Down the Tubes

The title of this post is somewhat misleading, as both things I have to mention have been wonderful developments in our lives.

Monday, December 3, was a landmark day for our family:
1. Howie got tubes in his ears, and
2. We closed on our house.

It's a little sad that I'm two months behind documenting these things.

After an almost constant string of ear infections and over a year and a half of not sleeping through the night, the day of Howie's surgery might have been the best day of 2012 for me.

The whole hospital was such a positive experience. It was great to be in a place where everything (and everyone!) was so geared toward kids.

I did my best to contain him in the room, but the Cat in the Hat can only distract this kid so long before he wants to MOVE. I wish I had a picture of the little ride on car that we took through the halls...and that the doctor took him back to surgery on.

Post-surgery...so cuddly and sweet!

It is a general understanding in our family that an unpleasant visit to the doctor (i.e. shot day) = a milkshake. Having not eaten all morning, H got a little more than that. And pounded it all.

The doctor told me that he would likely be groggy and irritable for the rest of the day. In fact, he did not nap at all, and he was the best version of himself I have ever seen. He has continued to be an almost completely different (and ear infection-free!) child since then.

To briefly touch on the second major occurrence that day, we are absolutely thrilled with our new house. And even though moving in the week before Christmas was maybe not the most stress-free choice we've ever made, I am extra grateful to be here in the dead of winter - the extra space has saved my (and the kids) sanity for sure.

Thanksgiving Week

Some very overdue pictures of our Thanksgiving week. We were extremely thankful to have my parents and my sisters Laura and Hannah in town for the holiday.

As usual, H&H hit it off splendidly, and were buds through the duration of the week...

...as well as L&M.

The weather was mild and the house was cramped, so we spent a lot of time doing outside activities.

Maggie was thrilled to play Sous Chef and helped Laura make some delicious pies (and whipped cream!)

If you are wondering about our "mini turkeys," due to little oven and refrigerator space and a desire to simplify the morning, we bought rotisserie chickens at the grocery store the night before. It may be my greatest Thanksgiving meal discovery to date. And we may never go back.

Staying true to himself, Howie gave us a little Thanksgiving present of his own AS WE WERE SITTING DOWN TO EAT. This blog is not for the faint of heart. Or stomach.

...which led to a Thanksgiving bath. Clearly he was not troubled in the least by the whole situation.

Maggie and Howie were fascinated to watch PAPA climb the tree out front.

More hiking fun.

Our library hosted a local ballet company to perform an act of the Nutcracker. I've never seen Maggie's attention held for so long in her entire life.

A great week, and the calm before the storm, as you will soon see.

Give Thanks to the Lord

As I've said before, I don't get very much info from Mags on what goes on at preschool. However, I overheard her singing this song in the playroom last night and asked where she learned it...

"Oh. We learned it in music class today."

There is nothing sweeter to me than to hear her singing scripture...combined with her natural joy and exuberance it just makes my heart burst. I also love seeing Howie start to join in!

Hopefully this fills your hearts with thankfulness also, as we head into Thanksgiving week.

Trick or Treat?

Halloween was a bit of a disaster this year.

Maggie's face says it all:

This was taken at the Trick-or-Treat our little downtown area hosted. Maggie was completely freaked out by the older boys with masks on, and spent the entire time IN the stroller WITH the hood pulled all the way down.

The arrival of Sandy and 12 straight days of 40 and rain eliminated real trick-or-treating.

Fortunately, the kids are at ages that they had no idea they actually missed the real event. And we came out with about ten pieces of candy total.

Row, Row, Row your Bops

For some time now we've been talking about taking the kids out in Bops' rowboat out at the local park. Finally, a beautiful fall Sunday afternoon provided the perfect opportunity.

"I'm sailing! I sail! I'm sailiiiiiing!"

Back Seat Driver

Family

I was shocked the first day of preschool when Maggie came home with HOMEWORK. (After being in the swing of things for a couple of months now, I am glad to report this is not the norm.) I was even more shocked when I discovered that quite a few of the homework assignments were not so three-year-old friendly. So much for not doing their homework for them!

The assignments also tend to be quite vague. I currently have a construction paper "feather" with the instructions to decorate any way we'd like...and be creative! What does that mean?? Some parameters would be helpful! Also among my favorites was a blank photo album page saying that each child needed to make a "family" page. I don't remember the details of the instructions, but they were more vague than the feather.

I really did not want to make a page that looked like it was out of Martha Stewart magazine (even though I would have LOVED to do that)...I wanted Maggie to be involved as much as possible. So I printed and cut and she (with a little help) put the pictures on the page. Here's our final product:

It's not the fanciest or most creative (to be fair, I remembered at 8 am the morning it was due - only my mother can truly appreciate this), but I absolutely love it! I was struck as I was printing the pictures and looking at it later that every single one of these people is significant in Maggie's life...mom, dad, brother, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. What a blessing!! I do not take it for granted that my children have so many people speaking into and affecting their lives who love them so much.

I also love that a "my family" page that just included me and Gary and the kids would simply not be complete...even Maggie would tell you that.

On the subject of family, we've had some fun family visits this fall that I thought were worth documenting. My mom's quick visit surrounding Maggie's magnificent birthday was sandwiched between two "auntie" visits.

First, Kirstin, Jay and Briscoe came the weekend before for Kirstin, Jay and I to do a triathlon together.

Our support crew.

Briscoe was able to join us for Howie's Little Gym class.

There were LOTS of cuddles and hugs.

The following weekend, Auntie Kat came to visit. We were happy to initiate her into the world of everything kid/baby...which she will be encountering all too soon.

It was a full week, but full of great memories...we were sad to see everyone leave.