Genius -- and some combat

I had to run an errand today that took us to the mall. I realize when we walked in that I haven't been to the mall in years -- who goes to all these sparkly stores?? If it's not target, costco, or a grocery store, fact is I haven't been there. But with this genius marketing move, perhaps we'll be back! Check out the free (and clean) play space we found. Stayed for an HOUR!






Later we went to red-haired Jameson's house for some more romping. And what was once just running and yelling has turned a bit more physical. I think this is how boys show their love. I'm convinced a good kick to the head is equivalent to a bear hug. Now that the guantlet has been thrown, not sure there is any turning back -- wrestling is here to stay whenever these boys get together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VINKD1BfV6g

Marionettes and snow

After we got over the sadness of Aunt Jenny, Uncle Matt, and Suzie leaving we packed up and left to see the Tanglewood Marionettes at Tufts, thanks to Janel who invited us. It was a great performance, however I think Pip and Vivie may have been just as thrilled with the novelty of the theater's seats than anything else. There was a seriously nerve-wracking moment when it started and Pip was being super silly, yelling and crawling all over his seat while an actor was trying to explain how puppers work to the kids. Thankfully when they turned the lights down that seemed to grab his attention enough for a modicum of "silence" ... at least so that he was on par with the din of the other kids.




As we were leaving the theater, Janel's husband Jeff lured Pip in to a snowball fight which didn't last nearly long enough for Pip. So we got Daddy to head outside when we got home. Both Pip and Viv lasted a full hour out there, romping around in the pillowy snow.


This is Vivie's "I dare you to take that picture" face.

Cuddling with Suzie

I was happy to get some quality time with Sweet Suzie this weekend. She really is a beautiful little girl and I loved having her here. It's a bit of a wake up call, too, for what is about to be when my next one comes in a few (yikes!) weeks. Thankfully, Pip and Vivie, were very nice with her and didn't mind my holding her at all. Let's hope that continues!


The nutrition level, though, left something to be desired lately with all the business of visitors. But somehow Vivie did manage to have one full, mostly healthy, meal and made it into the clean plate club!

Aquarium

I had to work Friday, but Phil, Jen, and Matt braved the school vacation week crowds and headed to the Aquarium. They managed to see all the major sights despite swarms of ... not always considerate ... people.





I didn't get too many details afterwards, but apparently the penguin waddle had an impact on Vivie because that was what she wanted to demo for me when she got home. On the Pip side, the major story was his almost getting lost when he ran ahead of the group down the central cork-screw ramp but then got side-tracked at a display and missed it when everyone passed him as they continued down. When he realized he didn't see them he went back up instead of down and only got more and more freaked out. When Phil and crew realized he was missing Matt went back up to find him and soon heard the unmistakable terror screech "DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" from across the hall and knew it was Pip. Unfortunately, Pip was so traumatized and embarrassed when Matt rescued him he reacted a bit bizarrely and was angry at Matt for the rest of the day! I suppose some sort of blame-your-rescuer syndrome. Thankfully, he recovered and was soon joking and laughing with his lovable uncle by the next day.

Look at our feet!

Suzie's here!!!! Pip and Vivie are completely in love with this little charmer and wanted to play with her all the time. Even when she was trying to sleep! Plus Auny Jenny and Uncle Matt were here too so this was a triply fabulous weekend.

Here Suzie, Pip, and Vivie compare feet ... small, medium, and large!

Suzie checks out the scene.

Vivie and Suzie are going to be buds, I can tell already.

Haircut!

Well we've been working on Pip for a while to get his hari cut. Even once he was was ready we seemed thwarted twice over when once he fell asleep on the car ride over and another time it was Sunday and every place we tried was closed.

This time we went over in the morning in good spirits and Pip climbed right up on the chair. He vehemently refused the clipper every time Karen, the stylist, tried to convince him it was an easier option. So he ended up with a full scissor cut, not too short, and plenty left on top for twirling.

The best part was the toy crate in the waiting area, where we hung after the cut so Pip and Viv could take every single one out individually for inspection. Plus we got to snag some Skittles from the candy dispenser by the door when we left, so hopefully there is some motivation to return next time!

Pirate party!

It was a pirate party this weekend and you can tell this is a very appropriate theme for 5 year olds as every boy came decked out in his own pirate gear from home. This was particularly special because it was a boy from Pip's old school so it was very nice to get the invite and to catch up with friends we haven't seen since moving to the new town.

Pip had a blast searching for gold dubloons, playing pirate freeze dance (yes!), and pirate simon says.

Clics pirate ship

Pip's favorite toy at his old daycare were Clics ... sort of like legos for little kids. We decided he could set up an "Earn Tally" to get his own and after several weeks and 10 good deeds, they arrived. I found myself hooked as well ... and made this huge pirate ship, completely ignoring everything else for about 1 hour straight.

Valentine's Party - with a scary snake infestation

Monday Jess had a Valentine's party while her basement was apparently infested with anacondas. Scary. Luckily Pip and his buds fought them off and kept us all safe. Here he is explaining the dangers .. note at the end he tries to convince Ella and Carolina to go the basement with him, promising he'll keep them safe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl0Noa4xEsE

Vivie found protection under the craft table.


Here we are about to hand out valentines:


And at the end of the day Pip refused to sit for the picture so Jess had to hang him in!

Snow glaciers

Here's Pip outside braving the snow glacier that was once our front steps and side yard. The hardened top layer allowed him to walk anywhere he wanted without falling through and also created a nice slick surface for body sledding:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7Gz1qMIhGU

Note the snow pants are duct-taped to his boots to prevent snow from getting inside. Genius Dad!

Here he is sledding along the side of house with an actual sled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC85IFb5sAE

Vivie was outside for a while and actually climbed up the "front steps" -- sort of like her personal Everest, but called it quits after that.

All the exercise plus a busy day playing inside coupled with a VERY late bedtime the night before (game night -- didn't sleep until at least 10pm when Daddy Joe said a monster would be stopping by to eat any children whose eyes were still open) made for a complete couch pass out around 4:30pm.

Game night in the new house

We hosted a great game night this weekend ... lots of fun!

Tracey, Alex, and Chase came over in the afternoon while Phil and Brillo watched rugby at the local bar. The twins are getting bigger now and have their own way of scooting about. Pip, Vivie, and Ella even engaged in a little rough-housing with them up in Pip's room where we had an extra mattress set up for the sleepover. Pip saw Ella pick one of them up and this was a revelation that they could be lifted by a kid. Soon -- under supervision -- he was hefting them all over the beds while Vivie jumped in her fairy wings.


Eventually Phil and Brillo showed up with the Devlin's ... and Brillo was immediately ambushed into submission.


Hanging out in the "dry pond".

Supposed to be putting the kids to bed

Pip and Vivie convinced Daddy to let them sleep together in MegaLou's bed ... and then Phil decided to try to get a nap in himself. Only problem is Phil is the only one sleeping.

Storytime and Ed Grimley

This morning we went to Storytime at the Medford library with Ella and Janel (and kids) from group. It's been a long time since Pip and Viv went to library storytimes and they were very good. They both sat right up front and were very well-behaved. Even cuddled a bit. So cute!



Later we made Valentines for Grammie Balas and Grandma Bressler which got us in the mood for Valentine's Day. All Vivie could do this day, though, was this crazy Ed Grimley strut. She did it everywhere she went and cracked me up to no end:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv20YjYNEi0

Move a bed ... memory rewind

Pip and Vivie and I spent an hour the other day looking at some old pictures.  I started showing them when Vivie was born because we've been talking a lot about the fact that MegaLou is coming soon.  When we came across this oldie of Pip visiting me in the hospital when Vivie was born they were both transfixed.  It's really amazing to see how little he was when she was born.  And the baby voice ... wow, how big he is now and how precious he was then (and now still). 

Here's the original ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5HkROv7kNU

And us chatting on the couch after watching that video today...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxpw9EL8Nag

New School

Well, the move to the new house also prompted a transition to a new school.  After 2 weeks of commuting back to the old center, we started them at a full-day preschool in the new town.  At first Pip was very upset to leave his friends but we softened the blow with assurances that he could set up playdates with any of his old friends whenever he wanted and sent him to school on that last day with ice cream to share.  Plus we went out to eat after the last day to "celebrate"  (would you believe Pip and Vivie requested CHINESE for their special meal out.  Not kidding, and they actually ate lo mein noodles, fruit, and edamame).

Both Pip and Viv had enjoyed their visit to the new school when we were evaluating it, so we were hopeful the jitters woiuld end quickly and they would soon settle in. 
I think it's fair to say it's gone very well.  They don't fight going to school at all, somedays even saying they are excited to go.  Vivie seems to have made an immediate bond with another little girl named Victoria, who apparently is joined at the hip with her all day.  I know when I dropped her off last time Victoria was immediately at her side waiting for me to leave so she and Vivie could read books.  Pip has also made friends with 3 boys in his class ... Alex, Rocco, and Emil ... doesn't want to admit he likes any of the girls.  He was quite funny on the way home Friday when he was talking about one of the boys ... "I like him, but he talks to close to my face!"  Ha!  A close talker.  Very cute.  Perhaps Pip will learn about the "tactful honesty" ... not an easy one!

Superbowl!

Time to eat!! Phil made a serious spread for the game today. Layered taco dip, potato skins, and chipotle sliders. Pip and Vivie were not excited about the fare and so they settled for the same old sandwiches and hot dogs. Yum!!

Remote control

Pip got up this morning asking for his race car tracks from the basement. He has a set that whip around VERY fast from Grandpa that are probably for teenagers as they require great dexterity to work. Phil wisely found these remote controls, also from Grandpa, that Pip found an even better substitute.

At first Vivie was not sure about them and nervously Froggered her way from the ktichen to the sofa. But soon she was in the mix too!

Tunnels

Forget snowmen. The snow's too deep up here for that. Basically the only thing we can do is make tunnels. This is supposed to be our driveway. But there's no other place to actually put the 70.5 inches of snow we've gotten so far this year. So we had to sacrifice the back corner of the driveway and Pip and Phil carved out a tunnel back into the depths.

After watching Phil shovel us out of 4 snow storms (we've only been here 2 weeks!!), I decided that even being 8 months pregnant was no excuse not to suit up and dig a bit myself. My progress was slow to say the least, but I plodded on until Pip came out to help, then Vivie, then Phil. Vivie took a nice shovel of snow to the face from Pip which ended her shift, but Phil Pip and I continued until we were dug out. Well, "dug out" meaning functional ... we haven't even bothered with the front stairs for a couple of rounds now.

Liam's birthday

Pip and Viv were very excited to go to Liam's birthday party. What fun! They had it at a play place with tons of things to do. Vivie found some dress-up clothes and climbed into the pirate ship with Ella. All the boys were telling them that princesses were not allowed on their ship, but Vivie paid them no mind and persisted until they gave up and let her in!



Yelling, "No princesses allowed!"


Eating some pizza during construction.