field trip

Everyone say apple!  Aiden is screaming apple third from the left:

The glamourous life of a stay at home mom includes going on field trips!  In my mind, I think any opportunity to be part of something going on in Aiden's school is a luxury and I must do it.  I signed up early to be a chaperone for the apple farm trip because I knew it was a popular volunteer opportunity.  I also knew the teachers had their go-to people already lined up, so I was sorta in a "hey, pick me, pick me!" frenzy to be sure I could go.  (Note: I probably would've just shown up even if they hadn't picked me - only kidding - sorta)

Well, it turns out that being a chaperone is hard work.  Seriously, I thought it was going to be all fun and games, maybe just mildly complicated by my nursing giant infant.  I drove an hour with Aiden and his buddy cracking knock knock jokes (which usually end with something "on your head" and each one made them erupt with laughter and even KC joined in the giggles) and I thought that this seemed pretty fun... But when we finally got to the country, we hopped out into the muddy parking lot...

Here's where the field trip story rides off the rails a bit: The only trees with apples to pick were on the other side of a 10 foot wide creek/river, which was passable by a "balance beam" - um, ooh boy, I still cannot believe that no one fell into that water!  I nearly fell in myself - with KC strapped in his ergo! Right after we got over the balance beam act and had our buckets about half full of apples, two boys I was "in charge" of needed to go potty, of course!   We hiked back over the moat with them dragging their big buckets and made it to the port-o-potties (ick) just in time.

Eating lunch in the pretty orchard seemed like a great idea, until the bees showed up!  The big walnut pods are very dirty... and slippery... I could hardly watch as all the kids bit it, one after the other, rolling down the hill.  The pig warthog was the hot ticket down the hill, and when that thing woke up and grumbled/growled all the terrified kids went running... or slip sliding around the walnut pods.  It could've been funny if I wasn't supposed to help make sure the kids were happy and safe - not scared and scuffed up...  Amazingly, we all left a little bit muddy (but not soaking wet or stung by bees) with our arms full of apples...

On the left is Aiden and his buddy Hiro trying to keep the bees away by swatting them with a stick - which I put the kabosh on shortly after snapping this photo (I originally thought they were high fiving)... Don't they look cute running through the field towards the hog?... you can't see all the hazards (holes and walnut pods) or hear us saying "be careful, don't fall!"

miss miss

Masters Matchy miss Auntie!

cowboy dog

We treated ourselves to another diner trip this week. It was a yeehaw cowboy day with a funny singing clown named EJ. It was KC's first time in the big boy high chair.

smiley bros

My smiley brothers:

 

dentist

Aiden had a dentist visit and his first cleaning today. He opened as wide as a lion, gave Mr. Thirsty (aka the spit collector) lots of kisses, and cooperated so well while the hygienist tickled his teeth. It was a special pedodentist, so they had lotsa flavored toothpaste and flouride. Aiden picked grape and marshmallow. He earned toys (pirate eye patch and snakes) and even got a puppy and cow for his brother. KC was trying to jump out of my arms to get at the space chair... So smiley and excited to be paraded around the office while his brother got some xrays. All in all a nice quick, productive visit for our guy who the dentist declared has strong teeth.

auntie wuv

We had some ooey gooey sweet fun with Lizo... We wandered to Cheestique for some gooey grilled cheesy goodness and some flights of wine. (We ate well during her trip with some indian food at Raaga and a trip to Dogfish Head where my sister and I split the most delicious crab dip) Then hit the Dairy Godmother for some apple cider sorbet and fresh strawberry and cream ice pops. Aiden dripped his pop all over the same chair the president sat in back in 2009... which no matter your politics is kinda fun.

Then we cruised on down to Old Town to show Lizzie the Potomac, a quick run through the Torpedo Factory, and a new puzzle eraser at Why Not... Because why not? Oh and the street performer who made a balloon sword for the most excited three year old pirate mummy...

We are so, so glad that Liz was able to make it out here!  Thanks for making the trip Schmiz!   Man bat and tiny squealer (and especially their parents) miss you already!

fest video

Some snips from the festival:

fall fest

We had quite the afternoon at the biggest fall festival I've ever attended. There were five huuuuge slides and tons of crazy fun stuff everywhere.  The corn maze had a fun house and a vertigo spinning bus.  The  themed slides were Aiden's favorite. I think he liked the volcano the most with the underground slide as a close second.  There was hay ride I'd heard people talk about and now I know why.  It was a completely random ride where you are in a haunted disco barn one minute, petting horses that come up to the cart the next, and then driving through a river with lochness monster. In between all the sliding there was a visit to goat land where J's well intentioned attempt to feed the goats led them to jump up on KC chillin in his new ergo. Aiden was sorta giddy petting all the goats that swarmed around. We ended up spending nearly four hours welcoming fall with a festival. Happy fall! ;

Lizzie

Lizzie is here! She is spoiling us already - KC is enjoying some tableside guac (aka expertly mushed raw avocado) She brought this adorable bat boy fleecy blanket. Here is Aiden's post lunch thumpkin ;). Thanks schmiz!

tennis

Many weeks ago we signed up for ten weeks of tennis class for AB. In the interim, Aunt Lulu, who was always a big promoter of lifetime sports like tennis, sent Aiden his first racket. Huge thanks! It's a red short kiddie racket that Aiden immediately started swishing around. He was jazzed for his first class and strutted in with his tennis case wrapped around his neck and a big chinny grin ;) The "court" is a gym room with a mini net set up. Most of the class Aiden tried to avoid popping the ball up into his face, which if that was the goal of the game we'd have a champ in the making. When he did get popped he'd chase down the ball and give it a squish into the ground telling it to "be nice!" So, not only did I have the flailing funny guy that talked to his ball, but he also became ambidextrous and couldn't decide which hand he wanted to use to swing. He actually seemed to prefer the left?! Coach David was a cool calm cat that didn't let that ruffle his feathers, he just went with it. Aiden was good at keeping track of his left versus right and wanted to be sure everyone else did too. Mr. Bossypants had a decent volley but rarely let the ball bounce before he hit it. Aiden seemed to like the warm down run around the net most. It will be interesting to see how they improve over the next ten weeks.

tennis from LB on Vimeo.

diner

We may have found our new creamery craft night - this diner close by hosts an even bigger production with a band and a theme. This week's theme was storybooks and they had a bookstore gift card for the best costume. Aiden busted out the big bad wolf from Halloween last year and insisted his brother be the woodsman. KC donned his big kid overalls and woodsy button down and helped shake a tambourine. There wasn't much competition so the little groover Aiden came home with the BN $25 and a fairytale unicorn on his cheek ;)

new song

A new song from school

beach buddies

Two months apart our little CTY bubble boys chilling at the beach

mt vernon

What a fun, although quick visit, we had with my folks!  Thanks for being such road warriors and cruising into town to spend some QT with us!!  We spent a big chunk of their visit at the Mount Vernon Fall Festival.  Aiden loved singing Willoughby Wallaby Wernon, let's go to Mount Vernon!  They really go all out with artisans and reenactors on their main lawn and even free boat rides along the Potomac.  Aiden seemed particularly excited by the basket weaving, and carried the little piece of wood reed he was given around a big chunk of the day.  I carried KC in his moby a big chunk of the day too.  The stairs up and down to the wharf were a trek and my folks remembered my first bee sting around Aiden's age on that same path almost 30 years ago.  Aiden loved the Punch and Judy puppet show, but wasn't too sure of the sword swallower or the medicine man. It was a full day of Ov-i-att fun ;)

lunch

Poppop said something about being hungry enough to eat his arm - then Aiden was eating this ;)

story fest

Once upon a time there was a Story Festival, which wasn't much of a festival at all.  There were crackers and water which we dubbed prison food available, and a few other cold looking people milling around.  The day slowly warmed up, as the first author joined the stage to talk about making her book.  Aiden was glad to cuddle his Gran and listen carefully, as KC slept in his moby.  Then the crazy popular Llama Llama book author came on stage to read both the red pajama and her new home with mama book... She is a New York Times best seller and it was hard to believe that her tour included this tiny little festival with prison food to share.  Aiden picked out the first author's book for his collection and she signed it for him.  

TGIF

Loving this first full week of our school routine... We were busy with back to school nights and even substitute teacher training for me!  We also hit up Mr. Skip's jams and a Butterfly Bounce playdate where we helped feed the butterflies...  And to top off the week we have some special guests arriving soon - the photo has a hint!

pencil video

Playing around with video stuff...

pumpkin

As KC starts moving beyond just a once a day oatmeal, and is munching on some mushy banana and even some fresh sweet potato... which after three attempts I'm not sure he's a fan, but we'll keep trying.

I'm daydreaming of adding some pumpkin to the mix... And then I can swipe some of puree and put it in concoctions just for me (and maybe Aiden) - pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin popsicles, pumpkin bread, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (favorite!)...  Love fall!  And this to the left pretty much sums up the perfect fall ;)

imag. stage

We took a little trip up to Bethesda, MD to visit this great children's theater that was hosting an open house. There were previews of their classes and shows set up as a safari complete with a passport. It was a day where the randomness was igniting the imagination - which is what they were going for after all ;). We started with an interactive show with mice heading to the moon with baby ice cube starfish. Dr. Doolittle introduced the show safari including Aladdin and P. Nochio (hip hop pinnochio). Aiden was excited when Rapunzel handed his dad some hair (which later became the giant lion's tail) after he made it across the moat. Aiden chalked a lion in between shows and somewhere in there we taste tested some yummy hummus and pop rock vitamins. A great day for the imagination, which would be nearly impossible to fully explain...

brothers

We are in extra cuddle mode with school canceled due to major flooding (they closed I95 last night for a while!)  I don't know what is going on with this crazy weather around here: record heat, earthquake, hurricane, record rain... Um, it calls for a mild winter, right?!

Here's some brother shots for you on this wet day:

Hey, camera's over here guys!?

 Aah, I'm so excited that you are playing peek-a-boo with your camera, I better yelp!

 That's about right - caught you smiling!

Thanks E for the cool kid king of rock shirt ;)

giggle guy part 2

Here are some more snips of the giggle puss:

funny guy from LB on Vimeo.

mr. giggles

first day

A new school year started today, and the weather blew in a cool, rainy fall-like day...  Aiden was up and ready to go with nearly an hour to spare.  It almost seemed too easy getting everything geared up.  Aiden and I finished up his backpack robot yesterday afternoon.  He even helped on the sewing machine for the first time!  The robot guy has eyes that blink and a mouth that opens and shuts. He's required to have a much larger backpack that will fit a large folder so it looks gigantic on him!  His face on the left might make you think he was a little nervous for school, but no not at all - That is his robot surprise face!  

I didn't shed a tear that my grown up guy is so independent that he just hopped into his classroom like he'd been there for months.  Although a Natalie Merchant song tried to get me in the car on the way to pick him up, with the These Are the Days...to remember... Oh, I know that I will remember these sweet early family days...and the big backpacks with three year old robot designs, water smudged shirts, and chinny smiles...

Aiden quotes on the ride home:

"So did we just go through a car pool?  Can our car swim?"

"I met new friends because we were all new together!  Even I was new!"

"They had the same pink tower at my old American school and here in my Florida school in Virginia."

"I ate some cheese during our fire drill which came on over the radio."

"I have my inside shoes on in the car!  Oops!"

"My backpack robot is sleeping and eating at the same time!"

Here are the lyrics from the 10,000 Maniacs song with Natalie Merchant that popped on the radio as I cruised in the minivan to the car pool lane.  Have they been playing this song on the radio since the 90s?!  

these are days you'll remember

never before and never since, I promise

will the whole world be warm as this

and as you feel it, you'll know it's true

that you are blessed and lucky

it's true, that you are touched by something

that will grow and bloom in you

these are days you'll remember

when May is rushing over you with desire

to be part of the miracles you see in every hour

you'll know it's true, that you are blessed and lucky

it's true, that you are touched by something

that will grow and bloom in you

these are the days

that you might fill with laughter

until you break

these days you might feel a shaft of light

make its way across your face

and when you do

you'll know how it was meant to be

see the signs and know their meaning

you'll know how it was meant to be

hear the signs and

know they're speaking to you

to you

dimpled

Just like I remember with his brother, KC has reached the everything-is-dimpled chubster stage.  As Aiden's dimpled knuckles fade away and are replaced with these unrecognizable big kid hands, I am giving KC's dimples extra kisses because I hope they will stick around for a while.... Too much growing up going on too quickly around here ;)  The big kid is off for his first day at the new school today... more later

labor day games

Our neighborhood delivered on fun today.  The annual Labor Day games were held on the last official beach day of the summer.  KC had his first swing ride, which he was a little unsure of at first, and then just lounged like it was going to lull him to sleep.  Aiden registered as kid #11 for the Penny Pile - they even write your number on your arm like you're getting ready for a triathlon ;)  He "competed for his college fund" by digging aimlessly with the other under 4 year olds to collect coins.  Aiden just seemed to be digging and watching other kids collect pennies, but he did manage to get 4 cents the first round!  Then he got excited when he heard the next countdown and accidentally joined the over 5 year olds and got 5 pennies that time.  He spontaneously joined the intergenerational three-legged race with his dad... He was convinced he'd won!    Then he jumped in the sack race all by himself with some bigger kids and managed to get over the finish line.  You can check out some snips in the video.  The highlight for KC was cuddling all the nice grandmas that miss their grandkids.  We're having our friends that recommended the neighborhood over for dinner to round out the day...so gotta run... Happy Labor Day!

labor day games from LB on Vimeo.

snuggles

As we get ready to start the school year, I think I feel so much relief to be settled.  I feel like we have a new home.  A new place to snuggle in the mornings and giggle in our jammies...

Squinty gut laughing dudes:

Serious wide eye wonders: