Wakefield

No, not Timmy. Unfortunately. That would have been great.
Wakefield as in Massachusetts.
I decided not to push my luck by taking a three year old to the Trumbull Regional. Even though I really, really wanted to go. Maybe next year.
So instead of going to the regional, Jim and I decided to trek to our old stomping grounds. I lived in Wakefield for a couple years and we lived there for a little while after we got married. It is such a nice town. The whole downtown is situated around a lake. From the front door of our apartment it was exactly four miles round trip around the lake and back to our house. It was a perfect stroll. Maybe that's why I was in such good shape then. I would walk the lake at least once on most days. We were reminiscing about how we used to go watch softball or little league games for our Wednesday night date nights. We would bring a picnic dinner with us (complete with a bottle of wine). Sometimes it was a little tough walking home. =-) When we would go to the laundrymat we would get Thai take out and make a party of it.
We miss Sushi Island. We wouldn't go that often - but it was fun. There was this cute Japanese singer that could just belt it out. The sushi was good, too.
And Cravings. Mmmmmmm. Now that I think about it, maybe I had to walk around the lake as much as I did to make up for going there so much.

One thing we had forgotten was how strong people's accents are on the North Shore. I actually had a hard time understanding some people in the ice cream shop. Guess that must mean we're Worcester-ites now. The Central Mass accent is more harsh, but there is better articulation. Most of the patrons spoke like Tom Menino - it just sounded like a long string of mumbling with no Rs!

Here is Sam taking a breather before our picnic lunch at the park:

And here's Caroline settling down to eat. Her quote - "I have to put my hands in my pockets because the wind is hurting my hand's feelings":

Subs are not the easiest things for a three year old to eat!

She likes to wear her hat soooo low:

Walking through the muddy-mud:

Somebody loves "pink" ice cream with rainbow sprinkles!

And Somebody else loved sharing Dada's mocha-java ice cream:

Caroline "driving" the school bus with Dada and Sam riding. They were going to school to learn about bumble bees, according to CJ!

Sam was so cold we thought he was going to grow snot icicles on his face!

Caroline just loved the slide:

And the "spider web"

Friday Night Excitement

Our big excitement for Friday night was to use our coupons for free ice cream at the local McDonalds. We used it for all it was worth and played for a good hour in the indoor play yard.
We had an excellent time, despite the split lip Sam sustained (being the 1 year old playground punk he is).

Peace...

...and quiet doesn't happen often around here, so this will be brief. I need to sweep, fix dinner, put in some laundry, do a general pick up and umpteen other things before the urchins awake.
But here are some pictures from this week:



I know this picture is very dark and not great, but it's of Caroline in her new "ramrock" shirt from her "very" Godmother. Topped off by Dada's hard hat and work vest. Very stylish.

Here are some pictures of Sam in a very, very good mood before dinner:


And AFTER:

Guess he was tired...

Tuesday Morning...

It's only 10AM. Already we have:

-got up and showered
-got dressed
-ate breakfast
-cleaned up the kitchen
-watched an episode of the Backyardigans
-learned about and "made" some spiders (they've got 10 legs, but nobody noticed - YET)
-we wrote letters and mailed them
-Sam is down for a nap
-we did a dinosaur puzzle
-now we're (supposedly) cleaning upstairs and going to make blueberry muffins

Is it naptime yet?!?!

Today

We had a great day playing on the Lake with Grampy and Grampa.
It was a bit cold, but it was pretty neat to be able to walk out on the ice. Caroline was so ready to walk to the island. If it wasn't for all the ATVs and snowmobiles, I think I would have let her!
It should be melted in August at this rate.

Quiet Time

It's quiet time in the house, which is lovely. Naps have been few and far between lately, so I don't have high expectations - but everyone is calm - so I'll take that instead, if I have to.

Caroline continues to come up with things that crack me up:
-Sam fell down this morning and was whimpering (he was okay). She walked over to him and said in a none-too-sympathetic voice, "Get up, Sam. You're fine."
We're working on the whole empathy thing still.
-Today she had her hand on my bare leg and said, "Mama - your leg feels just like fur!"
Umm...great.

Sam has taken a liking to books, which is awesome. His current favorites are the Backyardigans and One Duck Stuck.
Here they are doing some reading with Dada:

Birthday Duds

The birthday gifts for Caroline from Auntie Chrissy are a HUGE hit!



Thank You!!!

Caroline-isms

What can I say?
The girl has been ON FIRE recently. I just can't believe the stuff that comes out of her mouth at times. I mean it's bite my tongue, walk to the bathroom, close the door, take out a towel and laugh so hard I almost cry kind of stuff.

1- This weekend I was holding Caroline and she asked to do something. I said that she had to wait a few minutes. My father then spoke to me about something and Caroline, ever-so-gently took my face in her hands and said, "Mama. I told you. You are just going to have to be patient."

2- I was sitting on the floor next to her while she was on the potty. We were reading a book. Suddenly, out of the blue, she pats me on the head and says, "Mama, you're a really good girl. Just like me." And then resumed reading her book.

3- Today she was super tired before dinner and she was on the floor crying about something. I went over to her and asked her what the matter was. She said, in a forlorn voice, "Mama, it's not you. It's me."
Ummmmm...huh? Did I just get dumped by a three year old? Where did she get that from?

Okay - time to clean the house and recover from the day. It's been one of those days where I've felt like I've done nothing but wipe buggers off of little faces and clean the house and NOTHING is any cleaner than it was at six o'clock this morning. Oh, well.

Sam

The blog has been sorely neglected recently.
It has been a busy winter, but really, I have no (legitimate) excuse.
Since the recent pictures have been about Caroline, I thought I'd focus on Sam tonight.
Right now he's upstairs, shall we say, protesting his bedtime. Sleeping is still a struggle for him. We were doing okay, but this past weekend was a killer. Sam slept through the night for the first time ever about two weeks ago. He actually has two times since then, but we've been so tired and so used to getting up between two and two thirty that we've been awake just waiting for him to wake up. By the time we get back to sleep, it's four and since the alarm goes off about five thirty, even the times when he has slept well have been less than restful.
He had some new foods this weekend and those really threw him for a loop. Let's see...he doesn't do well with onions, garlic, tomatoes, soy, cheese and milk. We may put oranges into the mix, too - but he likes them so much that I really don't want to stop giving them to him. There isn't enough Xantac in the world to help him when he reacts to those foods.
But, on the up side, we did do our first trip to Rochester this weekend where he didn't pull a nutty and scream all the way from Lee to Worcester. BONUS! (Caroline was Little Miss Whines-a-Lot from Syracuse to Albany, but you can't have it all...).
He's also weaning, which is lovely. It is so nice not to be the human binky anymore.
Walking is now the preferred mode of mobility. He is everywhere. Climbing is a favorite pastime. Especially trying to get to the top shelf of the fridge. He prefers disco music and the song "The Wheels on the Bus". He is such a white boy when he dances! Wonder where he gets that from =-)...
But most entertaining, he's starting to talk. We have "Mama", "Dada", "cat", "this", "up", "apple", "buba" and "Austin" (his favorite Backyardigan). Totally cute.
And even when he's at his worst, he can flash that million dollar, eight tooth smile and all is right with the world.
Oh, and he loooooves Oreos.





PS - here are some shots from a trip to the Ecotarium last weekend: