Sew, Sew, Sew your Boat...

Sew, sew, sew your boat cover, gently in the basement! Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeam.
Dylan, the young apprentice getting a sewing lesson from dear ol dad.

April Showers

I couldn't resist whipping out the camera a hundred times over the past few days. The sweaters my mom knit for Dylan were cute enough on their own... but with those boots? Outrageous in the cute department. On this occasion I thought Dylan's sweater that Sophia is wearing (yes, that is his sweater and it is actually still big on S, haha) paired with the skirt and boots and her super cute face just ate up the camera. Here she is shhhhing me - not supposed to talk, could spook the horses, ya know. Marching down the street to the puddle at the bottom of the hill. Some serious stomping to do. Both kids were insisting on wearing the sweaters and Dylan even insisted on wearing his boots as he knew it meant he could stomp in a puddle. (I have been having trouble getting him to wear them lately...)

I thought this was super cute. Sophia was walking one foot on an one off the curb. Dylan saw this and of course it looked like over the top fun, so he had to do it too.

Horse gazing.

Going on a puddle hunt, gonna find me some puddles. Going on a puddle hunt, gonna find me some puddles!

Hollis Playground.

Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts, we are experiencing some turbulence.
For those who are interested, "Adventures in Amateur Landscaping" is up and running. My ambitions are low and expectations are lower than last year thanks to my lack of success, however, I am giving it another go.

Beantown

Today's adventure took Dylan and I into Boston on the Red Line to buy some study guides from an old co-worker. We were early, surprise, surprise. I decided to NOT switch trains to the green or orange which would have been a Royal pain in the you know what with a stroller and finding an elevator down there. I ended up carrying D and the stroller out of the station as it was. ( those stations are REALLY bad, I am always thankful I have the option to walk and carry stuff up the stairs). Anyway, we got out at Park street and visited frog pond playground quite briefly (D wasn't feeling it). Then walked to the Fleet centre. I LOVED IT! Ahhh, memories. I walked past the cemetery and thought, gee, I don't think I have even been in there and have lived here 9 years now and RAN PAST it for a few years on my way home from work. I decided I would try and catch this attraction on the way home. We arrived at CBT about half an hour early and I stood outside and let Dylan watch all the real life diggers and dumpers at work on the street in front of the building. I met up with an old co-worker outside and talked for a while and then visited with a few more friends inside and made the purchase. I then headed home and MADE that stop at the cemetery and was glad I did. Gave Dylan a real taste for some Boston history. Literally. Yuck.

D scoping out the C-tary.
My little Revere.
Back home on the T. Cheeeese. I enjoyed this trip so much, I can't wait to do it again! (Oh, and on the way home the elevator to get to the red line platforms was OUT OF ORDER. I was very kindly assisted a second time by a passenger, who helped me carry Dylan and the 10lbs of books in the stroller down the stairs.) Another note is that I realize that this trip was much easier with just one kid, however, do want to do it with both as I feel bad Sophia missed out. Shhhhhhh, don't tell her about the trip!

One Fine Day

Ok, so I stole this title from one of Sophia's books, but it really was a pretty good day. Ethan got off to a pretty early start this morning to Minnesota. Only thing I would change about the day is Dylan waking before 5 and the bone chilling wind in the morning. We started the day with a little water color activity. Then hit the playground around 9:30. I was too cold and convinced the kids (Sophia) to abandon the playground and head up the street to the library. We stayed for about 15 minutes of story time and I had to drag the kids (again, mostly Sophia) out to the speech class at 10.30. That class went well and Dylan played nicely in the waiting room. We came home for lunch and the kids ate a GOOD lunch, played and then both went down at 12:30 for a nap. Once down I fertilized the lawn and started to water it a bit. The kids had good naps and I finished the watering by hand with them once they woke. Then went out and bought myself an early b-day gift (hehe) and hit another playground. The sun was really warm and the wind had died down making it most pleasant. There were a lot of kids around 10yrs old there so I was a little nervous Sophia would be shy or both kids trampled as they played "
watermelon" (don't ask) on the slide. Sophia did really well especially considering there was a lot of kids that were in close contact with her. She even ventured off a couple times in their vicinity. We then hit the grocery store for a few things and home for dinner. I made a total "kids" meal - my version of "Alphaghetti" (alphabet noodles, spaghetti sauce and melted cheese). Sophia was into it, not Dylan. sigh... I better enjoy this day as they usually don't follow back to back. Fingers crossed on tomorrow!

Puzzle Mania

I have been quite impressed with BOTH kids puzzle abilities lately. Dylan has been progressively been getting better and better at the "knob" type puzzles. He has mastered the shape one and is really getting the hang of the car one we have. Depending on his mood, he can get most of them in all on his own. He can pretty much find the matching car right away, however, the mood and patience factor in on getting it to fit properly. I bought Sophia her first jigsaw puzzle - 12 pieces. It is all wood and a bit thick as the pieces don't fit together well yet - needs more wear. But she was able to put it together on her own several times today (sometimes I would offer hints or suggestions, but mostly on her own). All this on the first time having done one of these puzzles. She may do them at school, but this is the firsts with me. Ya!

A first

We were in the waiting room today and I gave Sophia a princess picture to color. This is the FIRST time I have actually witnessed her coloring in the lines! Although the sleeve and bodice look like they were scribbled in together, they were carefully colored separately. Notice the dots around the frame were individually colored in rather than scribbled over. Pretty cool. I think there were a couple other firsts for the kids, but alas, I took too long to record them and I can't remember them now...

Spring has Sprung

The air was nice and warm this morning so we spent a couple hours out there enjoying it. There are a lot of hours in the morning when it starts at 5am (not that Dylan waited until 5am to wake up, but he was able to amuse himself in his crib for 40 minutes on his own - WHAT IS HIS DEAL??!!)

Dylan and I enjoyed a walk through the woods together. He had fun picking up rocks and "hurling" them in front of him. Hurling is used loosely here, as even though he had quite a wind up, his release was rather late and the rocks were lucky to make it past his feet.

Sophia and I enjoyed some time this morning in the yard (in addition to a walk on the streets of the neighborhood). How cute and beautiful is SHE? We made a bunny birthday cake in the sand, complete with wooden candles.

My Hyacinths, tulips and daffodils are out of the ground with the daffodils about to burst out into bloom. Yay spring!

Pint sized photographer

Sophia, as most children do, likes to grab hold of the camera and work her Ansel Adams magic. OK, so she hasn't quite got us in the most flattering light, but at least we made it into the picture frame!
Say CHEESE!

A truck built for two

I recently put my foot down and took the firetruck outside, from whence it came. I am seeing more and more scratches on the floor and am not exactly crazy about them. Now that the weather is warming up, more lightening is striking outside, never know when an extra firetruck could come in handy out there...

First, Sophia takes the lead, and Dylan WILLINGLY catches a ride.

The ol' switcheroo and Dylan takes the reigns.

Always good to lean into those tight turns.