed to enjoy their first day! Colin thought his teacher, Mrs. Ellis was "really nice" and his favorite part was "having my own desk that opens on top!". Liam, of course, thought the best part was recess which is not really surprising to me. When I asked him what the worst part was, he said: "All of the parts that were inside!" Liam met a new friend at lunch named Johnny and Colin was thrilled to see his best friend, Matthew, in the same class. Let's just hope the enthusiasm continues all year.


I made the boys some monkey bread for breakfast before the big day. Notice I made Liam eat it BEFORE he put his shirt on! They'd never had it before and LOVED it. Eamon also loved it... and scarfed down half the remains while I was on the phone later in the day. When I asked him how many pieces he ate so I could dose his insulin, he said: "Two... um.... maybe three... okay, maybe LOT."

Colin looking FAR TOO OLD to be a First Grader what with that big argyle backpack and all.

Liam, cute as can be with his crazy hair tamed into a buzz cut. Might as well start the year off looking groomed before his true self comes out! Poor guy had quite a rash going into school. He was diagnosed with Henoch-Schonlein Purpura a couple weeks back and it has been flaring up this week. We were a little concerned, not only because the night before his joints were so inflamed he couldn't walk again, but because we didn't want kids to tease him about his "spots". Apparently only one kid noticed and, as I suspected, Liam just doesn't care enough to get upset when people say things to him. That's our boy!

Going...

going...

Gone.