Fall 2013

 

I just thought the big oak tree in our backyard looked really pretty this season.

Natalie's 6 Year Stats & Height Predictor

Natalie had her 6-year appointment today (ok, we're about 3 months late, but you know how it is getting in to see a doctor for a yearly checkup!)  She is 46.5" tall (3'10 and 1/2") which is in the 58th percentile, and weighs 52#, which is in the 76th percentile.  She's up 3" from last year, and gained 10#!  She had a bit of trouble with the vision in her left eye, but passed her eye test anyway. 

This all got me thinking about how tall she might be as an adult.  I saw online several ways of "predicting" adult height.  Now before you get all crazy saying, "There's no possible way to predict adult height!" - I already know that!  But this is all in good fun.  Hopefully we can come back here in another 20 years and see if it was true!

Some places (ie: Mayo Clinic) say that doubling their height at age 2 is a good indicator.  Grant was 34.75" at 2 years which = about 5'9 and a half! HA!  Natalie was 34" at 2 years which = about 5'8!  So apparently Natalie got Todd's height and Grant got mine?!?!  They also said you could try this: 

- Add the mother's height and the father's height in either inches or centimeters.

- Add 5 inches (13 centimeters) for boys or subtract 5 inches (13 centimeters) for girls.

- Divide by two.

Me = 63" and Todd = 76".  63+76 = 139.  For Grant, +5 = 144/2 = 72" or 6' even.  For Natalie, 139-5"= 134/2 = 67" which is 5'7! 

It says most children will reach their adult height within 4" of this estimation (um... 4" either way is a pretty big differential!) When I was a kid, doctors told my parents I would be 5'6".  I'm actually about 5'3" - and although that falls within their threshold... there's a big difference between 5'6" and 5'3"!

Another "calculator" I played around with said Natalie would be 5'5" and Grant would be a little over 5'10 based on their current height (or Natalie's current height, I used Grant's 3 year statistics and said he was only 3 years old).  My short genes are strong!

So, will Natalie be 5'5", 5'7", or 5'8"?  And will Grant be 5'9 and a half, 5'10" or 6' tall?  Stay tuned!

An Oldie But Goodie

Grant gave me this for Mother's Day.  I haven't laughed this hard in a LONG time!

If you can't read it... it says:

"What is your Mommy's Name?  Momm."

"How old is she?  3."

"What does she do for a job?  Actually, she goes to CrossFit."

"When does your Mommy make you laugh?  She makes roast beef, chicken nuggets and banana."

"What do you like to play with your Mommy?  Trucks."

I seriously was in tears laughing so hard.  Momm.  Extra M for magnificent???  And I'm 3... plus another large number.  I don't really work for a living... I just go to CrossFit.  (He was going through an "actually" phase earlier this year!).  Apparently my cooking is just really, really funny- but I think we all knew that!

Funny Things Kids Say...

The kids say THE funniest things on a daily basis.  I really want to start trying to write them all down. I usually do, in the form of a Facebook post, but let me try to recapture some of them from the past year or so...

10/13/2013:  Going down a bouncy house slide with Grant at the Seaside Festival in Yarmouth today, and I look down to find Grant's underwear on the floor! I check, and sure enough, they're his! Then he laughs and says, "Why does this keep happening???"  (This had happened the night before at Aunt Betty's house- someone has decided he is a "big boy" and should go to the bathroom all by himself!  Which is great, but apparently he needs a lesson in how to re-dress himself!)

9/29/2013:   Moral for today: Even if you have a huge fenced yard, you always need to keep an eye on 3-year-old little boys! Just found Grant outside with our neighbors trash bin emptied out, sitting in the middle of the pile of trash playing with his front loader.

7/20/2013:  This is a Natalie-ism:   Came into the house super frustrated that my watch stopped two times during my two minute double under drill and Natalie goes, "Quick! To calm you down, we need a banana and some almond butter!" Does she know me, or what!?!?

We also went through this phase in the spring and summer titled, "Questions From the Backseat."  We would get in the car, and the kids would start randomly asking the most absurd questions!

This one was from July 4, 2013:  Questions from the back seat (or... Questions from the Philadelphia airport): "What happens when you eat peanut butter crackers?" (From the allergic kid); "Why is Jabba the Hut so fat?" And "Is this a window?"

6/28/2013:   More questions from the backseat: "Is 5 really a number?" And "Are we there yet?" We are still in Natick, on the way to Wellfleet. It's gonna be a long trip.

6/22/2013:   Incessant questions from the backseat include, "What color is next to green?" "Mommy, do you have short sleeves?" and "Is that a loud noise?"

One more from Natalie - and remember:  When you least expect them to be listening to the radio, they are...  May 18: Natalie from the back seat: "I grabbed two girlies and a beer that's cold."  Oh boy!!!!

And last but not least, one from my husband, who is the ultimate funny guy (from May):

Me: Oh hey, Ray Manzarek died.
Todd: Who?
Me: You know, from The Doors!
Todd: Oh! I guess he broke on through to the other side!

Funny Things Kids Say...

The kids say THE funniest things on a daily basis.  I really want to start trying to write them all down. I usually do, in the form of a Facebook post, but let me try to recapture some of them from the past year or so...

10/13/2013:  Going down a bouncy house slide with Grant at the Seaside Festival in Yarmouth today, and I look down to find Grant's underwear on the floor! I check, and sure enough, they're his! Then he laughs and says, "Why does this keep happening???"  (This had happened the night before at Aunt Betty's house- someone has decided he is a "big boy" and should go to the bathroom all by himself!  Which is great, but apparently he needs a lesson in how to re-dress himself!)

9/29/2013:   Moral for today: Even if you have a huge fenced yard, you always need to keep an eye on 3-year-old little boys! Just found Grant outside with our neighbors trash bin emptied out, sitting in the middle of the pile of trash playing with his front loader.

7/20/2013:  This is a Natalie-ism:   Came into the house super frustrated that my watch stopped two times during my two minute double under drill and Natalie goes, "Quick! To calm you down, we need a banana and some almond butter!" Does she know me, or what!?!?

We also went through this phase in the spring and summer titled, "Questions From the Backseat."  We would get in the car, and the kids would start randomly asking the most absurd questions!

This one was from July 4, 2013:  Questions from the back seat (or... Questions from the Philadelphia airport): "What happens when you eat peanut butter crackers?" (From the allergic kid); "Why is Jabba the Hut so fat?" And "Is this a window?"

6/28/2013:   More questions from the backseat: "Is 5 really a number?" And "Are we there yet?" We are still in Natick, on the way to Wellfleet. It's gonna be a long trip.

6/22/2013:   Incessant questions from the backseat include, "What color is next to green?" "Mommy, do you have short sleeves?" and "Is that a loud noise?"

One more from Natalie - and remember:  When you least expect them to be listening to the radio, they are...  May 18: Natalie from the back seat: "I grabbed two girlies and a beer that's cold."  Oh boy!!!!

And last but not least, one from my husband, who is the ultimate funny guy (from May):

Me: Oh hey, Ray Manzarek died.
Todd: Who?
Me: You know, from The Doors!
Todd: Oh! I guess he broke on through to the other side!

Princess Party

We went to the Princess Party in Wellesley again this year with Heather and her girls.  This year though, it had rained... a lot... in the morning hours of the day of the party.  So they moved it indoors, but by the time the party started, the weather was absolutely beautiful!

Here are Ava and Natalie waiting to get sparkly tattoos.   I think they are discussing strategy here.

Afterward, Natalie and the girls (here with Lili) had some face painting done.  Looking good ladies!  Natalie is showing us her sparkly tattoo on her hand.

And of course, you can't be a true princess without a manicure!

Next up, Natalie wanted to color a picture.  I think we had some snacks somewhere in between here too (juice box, cookies and cupcakes!)

Once she was done with the picture, she took it over to the princesses, Ariel and Cinderella and they both "autographed" the picture.  Then she got her own picture with the pretty princesses!

Next up was the limbo!  Nothing says "graceful princess" like doing the limbo!  Here, Natalie is using the skills that she learned in Maine this summer to show everyone how to do the limbo!

There was also a lot of group dancing going on!  I had to miss the Bucs-Pats game (what Colleen???) but it was worth it to see the happiness on that little girl's face! 

Mommy's Birthday

I'm getting to the point in my life where I'd just be totally ok with skipping over my birthday. Sure, I love cake, and having my family take me out to dinner, as they did this year by taking me to the Sherborn Inn, but another year older?  No thanks!  But unfortunately, the kids LOVE birthdays. They love giving gifts (especially Natalie) and they LOVE cupcakes and ice cream. So I can't ignore my birthday.

And of course, they want to help me open EVERY birthday present.  Here they are helping me open my BRAND SPANKING NEW pair of purple inov-8 f-lite 230s! YES!  I've been wanting these babies for a couple of years now.  So happy.  I also got a great new Pats shirt, and Natalie made me a heart necklace out of fuse beads.  You can see I'm wearing it in the picture below.  I also got a bracelet (see it in the picture above!)

Hooray for cupcakes and ice cream!

Guys Trip to Fenway

Todd's brother Steve came up to take their dad to Fenway for a Sox game in mid September.  Look at these handsome guys!  What you don't get from this picture is scale... these guys are giants.

Before the game, they went up to the Green Monstah to check out batting practice. 

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

They were able to catch an awesome game!  John Lackey threw a one-hitter!  And the Sox clinched the playoffs! 

Natalie's New Bed

Well, we finally got Natalie a new bed.  I was kind of hoping to wait until we moved to a new house (our OWN house) where we could decorate her room as we wanted to.  Plus, since our house was originally built in 1880, all of the rooms have oddly shaped walls and ceilings.  So there's no great place to put her bed.

But we wound up putting it in the corner underneath the skylights, which she doesn't really like.  But she IS 6-years-old now, so it was definitely time to get her into a full bed.  She can't wait to have her first sleep over!

Natalie's Summer Spent at Camp

Natalie went to Pilgrim Day Camp this summer and she had such a great time!  In fact, now that school is back in session, she keeps telling me that she wants to go back to camp and wishes that life could just be spent going to summer camp year round!

Natalie with some of the girls from her camp.  You'll notice second from the right is her friend Gaby, who she's known since they went to daycare together as toddlers!

Music time for the campers!

Inflatable waterslides and inflatable bouncy castle fun was also had at Pilgrim Day Camp.

Natalie in the woods with her fellow campers.  Notice they're all in their bathing suits. All. Day. Long.  This suit, by the end the summer, was disgusting.  Covered in dirt and sunscreen that no washing machine would be able to get out.

The campers did lots of arts and crafts too- Natalie and her group (Block Hill) made some paper plate crabs!

In the morning, Natalie had swim lessons, but the afternoon brought free swim (which was her favorite part of the day, my little fishy!)

Wheeeeeee!  Someone can't WAIT to go back to camp next summer!

First Day of School 2013

My babies are growing up too fast! Natalie has started 1st grade, and Grant is now in the Chipmunk room at FACE preschool. 

Here they are on the first day of school, all ready to go!  (Actually, this was the first day of Natalie's school, which started on a Wednesday this year.  Grant actually started the Monday before this!)

 Mommy, can we do a silly face????

Natalie walking her little brother to his "first day" of school in the Chipmunk room.

OK, now that the formalities are over (thanks for being sweet to each other for 20 seconds!)... Natalie and Grant wanted to race each other on the long sidewalk up to the front door of FACE.  3-2-1-GO!

This picture shows how competitive they are with each other, each of them trying to push the other out of the way.  Boy, this is a disaster waiting to happen!

Big girl on her big first day of 1st grade.  Lots to learn this year!  Let's get after it!

Natalie's Drawing of our Family

Natalie drew this picture of our family.  She draws these from time to time, but I wanted to remember what her 6-year-old family drawings were like when I am old and gray.  Please note:  Grant has a truck on his shirt (typical); I finally have brown hair (she used to always draw me with black hair); Natalie is wearing purple and pink, and somehow, I'm nearly as tall as Todd! I love her drawings!

Grant on a Tractor

As you all know, my grandmother passed away last summer in Indiana.  As my dad prepares to sell my grandmother's farm, he loaded a bunch of things onto a Uhaul truck and drove them to Massachusetts so we would be able to have furniture, toys and other things that gave us so many wonderful memories of time spent on the farm.  This little brown tractor was one that we used to ride around on my grandparents farm when Cory and I were little.  So many great memories, and it's so fun to see Grant enjoying it as well!  I'm sure my grandparents would be so thrilled to see the excitement on his face when he rides it!

Natalie's 6th Birthday Party (Part II)

This year for Natalie's birthday, we decided to do it at home.  Grant, unfortunately will never be able to have a birthday party like this since his birthday is in October.  But Natalie's is in the beautiful month of June, so what the heck... let's just have an "at home" party.  She decided on a butterfly theme.  A lot of my friends asked me if I was crazy.  Crazy?  What do you mean?  Having 10 little girls come over for a party isn't crazy!  Exploring Pinterest at length for birthday party ideas isn't crazy!

  

Please note in the above picture several things:  One, we rented that table and chairs.  But that centerpiece?  That's all me!  My MacGuyver-like centerpiece consisted of some green moss, some big sticks from the backyard that the kids helped me find, some butterflies found on Amazon.com, and a glue gun.

 We broke out the slip and slide and the inflatable kiddie pool.  Not much room in there, but it was a warm day and they just liked splashing around.

 

There were also games!  How cute is my husband here?  Sorry ladies, he's taken.  A 40 something year old man playing water balloon toss with a bunch of 6-year-olds.  Super sexy.  Oh and please note his calves.  That's one of the reasons I married him... boo ya.

Let the games continue!  Next up was a rousing couple of rounds of  "Simon Says" which, because we were dealing with little girls here, became, "Simonetta Says."  Here, Morgan leads the girls (and Todd of course) in a round of "Simonetta Says crouch down on the ground!"

 One of my favorite moments of the day.  Lili's little sister Ava and Natalie's little brother Grant playing on the swingset.  Ava decided that she wanted to push Grant on the swing!  She's a bit older than Grant (by 6 months or so) but it was so sweet and motherly! And he totally let her!

The ladies (and Grant) having some pizza for lunch.  Major faux pas by Mommy... totally expected to get some gluten free pizza at Bill's Pizzeria here in Natick.  But it turns out they're closed on Sundays.  Whoops.  So Nick's Pizza hooked us up with some pizzas (not gluten free, but if we had to choose a non-gluten free pizza in Natick, Nick's would be it!)  Side note:  Heather V and I may or may not have had some of this pizza.  

Lili and the rest of the girls singing happy birthday to Natalie!  Bagel Bistrol in Westborough was once again our go-to place for birthday treats.  Can't beat it.  In addition, you can see on the table behind Lili that we had set up an ice cream sundae bar with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, and all of the delicious toppings!  Another side note:  Heather V and I may also have made ourselves some ice cream sundaes and helped ourselves to a cupcake.

 I'm not entirely certain what Natalie is doing here, but I think it was going something like this:  "So I was like, 'Ma! If you don't get me those Bagel Bistro cupcakes, I'm gonna whack ya like Tony Soprano, capiche?'"  Silly girl.  I hope you had a great 6th birthday party!  Happy birthday Bugaboo!