What a Night...

So, we went out for dinner after liturgy. It was a relatively relaxing dinner until we finished and we realized that the keys were locked in the car... Matthew called AAA while I hung out with the overtired kids at the 99. Thankfully, we were within walking distance of Walmart and I had a gift card to use. We wandered Walmart until the AAA truck arrived. The kids chose some fun new toothbrushes; Cecilia chose Barbie and Thomas chose Wall-E. (Which is a little strange because Cecilia doesn't have any Barbies and Thomas has never seen Wall-E...) Anyway, everyone was amused while we were waiting. Always an adventure.

Boys' Day Out

Thomas has been needing some individual attention lately. Matthew took him out for some errands and some fun on Saturday. They ended up at Barnes and Noble (Thomas's favorite place). Here are some pictures of him eating a muffin in the cafe. Thomas looks very serious and very grown-up. In the second picture, he's talking about the new train set he and dad just bought at Toys R Us. He's explaining that he and dad can each have 2 trains to play with. He's a very animated little guy when he's telling a story. He keeps us in stitches.

Eliana's Photo Shoot

I haven't been taking many pictures lately and I need to practice using Matthew's camera again. I'll be helping him to shoot a wedding in a couple weeks. When I took out his camera, I just started taking pictures without checking his settings. All the photos were completely blue until I realized what had happened. Here are some cute pictures of Eliana sitting and posing for me and then eating cheerios. I had a lot of fuzzy pictures because, for some reason, she wouldn't sit still for me... odd.

First Foods

Eliana is already six months old! She had her first baby food last week--applesauce. I love the faces. I need to have Matthew take some pictures of her eating cheerios, which is even more fun. I am really enjoying her. She is so sweet and smiley. And look at that spikey hair that's starting to grow in. It usually spikes on bath day :)

Weekend in Belmont

We spent the weekend after Labor Day in Belmont. We ended up inside a lot of the time because it was raining. The Schous (family friends/neighbors of Matthew's parents) came up to help us celebrate Gramma's birthday. They brought coloring books for the kids. Mr. Schou and Thomas really bonded and he taught Thomas how to swing a golf club. I don't think the picture does it justice, but each time after he would hit a ball, Thomas would throw the club to the side (we're guessing like a baseball bat...). Very funny.

Technical Difficulties...

My computer crashed a couple weeks ago. I'm still not completely up and running. Matthew has a new computer that I'm using right now, but I don't have all my photo programs set up yet. So, we don't have any pictures right now.

We've been busy here. I just decided that I want to start Cecilia on a kindergarten program this year. She just seems ready and I've already been working on a reading program with her. I need to order all my supplies this week so I can get started! I think this will be good for her (and probably me). My project this week is to get myself and the house organized so that I can formally start our homeschooling next week!

Thinking about Halloween

I was talking with the kids yesterday about what they'd like to be for Halloween. I was just taking out Eliana's 6-9 month clothing and found the ladybug costume she'll be wearing this year. Cecilia originally wanted to be Cinderella (she already has the dress), but since we just watched Disney's Enchanted, she now wants to be Giselle. (Very cute movie, by the way.) So, I asked Thomas what he wanted to be and, after deciding that he didn't want to be Buzz Lightyear again (which he had been considering), he exclaimed, "I want to be Stupor Duck." As in Daffy Duck's character modeled after Superman... There's actually a fan site for Stupor Duck. Anyone know where to find a Stupor Duck costume...? :)

Hopkinton Fair

We've been sick around here lately. (Me last week, Thomas on the weekend, and Matthew now.) So, I did not join Grandpa, Matthew, Cecilia, and Thomas at the Hopkinton Fair on Saturday. Eliana and I stayed home. The kids had a lot of fun and here are some of the highlights. I love the look on the kids's faces on this car ride. Apparently there was an ever-so-slight hill and this is the look of sheer thrill for 3 and 4 year olds. I love the picture of Cecilia because she looks so grown-up with the water bottle.

Next the kids went to the petting farm, where this feisty little goat took the bag right from Matthew and ate it all up. Then, while Matthew and Grandpa were watching a blacksmith, the kids had a blast playing with this marble game. Finally, Cecilia got her wish to go on the ferris wheel with Matthew (just like on Charlotte's Web). Half-way through the ride, she turned to Matthew and exclaimed, "I didn't know it would be this much fun!" Thomas preferred to stay on the ground with Grandpa. They waited at the gate.

We won't talk about the ride home.... let's just say Thomas wasn't feeling great by then...