4th of July 2009

It has been quite a week around here! Grandma Suzanne arrived last Friday, Steve took the week off of work and the two of them have been very busy with home improvements. More on that in another post...

The Town of Wilmington goes all out for The 4th of July. Today was Family Fun Day so Suzanne and I took the munchkin down while Steve continued to work on the house.



Ethan wasn't quite himself this morning and was pulling his usual overwhelmed quiet routine because there were so many people around. The first thing we saw when we got there was a clown tying balloons for the kids and he stopped dead in his tracks. Once I assured him we didn't have to see the clown we continued on to the common. We spotted a fire truck with real firefighters and headed straight for it. Of course Mr Man wouldn't go in alone so I got to sit in a real fire engine too!



This next one is an example of my overcompensating for his lack of smile by over smiling. Jamie makes fun of me for this look...



We tried to get a picture of him by himself with the engine but he wasn't interested in being too far from my side.



He did ok getting up on this side of the engine by himself, but he wouldn't wear the helmet...another bonus for me.







After the fire truck, we checked out the ponies but Ethan didn't want a ride. That was just as well as the line was ridiculously long. From there we walked back over to the common where they had a couple of whiffle ball games going. Poor little E who hadn't really said much all morning starts saying "mommy, I want to play baseball". Well don't you just know that it was 15+ and 15- but the youngest kids were at least 7. Luckily they had extra bats and balls and he seemed just fine playing with Grandma and me. Look at the look on his face! His eyes are right on that ball. If only he'd choked up on the bat like mommy told him he would have nailed that thing.







He looked so sweet watching the big kids play "baseball".



The coach gave him a medal of participation for him even though he didn't really play.


Then we went to see the Wilmington Police for a balloon. Ethan got to pick the color and he picked "pink". I know it doesn't look very pink, but next to the red, blue, green and black it was cute that this is the one he picked!



There was a carnival set up but not open yet that we walked all around. Little man got to enjoy a hot dog lunch while we were there.





It was kind of a long walk back to the car and GS gave a great piggy back ride. Mr Man really appreciated it.



We were walking back behind the library and GS and E were walking the curb like a balance beam.





We were planning to head back tonight all together to see the fireworks display but Ethan woke up from his nap with a 102 fever. He looked miserable but once the Motrin kicked in he was a crazy man! He was up until 10 even though we stayed home. We had some sparklers from a 4th of July past and that was fun! Yes, we made E wear his safety goggles.

Goodnight!!

Ethan's New School

Before we get to that I have to share a picture from Father's Day. We spent the day as a family at home and I put my baking skills to the test. We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast and then Steve really wanted to have a cake that night. I searched the cabinets for a box of mix but turned up nothing. At first I thought that was it, no cake, but then I got crazy and took out a cookbook. I baked my first bake from scratch! It came out pretty good if I do say so myself. Then I didn't have any confectioner sugar so I had to make a different kind of frosting called White Mountain Frosting which is essentially marshmellow. Ethan loved it! Somehow he convinced us that he should have cake after bath and PJ's (I can't remember now how that worked out), which was not a good idea, but boy did he have fun with it.



Last Monday Ethan started his new school. We had been in for a visit the Friday before so that he could meet his teachers and see his room. He had a good time in that hour and didn't want to leave! I had to run out to the car at one point and they said he was looking for me when I was gone, but not upset that I had left. For his first day, I had told work that I would be in late because I wanted to stay and make sure he was ok. He was very excited to bring his lunch in his new lunch box with his new ice packs. He insisted we put it in his backpack and then refused to carry his backpack...figures. We got to school and he remembered being there on Friday and ran right in. The head teacher, Rika, was really great with bringing him right in and getting him engaged with the other kids and toys. I was standing there watching him play and he didn't look up at me once. I felt kind of silly after a little while and tried to say goodbye to him twice but he couldn't be bothered to acknowledge me! So I left after not even 10 minutes and he did great! I called a couple of times during the day but he was playing well, ate his lunch and went down for nap with no problem.



He has been so excited about his new school. It is such a relief for us. The new school, The Wonder Years, is right across the street from his old school. The first morning he said "bye-bye old school" and then "hello new school! Mommy, it has a blue top!". The roof is blue which is very fun for him. Tues, Wed and Thurs morning's he could not wait to get to his new school. He would ask me in the car if we were there yet as soon as we turned out of the driveway!

We have plans to get together with the parents and kids from his old classroom a couple of times over the summer and we're really looking forward to that. I hope that the other families are having easy transitions as well. One of Ethan's friends, Vince, is in his new classroom as well and here is a picture of them playing together in their new classroom.



And here is our little artist hard a work. Look at the concentration on that face!



Now Grandma Suzanne is here and we're having a great time! Steve took the week off and the two of them have big plans. Lot's of painting...yipee!!

Our Weekend So Far

Last night we had The Howards over for dinner and I made chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. Ethan really, really enjoyed his. He looks guilty but it was completely legit!



After they left E wanted a little naked play time. He never does this but I thought the strategically placed truck handle was funny. And I just can't resist his little butt. Don't worry...I wiped it down after this ride.





We've been talking about getting Ethan a backpack for his new school. When he got up from nap I took him to Walmart and he could not wait to get inside and pick out a backpack. Well it is the complete wrong time of year to be looking for a backpack! They had NONE! He was very patient while I got the rest of the items on our list and even put back the candy I denied him at the register (with an "oh man" but no tantrum!) and we went to Marshalls. The only kind they had was this one, but it fit the bill! It was in the kids section but I think it was meant for bigger kids. We might had to try again at back to school time.

End of May, Start of June

This post is going from most recent backwards. I can't stand how blogger uploads pictures. It's totally opposite of how you want it too and it takes too much time to sort out the order you want to do! And then you can only select 5 pictures at a time. Ok, maybe I'm just lazy, but I still think it's annoying. I also can't stand how I have to do extra editing because it decides to add in space where I don't want it. I've been really aggrivated lately by technology trying to get smarter than me. It's just not working for me. My new laptop thinks it knows when and how far I want to scroll down the screen and don't even get me started on the new MSOffice suite. I know what I want to do...just let me do it! Phew...thanks for listening.

Today Ethan and I bought a new toy! It's called The Executive Football Toss but it's just right for a 2 1/2 year old. We've been playing with it non stop and seeing how many of E's existing balls fit in the slots. It also doubles as a sweet tent.

I see him every day, but somehow he has gotten bigger when I wasn't looking. He felt heavier this morning and just look at him in this picture! He is so not a baby anymore which is probably why I've been calling him my baby more than ever these days. I've got to stop...I'm going to create a monster.

Ethan can't wait to have a helmet of his own. Ironic huh!? Until then...he likes to wear daddy's.

Last weekend Ethan and I went to play with our new friend The Howards. Charlie and Ethan are 2 weeks apart and Will is a year younger. I work with Dave and Steph and I are getting to be very good friends. They live just a couple of miles down the street so you'll be seeing a lot more of them I think! Howards...welcome to the blog!

We took a long walk in the woods with the boys and they had a great time ignoring us and going down all different paths. When they got tired, we had them march like they were in a marching band.

Last Friday we had Caleb, Adelina and Katie over for lunch. I finally got around to giving Adelina her welcome to the world gifts and the boys enjoyed opening them. It's a good thing I wrapped separately!

This is the most amazing thing. Katie can just put Adelina down and she'll go to sleep! Neither of our boys ever possessed that capability. We still rock them to sleep sometimes! This was amazing because there was music on and 2 toddlers running around her. She is such a sweetie.

The Krangle's spent a few days with us between the end of their lease and the closing on their house. Ethan and Katie had a lot of time together that week between school and home but they were great! It's nice to have a couple of kids together to entertain each other. The first night we had a great summer cookout.

It's nice when you can play them off of each other too..."oh Ethan, look at what a good job Katie does brushing her teeth...".

We thought they'd have a great time in the bath together, but E was not up for it. I gave them each a washcloth and of course E wanted the one I gave to Katie and she was not giving it up. I got out another washcloth exactly the same as the one I gave Katie and it even had a ducky on it, but it wasn't good enough. They ended up with 4 washcloth's in the tub with them before it was all over.

The second night they were with us the kids disappeared upstairs. We weren't sure what they had gotten into when it got so quiet, but it turns out they had climbed into E's chair and Katie was reading to him! It was so precious.

A few weeks ago we headed up to Goffstown for my Auntie Barbie's 50th birthday party! It was a really great party with a band and everything but my camera battery died after I took this picture. I have to get others from AJ and GJ.

I'm off to try and do something productive with what time I have left of his nap!!

Martha's Vineyard

Steve and I were fortunate to have this whole past weekend away together! Grandpa Cliff and Louise watched the munchkin for us and he did very well and hardly missed us at all. They kept very busy and very entertained the whole time. But this post is about us, not them ;-)

The weather was horrendous when we left Falmouth. It was barely 50 degrees and pouring rain. We had many layers on for the 35 minute ride over to the island but we refused to go below deck. The rest of Friday was as miserable as it started weather-wise. We didn't care though! We were so excited to be away we had a great time eating and drinking the night away.



Saturday morning it had stopped raining but the sun hadn't come out and it was pretty chilly. We headed to Menempsha Hills for a hike and were not disappointed.

We had lunch in Mempsha after walking all around the small harbor town. Apparently we just missed Ellen Pompei (aka Meredith Grey).

From there we headed out to Aquinnah and the Gay Head Cliffs. Along the way we passed the home of the family I lived with that summer 16 years ago, but I couldn't remember exactly where it was anymore.

After taking the long way home down Middle Road (my favorite on the island), we went to Katama and walked along South Beach. The waves were great and there were even a few kids swimming.

Saturday night we decided to walk out to The Harborview Hotel for dinner. First we walked out to the Edgartown Light (I don't think that's the official name, but it's a lighthouse in Edgartown so I'm going with it). The land behind the light is Chappaquiddick. The beach roses (beach plums? I wasn't sure after 32 years...) were in full bloom and you would catch their scent here and there.

Have I mentioned that I got a new Vera bag and I love it!? Steve couldn't understand why I was taking a picture of my bag but come on...it looks so pretty.

Sunday morning we packed up and headed back to Oak Bluffs for a few hours before the ferry. We had a lovely walk through the campgrounds but didn't take any pictures of the gingerbread cottages. This was a lunch at The Sand Bar and Grille right on the water.

Of course the sun was out and it was nice and warm in time for us to leave.

What an amazing weekend we had together. We loved being able to enjoy the day on our terms. Eating when and where we wanted, walking through the woods or around the shops for as long as we wanted, and especially sleeping on our terms. Thank you dad and Louise!

Operation Backyard - Phase 1

Steve and I have been working with multiple landscapers to try to figure out what the heck to do with our uneven, overgrown backyard. No matter what we do, it has to start with some trees coming down. Well...mission accomplished!

Saturday morning..



Monday night...



It made us realize the potential and we can't wait to get going on the rest of the project. It will take time...as in maybe even years, but it will be really worth the wait.

E's first hike

We were inspired by The Krangle's to see how Ethan would do on a hike under his own power. Last weekend we took him to Harold Parker State Park to give it a shot. He got to pick which way he went but he got distracted a lot and we only got him to keep moving by telling him we were looking for a bridge. There really was a bridge, but it was farther than I remembered.





He was cracking himself up by hiking his shorts up! It was pretty funny.



We weren't even half way around the pond when we had to stop for snack and E went into the backpack...under protest. He insisted I carry him and then wouldn't let me keep a ponytail in my hair. He kept pulling out the elastic. Needless to say I was sweaty and gorgeous at the end of this one!



This was a big mommy moment for me. Under normal "Carrie" circumstances, any sight of a snake would have sent me running from the scene. That was, in fact, how I started to react but Steve stopped and I thought that Ethan should see it and not be afraid of it so I went back to see it too. I am still not a fan, but I was proud of myself for hanging in there for E.



Ethan has been a big fan of losing either his shirt or his pants through the course of the day. He was looking so manly in his Thomas belt that I had to get a picture. As usual, he refused to look at the camera so Steve told him he saw Santa Claus out the window. We're such bad (but effective!) parents sometimes!