Christmas Activities

The annual NCL Pajama Breakfast with Santa was a few weeks ago. They had a story teller and Drew was riveted. Harrison laughed whenever Drew laughed. It was hilarious. He would be sure to laugh longer and louder. The boys opted out of sitting on Santas lap this year which was fine with me because we had already done it twice and we were at the end of the line. Harrison found two boys wearing Toy Story pajamas and wouldn't leave them alone. One was "Woody" and the other was "Buzz". He ran after them yelling "WOOWY"...."BUUH".

Drew brought home this yummy project from preschool. The parents were asked to bring in the candy and silly me signed up for mini candy canes and gum drops. Well, the catch is that everything has to be peanut free. School rules (eventhough NO ONE in the class has an allergy). Looked high and low for peanut free gum drops to no avail. So I am sure the first thing you noticed about this gingerbread house was that there are no gum drops. The face Drew is making in this picture is his scheming face, he is trying to figure out how to get me to eat some more of it.

Last weekend we went to Portland Maine to take the kids to the Polar Express. I was looking into going on the North Conway Polar Express, but found that you have to enter a lottery to get tickets. Also the ride is about 5 hours. So I found this one in Portland and everything worked out great. We stayed at a great hotel right on the water, where we happened to be upgraded to a suite with adjoining room for the kids! Sometimes room mishaps work out in your favor, I guess. Downtown Portland was great with a lot of nice shopping (not that I did any) and restaurants. I would love to go back in the summer.

The train ride was at 6:30 which was pushing bedtime for Harrison, but he hung on and really enjoyed the ride. The train traveled down a track along the water. It played songs from the movie and had a narration of the story over the speaker. People came on the train in white coats with trays of hot chocolate and bags of cookies. Once we got to the North Pole, Santa got on the train and walked through the cars saying hello to all of the childeren while and elf handed out bells. It was really a nice time.

The only hiccup was that I may have killed the magic a little. Drew really thought we were going to the same place that the kids in the movie went, so I told him on the ride to Maine that we might not get all of the way to the North Pole because that would be a really long ride. I didn't want him to be dissapointed. Drew doesn't really like surprises and I knew if we didn't wind up where he anticipated he would be upset. He was fine and it didn't bother him, but a little girl sat across from him and said excitedly, "we are going to the North Pole!" Drew said, "nope, that is too far to go". When the train came to the end of the line there was a sign that said North Pole and prop houses. Drew yells out to the whole train car "thats not the real North Pole, those are pretend houses!" He said it a few times before I could get him to pipe down. There were several glares from mothers directed at me.

The next day we drove to Freeport and went to LLBean which is much bigger than I remember. It is now a campus instead of one building. They had ice sculptures and tons of Christmas decorations. I didn't get much Christmas shopping done, but I did finally get them snow boots...just in time.

It was a small trip but we had a ton fun and it was so nice to spend a whole weekend doing family stuff and getting away from the Holiday madness for just a little while.

The Holiday Sing Along at Drews school was last Monday. The kids practiced a song and got up on the stage and performed for the families. Afterwards, the kids had snacks and a few different project stations where they made crafts. Drew sang the song and rang his bell with enthusiasm. We were so proud!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Thanksgiving was delicious. Laura hosted and has really mastered the meal. Prior to dinner we took the boys to the Xaverian football game and they had lots of fun.

This weekend was the offical beginning of the holiday celebrations. It started with our friends annual Yankee Swap. We had some much needed adult time! Sunday we decorated our Christmas tree and went to Norfolks Santa Parade and tree lighting. We found out if Harrison likes Santa....the verdict was NOPE!!

We brought hot cocoa (childrens and adults), and cookies fresh from the oven....mmmm!

Fall has come...and almost gone.

It has been quite some time since my last post, but I am trying not to feel guilty about it or make promises for posting more often. Right now it is what it is and I am going to have to make peace with the fact that Harrisons little life is going to be slightly less documented than Drews. Being the second child, sometimes you get the short end of the stick. I know a lot about that... just kidding (sort of), however I hold no resentments.

Drew has started school and has transitioned pretty well. I don't get much information from him about his days, but he seems to be enjoying his time there. It is nice to have some one on one time with Harrison while Drew is at class. Drew already had a field trip on a school bus to the farm. He can't wait until he gets to ride a school bus every day.

Harrison is showing quite a bit of his personality lately. That is a nice way of saying that he knows what he wants and he won't stop screaming until he gets it! He loves everything that his big brother does. He is nuts about trains, Toy Story, riding cars around, running and wrestling with Drew, and mimicing everything Drew does. It is cute to watch him copy him...not so cute to watch them go after each other over a toy. To say that I have my hands full is an understatement.

Here is a sampling of pictures (in no particular order) of the last few months:

Drew played U4 soccer this fall. He did pretty well. He scored a few goals and managed to stay on the field for the entire game by the end of the season. There was a little bit of running in circles and goofing around, but it was so much fun to watch!

Picture from Drews first day of school.

Pumpkin picking.

We took the boys to our town's annual Haunted Train Ride. We thought that Drew was finally old enough that he wouldn't be scared and Harrison was young enough that he wouldn't care. We were right about Drew....wrong about Harrison. We went early while it was still light and they keep the show a little more low key for the smaller kids that come early. However, there was someone in complete swamp-like camoflauge who popped out to spook the riders, but he jumped up right at Harrisons seat. He screamed the entire rest of the ride and was slightly trembling. Poor kid. I felt quite guilty.

We hosted a kid/grown-up Halloween party this year and it was so much fun! The kids of course had a blast (plenty of sugar and people to play with) and the adults really got into the fun and came with some great costumes. I decided to be a little crafty this year and make costumes. It was my first time and probably my last. They did look pretty cute however. I was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and the boys were the Lolipop Guild. Prior to the big day, Drew kept telling people he was going to be a donut because he got Munchkin confused with being a donut.

Drew looking through his loot the morning after Trick-or-Treating.

The last day of soccer, all of the kids got trophies. It was bitter cold that day and reminded me how thankful I was that soccer was over before the really cold weather started. Not that I didn't love going to games, but having Sundays back as family/cooking/watching football days is quite nice.

We're Back

Since I began this blog, I have never gone so long without posting. That is what happens when you have 3.5 yr old and a 16mo old boys who don't slow down. Ever. Also add to that beautiful summer weather, over commitment to a town organization and adventures in real estate (which I won't expand upon too much, except to say we are NOT moving).

We did manage to sneak in a little vacation and had a ton of fun. We stayed on Cape Cod for a week and we were so lucky to have amazing weather. We spent a lot of time at the beach and also did some fun stuff like mini-golf and a morning in downtown Chatham. The boys had a ton of fun at the beach. We collected dozens of crabs and dug holes until our arms ached. Andy took Drew on the boat to go fishing and he loved it. I think Andy loved it more! I will admit that the bonding over fishing made me a little jealous and for an instant I had dreams of Mommy/daughter manicures. But I am more than happy with my two little truck playing, crab catching, constantly running little boys.

Playing with the Playmobil fire trucks was a favorite indoor activity.

"Hello little crab"

Staying Sane

We have been staying pretty active over the last few weeks. It is my survival mechanism. I will be honest, as much as I love seeing my kids have fun, the true motivation for packing up 2 kids and all of their stuff is avoidance of the continuous loop of feeding, playground, errands, feeding, napping (or lately not napping), play in the yard, feeding. We need to mix it up a bit. Especially on the weeks when Andy is travelling because those days can get extra long! Here is a brief recap of some of our late spring adventures:

April 30th - Trip to the museum at Patriot Place followed by a visit to the Bubble Man

....at the Bubble Man show, I quickly realized Drew was seated WAY too close to the bubble machine. He was petrified as soon as they came on. We did not stay for the show.

May 5th - Marine Week in Boston. We visited the Common where there were tons of helicopters, tanks, trucks, etc, etc for the kids to climb in. It was a 3 year old boys dream!

May 15th - Graham's birthday party, complete with a visit from the fire department! They gave the boys a ride around the block in the truck.

May 20th - Visit to WWI park. Fed the animals, played on the playground. What else could a kid want?

May 25th - Trip to the beach with the boys. Harrison loved to eat sand and drink salt water. Drew loved to run back and forth from water to our seats (all the while his bathing suit falling down). Poor kid had a sunburned bum.

May 29th - Family trip to the Aquarium!

June 9th - Drew's last day of "Practicing Preschool". Pictured with his teachers Miss Amanda and Miss Jillian.