summertime!

We've had a busy few weeks, and I think I can safely say that we're enjoying summer to the fullest. 

We spent a week at the cape. Actually, Chris and the kids were there for a week. I stayed behind for a few days so I could attend a rehearsal, and then joined them. It was a week in one house with Chris's whole family, which was chaotic. But, the kids had a great time. We also had a few days of doing our own thing, which were the most relaxing. We took the kids to a couple of playgrounds. We spent one day visiting Jocey, Tom, and baby Sammy at their place on the cape. Tom and Chris played golf, while Jocey and I took the kids to the beach. It was a great day. 

Chris and I also took the kids to a county fair. It was a new experience for the kids. We walked around, saw part of a fire juggling/acrobatics show, the kids played a couple of games, and we got cotton candy!

The kids were so good, and we had a great day together as a family. But the best part was the adventure we had when a storm rolled in and it began to pour very heavy rain. We stayed under a tent for a while, but it became apparent that the rain wasn't letting up. We decided to run for the car. It was a long run. Celia and I were running through rivers of water, soaked from head to toe, laughing hysterically. Chris followed behind us, carrying Henry. When we got to the car, the kids and I climbed into the very back to change. Luckily I had their bathing suits there. They changed and climbed over the seat into their car seats. I took off my wet clothes and was wearing a sweatshirt and towel found in the back of the car. Poor Chris... He was sitting in the driver's seat, naked except for his shorts laid across his lap. It got even funnier when we realized that I was stuck in the back of the car. I couldn't climb through, and couldn't open the back door from the inside. Tha naked guy couldn't exactly get out to open the door for me, so we rode back to the house with a naked driver and a half naked lady bumping around the back of the car. Oh, man. It was hysterical. I laughed so hard I cried. 

At the end of the week, we headed home. It seemed like the kids had been in a pattern of eating too many treats, so it was a perfect reset for them to gobble up raw peas and green beans from the garden that afternoon. With a frisbee as a plate, of course. 

Last week, we jumped back into our regular routines. Henry had daycare, Celia had half days of camp, and Chris left Monday for a business trip. I only billed 3 1/2 hours for work, between Celia being sick one day and some cancellations. On Friday morning the kids were both in a terrible mood. They were whining, yelling, fighting. Ugh. They were horrible. I finally got them out of the house and we went to the library. They really like it there and always have good behavior. They spent a long time doing crafts in the children's room, and I found them some books. Henry had to use the potty and wanted to do it all by himself. He asked Celia to go with him. It was adorable. On Friday afternoon, I took them to a beach we recently discovered. It's only about 15-20 minutes away, and is part of a larger park with trails and picnic areas. It only costs $1 per adult to get in! The water is shallow for the kids, nice and clean, and there is nice soft sand. It's the best local beach we've found. The kids had a great time swimming together. 

Their Puddlejumpers are great for keeping them safe in the water, but they almost work too well. We need to work on swimming more independently. But both kids are comfortable in the water and are now able to swim and change positions in the water easily with the Puddlejumpers on, so that is good. 

We'll be going back to this beach whenever we can this month! 

Yesterday, Celia had a birthday party to go to at our town beach. So we all went, and Henry was able to swim and play while Celia did her party stuff. We left just in time before a big downpour. We got home and I cleaned the floors, the kids played, and we ordered takeout for dinner. This morning I'm taking the kids to play at a friends' house. One of Celia's classmates invited the class over to play. We love her class- both the kids and parents! This afternoon, I'm hoping to work in the garden and spend some time at home. We have been out a lot lately and the kids haven't had a lot of time to just play in the yard. I'm also looking forward to cooking a healthy dinner tonight. Lots of fun activities and time out lately has also meant more takeout dinners than usual. We normally eat so healthily that I really prefer to cook at home. On the other hand, we've been able to relax and have extra fun when I haven't had to cook.

Being at a point where the kids are old enough to do more has been so nice this summer. I'm starting to think about preparing for the school year, though. Henry starts preschool in September, so we will now have two schools and two school schedules to think about. He needs a backpack and a lunchbox, both kids are growing like crazy and will need new clothes, and I'll have to start packing lunches again. I can't believe that today is August 1st. The month of August is going to fly by.

tower hill

Massachusetts has several museums, etc that participate in Free Fun Fridays. Each Friday there are different places open for free. Today was Tower Hill, and we took advantage. The kids and I had a great day. We arrived around 10:45 and spent about an hour walking around. Then we went back to the car for a car picnic, and explored more after that. We have been to Tower Hill before, but hadn't been on all of the trails or on the beautiful wildflower meadow that overlooks the reservoir. The kids had such a good time exploring. They loved following all the paths around the gardens and taking different trails. There are benches everywhere, nestled into the nicest spots. I would love to go back by myself and spend the day walking, sitting, and reading a book on one of those benches. Celia liked them too. Whenever she saw a place to sit, she wanted to "take a rest". 

The botanic gardens always have art on display, and today it was a series of oil paintings of flowers. They were amazing. These were my favorites.

We ended up leaving around 2:00, and I told the kids I would take them for ice cream on the way home. There is a country store with ice cream, coffee and penny candy at the town common. I figured the kids would want to get home after that, but they wanted to play in the park. We went over there, and they played for a long time. They had a great time running around, trying to climb a tree, hiding and "spying". Then we went across the street to the library, and they spent even more time there making cards at the craft table. We went back to the park, and I finally coaxed them into heading home. 

This was probably the first time I've taken the kids out on my own for a full day of activity, and been able to do so much with them and have so much fun. They're getting old enough that it's just less work to do everything. We can get in and out of the car easily because they buckle themselves in. If they have to go potty, it's no big deal. They are happy to explore and find ways to entertain themselves. They are able to attend to things for longer, and have more stamina for walking around all day. At the same time, they're still little enough that many experiences are new and exciting for them, and they're still my cute and snuggly little babies. It was just a great day, and I look forward to more like it as they continue to grow. 

the first lost tooth

At almost 6 1/2, Celia lost her first tooth yesterday! It had been loose for a few weeks. She has been so excited about her loose teeth, and about the tooth fairy coming. 

She was so happy when the tooth came out, and she wanted to go to bed early so the tooth fairy would come. The tooth fairy left her four quarters. Now a second bottom tooth is very loose, so soon she will have a big gap! Loosing baby teeth hadn't really been on my radar as a big milestone, but it has turned out to be quite a big deal both for Celia and for us. 

summer fun

We recently had a great long weekend over the Fourth of July, and have more fun this week. 

Since Friday was a holiday, Chris had the day off. We drove to CT and Chris played golf with his dad while his mom and I took the kids swimming. They both really like swimming these days. I wish we had more opportunities to take them. That night, the kids ended up staying for a sleepover while Chris and I went home. We rarely have kid-free time, so it was great to have a quiet night and then get some things done on Saturday. Saturday evening, we met the kids and grandparents for dinner halfway home, then took the kids home for bed. On Sunday we had another fun day, spending the afternoon with friends at their house. 

This is random, but I put together a house area in the family room and the kids have been using it. One morning I found this naked chef preparing breakfast. 

This week, Celia is doing Spanish camp at her school each morning. Yesterday we decided to meet one of her friends at the park after camp, and the kids played for a couple of hours while we moms talked.

 Today I had Henry home with me. We played with these magnetic shapes that fit like a puzzle into different templates. I was really impressed with how well he did with them. He is starting to do a lot more, learning letters, wanting to learn and sing songs, counting, putting things together, etc.

After camp the kids and I ate lunch at the school playground and they played for a while. 

It's rare that Henry's smiling while Celia's the one with the funny face.

This afternoon our babysitter came for a couple hours. Usually I stay around the house when she comes, but today I went out for a long run/workout, did some gardening and took a shower. Henry has been nervous about me leaving when Delaney is here, but I think he's fine now, especially when Celia is with him. 

Tomorrow we have our usual work, daycare, and more camp for Celia. 

last day of kindergarten

Celia has a half day today, for her last day of kindergarten. I can't believe the year is over. I can't believe she'll be a first grader now.

First day of kindergarten:

Last day of kindergarten:

With her teachers, who are the best. (And Pico, the little bird who is the class pet. The kids love Pico.)

Sra Grau and Sra Vasquez are just what you picture, when you picture the perfect kindergarten teacher. They are warm and loving, and have made the kids so happy to be in school. They are communicative with parents and always welcome us into the classroom. They have amazing classroom management skills and have managed to make a year very heavy on academic content into something the kids enjoyed. Celia is part of a Spanish immersion program, so her schooling was done 100% in Spanish this year. The kids learned all of the regular kindergarten content for math, reading, writing, and science in a second language. It is just amazing. Celia is ending the year able to read, write, and speak two languages. She doesn't want the school year to end.

In addition to all this, Celia woke up the morning after her kindergarten graduation with her first loose tooth! I wasn't expecting the first loose tooth to make me sad, but it did a little. My baby is growing up.

weekend stuff

This weekend was a nice one. My weekend started extra early because I took Thursday off to go to Celia's kindergarten graduation. The kindergarten classes put on a program, with each class singing a song and then one song they all sang together. Then we had a picnic on the playground. Our class made little yearbooks with pictures from the year, and the kids went around signing each other's books. It was very cute. Celia has really become a social butterfly this year. 

On Friday, I took Henry to the dentist. His behavior has been a challenge lately and I was a little worried about how he would be. Of course, he was an angel at the dentist and could not have been more charming. We had people coming in the room just to talk to him. Afterward, I told him we could celebrate his good behavior and we stopped for a snack on the way home.

On Saturday I got grocery shopping done early in the morning, and then my parents came. We had a good day with them, and got to have strawberry shortcake with garden strawberries after dinner. I also got to go to the library by myself, and got Prodigal Summer (Kingsolver) and Day After Night (Diamant). I've started Prodigal Summer and like it. 

Chris was planning to play golf on Sunday morning, but it poured overnight and into the morning so he cancelled that. We got almost three inches of rain in less than twelve hours. Chris ended up taking the kids to Dunkin Donuts and Target, and I made a quick trip to my office to hand in my billing. The kids ended up very busy playing together for a lot of the day today. It was great! They used a ridiculous amount of tape, taping paper together and making "presents" for Daddy. They put on a dance show, and spent quite a bit of time playing in their rooms. I love the days when they get along well. 

Chris spent a few hours working on rebuilding a kitchen cabinet. I think we're looking at months (or years?) of painfully slow kitchen renovation. The kids "helped" for a short time before I coaxed them to play upstairs. 

Celia has been playing more with dolls lately. It's adorable. She talks to them and takes care of them, pretends to bring them places, and likes to take her baby with us on walks or when we go out. She spent a lot of today with her new panda. It's one of the Real Live Pets, which I must say are pretty neat. 

Tomorrow is Celia's last day of kindergarten. I can't believe it. 

 

bits of winter and spring

Sorting through pictures on my phone offered a good opportunity to remember some highlights from winter and spring:

We had a lot of snow this year. Record breaking amounts, with a snowstorm almost every week. First, it was fun to have some snow. Then it gradually got to be way too much, and very inconvenient. And eventually, we just got used to it and didn't even bother checking the weather half the time because we just figured it would snow. 

Chris took Henry away one weekend, and Celia and I had the time all to ourselves. We went out to dinner on Saturday night. 

We spent a lot of time by the fire. This kid has no idea what an amazing life he has. Fireside pooping... 

Spring came late, and we couldn't wait to get outside. 

Both kids are now big enough to be somewhat independent at the playground, so we've spent a lot of time there this spring. We're also finding it to be a great social meeting place. We live in a small town, and almost every time we're at the playground we see people we know. Chris has started calling me a "townie" because I now seem to know everyone.

Henry's latest thing is that he loves to dress up as either a superhero, or a girl called "Henrietta". It is hilarious. 

We've been to the zoo a few times already this year: Twice with both kids, and once when I went with Celia on her class fieldtrip. 

This is how Spanish Immersion kids get off the bus on Cinco de Mayo:

Chris went on several trips for work. This was a picture we sent him after baths one night.

Another night was Specials Night at Celia's school. Parents can visit each special teacher's room (art, music, gym, etc.) and see what the kids have been doing all year. We also visited the book fair, and Henry was quite taken with Clifford. 

Sweetie Girl had her dance recital. She did very well. I'm not sure if she will want to do dance again next year. I would like her to because she is good at it and seems to enjoy it, but on the other hand it is difficult to get to and from dance class at dinner time. It makes for a hectic day, especially when I have to cart Henry around too. 

Mommy-Henry time while Celia was at school:

For the past few weeks I've had a steady supply of peonies to cut and bring inside. They are one of my favorite flowers.