Halloween fun

It was a perfect Halloween this year. The weather was amazing, nice and warm, and a bit blustery. My Peter Pan crew loved every bit of it. We had some fun activities prior to the big day but nothing too overwhelming.

Our church has a beautiful pumpkin patch where we picked our prizes out.
Maddie's class had a special Halloween celebration with crafts, games and stories. The whole crew helped out.
Maddie and her special friend Josh. They have a lot of fun together.
We also went back to the farm where we volunteered for their Halloween celebration.



This afternoon ended with me carrying Theo out kicking and screaming, and Maddie losing some of the flowers on her dress and pitching a fit. Gabriel won the good behavior prize of the day!

Maddie, Theo, Mommy, Daddy and Gabriel

Goodbye Paci!

Oh what a day! I always knew that Theo would decide when he was done with his pacifier, and that is what he did. Yesterday morning, he woke up and said, "I'm ready to say goodbye to paci." He handed them to me and I put them in a drawer in his dresser. He said, "No, mama, please throw them away." So I squirreled them into my armoire - just in case! And he did great! He slept the whole night and woke up very proud of himself much to my relief as he previously claimed that he would give them up when he was as big as Daddy! We had to have a goodbye paci party! What a strong boy he is.

My baby

It's going too quickly...

Photographs by MKS

Starting 'Em Early

At the Sanders house, the reading is never light (unless you're the mama!). Gabriel has a fondness for this book and will plop down in the basement to do some light reading while we are getting shoes on. Like father like son?

Hmm, very interesting.

Let me check that out.

Yes, it's Understanding Physics. I, personally, have avoided our science shelf. (Can I even really call it "our" science shelf. No, it's Nathan's science shelf. You can find my shelf in the other room with the vampire books, page turner mysteries and some other best sellers). In fact the only way I passed high school physics was by doing extra credit which was right up my alley - read an article the teacher provided and summarize it!

It's Back....

SNOW!

Maddie and Theo loved it! It was so great to see Theo embracing the snow. He definitely wasn't a snowbunny the past two winters. I think this year, sturdy on his feet, he'll have a ball (though he still talks about visiting Puerto Rico and Arizona where it's warm!).

L.O.V.E. at Newton Community Farm

Our first mother/daughter volunteer outing was at Newton Community Farm. It was a crisp cold day for the L.O.V.E. group (League of Volunteer Enthusiasts) but the girls had a ball and did some good work too!

Teyah and Millie, Kelly and Avery, Natalie and Taraneh, Me and Maddie and Beth and Clara

Stocking the farmstand with pumpkins.

After a tour and climb on the compost heap, the girls were thrilled to pick some carrots.

Farmer Greg showing the group how to wash and rinse the apples. The water was so cold! In typical Newton fashion, he's the town farmer with a PhD in ethics.

The girls shucked dried popcorn cobs and got a special lesson from Farmer Greg.

It was a fabulous time and everyone was very excited for our next outing at the food pantry.

Heelllooo Ladies

Gabriel, circa 1970

Apple Time

One of the passages of fall in New England is apple picking. We look forward to it each year. We found a great apple farm that wasn't terribly commercialized - lots of room to run, a great variety of apples and apple ladders to climb.

There was even a wooly bear caterpillar. They are so cute!

Gabriel got in on the action. We had so many apples and high hopes for making pies, tarts and applesauce. Alas, we just ate apples this year, next year we'll cook!

How Could I Forget This?

Guess who's in a big boy bed? He's so proud and went quite easily sometime in September. And actually, it wasn't just going into a big boy bed, but switching rooms! I had set up his big boy room before Gabriel was born but he just wasn't ready to move out of the nursery. So I borrowed a crib and Gabriel slept in Theo's big boy room. Well, he finally decided he was ready and now he just loves his big boy room. He'll close the door to get dressed and is happy as can be. Naps aren't as great anymore but he will stay in his bed for quiet time - though makes for a rocky 5pm hour. He also transitioned to underwear at night! We are so proud and had an ice cream party to celebrate.

Farm Weekend

Nathan went to California to spend time at Yosemite with his dad and brothers (pictures to follow, I hope) so we tried to keep busy at home. It was a cold weekend (I think this will continue to be the trend over the next few months!) but out we went. Our Saturday stop was Verrill Farm (you'll remember it from strawberry picking in June). They were having a festival with a lot of fun kid activities. Theo's first stop was the pony ride. He loved Molly and wore his cowboy boots to be properly attired.

There was a hay ride through the farm. It was freezing, a tad too long and tough to contain Gabriel. But, great to see the land and all the different crops that they grow at the farm. We love this farm and are thrilled that their farmstand is now open. The old one burned down a year ago.

Our Sunday stop was at a new state park, Brook Farm State Park. What a find! There's a working dairy farm on site with it's own ice cream shop. Yum!

We were able to enjoy our ice cream while watching the cows.

Maddie didn't like feeding the goats. Theo loved it when they licked his hand!

The leaves were just starting to change. The low light of afternoon sun made this pond beautiful.

We took a short hike through the woods. Gabriel rode on my back.

Maddie and Theo found this rock shaped like a large piece of cheese. They scrambled up to the top. Theo said, when he came down, "That was awesome. I was, like, oh my gosh, that rock is so high." We'll definitely be back to enjoy this park. We heard they have candlelit trails for moonlight walks in the winter. As it gets dark around 4 here midwinter, I think we'll have to bundle up and try it out!

While the Cat's Away...

the Mouse updates her blog. There are a few more blog posts in August that I updated if you are interested.

Also, I forgot to share these amazing photos from our June photoshoot my friend Denise did. Poor Maddie did not enjoy the session. Little did I know she was coming down with strep throat! http://thesanders.smugmug.com/Children/June-2009/8454134_xpbhw/1/555690149_rtWaj
This link should take you to the smugmug page, enter the password Waban to see the pictures!

House of Pain

Headaches, body aches, sore throats, fever - Maddie, Theo and Nathan came down with a bug. Yuck! It was a long week of ping ponging symptoms, missed school and weekends on the couch. Luckily, Gabriel and I stayed healthy and were able to take care of everyone!

Bird Watching