David's First Ski Trip!

Thanks to the 8.5 inches of fresh snow we just got yesterday, and the fact that we're still on school vacation this week we were able to take David skiing today! He's been asking when he could go, but with the lack of good fresh snow, we didn't think it would be as good for his first try.

Daddy helps get the ski boots on his little feet.

Boots...check - helmet...check!  Now all he needs is some skis!

With his instructor, getting comfortable in the skis

Ready for a ride on the magic carpet to the top of the beginners hill.

No turning back now!

While I take some pictures of David, Daddy takes the other two to a snow fort with slides!

Going down the hill, feet in the shape of a pizza as Daddy called it!

A nice gentle snow plow!

Looking good David!

Shaun is King of the hill!

Evan and I had fun sliding on the hill while Daddy took a turn watching David's lesson.

Of course there would be some falls, but overall he did really well and is excited to try again soon!

Bowling!

A few weeks ago, Omi came to visit and we decided to take the boys bowling. I didn't know much about the local bowling alley, but David and Shaun really enjoy it and I thought Evan would get a kick out of trying it out for the first time!

Shaun getting ready to bowl

Excited about his shot!

David helps out Evan until he gets the hang of it!

Bowling Pro!

Evan waits for his ball to reach the pins

Way to roll Evan!

Final Scores!

Bowling Brothers!

First Ever Trip to the ER

Considering I have been a mother for 5 1/2 years now, I feel pretty lucky that today was my first trip to the ER. But I knew it was only a matter of time before it happened and that day came today when a very excited Evan ran face first into a skee ball machine. He knocked his front teeth a little out of place and split his lip pretty bad. Charlie was on call at his hospital and I was in MA with my mom and sister watching my nephew bowl.

I called Charlie right away and tried to get his opinion over the phone on whether he thought we needed to take him to the hospital. We knew the ER wouldn't be able to do anything for his teeth but I was still a little concerned about his lip. We tried to call the dentist but couldn't get a hold of anyone. I finally got Evan calm and took him out to the van and put on a movie. I was able to get a good picture of his lip and sent it to Charlie (thank you smart phones and technology!)

The picture we sent to Daddy

At this point it was starting to look better and the last thing I wanted to do was take him to a busy ER loaded with sick people unless it was absolutely necessary.

Charlie called me back and said it looked worse than he thought and since he was working at the hospital today he said he would go down to his ER and talk to one of the doctors to get an opinion. Once we got the confirmation that his lip probably should be stitched we headed over to Exeter Hospital (since it was closer than driving all the way to Concord and that way my mom and sister could stay with me and help with David & Shaun.

When we arrived there was no one there and we didn't have to wait long. Evan was in good spirits checking out his surroundings and enjoying the kids area of the waiting room.

Hanging out in the waiting room

Angry Birds to take the edge off!

We got called into the triage area and then fairly soon after that they came to take him to a room. They gave him a coloring book and some crayons and we waited for the doctor to come in and take a look.

Following the nurse to his room

Waiting to be seen and being such a great sport!

Checking out the TV

Coloring to kill time

The doctor confirmed what the doctor at Concord had said about the stitches and confirmed what Charlie had said about the teeth. He gave me a couple options on how to go about the procedure. The pain free option sounded the best but it would have required us to wait at least 30 minutes before starting and he was already so tired and so ready to just leave. So I opted to have him get a quick shot of lidocaine which would hurt a little but would have him numbed up for the procedure in 30 seconds as opposed to 30 minutes. He was restrained using a papoose board so that he wouldn't move around and once the lidocaine was administered the doctor was done in about 10 minutes. He ended up getting seven stitches and orders to see a dentist on Monday and to limit all active play and running around to NONE!  Oh boy, that should be interesting!

In any case, we were signing the discharge papers in less time than it would have taken to do the numbing gel, so I was very happy with my decision to not sit around and wait or try and put him under.  Evan was a champ, he did so good and he was very ready to see his brothers and head home!

The shirt says it all!  What a champ!

Back to School

It's back to school time and this year is a big year for back to school. David is now in kindergarten and Shaun is going to preschool! Shaun's preschool is 3 days a week so that will give me some one on one time with Evan! On Friday's I have signed us up for a Mommy and Me swim class. We had our first one last week and he loved it!

Back to school was different this year in the fact that we recently relocated to a new city with a different set up. Back in Revere they had full day kindergarten and while I am sad that David is only in school for 2.5 hours a day we'll make the best of it. I have signed him up for some different activities to make up for the time he won't be in school. I think he is most excited about learning to play the piano. Another difference was how he started his first week. The first day of school was a Meet and Greet where he went in and colored a name tag for himself and met the teachers (his teacher is leaving soon to have a baby so he'll have a guest teacher for the first part of the year).

David at his Meet and Greet

The next day, Wednesday was set aside for half of the class to attend and then the remaining half would attend on Thursday. Friday and Monday were closed for the Holiday weekend. Since David didn't have school on Wednesday we decided to take one last trip to Revere to visit since they don't start until the 8th. I made sure to bring my camera so that I could get a picture of David and Briana. They started school together 2 years ago and I have gotten a picture each year. Just because they are no longer in the same school doesn't mean I can't get a Back to School picture!

Thursday we needed to be up bright and early! School starts at 7:45am sharp! I woke David up and he jumped out of bed and said "It's my first day of school!" then he proceeded to thank me for waking him up for his first day of school! I am wondering how long before I get "just a few more minutes of sleep please!" We ate breakfast, I packed him his healthy snack (an apple) and we went outside to take the obligatory "First Day of School" pictures!

Kindergarten 2011 (I got the idea for the chalk board from a blog; who stole it from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog!)

At school checking out the scene.

Our kindergartner! They grow up so fast!

The boys waiting to bring David to his classroom

David waiting in line to get picked up after a great first day!

He loves his class and he loves his school. He was just as excited to wake up this morning for his second day of school (the first day with his entire class!). Today was also a special day because this was Shaun's first day and Meet and Greet.

Pre-School 2011

Our preschooler! Getting so big!

Walking to the school ready to take on the world!

David (a pro at this school thing!) walking side by side with his little brother, showing him the way!

David and Shaun ready for school!

In Shaun's classroom he walked right in found his cubby and then sat down to play with the Mr. Potato head that was set up on one of the tables. Since I had Evan with me I wasn't able to spend much time walking around with Shaun as I was chasing Evan and making sure he wasn't destroying the place! Shaun seemed just fine and when they asked all the parents to head over to the library for a brief meeting, Shaun said to me, "Mommy, I can stay here?" I think he'll be just fine tomorrow when I drop him off!

Evan didn't want to leave the classroom. He made himself quite at home. He's going to be so sad when we drop Shaun off tomorrow and we don't get to stay again.

Everything went as smooth as could be. I think both kids are going to have a great year and I am looking forward to watching them develop a love of learning!

The Dentist

Last Thursday we took the boys to their very first Dentist appointments. Since our insurance changed we were all able to go to the same place and all have cleanings done together. I was having my teeth cleaned while David and Shaun went so I didn't get to see them but they both did great.

The girl was unable to do Shaun's cleaning since he would close his mouth over the polish brush! He does that with his toothbrush at home trying to "eat" the toothpaste. They told me that he is a little young anyway, they normally wait until 3 years old. But for 2.5 he did great! He sat in the chair with no trouble, got to go for a "ride" and even let the girl count his teeth! David also did great! In fact, he LOVED it, especially because the girl let him help paint on the fluoride! He had so much fun, he keeps asking when he gets to go back!

Blizzard of 2010!

Wow, what a way to end the year with our very first blizzard. We got about a foot of snow here in Boston and the winds were definitely fierce! The best part was that apparently snow removal is including in our lease! I had gone outside to shovel a spot for Charlie to park when he got home from work when a truck with my landlords name on it beeped at me! It was really good timing since Shaun was done being outside and Evan was going to be waking up from his nap soon!



Then on Wednesday we went to Grammy & Papa's house to go sledding! I even took Evan down the hill a few times! David loved sledding down the big hill and especially going over the jump that they made!

A quick video of Evan sledding!