City Mouse, Country Mouse

Trading in the 2 bedroom one bath condo with parking in Boston for a 4 bedroom 3 bath 100 year old house in the country seemed like a great decision. Especially when thinking about raising a family. I mean the city is no place to raise a family right? You need a yard. No traffic. A town where you know all of your neighbors. However dad couldn't help but feel a little jealous of all the city dwellers yesterday when visiting Boston.

However the drive to Boston is quick and on a rainy Saturday morning there is very little traffic. Parking at the Aquarium was simple and visiting was a perfect rainy day activity. Paul, Jena, and Marin scored a deal on tickets through their local library. $8 each for adults. Of course children under 3 are free. We wandered throughout the Aquarium, visiting each exhibit, looking at the marine creatures behind the glass walls. Penguins, sharks, sea turtles, fish of all kinds. What kid doesn't like an Aquarium?

Hey No Tapping On The Glass!


Charlotte and Marin Riding a Sea Turtle. Dont worry, it wasn't real.


Maeve riding on a humpback whale. Well at least that is what we told her. Poor kid didn't know what was going on.


Ohhh psychadelic.


Marin the Turtle Rider!


Obviously we weren't the only ones with the bright idea the place filled up very quickly. Luckily by the time it got a little too crowded for us it was lunch time. Off to visit the North End for some pizza at famous Pizzeria Regina.




Despite the dismal day the North End was busy. The typical mobster looking guys standing by their white Cadillacs. We made our way to Pizzeria Regina and had a couple of pies. Spectacular as always. Of course no trip to the North End would be complete with out a stop at Mikes Pastries on the way out. We had to grab Charlotte a pink cupcake and somehow a few canolli's also made it into the box. Hummm.

After an action packed morning we hit the cars and headed home. We made it just in time for Charlotte and Maeve's naps. Mom snuggled with Maeve on her chest, dad snuggled with Charlotte and the whole house took a little siesta. Now that is what we call a perfect Saturday!

And what do we do for a perfect Sunday? How about a teaparty with the girls?





And finally our darling Maeve who is now eating solid foods. We decided to mix it up by giving her some squash. Ohh how she loathes Squash.

Chow Hound

Maeve stares at us while we eat. Her mouth opens and shuts as if she is eating invisible food. She is ready to eat. So Monday September 22nd 2008 she had her first mouthful of food or something of the sort called baby cereal. She enjoyed it. So much that she would reach out to moms hand holding the spoon and grab at it as if to feed herself. This kid can eat.

We are on day 3 of solid foods. No reactions. No rashes. No puking. No gas. Nothing. Tomorrow night we are going to mix it up a little and add a little "BAM!" to her diet. Yes we think we shall try spicy avocado or exhilerating puree of delicatta squash. Dad votes for the squash.

Is that food for me???

My first bite! Yumm!

Gimme that spoon. I can do it myself!

This eating thing is fun. Messy but fun.

Ohh and the myths that babies sleep better on solid foods, not true. Yes, we are getting greedy hoping that our infant will sleep through the night now that her belly is full. We still have a great sleeper. Going to bed at 7pm. Waking up between 3-4am for a bottle, then asleep until 8am. We really can't complain and are sure some of you readers with children are disgusted by our sleeping angel. While our other child also sleeps great, 7pm to 7am, she is not without issues.

Below is the scene mom walked into after her afternoon nap. I will save you the gory details, but I will say there was poop involved, a whole roll of toilet paper, and a diaper that did not have a child in it.

Got Cream Cheese?

Charlotte has been hired as the spokes model for the New England Cream Cheese Association. She loves cream cheese. However, despite what you might think, she does not like pink cream cheese (strawberry flavored). She is a cream cheese purist.


Ever have a week that seems to go by faster than you could imagine? Usually its the opposite, a week that seems to drag on. But this week for some reason came and went faster than usual.

Nanny the tornado came for a visit on Monday. By Tuesday our house was completely rearranged. By Wednesday our house was cleaned. Thursday she went home. Then it was Friday and the week was gone. That quickly.

The living room is now a country kitchen. The dining room now a playroom, the other living room which was a play room is now just a living room for adults. We weren't sure how it was all going to work out, but we really like the set up now. It seems to suit our family so much better now. Thank you nanny for your help! However dad is still sore from all the furniture moves.

Charlotte in her playroom, the ex-dining room. Who needs a formal dining room anyways?

Nanny brought with her some gifts for Charlotte. One was a little sparkly make up kit. What little girl doesn't want to look glamorous with a little make up.




Yes Charlotte. This is what Glamorous looks like!




Our darling Maeve has been watching non-stop a National Geographic special on sea lions. We made the mistake of Tivo'ing the special, now it's all she watches. Over and over and over. Dad thinks watching national geographic is good for her. Mom on the other hand is worried she has been watching it a little too much.


Ok maybe she does watch it a little too much. So he found a special on endangered green tree frogs. She seems to like that one as well.


Maybe we should take a little break from the animal shows for a while. Instead we will concentrate on ballet. Seems the girls have a natural talent of loving pink dresses dancing around the house. Well at least one of the girls runs around the house. The other, well she does her dancing on the floor but to her it is still dancing. They both love dressing up like ballerinas, that is for sure.


You ready to dance Maeve?


Despite the week going by fast it was certainly action packed. Dad and nanny weren't the only ones busy. Charlotte had her first school field trip to Curier Orchards in Merrimack NH. Her whole class piled onto a wagon and got pulled into the orchard. She learned about apples, how to grow them, how to pick them, and most importantly how to eat them!



The action kept on rolling into the weekend. Saturday we were invited to the Mill Street Tent Party....a block party of sorts. The girls got dressed up in their matching best pre-party. As you can see they really loved their outfits. It was so nice to walk to the fields on our street to the party and have a great time with everyone. No driving needed, just a quick walk down the street. We wish there were more block parties.




Charlotte, Ava, and Annora in someones red wagon.

Charlotte doing her best to pull the wagon. It didn't move at all.



We still have one day left to get some more action in. Today we are driving to Keene to meet Nanny and Grampa for an early dinner. We will see what kind of adventure is in store.

Sorry

Maeve I am sorry for what happened tonight. Unfortunately your little finger nails grow quickly....and well....they are sharp. It probably wasn't such a smart idea to try and clip them in a dimly lit room. But realize I have done it time after time before without incident. Not once had I ever cut you or your sister. Well my luck ran out tonight and I caught the skin under your little right thumbnail. You cried a horrific painful cry that parents hate to hear. I could do nothing but kiss you and quickly get through the other hand (hey I am not a quitter). I grabbed the boo boo bunny from the freezer and tried to hold it on your thumb, but you screamed and screamed and screamed. Luckily it stopped bleeding fairly quickly and I was able to calm you down slightly by holding you in my arms and walking around the house.

But you continued to cry in my arms as I tried to put you to sleep. Just looking at me with those big brown eyes crying. I couldn't help but think you were wondering "Why did you hurt me"? Slowly your eyes closed as you drank your bottle and you fell asleep in my arms.

I know it's only a little cut, but you are only a little girl and you aren't old enough to understand accidents. I am sure by tomorrow you will have forgotten all about it, minus the sore thumb. I love you and I am sorry for hurting you.

- Dad

Parenting tips

Tip #451. Before video taping your children doing spectacular things ensure the video camera is recording. It's one thing to be frustrated for not having your video camera with you when they are doing something cute. It's another thing to think you are recording the $100,000 winner on Americas Funniest Home Videos only to realize you didn't push the little record button.

Check frequently during the 20 minute taping of your daughter reciting the Curious George Movie including multiple voices for each role, arm movements, and rants and raves about the man in the yellow hat. Only to be followed by spectacular faces and laughing about her performance. You can thank me later for the tips.

Tip #57C. Bribe your children to eat, drink, or behave by using things they love. Starting when she was very little, we have always watered down Charlotte's juice. 10% juice 90% water. The problem is now she only wants to drink water that tastes like juice. Straight filtered water? Nope. Add a few drops of apple juice? Yup. However, since she is now on the ballet kick, we told her Ballerina's only drink water. It seems to have worked. She chugged away thinking it would turn her into a ballerina. However, later on she got us back by not eating dinner. The next night the same thing. We joked about it at dinner later saying, well Ballerina's really don't eat.

The ballet bug has spread through the girls quickly. Mom took Charlotte to get real ballet shoes for her class. And of course some tights and a leotard. Suddenly Charlotte is Claire from the Nutcracker. Prancing around calling the dogs the mice and dad the nutcracker.

French ballet move called Stork Pose en pointe:


I cant stop looking at my real ballet slippers!


Even my hair looks like a ballerina:


I will listen to the instructor intently:


I can't believe I am a ballerina!



Maeve wished she was bigger so she could join in on the fun as well. Mom did her best to make sure she wasn't left out by putting her into her ballet outfit.

Don't forget about me guys. I want to dance too!

A week of firsts!

Mark your calendars. Yesterday, September 8th noon. Maeve rolled yesterday. Not the easy belly-to-back roll, but the oh so difficult back-to-belly roll. Difficulty level usually reserved for those 5-6 month olds. She pulls off a perfect 10.0 at the roll. Or whatever the stupid new Olympic scoring system is. It's amazing to see this kid move around, babble, and laugh.





Yesterday Maeve and Charlotte had their first real interaction playing together. Charlotte would get really close to her and Maeve would just laugh and giggle. We have both on video but have to wait to finalize the disc to upload it.

This morning Charlotte had her official first day of school. Yes its only nursery school but she doesn't know the difference. To her its school and to us its a big deal. She is growing up way too fast! Last night she got to wear her new silky cat pajamas to help her sleep. (we thought she would be too excited to sleep).



Well she wasn't too excited to sleep. But after a minor temper tantrum for dad, mom went into put Charlotte to sleep. She had mysteriously turned into WallE the robot, talking jibberish with pair of underwear on her head. And yes that is how she fell asleep.

Luckily when she awoke she was no longer WallE but back to Charlotte. We snapped a few pictures before her first day!

How to have a seizure

Fastest way to induce a seizure in your kids is to take the to glow bowling. Black lights, disco balls, strobe lights, and lots of florescent paint.

Charlotte did pretty well but not as well as her father, who is an ace bowler. Shelby did ok herself considering she is a woman. Bowling after all is a mans sport. No woman in their right mind would ever choose to wear smelly flat old leather slippery shoes that someone else had just worn. Just my thought.

Here are a few pics of Charlotte tearing it up at the "alley".