Sam decorating cookies for his teachers :)

Sam's 4th Birthday!

We celebrated Sam's 4th birthday this week!  In light of him being sick with an ear infection he had a really wonderful day and really got into having his birthday.  Well technically we have been doing the countdown for a few weeks now - and I got balloons and hung some decorations around the house.   In the morning he opened the gift from Charlotte (toy figurines of a caribou and a sea turtle); I took him to the Dr (which he loves ;), then he had a bagel and cream cheese in Belmont center (one of his favorite meals ;), then we had a few people over for pizza from his favorite pizza store and an ice cream cake.  He requested a chocolate ice cream cake so that is what he got.  My Mom, Chris, Lauren, Jordan & Marie came for pizza and cake and Sam had a super great time opening his gifts.  He is as such a great age it is so much fun. 

We were supposed to have his birthday party this weekend at CoCo Keys yesterday, but we had to cancel it on Saturday morning bcs Sam was still under the weather - we will need to re-schedule for January after the holidays. 

KidSpace

We have been getting a membership to KidSpace in Belmont for 3 years now - it opens at the of October and runs through early Spring so is a great place for the kids to run around and play when it is cold out.

Photos from Busa Bushwhack Race - 11/10

In April I started to train for one leg of the Graniteman Sprint Triathalon in mid-August, I was really happy with having a reason to get back on the trails again and have something to train for (which really helped me get out of bed in the mornings).  Having not raced in 16 years it was great to complete a race and I honestly forgot how good it feels afterward.  So I did the race in August, and signed up for 3 more races after that - all trail races to save my knees, and I just love to run on trails truth be told.  So I did a 5 mile trail race (ECTA Run for the Trails) in Hamilton in September and came in first for my age division (3rd overall for ladies); then I did the Run for Stone Tower 5k race in Lynn Woods in mid-October and came in first place :)  My last race of the season was the Busa Bushwhack race on 11/10 and it was a 5 mile course in Framingham through the Callahan State park.    Overall it was my worst race, I felt like crap, my legs felt like lead, and I had cramps the entire time (note to self - skip the latte before your next race), but at the end I was so happy to have done it, and be done for the time being bcs it is so dark in the mornings I can not longer see the trails from the lack of light, and all the leaves on the trails.  Here are some photos from my race:

Just getting on the trail - everyone falls in line

Brutal hill and me seeing who is passing me - I think his long legs  helped ;)

Raking Leaves

After having raked 35+ bags, I handed the rake over to Geoff and headed to Nicholas' birthday party with the kids.  The kids had a super great time at the party and were falling asleep in the car, but when we got home Geoff showed up the huge pile of leaves he created for us - it was fun :)

Play-doh flavored pizza

We made pizza on Friday night and Sam had a great time and Charlotte pulled out Play-doh to play along.

Fall

Sam was a great helper with bagging some leaves this Fall - he really likes his rake ("Momma it has eyes - how silly!") and was really getting into raking.

Halloween

I brought the kids to Jeannie & Mike's house for their first trick-or-treating and Charlie very quickly picked up on the concept of the holiday and kept on going back to their candy bowl and saying "thank you"  her trick-or-treat sounded closer to her "tickle tickle" but she did a great job.

We went out again this year with Kristy, Coulter and Quinn - and also got to meet their new baby Nash who was just 1 month old - so cute.  There was a ton of kids and people out, so we only needed to go up and down one street and the kids were tuckered out.  Charlie stayed out until very close to the end.

Toddler Party

This is what happens when Charlie is put down in her toddler bed for the night - the next morning looks like the remnants of a toddler rave.  Note that she was reading books in the dark on the chair ;)

Fall Photos

Some photos I took from Geoff's phone from this Fall:

Sam Pirate and Momma Pirate (don't let the fireman's' hat fool you) reading

Sam Pirate steering the ship at the park

So happy :) :)

Geoff and Charlotte on hay ride at Vin and Tim's birthday party at apple orchard in Stowe

Sam Pirate

Sam is very into being a pirate these days - we let him watch Peter Pan a few times and now his bed is a pirate ship, and he carries around his "booming" machine (which is a wooden flute) and his sword (which is a green piece of wood from a log cabin set) and wears a straw cowboy hat to complete his pirate get-up.

He says that we are a family of pirates and I am momma pirate, Geoff is Daddy pirate and Charlotte is baby pirate.   He has also commandeered Charlotte's plush toy kitten, which he calls his pirate cat :)

Every time we go to the park, all the play structures are pirates ships as well.   And his favorite books right now are all on the same topic ;)

Here is a picture from the museum today that Sam wanted Fer to send to me :)

He is getting into naming all his toys and "pets" and has the following pets currently.

1) Ozzie the the snake - which is a black piece of construction paper I cut into the shape of a snake
2) Stripper - his plastic toy whale
3) Lady & the Tramp - his "puppy" which is a wooden barrel loader from his train table
4) Science - Charlotte's plush toy cat
5) Pins and stick - his original plush toy cat  that we left at the lake a month or so ago, Sam says that the cat is very sad to be there alone, but we assure him Granddad visits and takes care of him on the weekends :)

In the bath

Taken October 24 - my baby in the bath:

The Park

Charlotte insisted in bringing my eye mask and a bag of frozen vegetables to the park.

First Place :)

I ran a race the week after our birthdays and came in first place.  Sam loves my medal and he uses it as a leash for his pet puppy.

Geoff Birthday

Sam helped me make a birthday cake for Geoff (white cake with strawberry icing) and then we had his family over for pizza and cake and to sing happy birthday.  The kids helped Geoff with his gifts and cards - so much fun.

Kelley Birthday

This year my birthday feel mid-week, but was part of a week-long celebration so was super-fun.  Geoff had wrapped a few gifts which I opened before heading to the office.  That night my Mom visited with an apple pie and we sang a little happy birthday :)  The kids (especially Sam) were really into helping me open my gifts - it was super cute.  And Sam said that he an Nicholas had bought the gift wrapped in red paper :)

Ice Cream

Geoff was away in the first few days of October at a conference in Chicago - the kids and I went to Joe's one night for some ice cream.  Sam was being very sweet about sharing his ice cream with Charlotte and I.

Charlotte feeding Momma

End of September

Geoff sent me this photo of Charlotte feeding her baby some food:

Back to School

Sam had his first day back at Belmont Co-Op Nursery school last Wednesday.  He was in the 2 day program last year and is now in the 3 day program this year.  I dropped him off and he went straight for the train table - like he did not miss a beat over the past 3 summer months.  It is nice to be back to a schedule for the week and he he has school 3mornings a week and then TumbleBears on Tuesday mornings.  That and going to Granddad's house on Wednesday afternoons he has a nice and full week.  Here are some photos from his first day - it was a hot day - close to 90 degrees.

Fun at the park

Sam was involved with this occurrence