Kite flying

Date

Noah and I had a date last weekend.  Bowling, dinner and then a trip to the sports store.  Perfect night, perfect date.

Pride after a strike!

Micah art

As I was walking out of Micah's classroom last week I noticed one of his first preschool art projects hanging on the wall.  It couldn't be more Micah. :)

A Okay

We got another thumbs up at the dentist.

 Hitting a park after.

On The Night You Were Born

How I love that book.  Tonight I read it to Noah at bedtime but before we started I told him about the night he was born.  How Shawn and I were fast asleep and I woke up to my water breaking.  I woke Shawn with the biggest grin on my face and said, "We are having the baby today."  I can still remember exactly how excited I felt.

That was 2:47am.  My doctor told me to come to the hospital at 8 so I had five hours to sleep.  As if I could sleep.  I took a shower and fixed my hair, in hopes of looking good for photos...my hair did look pretty good. :)  Then I ate a bowl of cereal and waited as Shawn snoozed away.  Right there is the difference between men and women!  I tracked my contractions on a piece of paper that is now tucked into Noah's baby book.

Finally it was time to head to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA.  It was Christmas Eve so the hospital was largely barren.  Just the right time to have a baby, quiet and plenty of attention when needed.

At 8:43pm our baby was born after nearly 2 hours of pushing.  I said it was the workout of my life.  Shawn announced, "It's a boy."  We named him Noah Patrick and felt like the luckiest people of earth.  When I first held Noah in my arms I felt as if I understood what my life's purpose was all about.  This perfect little baby crystalized all that really mattered, our hearts were filled with joy.

Living in Boston with no family near and all our friends gone for the holidays left us to savor the time as a newly minted threesome.  We celebrated Christmas with Chinese takeout and snuggling our bundle of joy.  He really was the best Christmas present ever.

As I told Noah his birth story he grinned ear to ear.  Such a beautiful memory for me and precious beyond words to see him light up like that.  I sure do love that kid.

Toddler

Our precious girl is determined to grow up.  She turned 18 months old this week.  She super spunky and just plain lovely.  I feel lucky I get to hang out with her all the time.

 saying cheese

Rainy day ideas

The kids and I had been coloring, painting, drawing for a couple of hours.  The boys got up from the table to let out some energy.

Noah says to Micah, "Let's punch each other and the first person to fall wins.  I mean loses."

Ummm, I don't think so!

For the record, I sat and observed and they were harmless and giggling the whole time.

Preschool

Look at this sweet guy who started preschool today.  He did GREAT!  So happy and excited.  

On the drive to school:

Shawn:  "Do you remember what you have to do when you get there?"  (He was thinking hang up your bag, wash hands, sign in)

Micah:  "Be nice to the kids.  Tell jokes."

Oh how I love him.

He settled right in playing with the cars and trucks.

 And then there was one...for two hours three times a week anyhow. :)

Middle

Micah starts preschool tomorrow.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  He seems so young compared to Noah when he started.  He is excited and well, we will see how it all goes.  On Friday, his teacher came for a home visit.  He turned on the charm and she was confident that he "would be just fine at preschool."  He even, on his own, picked up a game he had shown her.  Shawn and I sat by with our mouths on the floor.  This is the kid you can't get to pick up a thing.  Hmmm.

Today we went to the craft store to pick out just the right patches to decorate his bag.

 Tonight we visited his classroom and had a potluck with all the other preschoolers.  

 Celia believes she is ready for school too.

 I spy with my little eye...

Wishing Micah a first school year filled with wonder, warmth and friendship.

Birthday

Last week we celebrated Shawn's birthday.  He is an amazing husband and father.  Truly, he is the reason we are such a happy and loving family.  He keeps us all on an even keel and focused on what's important.  Love every day with this guy.

When Shawn got home from work Noah asked,  "How was your first day being 34?"

Bow

In other firsts...Celia wears a bow.  She barely has enough hair to hang onto it but it but the bow has a gripper so somehow it stays.  She is obsessed, saying "bo" all day and touching her head.  

Kindergarten!

It is here.  Kindergarten.  The day we brought Noah home from the hospital I told Shawn, "Before we know it, we will be taking him to college."  I can sometimes have a flair for the dramatic but really, I blinked and now my sweet baby is old enough to get on the bus and head off to Kindergarten.

During our family prayer Shawn prayed that Noah's teacher and all his classmates would know how lucky they were to have Noah as part of their class.  I absolutely adored that.

Here's our star.

 Be still my heart, I could not have dreamed for a sweeter walk to to the bus.

 There he goes.

 A little nervous...BUT they picked up his friend Sam at the next street.  Always helps to have a buddy.

 We drove to the school to wait for his bus to arrive and give him a super first day of school farewell.  Only a few tears from mom.  So proud of that kid.

With teacher Holly.

 Buddies.

Wishing him the most spectacular year.

Twas the night before school

Noah choose mini pizzas for his night before school dinner.  He also wanted to make them and said he put extra love in.  

Dinos

Noah has been making a lot of creations with scissors, paper and tape lately.  This weekend he made several superhero costumes and below are a few of his dinosaurs.

Alamosaurus with a pterodactyl resting on its back.

 A baby dino for Micah.

Wise kid

My boys like to get in bed with me in the morning but the sweetness quickly turns sour when they begin fighting over who gets to lay where, who is closest to mom and on and on.  It is a downer.  Today I got up right away but they both got in, horseplay under the covers ensued and I warned to to be careful but while I brushed my teeth Micah fell to the wood floor hitting his head on the nightstand along the way.  Argh!  While comforting him I explained that this was why I said not to play like that on the bed.  Sobbing away he said, "It is hard for big brothers to listen."