What We Have Here Is a Failure To Communicate

So, as I suppose most boys are at his age - Zachary is fascinated with his penis. Just last week, in fact, Fadia could barely stop laughing long enough to tell me that when she went to change his diaper he demanded that she "say hello to my penis!" (I assume that this is because I always tell him to say goodbye to his penis so that I can get him to let go and put his diaper on) As time has gone on he's asked about Lexi's penis, which in turn forced us to explain that Zachy has a penis and Lexi has a popoe (I don't know to spell this made up word, sorry). He likes to review these facts often, and brings it up anywhere and everywhere.

So, this evening, after returning from a fantastic ski weekend with Auntie Ali and Uncle Brian, Zach was talking to Grammy on the phone and giving her the rundown of the weekend. Zachary is not that easy to understand in person, but over the phone and with a stuffy nose it's next to impossible to understand a word he says. So there was a lot of "Really? Wow..."s coming from Grammy who wasn't making much out. So Grammy started asking Zachary all about his ski trip,
Grammy - "Did you ski down the mountain?"
Zach - "Yea"
Grammy - "Did you wear a lot of clothes while you were skiing, to keep toasty warm?"
Zach - "Yea."
Grammy - "And when you went inside, did you have some cocoa?"
Zach - "No! I have penis. Lexi have popoe"
I almost died laughing in the background. Grammy asked him a couple of times to repeat what he said, and then went on with, "Oh, wonderful..." having no idea that she was being set straight about who has what piece of anatomy in this house.

It Just Keeps Snowing and Snowing and Snowing...

It started the day after Christmas and it seems as though it hasn't stopped since. The snow this season has been plentiful, and we've had significant snow at least twice a week in the past few weeks. We are snow hearty New Englanders, so a little snow isn't going to get us down, but I will admit that I am pretty happy to be looking out the window and seeing the sun shining and the snow no longer actively falling out of the sky.


Today's snow only produced another 6" or so, but because the weather has been so cold over the past few weeks, the prior 2-3'that had already accumulated out there hasn't gone anywhere, so the snow banks are getting outrageous. When I shovel the front steps, I now have to throw the snow into a pile that is over my head, making it just slightly more challenging than usual. However, also because of the cold temps, the snow has been light and fluffy, so that been a bonus.

The picnic table has been most amusing for us to watch. With each passing storm we have been losing sight of the entire table and benches. Then, as the snow packs down a bit we can see bits and pieces of it again for a day or two before more snow comes and covers it up. This morning the kids had a blast playing in their "fort" and pretending to eat a very large mound of mashed potatoes.






As much as we love playing in the snow, it is making us groan a bit that the weather forecast is calling for yet another storm next week. Lexi is not a fan of missing so much school, and we are quite simply running out of places to put the new stuff. This will definitely be a winter that goes down in the history books.

New Rooms

Today we rearranged the kids bedrooms. Lexi got my bedroom set from when I was a kid, and Zachary got Lexi's old twin bed for his first "big boy bed". It was a long, and very exciting day for both kids. They had a blast helping us with the move, and Zachary was bouncing around like a mad man while we took down his crib and set up his new bed. We just put them to bed and we've been called back in many times already. I suspect both kids are just way too excited to sleep. Hopefully the excitement will wear off soon! Tomorrow we're back to the project with some new shelves and bins to help organize all the toys. I'll update with more pictures once their rooms and really done.

Here are some pictures of the more complete project. They were taken with my phone, so the quality is not great.

Snow Galore!

Today we woke up to almost a foot of snow piled up in the yard. We watched from the windows as the snow continued to pile, and eventually began to cover all the bushes, the picnic table, the cars...and it just kept coming. As I type this at 4:30 we are over 12 hours into the storm, we have about 18-20" of snow, and it is *still* coming down.







After lunch the snow had calmed down enough that Ahren decided to head out to start clearing it away. Lexi went out with her dad, and Zach and I joined them about a half hour later, after he woke up from his nap. The way the wind was blowing the snow around, I expected we would only be out for a few minutes before the kids called it quits. The blowing snow did bother Zachary at first, but putting his goggles on proved to be a quick fix, and there was never another complaint. Lexi and Zach stayed out there happy as clams for a solid two hours. They had a blast playing in the snow banks. Zachary, once again, wouldn't do anything without his "shobel" in hand.











It was a fun afternoon, and now we just hope it won't snow so much more that it requires additional clean up. Off to make the hot chocolate...

Question Of The Day

Each day at school the children are asked a "Question Of The Day" during circle time. The answers are posted on the bulletin board outside the classroom. Here are Lexi's most recent answers...

If you could have any birthday wish, what would it be?
Lexi - "To hold a star"

If you could give any gift, what would it be?
Lexi - "A rainbow that sparkles and you can slide on it."

(on another day)
What gift would you like to give?
Lexi - "My heart."

If It Happens The Week Before Christmas, Does It Really Happen?

Although Zachary turned two well over a month ago, his two year physical only just took place on December 21st. Because it was 4 days before Christmas, it was barely a blip on the radar in our family and I forgot to post his stats.

We saw Dr. Mark, who we still love. He told me that Zachary looks like he's perfect in every way - meeting or exceeding all of the milestones that he should be. This comes as no surprise to us, although it's so strange to have no questions for the doctor at his check-up! Here are some of the things I reported to the doctor:

Zachary

• Runs, climbs and jumps in place
• Has successfully used the potty when he is placed there - and has occasionally asked and used it as well. (We are not pushing this right now though)
• Mimics everything his sister does in play, behavior, etc.
  
• Follows along with a conversation asking appropriate questions, and answering questions appropriately.
• Can sing his ABCs, as well as a few other children's songs
• Counts to 10
• Knows tons of words, and uses them in clear sentences.
• Has begun to identify his letters

Dr. Mark was happy with what he saw. Zach was not thrilled with his exam, or the shot he needed, but he did quite well. Here are his stats:

Weight - 26.4 lbs - 25th %ile
Height - 34 1/4 inches - 50th %ile
Head - 19 1/2 inches - 50-75th %ile

We'll take it. Job well done Zacharoo!

Best Parts of My Day

I had these little shining rays of light in my day today.

First thing this morning I was in the bathroom drying my hair - a most mundane task - while the kids played together in their rooms. In the reflection of the mirror I watched them, with huge smiles on their faces, as they walked into the bathroom together holding a "cake" made from a bowl full of foam bathtub letters and singing "Happy Birthday to Mommy." It's far from my birthday, but it absolutely made my morning.

Later, after a long day at work, I rushed into Fadia's to pick up Zachary. He greeted me with his usual enormous smile and bear hug, and today topped it off by saying in his adorable little Zachy voice, "I'm so glad you're here!" Melt...

And finally, after a long day, the entire family snuggled together on Lexi's bed for some bedtime stories. Lexi chose "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" as one of her stories and Ahren, Lexi and I all belted it out together while Zachary (who has not yet mastered those tough words) sat "in the nest" and helped turn the pages. A wonderful ending to our day.

Sometimes I find that all the in between stuff that happens all day long is far less important than those bright and shiny moments that pop up when you're least expecting them. How lucky I am.

Happy New Year 2011

New Year's Eve has never been my favorite "holiday". I usually have a hard time staying up until midnight, and I get about as excited over a new year as I do over a new day - it's what I expected to happen when I went to bed at night. Luckily Ahren feels the same way, and while we both like to do "something" for the event, we don't feel as though it has to include dressing up and hitting the town. Even more lucky is that my parents usually invite us to spend New Years with them at the condo in Vermont, which is what we did this year. Ahren and I were particularly excited about this trip to Vermont because we both thought that the kids were old enough to strap on a pair of skis and get their feet wet in the sport of skiing. My dad taught me how to ski on the bunny hill at Sugarbush when I was nine years old. It was not love at first run for me, but over the years I grew to love it, all the while jealous of the little 5 year old daredevils that zipped down the black diamonds without a fear in the world. I always wished I had started a little younger. So, in preparation for our trip I bought the kids some wool socks, performance fleece tops, and some good, quality mittens.

On Thursday morning we woke up with a plan to hit the road around lunch time. Ahren's purposeful lollygagging (he was waiting for his newly ordered ski jacket to arrive via UPS) delayed us long enough that we didn't actually leave until about 3:30. While it would get us up there later than planned, it did allow for perfect timing for a dinner and shopping break a Lui Lui's in Lebanon. After dinner we did some shopping at LL Bean and Rugged Bear and got a few great deals. The kids got to work off some steam running around LL Bean while I shopped. Zachary was amazed by the kayaks hanging from the ceiling and really wanted me to get one for him. I said to him at one point, "Zachary, I can't get you one of the kayaks, honey." and he replied, "Why Mama, not tall enough?" After a long break in Lebanon, we all hopped back into the car to make the second half of the trip up to the condo. The kids were very excited to get into the condo and check it out. Although Lexi had been there before, she told me that she didn't remember it. Because it was so late when we got there, Ahren and I immediately went to work heating the place up, unloading the car, making beds, and getting the kids ready to sleep in them. They each got their own bunkbed, but Mommy would not allow either of them to sleep on the top bunk. I'm pretty sure both of them were fine with that. While I brushed Zach's teeth in the bathroom I said, "Zachy, are you excited to sleep at Gigi and Poppy's condo?" "Yea!" he said, while poking his head out the door and pointing toward the bunk room, "my room?" he asked with an adorable little grin on his face. It was Zach's first time sleeping in an actual bed without a rail, so it took us a few minutest to get him settled, but it wasn't long before both kids were happily snoozing in their beds. Not long after, Gigi and Poppy arrived, and we sat around in the living room chatting for a short while before we all went off to bed.

In the morning it was about 40 degrees and sunny. A perfect day for skiing, which was what we all planned to do. After breakfast I suggested we get dressed to go skiing, which was when Lexi announced, "I am NOT skiing." Hmm...ok. Lukcily, Gigi was happy to forgo a day of skiing to play with Lexi at the mountain, drinking hot chocolate and watching the skiers instead. So, the rest of us got ready, and finally got out the door at 11am. (As a side note - when I was a kid, there was no hanging around the condo in your jammies. We were up and out practically before the sun came out!) When we got to the mountain it took a long time to get through the rental area to get some skis for Zachy and Ahren. Luckily I was able to borrow my mom's wicked awesome skis (and now I know what I want for my next birthday). By the time we got Zachary geared up he was just about ready for a nap. The rental folks told us they wouldn't charge us for the rental if we came in within the hour, which we were sure we would do.

We couldn't get Zach to crack a smile until his first taste of going down the mountain (or, the very small decline right outside the lodge door) between Poppy's legs. Suddenly that boy had an ear to ear grin, and it was off the the magic carpet for us! After a few minutes Lexi and Gigi came out to watch us.

Zach was having such a blast that it only took about two or three runs before Lexi decided that she was ready to try skiing too. So, off Gigi, Poppy, Ahren and Lexi went, back into the lodge to rent another pair of skis, while Zach and I continued to take runs down the practice slope.

When Lexi finally came out, she also got to take her inaugural run with her Poppy. When they came down I said, "Well? Did you love it?" To which she replied, "I want to go again!" Yes!! I knew our kids would love skiing!! Ultimately, we spent the rest of the day on the practice slope with the kids. They had a blast, and we got the best workout of our lives. I can assure that that skiing with kids between your legs is FAR more difficult than it looks.





Around 3:30 we called it quits, and while we were all changing into our regular boots, I looked down as Zachary literally fell asleep on the bench - sitting up. So back to the condo we went where Lexi spent the rest of the night asking us when she would be able to ski again. :)



That evening was New Year's Eve and one of the huge advantages of my parent's condo is that there is a picture window with a perfect view of the mountain in their living room. From the comfort of the condo we got to watch the very long torch light parade down the mountain followed by a fantastic display of fireworks. Around 8:30 we all shared a champagne (and sparkling cider) toast, and off the kiddies went to bed, and the adults fell asleep on the couch.


The next morning, New Year's Day, started off so warm, rainy and snow-less, that we decided it wasn't worth the money to head back to the mountain that day. So, while Poppy took a morning run, the rest of us decided to take a hike up the mountain instead. It was a beautiful walk, and Lexi really enjoyed ice luging on the patches of ice remaining on the mountain, and throwing snow balls with Gigi and Zachary.





After we all dried off and got cleaned up, we decided to take a drive to see what we could find. Not much was open because of the holiday, and we ultimately found ourselves in Stowe where we got to see our friends Annie and Perri who had stayed there the night before. We shopped in the country stores for a short while before returning to the condo for dinner and story time.





Ahren really enjoyed story time, all snuggled on the couch with a good book and a good beer.

In the morning it was time to pack up and head back to reality - school, daycare and work. But before we hit the road, we all went out again for a little journey into the fresh air. Dad and I went for a beautiful, although extremely hilly (hello, mountains!) and muddy (is it spring already??) run. It was just what I needed to recharge my batteries and prepare me to get back into our hectic schedule. Lexi and Zach enjoyed the fresh air by dancing around on the deck...in the 45 degree temperatures, on January 2nd.


We had a wonderful, fun and relaxing time ringing in the New Year at the condo. On our way home Ahren and I took the route that brings us over a mountain. The views were spectacular, and it was wonderful riding along in the car feeling happy, and having not a care in the world. I can think of no better way to start off 2011.

For links to the web album that shows all of the pictures and the very cute videos click here for mine and here for my mom's. In my album, the pictures that look all drab and green are the result of Ahren playing with the settings on my new camera and shooting "raw". He claims they can be edited to look really nice - I say if you shoot raw, then you do the editing. I don't have time. :) So, sorry about the green pictures.