Field Trip!!

Nick has been LOVING pre-school. We only know this because of the giant smile on his face when we are driving up to it and because his teachers say he's doing great and because he has a giant smile on his face when he answers the question, "What did you do at school today?!" with "I don't know". We get very little information out of him, so when the field trip slip came home asking for chaperones, I was all over it!!! I couldn't wait to see the other kids (and the Moms too!) We went on a hay ride, pumpkin hunt, had races, played with the big parachute and did the chicken dance! What more could a kid ask for??

Nick and his pal Jack

Getting ready to sprint off for the pumpkin hunt

Such great listeners!

Waiting for the rest of the kids to come back with their pumpkins

Noses on blue and feet on green!!

The whole gang. I always think of Nick as BIG...maybe because I always see him next to Chelsea, but he looked so little when he was with 16 other kids his own height! They looked like a gang of munchkins. So cute. Next school event is a parent's social...can't wait!!!

Fall is in the Air

Pumpkins, hay rides and corn mazes...OH MY!!!! Although I would take summer-like weather all year round, we have been enjoying all of the fun activities that fall has to offer...

Great job carving Daddy!! It took him about 1.5 hours and the kids became totally disinterested after the icky stuff was scooped out.

Flint Farm hay ride

Self-portrait attempt

Get ready, set, GO!!

Sneaky boys weren't supposed to be off the path!

CORN!!! There were corn cobs ALL over the place and every time the kids saw one they'd yell MORE CORN!!! (Yes, children we are in a CORN maze)

Cousin Abigail

We welcome with MUCH love, Nicholas and Chelsea's new cousin, Abigail Elizabeth Wagner. We visited her yesterday and she is a LOVE! It was so nice to cuddle a warm, fuzzy baby again! The kids were quite curious and very gentle and loving with her. We are looking forward to making many more memories with you Abby!

Decent group shot (if we do say so ourselves!)

Big Cousin Nicholas did such a great job holding Abby tight

First time I held her was for about 2 minutes because Chelsea was VERY jealous but this picture was taken in the middle of a 1 hour holding marathon (heaven!!!)

Niiiiiiiicccccccccceeeeeeeeeeee. Chelsea kept saying as she stroked her head. So cute.

Harvard

No, Chelsea didn't get her early acceptance letter to Harvard U. (yet!), we spent the day in the town of Harvard, Ma last weekend. Quite a nice place. We set out for apple-picking and a picnic with the Weafers and Niemaszyks and also found Harvard's annual Fall Festival. The kids had a great time...apples, bouncy houses, trucks, and snacks...what more could they ask for?!

This was actually on the way to...resting up for a busy day

A future tight-rope walker

She basically only likes having her picture taken when she is the only subject; such a noodge!

Lindsey, Chelsea, Megan, Nick and Jack

No Chelsea, they go in the bag!

Getting the good ones

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

Slushes and popcorn...YUMMMMMM

Laughing at Daddy

Driving a front end loader!!!

Preschool!!

"First day of school, first day of school, get up, get up" - cute line from Nemo and also our house last Monday. Except, of course, I would NEVER have to wake Nick up for anything since he's a crack-of-dawn type of a guy. The first day was "orientation" so it was nothing organized, a few activities set up for the kids and paperwork for mommies. Nick managed to christen the toilet and fall down the "loft" stairs and get a sweet foot long scrape down his back in the two hours we were there. Despite the injury, he kept asking, "when are the stories and the learning things going to start?" That's my boy. He was very excited when I told him that the next day he would start those things and then he kept saying, "Tomorrow is my real school." When one of the teachers brought him out to the car on the second day (such a great bonus of this school) she said, "He's like an old pro". They said the same thing on the third day. That's my boy. Ryan picked him up the third day so Nick was beside himself with excitement and pride when he ran in with his hands wrapped around something hanging around his neck. He told me to close my eyes and when I opened them....A FROOT LOOP NECKLACE!!!!! By the grin on his face you would have thought it was an Olympic gold medal. He was so stinkin proud of that thing. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture because it was consumed by him and Chelsea within about 30 seconds after the display ended. I did get some pics on the first day though...

Having a little trouble keeping the eyes open today. Must be the excitement. Let's try again...

Hmmmm. Not quite. Keep them nice and wide open this time...

A little too wide!!! Great job Chelsea though!

And "the day" came...a little bit earlier than I expected

There have lots of moments over the past 4 years when one child (or both) have been clingy and whiny and they only want to be near Mommy. They have both also had stretches when only the loving arms of Mommy can make everything better. Even when nothing is wrong, somehow, Mommy is the one who is picked to read the book, sit on the lap, play the game, etc. That's just how kids are with Moms. During especially clingy times when Mommy just needs a little break, I have looked to Ryan in vain and said, "can you please remind me of these days when they are teenagers and don't want to have anything to do with me?" Well, the day to remind me came yesterday, a lot earlier than I expected it. Nana and Papa came over for an impromptu dinner. After dinner we were all playing Wii and Papa mentioned something about, "someday when you sleep over my house Nick". Somehow Nick got it into his head that he was going home with them and sleeping over that night. He kept talking about it, "I can't forget my puppy when I sleep over your house tonight". Stuff like that. So, they decided that he seemed game so why not have him sleep over. We told them to call us to come get him if need be. We figured that we wouldn't be getting a call when Nick ran out our front door yelling, "Bye Mommy, I will miss you but I won't miss you that much!!!" My big boy. Sniff, sniff. At least I still have my Chelsea Cling-On.

Glug, glug, glug

Yesterday Nick had his second dentist appointment. I had brought Chelsea to his first appointment and while we were there the dentist told me that we should continue to bring Chelsea so that she can see what it's all about and maybe she would be more comfortable when it came time for her turn. So Ryan brought Chelsea yesterday. Oh man. Bad idea. I asked Nick for the full recap once they got home and the highlight for him was bubblegum toothpaste and his new Lightening McQueen toothbrush. Then I asked Ryan, "so anything that we need to do or watch out for?" His answer, "Yeah, Chelsea alone in the waiting room." Apparently, when the dentist came in to chat, Chelsea walked down the hallway into the waiting area. Ryan wasn't too concerned because it was 10 feet away and he could see into it (although he couldn't see her). Well, 3 minutes later when he went to check on her, he found her holding down the blue spout on the water cooler and water was EVERWHERE! Big, wet circle on the floor. He sheepishly asked for paper towels and they nicely told him to forget it because it happens all the time. Oh my word. I could not stop laughing. Tears streaming down the face laughing. Still bursting out laughing thinking about it. Granted I probably wouldn't have thought it was quite so funny had it been me making the discovery. Just can't get it out of my head...her standing there with a steady stream of water pouring down around her feet having the time of her life and then Ryan's look of horror. He was still wearing the look when he came home and that made it even funnier.