Picture Day 2016

NGCC went with a different photo company this fall and they only give paper copies of proofs.  What happened to the digital age?  Regardless the boys had big smiles and we think the photos turned out great.

Fall 2016 - Brady (4) and Parker (2)

2016 has been a very difficult year for many of our family and friends.  There have been lots of challenges and difficult mountains to climb.  These two smiles make the hard days easier and the good days all the more worth it.  Love these two! 

1st Day of Pre-K

Yesterday Brady started pre-K at NGCC.  He is now dropped off upstairs in the Kindergarten room with the computers in a mixed age group then moves over to his primary classroom K.  He was a little under the weather this weekend with runny nose and cough, so we have been giving him breathing treatments (BTs), trying to keep him hydrated, and making sure he gets enough sleep.  So far it hasn't developed into more.  When we asked him how his day went in pre-K we got the usual "good" then off to some distraction.  He already knows this teacher - Ms Lauren - as most sub +/- an age group when another teacher goes out on vacation or illness.  And we think Ms Lauren is one of his favorites as she drives a 1970s T-top corvette and let's the kids climb in from time to time.

Parker will stay in the Toddler room until March of next year when he moves to preschool.  However all the kids were welcomed back for the fall school year and he got in on the celebration.

Brady (age 4) and Parker (age 2) have some similarities and differences in their preferences.  For food a joint favorite is fish sticks, chicken tenders, applesauce, and bananas.  However Brady loves yogurt and baked beans (not together) and Parker loves rice.  Both boys enjoying running and wrestling, but Brady prefers quiet time watching cartoons while Parker will play with matchbox cars.  Parker will copy all of Brady's actions, and Brady will want whatever toy Parker is playing with.  Parker is already doing somersaults on the couch cushions and we have to buy two of any toy.  We have split the boys up from time to time giving them each an opportunity to sleep over at the grandparents house.  When we do this Brady always asks about Parker and definitely misses him.  Parker seems to forget about Brady but always gives him a huge hug when he returns, his 2yr old memory is shorter.  It's fun to see their personalities and love for each other grow as they grow older.

We are enjoying them all we can now while they are young, tomorrow they will be in Kindergarten and Preschool!

End of July in Maine

We spent last weekend in Maine with the family and enjoyed some gorgeous weather.  On the way we made a stop at Santa's Village, why not do Christmas in July?  It was a pretty hot day by northeast standards and they had the sprayers running but we tried to image it was cooler given all the Christmas music playing on the loud speakers.  And the place was packed.  The boys had fun riding the rides, meeting the raindeer, and eating cotton candy.  Brady can go on rides that Parker cannot, so we had to distract Parker for those, otherwise rides like the cars or ferris wheel or merry go round we enjoyed as a family.  We got lots of hugs and kisses for this impromptu stop.

We had a great time in Maine with the family.  Daddy and the boys spent a lot of time on the boat.  Daddy is getting to be quite a good wakeboarder and slalom waterskier.  His determination and perseverance are impressive.  Uncle E is quite good too getting faster and working on his jumps over the wake.  Uncle Chris is a great boat driver and manages to find smooth water and perfect speeds.  Then they turned to tubing, using two tubes, and had a blast bouncing all over the lake and sometimes onto each other.  Brady even tubed a couple times solo on his own tube at slow speeds, it won't be long before he's a daredevil too.

That Saturday we also checked out the annual Logging parade which by any small town standard is HUGE.  They had lots of logging trucks, timber trucks, firetrucks and ambulance, horses, floats, classic cars, and of course threw candy.  This year we had a special treat, the parade kicked was off with a fly over by 3 seaplanes and 1 regular plane, what a treat!  They even made a couple of passes.  The town did a great job with the parade and we all enjoyed it.  Brady seemed partial to the candy, and Parker liked the logging trucks.

Saturday night the grown ups got a night out and watched Foreginer.  We figured they are 40 years strong now.  It was an outdoor concert over looking Rangeley Lake and the mountain range.  We met up with Uncle Paul who was staying with his friends Dean and Ken for guys weekend, and Chris's friend Andy came to join us so we had a pretty big crowd.  Foreginer sang their classics and we enjoyed the beautiful weather and gorgeous sunset.  Then we hung out at Dean's and played some pool.  On the way home that night we saw our first moose of the season (sad they're all dying out).  He charged Chris's red car but jogged happily along with Erik's jeep.  Guess he just wanted a pack to run with.

When we weren't at an amusement park, parade, or concert, we spent our time at camp on the boat or enjoying the beach.  Brady did find a yellow jacket nest and got stung twice, but he was tough and shook it off.  The boys had fun digging in the sand, getting buried by their uncles, splashing grandpa in the kayak, or paddling with Mom and Dad in the kayaks themselves.  Parker enjoyed the water swimming with Mom practicing his kicks and enjoying being tossed in the air.  The boys also enjoyed feeding the ducks sometimes directly out of their hands.  If they weren't feeding the ducks they enjoyed chasing them like chickens running around the yard.

We've had the camp for 28 years, incredible.  So great to be able to bring our little family up to enjoy it now too!

Fun times at Santa's Village

The family at the Logging Parade

Fun family times in Maine

Foreigner concert

Brady's 1st Front Page Article

We had an unfortunate mishap with the '61 Chevy engine and had to take it to Gary's cousins shop in Maryland for repair.  Brady made the road trip with Dad and got to spend the weekend with his Maryland cousins and make a trip to the Cecil County fair.  During the fair it poured for a good 45 minutes, did that stop Brady and his cousin Zack - heck no!  They had a lot of fun running in the rain and the puddles.  Their excitement and enjoyment was captured by a local photographer and the boys made the front page of the local newspaper - Brady's first!

Zack and Brady enjoying the puddles

Growing Up

The boys are having a great summer.  They get to see their grandparents every weekend and the uncles almost as frequently.  Both boys are enjoying the Tyngsboro multi-sports center with Brady playing multiple sports and Parker playing soccer every Saturday.  Brady is super fast and Parker does great dribbling the soccer ball.

Brady is getting so grown up.  This week he switched to a seat belt over his car seat in the car.  He then asked "Am I still 4?" Super cute.  He also puts himself down for naps now and while he does play a little bit, look out the window, or occasionally come out in the hall, he will take a blankie cuddle up and go to sleep on his own.  And since the weather has been so nice he's been able to get out and ride his balance bike.  He will ride it on the back lawn down the hill the whole way with his feet up.  Looks like we need to get out the pedal bike.  Where did my baby go?

Parker's words are getting so clear.  Seems every day he learns a new word or comes out with a new phrase on his own.  Last weekend on the way to Maine we were on a pretty bumpy road.  The boys were laughing as their cheeks jiggled and Parker came out and said "bumpy road" all by himself.  Just love these kids!  He's growing up so fast but still has his terrible two moments.  He's starting to do better if you offer him a choice but if he doesn't like the choices good luck haha.

Riding bikes in the backyard

Gary's Birthday & Father's Day

This was a week to celebrate Daddy - both his birthday and Father's Day were the same week, and it couldn't have been more special for him.  First his sister and her fiance Andy came to visit and we celebrated his birthday a few days early with them.  They boys signed cards for him and we had Gary's favorite an ice cream birthday cake!  It was special to have Jenny and Andy, Grandma Reggie, and the boys here to celebrate.  Gary picked out his own present - wouldn't you know, a new fuel tank for the '61 Chevy!  He was happy as a clam. It was also nice to finally meet Andy, he and Jenny are just perfect together - looking forward to the big day next June 2017!

Happy Birthday Daddy - Brady playing a musical card with Parker looking on

Jenny and Andy with the boys

The following weekend we celebrated Father's Day.  The day started with Brady helping Daddy cook everyone waffles.  He loves to help.  Later, Brady had multi sports and Parker had kiddie soccer, then the family came over for a cookout and celebration.  It was nice having Grandpa Bob, Grammie Terry, Uncle Erik and Katie, Uncle Chris and Trish, Grandma Reggie, and our family all at the house.  We even had a visit from Uncle Paul who was able to stop by before some plans he had with Darcie and the kids.  It was a beautiful day so we cooked out some beef and chicken, had some cherry pie (Daddy's other favorite) and chocolate eclairs (Grandpa's favorite) and played for hours in the backyard.  The kiddie pool from Uncle Paul has really come in handy this summer for cooling off on our 'hot' Massachusetts summer days.  Sorry, but we're still used to hot being 110+ deg, not 90 degrees!  So great to be so close to family that we can get together often and for the boys to grow up knowing them.

Sunday we checked out a local airshow / car show.  They had a biplane and a Texan giving rides (for $) and two barns full of historic military vehicles, old Indy cars, and classic (20s-30s) cars.  The classic cars were driven out and we saw the police catch Al Capone!  Complete with a Stow MA local helicopter chasing him down.  Brady even got to steer the first robotics car and show the basketball into the hoop.  No fighter jets but still a pretty fun show!

Father's Day helper - yummy waffles!

Father's Day gifts from daycare - a picture from Brady and a 'Survival Kit' from Parker

Daddy and his boys

Father's Day Air Show / Car Show

Parker Getting a Better View

The Stars of the Airshow

Brady Steering the 1st Robotics Car - He Made the Basket!

2 & 4 Year Checkups for the Boys

Good news for the boys, neither got shots this round so these well visits were relatively painless!

Parker weighed in at 22.75 lbs (3%) and height of 31.25 inches (2%) but his weight to height ratio is in proportion (34%).  There are many 1 year olds that weigh more than him!  Guess he'll just be a little guy like Mommy.  Since his 2 year visit he has been eating on and off, but has really taken to drinking milk which is good to make sure his little bones are strong.  This is also good so he can continue to play rough and tumble with big brother!  His words are getting ever more clear and he now says phrases.  Not sure if we taught him some, if he picked them up from Brady or daycare, or all of the above, but he has some cute ones.  Our favorites are "wait a minute," "oh my goodness," and "oh momma".  He does have his two year old tantrums, mostly at dinner time or when coming in from outside before he's ready to, and we continue to try to give him choices and have him use his words to minimize the frustration.  Oh we remember this phase with Brady, hopefully this will be behind us by 2.5 yrs.  He's also starting to show interest in using the potty.  He loves his potty time book and (unfortunately) playing with the toilet lid, but still afraid to sit on the big potty.  We sold our old kiddie potty when we moved from Texas, looks like we'll have to get another one.

Brady weighed in at 36.8 lbs (55%), a height of 40.125 inches (41%), a BMI of 16.05 (65%), and blood pressure of 86/40.  These were his first BMI and blood pressure readings.  He also got to do an eye test reading letters off the chart.  Like grown ups he had to read off the reading chart, but since he's not 100% with his letters yet they gave him a card to point to the letters he saw.  He knew most but had to refer to the chart for a few.  He passed!  Brady still has one tube in his left ear so we need to setup an appointment for him to have it removed before it gets too embedded.  The other fell out on it's own.  Otherwise he is a happy, healthy, super energetic, every growing curious 4 year old boy.  It always amazes us what he thinks to ask - Mommy, why do ducks float and not sink? We found out our local library rents out backpacks with themed projects (sports, natures, travel, etc) that you can bring home for the kids.  Going to have to get a library card and try these out!

   Brother lunch date

 First Mother-Son Movie Date - We Found Dory!