Easter at Aunt Betty's

I'm a little behind with the Easter post... we forgot our camera when we went to see Aunt Betty down in Plymouth, but she sent us all of the pictures we took with her camera so I had to wait for those.  So we went into the living room first thing Easter morning, and by golly... the Easter Bunny had been there!  Natalie got a little bit of chocolate, but mostly toys.  And we all know that the Easter Bunny doesn't leave chocolate for little kids.  He was quite happy that that big Bunny left him some Hot Wheels though!  And it took approximately 3.4 seconds for Natalie to rip into her chocolate.

Big boy's two favorite things in life;  milk and Hot Wheels.

We took a good family shot, after church, but right before Natalie started crying.  Pretty cute even though we were facing the sun!  Natalie looked so cute in her little dress that KK made her!  It's my favorite!

 Natalie had a great time doing the Easter Egg hunt.  Each of the eggs had one M&M in them, so she was really motivated to collect them all.  Grant walked around, picked up an egg or two, and placed them right back down on the ground.  Maybe next year!

Oh and no, she did not wear these tennis shoes to church!  Just for the egg hunt, ha ha.  Aunt Betty made a fabulous Easter dinner of lobster and scallops (well, Todd made the scallops for me since I don't like the messiness of lobster).  Deee-lish!  Now THAT is the way to do Easter dinner in Massachusetts!

Opening Day 2011

What the heck happened to this post blogspot?  I swear I completed it, I've read it at least twice on the blog, and then suddenly, all I have is pictures???

Anyhoo... this year, Todd was away for the Red Sox home opener, but we had already purchased the tickets from our friend Jenny.  He told me, "So I guess I'll just sell them..."  And I said, "Whoa wait, are you crazy?  I'm going to Opening Day vs. the Yankees.  Sorry honey!"  Am I mean wife or WHAT?  Seriously though, I would not have been mad if he had gone with someone else.  But who to take?  Well, my dad and brother were both going to the Gator's spring football game the following day, so they were both out.  So I decided to take my uber crazy Red Sox fan friend Fred Knight.  Seriously, the guy is crazy for the Sox. 

We're both members of Red Sox Nation, so we got to go before the game (but after a delicious beverage at Boston Beer Works) to the Monstah seats to check out batting practice.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day, especially for early April when you never know what the weather might be.  It was so awesome to take mega fan Fred down to the awesome Globe seats (we sit in the Globe section).  He was walking right next to me, and suddenly he wasn't there anymore.  I stopped to turn around and he was a few rows back, standing in awe with his mouth wide open.  I know Fred.  I still feel that way when I sit in those seats!

A-Rod scratching his butt.  Really A-Rod?  Really!  How's Cameron Diaz doing?

Seriously, there is no one on this planet I dislike more than A-Rod.  I at least respect Jeter.  I don't like him, but I respect him.  A-Rod continued to lose points with me on Opening Day.  I *might* have had a few beers in me when I saw A-Rod scanning the crowd for chicks (because you KNOW he does that).  As he scanned past me, I blew him some raspberries (which I just found out, ironically, is also called  the Bronx Cheer!).  He saw me, I know he did, but he turned his head back to the field.  Not a moment later, he scanned back and as his eyes met mine again, he blew raspberries BACK AT ME!  Oh A-Rod.  Don't you know it's totally acceptable for ME to make fun of you, but that you can't do it back to me?  Why?  Because you're yucky A-Rod, that's why.  I asked Fred if A-Rod really just blew raspberries at me (you know, in case I'm imagining things) and he said, "I do believe he did!"

Papelbon death stare.

In the end, it was a great day.  Pedroia homered and was 3 for 5.  The Sox beat the Yankees 9-6.  Good times were had by all!

Me and Fred, post game, down by the dugout (which was only 3 rows in front of us anyway!)

Beautiful spring

We have really had a beautiful spring up here!  Several weekends, we've gone out to the "park that we know."  Natalie named it this last year, because it's the one that we frequent the most.  Today it was SUPER packed, with several softball games going on, tons of kids on the playground, and a bunch of kids kicking soccer balls around.

Maybe Pop Pop can come up and show Natalie how to shoot some hoops...  Here she is working on her dribbling.

"I got next!"  Big boy, maybe you'd be better suited for the little hoop to your right...

Grant and his trucks... the kid is obsessed.  He's such a boy, I can't even tell you.  Natalie and I were reading the names of the people who had purchased bricks.  It was such a pretty day, and we had so much fun at the park.  By the afternoon, I was wiped and had to go take a 2 hour nap!

2011 Boston Marathon

Hooray for Marathon Monday!

Mel, one of the coaches from CFNE, lives right on Route 135 and had a big Boston Marathon party at her house, so we went over there- she doesn't live too far away, and you can't beat the views!  The weather was just perfect this year, we had our coats on when we first got there, but took them off as it got warmer.  The runners would probably have said that it was actually a little *too* warm.

Here the kids were playing with sidewalk chalk that they stole from some of the other CFNE kids.  Grant also was playing with the little boy behind him's trucks.  Forget the trucks we brought for him to play with.  He wanted someone else's.

Some of the fastest female marathoners in the world right there.  Natalie wasn't that impressed, but mommy sure was.

Here come the super fast men!  I still wonder how the heck they keep that pace.  This year the guy who won set a record- just slightly over 2 hours!!!!

But the real fun begins when the rest of the pack runs by.  Some people are dressed up, which is always fun.  This year, we cheered on 4 members of CFNE who were running - and this guy Craig actually stopped in front of us, did a burpee, and kept running!  Now that's talent!

Grant at 18 months

Little buddy is almost 18 months old, so I wanted to give you an update on what he's been doing lately.

First, he's running all over the place.  He still looks a little like Frankenstein, but he's super cute.  Sometimes he walks with both hands behind his back with his buddah belly sticking out, and his head cocked to one side and he is just SO cute.  Gosh, I just want to eat him up sometimes.

Second, his vocabulary is really coming along.  He likes to make the sound of whatever you are talking about.  So if we're talking about cars, he repeatedly says, "Vroom vroom!"  (or "Voom voom" as he says it).  If he hears the neighbors dog barking, he says, "Woof woof!"  He wears dinosaur jammies to bed, and when he sees them, he says, "Rooooooaarr!"  ("What sound does the dinosaur make Grant?") He'll repeat what you say a lot too.  Even if he doesn't get the words right, he'll say something in the same pitch and tone that you did, which makes it sound like he's repeating you.  The other day we were singing "The Right Stuff" by New Kids on the Block (that's Grant's theme song) and we did the "Oh oh oh oh oh" parts and he finished it off with, "The Right Stuff!"  plain as day!  He also says, "Social" when drinking his milk.  This one cracks me up... and I can picture him some day saying that at his fraternity house with a Beast Light in his hand.  Yikes. 

Third, he is just ALL BOY.  I mean, your stereotypical little boy.  It cracks me up.  In no way did we push him toward this, he just LOVES cars, trucks, wheels, eating, running around, getting into things... you know, typical boy stuff.  Although he's also very into pushing his sister's pink stroller, so that is pretty funny too.  But he definitely likes to get into trouble.  His latest thing is pulling the dish towels down off of the bar on the oven.  I'll get upset with him and he'll look up at me and laugh.  SUCH a troublemaker!  He loves to throw little pieces of food off of his tray when he's eating, and does the same thing.  Scrunches up his nose and laughs.  NOT COOL little buddy.

He's recently started sleeping through the night during the week and sometimes on the weekends.  But he's always been a pretty decent sleeper.  Even if he wakes around 6 am, Todd gives him a small cup of milk and changes his diaper (usually he finishes this cup of milk before the changing is done!) and puts him back in his crib and he goes back to sleep!  I admit we have been pretty blessed with two kids who sleep pretty great. 

I can't believe he's almost 18 months old.  We love you Grant!

Challenges of Parenthood Part II

When you become a parent, your alone time becomes quite precious.  So every evening, after the kids are in bed, I love having dinner with Todd and getting some things done around the house, blogging, updating pictures of the kids, or just watching the Red Sox on TV.  Just about every night, I have about a million things to do, and never enough hours to do it. 

Monday night, I was unable to do any of these things.

Every night, Natalie likes to turn off her own light.  It's a part of our routine, and she's just now tall enough to reach it.  So Monday night, she turns off the light like she normally does and takes the 2-3 steps toward her bed... and while doing so, trips over her own feet or the carpet, or who knows what and does a face plant into the side of her bed.  It sounded like it hurt, but it was pitch black in her room and my eyes hadn't "adjusted" yet. 

So when we see this, we immediately think... oh she broke off the top half of her tooth!  Because you can (kind of) see that the two on either side are higher than the lower left front tooth.   So we searched everywhere and couldn't find it.  We assumed she swallowed it. 

She also got this nasty bruise on her chin.  Poor kid.  So off she goes with Daddy to the dentist on Tuesday for the first time (I know, I know... I shouldn't keep putting this off but it's hard to find a pediatric dentist that takes my insurance!)  She was very brave at the dentist.  She only cried once when they sprayed water in her mouth.  She had no problems with the x rays.  The x rays revealed that she actually DIDN'T knock out the top half of her tooth!  Instead, like a nail (the tooth) and a hammer (the bed), the tooth was pushed down into the gums.  OUCH!  Thankfully they didn't see any damage to the root, so for now the tooth will stay where it is. We go back in 2 weeks, and they said she will have to eat soft foods between now and then and try to mainly eat with her back teeth since she has a bruised gum area in the front there.  We go back again in another 2 months, and hopefully we'll get the all clear.  Eventually her adult tooth will push the baby tooth out in a few years.  She was very proud that she got to go to the dentist!

So you see my friends, I was just mentally worn out after her accident Monday evening.  I didn't even eat dinner and went to bed not too long after she did.  Parenthood will wear you out on all levels!

Perfect example of the challenges of parenthood

Oh the things you do for your kids...

Today I spent the better part of an afternoon driving around Natick hunting down Natalie's beloved Pink Bear.  Anytime she gets upset, she goes, "I want Pink Bear!"  Pink Bear is to Natalie what Croco is to me. 

So I remember her having Pink Bear at CrossFit this morning - there are only two classes so Todd had to bring the kids and we had to do the "switch" this morning.  She had him with her there.  I think I remember her having him in the car on the way to 7-11.  I thought she had him when we went in, but then I didn't remember her taking him out of 7-11.  So when I couldn't find him before her nap, my heart sunk.  I felt sure he was back at 7-11.  So I took off for 7-11.  They didn't have it.  I went to CFNE, and couldn't find it in the parking lot.  I went back to 7-11.  I searched the entire house.  I had just cleaned upstairs, so I knew it wasn't up there.  Or wait... was it?  The last place I checked.... the cabinet door part of her armoire.  She had been in there earlier in the day, and he was on the bottom shelf.  Whew.  Crisis averted.

Then, after nap time, Grant woke up cranky.  We gave him milk and a snack and he kept putting his head on the floor, which is a sure sign he doesn't feel well.  I looked at his ears, and his right ear had a ton of pus coming out of it.  Ew.  Time to head off to the ER.  Thankfully it only took an hour, but it was a long hour, as he screamed and cried the entire time.  They said he actually can't burst his eardrums because technically having tubes in your ears means you already have burst eardrums.  But if wax clogs up one or both of the tubes, then you might get an ear infection behind the drum.  Which I'm pretty sure he has.  The one ear and tube that had the pus was doing it's job... draining.  But he wasn't complaining about that one.  Only the left one.  So after a heavy dose of Motrin, and two 'scripts for antibiotics (oral and ear drops) we went home, and he was a much happier camper. 

But mommy was exhausted.

Zzzzzzzz....

Right in the middle of lunch.  Right in the middle of a big Natalie tantrum.  This happened.  This is what happens when little buddy doesn't get his morning nap.

A warm day in March

Even though most of March has been cool, we did have a nice warm day on St. Patrick's Day.  So after Todd and I went to J.J. McKay's, we went to pick up the kids and when we got home, I took both kids out to the backyard to run around.

Grant loved running around the concrete patio, but had no interest in the grass.

Natalie had fun rolling this ball down the slide and trying to get it to land in the green bucket.

After talking to the neighbors dog, she found a walking stick.  Doesn't she look sweet and pretty here? 

Little buddy decided to brave the grass.  See, it's not so bad, is it? 

Would you like some tea with that wine?

This is what happened when Grant decided that a little toy teacup was supposed to be in my wine glass.

Booooooooo.