Couldn't resist putting up some cute pics from the past week. Don't tell the kids but we skipped the actual night of Halloween and went up to Bryce for a long weekend...
"Are you kidding me with this costume?"
Scrum-diddly-umptious!
The Nursery class at the Halloween parade.
How did Hank get so big!? Out fishing with his dad...
Hank is in to being gross right now, not cute.
Cooking in our underwear, socks and a floral apron, natch.
Well, I warned you that we were busy this Fall, but I don't think even I was prepared for the level of nuttiness we have brought upon ourselves. Apologies for the lack of posts of late - I am recommitting to le blog tout de suite!
So lets see, what has happened since I last wrote? Hank continues to enjoy school and seems to be thriving. His vocabulary is out of control and his personality is, let me say, strong. He has more energy than any person in the history of mankind.
Gus is liking his playgroup and is as close to walking as you can get without actually doing it. He practices all day long running in circles around the house with his walker. He does his best to keep up with his brother. Gus is also quite chatty for a 14 month old. He points to things he wants and says "this" and says "hi ya", "bye bye", "see ya later", and "I love you". We are constantly taken aback by the words coming out of his mouth.
Work has been very busy for both Matt and I, but all in good ways. I've been doing a lot of events for UrbanSitter and just started my project at Discovery working on Animal Planet this past week. So far so good!
In between work and school we've managed to fit in a few other things. We finally found a weekend cabin in the area we've been looking at in the Shenandoah Valley for almost a year so I've been busy trying to get that all set up for us to start enjoying. We took our first overnight boat cruise with the kids back in September which was surprisingly nice. I don't think we're ready for a big time week long sailing vacation but Matt and I were proud not to have lost anyone overboard.
Matt and I took a little trip a deux to cape cod at the beginning of October which was desperately needed. Three days of relaxation, sleeping in until 8, having a beer with lunch, oh my, it does a body good.
Throw in a couple of family visits from the Mailloux clan, including hosting Thanksgiving and you have can see what I'm talking about. It was great to catch up with Nana and Papa and to see Aunt Whitney who is a busy bee herself getting ready to wed "Uncle" Ryan. We'll lose the quotes in a year Ry guy. The only folks missing were the Mailloux-Cohens. Chanel is due in 3 short weeks with baby boy number 2 and was not able to travel. This little one will make for four boy cousins under the age of 4 in gen 2. Can't wait for the family vacations! We might as well just go to a 24 hour all you can eat buffet for a week when they are teens.
Anyway, this was a good talk, but I've got things to do.
Highlights below and pics from the sailing trip are here: Sailing Trip
Gus in a rocking chair about to drop that baby!
Hank at school doing an art project (much of the pastels have ended up on his nose)
Matt and Hank on the maiden voyage of our new canoe.
Hank, Aunt Whitney and Jingle the Husky Pup helping to make Thanksgiving dinner.
Gus the sailor
The look on Hank's face is classic. Poor Gus sees this more than once a day!
We are catching our breath after the rude awakening of moving from the relaxed pace of summer into the frenzy of fall. Hank started school last week at Washingtonian Episcopal and has been really enjoying it so far. Not a tear shed yet over being dropped off! He has even taken the really big boy step of staying at school two days a week until 3:30pm in stride. I'm always so proud of Hank when he enters a situation that for many kids (and, er, parents) is fraught with anxiety with such ease. Like, "yeah, this is a new school with new teachers and classmates. So what? Stay here all day? Eat my lunch here? Nap here? No problem!" He is truly a big kid now.
First day of Nursery!
For his part, Gus started a playgroup this week. He will go three days a week with either moi or his nanny to enjoy playing with other kids, singing songs and learning how to be a social being. We went mMonday and he had a blast. I wasn't able to get him to stay still for long enough to get a good shot of him!
Work for both Matt and me has picked up considerably now that everyone is back in the city (although you would think it was still summer around here with the weather - it is 95 degrees today). We are both buzzing around like busy bees trying to get on top of it all. It is both invigorating and slightly overwhelming at the same time. We just need to get through September and then I think we'll be able to relax a bit. Bear with me and my intermittent posting during this busy time. Here are some cute shots of the brothers Kelly to get you through the drought.
This post is long overdue - I've been meaning to write this for some time now but we've been quite busy since we got back. And now school has started and it isn't even summer anymore and I have been paralyzed by my procrastination. I guess summer just got the better of me this year, and I think that's a good thing.
Cape Cod this year was our best trip yet. We had the luxury of going for two weeks (our longest vacation since our honeymoon 6 years ago) and an added super bonus: we brought along a babysitter to help out with the kids. These two factors meant that we actually. got. to. relax. Hallelujah!
We drove up the East Coast and stopped to spend the night at our friends' the Heravi's house in Larchmont, NY. An adorable suburb of NYC, they live in a sweet house near a sailing club, a pool for the kids and are surrounded by other families with young ones. We don't get to see them very often since we had kids but we always have fun at their place.
After a fairly uneventful but loooong drive to the Cape, we arrived. We spent the first week in Orleans, which has become a familiar town to us given that we've stayed there for the past 3 years. We had our friends, the Wolff's, join us for the first week, along with their two kids, Patrick and Addie. Hank was doing his best to keep up with these older kids and it was fascinating to watch him try to hang with the "big guys". We hung out by the pool, took a boat out a couple of times to do some seal spotting, checked out a baseball game and went to Nauset Beach. The weather was pretty good, except for a day or two of rain but overall it was a lot of fun.
The second week we decamped to Brewster, a sleepier and smaller town than Orleans. By that time the Wolff's had left us and we were on our own to just laze about as we pleased. And we did. We spent most days sitting by the pool, but had time here and there to check out the Brewster Flats (a very shallow beach on the Cape Cod bay side that's great for kids) and do some fun and unheard of things like shopping! Naps, lobster rolls, beer in the middle of the day....god am I missing those days this week.
It was an awesome vacation with good times had by all. I can't wait to do it again next year.
Hard to believe this little guy is one year old today! Gus is such a delight - Matt and I often say that he is pure joy. Hank and Gus are playing together all the time now and it is so cool to watch them grow closer as brothers. Happy birthday to our Goose!
A longer to post to come later in the week about our great trip to the Cape. Stay tuned!
Every now and then I like to do a post about what the kids are doing at this moment in terms of sayings, habits and activities. I hope that one day I can read back on these and remember the little things that get lost in the mix of our hectic lives.
Gus continues to be a happy go lucky little dude. Now that he is mobile (possibly the world's fastest crawler - you know, there should be a baby crawling race, don't you think? They could have numbers on their bums like jockeys), he wants to keep up with the big boys. Hank and Dylan, our nanny's son, run circles around the house all day and Gus chases them around as best he can. He has become quite determined and let's you know that you are on his list if he doesn't get what he wants.
Often what he wants is to stand up with your assistance and jump up down, also with your assistance. This is great fun for little Gus, but can be taxing on the arms. My biceps are actually looking pretty good these days thanks to my 20lb baby weight.
Another favorite activity involves throwing items on the ground to...see what happens when you throw items on the ground. See exhibit A:
Gus has a few non-stupid human tricks, like waving, blowing kisses and clapping. What astounds me is that he will perform these tricks if you simply ask him. No demonstration needed, just say the words and he understands you. This is amazing to me considering he is not talking, but I guess this is how we learn language.
I guess it's not entirely true that he's not talking. He and Hank will have long conversations that consist of babbling back and forth. Hank is an excellent impersonator (takes after his Dad) and will immediately parrot back to you what you have just said. This allows him and Gus to have long discussions about who knows what.
Hank at almost 3 and a half years old has turned into a very articulate and curious young man. He has a thirst for knowledge that seems unquenchable. Luckily, he has a father who loves sharing knowledge just as much as Hank likes gaining it. And I welcome a new audience member for Matt's knowledge dropping sessions. A win win win! We are frequently (I mean really frequently) asked questions about everything. When Hank learns an answer to something he isn't afraid to remind you of it over and over again. It becomes etched in his memory and yours, whether you like it or not.
"Remember Mommy, we don't walk on the road because we don't want to scare a car"
When looking at a sky light in the house, "Mommy, is that called a sun roof?" "Um, yeah, sure" "No Mommy, that's actually a sky light. A sun roof is in a car."
"Mom, batteries have electricity in them"
And that's another thing. I am now Mom. Not Mama. Not Mommy. Mom. He sounds like an 18 year old sometimes. When I say "Hank" he most often responds with a "Yeah Mom." Add that to the occasional "God damned (fill in the blank)" and he could sound like an agitated 35 year old. We really have to watch ourselves these days around our little pitcher with big ears.
Hank has recently developed an interest in coloring which is a dream come true to me. I have been trying to get this child to sit quietly at a table and color since he was 6 months old. I didn't realize that boys aren't generally into that kind of thing. When Hank does humor us with some coloring time, his color of choice is black. Is this a sign of something deeper going on, something dark? Probably but what the hell do I know. Our mantle this Spring consisted of handmade cards for my birthday and Mother's Day all in black. I thought they were actually pretty cool, in a New York kind of way. Move over Pollock.
And finally, the other day I was sporting a maxi dress (that's a full length sun dress for those of you out of the fashion loop) and Hank simply asked me, "Mom, are you wearing your princess dress today?" To which I replied, naturally dahling!
We are escaping the intolerable heat of this godforsaken swamp on Saturday and heading north to Cape Cod. Temps are looking to be in the high 70's which will be a welcome relief after a week of 100 degree days. Walking outside this week has felt like stepping into a sweat lodge in the Amazon. Better start running lobsters - we're coming to getcha!
