The boys are settling into their new normal. They sure do wish that Scarlett slept a little bit less and played with them a little bit more (and didn't cry in the car). Give it time, guys!
Come ON!!!
AMIGOS.
I think she likes him. And I know he loves her.
First thing every morning, Maksim quietly walks by my room to see if Scarlett is still sleeping or not. If she's awake, he hurries in to say "good morning" and chat with her. Otherwise, he will patiently wait hoping she wakes up and he can help feed her (even after the tongue and lip tie procedure we are still restricted to bottle feeding for the time being).
Mornings with Maks.
He's even given her a 2nd nickname: Cute Squirt (in addition to "Beautiful Cupcake" - what he wanted to name her at birth). He claims, "We already know she's cute, Mom. And when she drinks milk she squirts it out the sides of her mouth." Can't argue with that logic.
Ready and willing to help.
Before school cradle holding session.
Deklan is thrilled to be a big brother for the very first time! I love looking in the rear view mirror in the car and catching sight of him gently holding hands with Scarlett as we drive to school. He knows the perfect speed to bounce her in her chair and the exact way she likes her head to be rubbed. Just ask him!
Ugh. I can't even handle this.
And I can't forget about this one. Kira. She's a professional. Third time welcoming home a baby for her, and she's more seasoned than ever. She's my babysitter, spit-up cleaner, full length pillow, foot warmer and forever friend. Oh, and she loves with all her heart - all the time.
My oldest and my youngest.
I simply can't get enough of this video of Maksim teaching Scarlett how to give her first high five:
And just for fun, a throwback to when these two were just getting to know one another themselves. Seems like just yesterday...
It's Fall in New England and the festivals are in abundance. Our friend took the boys on a special trip to an apple orchard a few weeks ago, and their school also took an afternoon trip to a local orchard/farm/pumpkin patch the other week as well (Bryon attended while I stayed home with Scarlett). However, I had it on my bucket list to make it to just ONE of the local farm festivals this year, even with a newborn on our hands. Luckily, we live just a few miles from Wilson Farm. My friend had recommended that we make a stop before the end of the season (she attended with her girls when they were stationed at Hanscom a few years back), so we took advantage of some unseasonably warm weather on a sunny Sunday morning.
"The truly educated never graduate."...?
I guess there's no "beating the crowd" when it comes to Fall festivals around Boston. Nonetheless, the boys had fun and it was a great excuse to get out of the house and enjoy the weather. Bryon got a bit hot carrying Scarlett around while she napped in the Ergo, so he chose to spend most of his time wandering around the air conditioned market store.
..."But what if they suddenly come to life, Mom?"
Meanwhile, I was with both boys as they meandered (ok, ran) through the hay maze - not 1, not 2, not even 3...but 4 times! They became pretty skilled at knowing which way to turn and even discovered that there was more than one way to successfully make their way out (and even more ways to get lost!).
These are their "Halloween faces."
Although there were no hay rides or live animals (like our visit to Parlee Farms last season), there were a potato blasters - which were the highlight of the day!
He was all about his ear protection - and trying his best to hit those targets!
We didn't have to tell him twice that it was finally his turn!
I had to give him a bit of a boost or else his only choice was to blast straight up into the sky (which he was ok with!)!
A quick sampling of fresh pumpkin pie for the men in my life while I grabbed some apple cider donuts to-go and we were on our way home. Bryon's off to the Middle East for the next 7 days, so he's frantically packing while I prepare for my first entire week alone with our crew.
Once a year I get the opportunity to visit the kids' classrooms and let them show me what they're working on in school. This is my first year with both kids attending school, so I had to split my time between classrooms - giving me only 25 minutes with each child. The changes from year to year with Maks continue to be so dramatic, it always surprises me just how much he's learning. From reading to world geography to math...and beyond. He's always anxious to show me all of the "work" he does during the school days. Maksim chose to demonstrate the movable alphabet as well as the teens board. Here he is proudly showing off his completed teens board work.
Here are some pictures his teachers have sent me over the past few months:
Map work and world geography are some of his favorite subjects right now.
I can see so much of myself in this photo!
This is Deklan's first year in school, and he was so thrilled to show me his classroom! He desperately wanted to show me color mixing, but his classmate was busy with that work. Instead Deklan organized sea shells in matching rows, showed me some number bead work, and counted with the spindle box. His favorite activities came from the geometry cabinet - where he advanced from basic shapes: circle, square and triangle, to more complex shapes: oval, ellipse, curvilinear triangle, quatrefoil. That's right: quatrefoil. Who doesn't know the term quatrefoil (this girl)??
And some photos from Deklan's teachers:
The first thing he tells me about school each day is how he ate his snack with his 2 friends.
Banana cutting.
Color mixing!
Each of my children was disappointed that their time to show me what they were learning seemed so short! I'm not complaining that they love school so much! Each classroom sang a few songs and then it was time for parents/special visitors to leave for the day. It'll be so interesting to see how much more they learn when Bryon gets to attend in January for Dad's Visiting Day!
Let's take our 3 week old on a family trip to Florida. Because, well, we've lost our minds. Actually, I'd been so very disappointed that I had needed to RSVP that we'd be missing my good friend's wedding back in Tampa. It was just too close to Scarlett's arrival for me to commit. However, she was born healthy and I was doing well myself. Bryon had work to do at MacDill, so it all worked out at the very last minute. A handful of plane tickets later and we were back to the heat & humidity of the SUNSHINE state!
We tested ourselves by taking a late night flight (9pm-12am) and boy did we luck out. Scarlett slept from the moment we arrived at Boston Logan until we checked into our hotel in Tampa (thank goodness for direct flights!). Deklan got sleepy less than an hour into the plane flight, placed his head on Bryon's lap and slept until we landed. Maks somehow managed to stay awake the entire flight and car ride to our hotel. For a kid with a 7pm bedtime, staying awake until 1am is pretty impressive. Everybody was asleep within minutes of checking in. Talk about a success!
Kroger party of 5.
I had my hands FULL with a 3 week old, 3 year old and 5 year old in a hotel room while Bryon was a work for a few days. Luckily, we didn't spend much time at the actual hotel. Scarlett is young enough that she was happy to nap in a baby carrier while we were out and about. I knew the area, so it felt like home to visit our favorite parks & splash pads, explore the beach, meet up with old friends and check out some local attractions. While we lived in Tampa, we took a weekly walk to Dough every weekend to get donuts for breakfast. It was the first place we went on our first morning at our old stomping grounds. I didn't know it was possible to get drunk off of donuts, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened to Deklan!
We spent the majority of the day at Ballast Point Park. It was hot outside, and the splash pad made for the perfect way to cool off after running wild on the adjoining playground equipment. The boys loved watching the horses across the street in one direction and walking the pier out into the bay in the other direction.
Napping the day away.
Pure joy.
Scarlett and I hung out together in the shade wherever we could find it! Check out all of those little foot prints from running back and forth to come and tell me how much they love this place!
Scarlett actually fell asleep in the car and there wasn't enough time for a trip back to the hotel before needing to pick Bryon up from his meeting, so we made a pit stop at Red Box and I let the boys watch a movie in the car before we met up with Bryon and took some time to play at another park on base. With the sleep deprivation from the late night before, it was a good idea to give them some quiet time to relax. Next stop was meeting up with an old co-worker and the boys' babysitter at our favorite ice cream/shave ice/gelato joint - Mr. Penguin. To cap off the night, we grabbed some of our favorite Thai food and headed over to Corona Park for visiting & playtime with Air Force friends who are lucky enough to call Tampa/St. Petersburg their forever home. Who'd have thought that I'd still be meeting up with the very first military spouse I met at an Air Force event - a spouses meeting back at OTS graduation. Over the course of 8 years we've met up in Alabama, Texas, Hawaii and Florida; not too shabby!
I can remember when Maks was barely big enough to play in this car!
These spinning seats scare me; Maksim thinks they're great. Seriously, how many kids have you seen spin around and fall (fly) off? ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE.
HYDRATE.
Day 2 called for something out of the ordinary: Dinosaur World. I'd never been before, but Bryon had taken Maksim once. Maks remembered every little detail of his prior adventure and was more than enthusiastic to show Deklan every single thing there was to see. I dropped and shattered my phone while juggling all 3 kids at Dinosaur World, so that put a damper on some of our plans while my phone got repaired. We made a quick stop at West Florida Orthopedic Rehab to see my friend & physical therapist (the BEST!), Nita before spending the late afternoon/early evening swimming at the hotel pool with Daddy.
Friday morning we relaxed at the hotel while Bryon ran into the office to wrap his work week up. He picked up my phone on his way back and before we knew it, it was time to drive to the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony, awesome reception and all around great time. I'm not sure I've ever seen my kids have so much fun in their entire lives. Deklan hit the dance floor the minute the ceremony ended and didn't stop dancing (and taking people's photos) until the very last song was played. Maksim found a friend to run around outside with and I'm pretty sure he clocked up enough mileage for a marathon.
The boys were big fans of these disposable cameras!
Sam takes time to teach Deklan the Cupid Shuffle:
But any sort of dancing is acceptable at the Keyes wedding!
I'm incredibly thankful that were were able to attend, but I'm even more thrilled to have met 2 people as great as Jamie and Sam. Sometimes your path just crosses with the right people and the exact right time - and that's what happened with Sam and I while we worked at the South Tampa Y. I adore this couple, as do my kids and husband (and Kira!). Honestly, I don't know how anybody couldn't love them. Thanks for letting us be a part of your lives; we are happier because of y'all!
The coolest couple. (This blurry photo does them no justice!)
I'm pretty sure Sam would have held Scarlett in the wedding pictures had Jamie allowed it!
Scarlett meets Sam for the very first time.
Some morning after thoughts from Deklan:
Deklan threw an unexpected fit the next day as we were boarding our flight and finding our seats - crying and screaming that he didn't want to leave. Oh man, I feel ya, buddy! It was a quick trip, but worth every single second. We may even be back again in November! As for now, we're home in Boston soaking up the final days of Fall.
