Deerfield Gazebo Lighting

Tonight was Deerfield's annual fireman's parade, followed by the lighting of the town gazebo and Santa's arrival. It was a little cheesy in that small town way, but their were a ton of kiddos running around and it was easy to get swept up in the spirit of it all. Finn was entralled with the fire trucks and enjoyed waving at Santa from afar (no lap sitting this year!). It was hard to get photos in the dark with the Christmas lights, but I thought this was a sweet one of Finn:

You gotta have leftovers!

Well, of course, Thanksgiving is all about celebrating our gratitude for all the blessings in our lives. But, let's be honest, it is also about one fabulous feast. And, while we loved sharing that feast with our family on Thanksgiving, we really wanted some leftovers in our own fridge. Thus on Friday, we went ahead and did the whole thing all over again at home! It was a lot of fun and now we can have leftovers, and turkey sandwiches, and turkey pot pie, and turkey tamales, and turkey carcass soup. Hey, remember, I am eating for two now :)!

Here is a big cheers, from Finn and Sean:

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a most wonderful holiday at Nana and Papa's with the whole NH family. I am so thankful for such wonderful family, here and around the globe, and I deeply miss those who are far from us.

Here are Finn and Sean looking quite dashing in their holiday sweater vests:

The meal was superb, but we were so busy enjoying, no pictures were taken. Here is one of Finn enjoying some pie:

88 Cupcakes

Yesterday, we went over to our neighbors for a pre-thanksgiving celebration and decoration party. JoAnne had found a recipe for decorating cupcakes as pilgrims. To keep all the kids entertained, she baked 88 cupcakes, set them all out with decorating goodies and let them go at it. Finn enjoyed it very much, in particular the sampling of all the goodies!

Time to go outside?

One thing I love about Finn is his love for the outdoors. He is always anxious to go play outside and we often have to remind him at 6am that we need to wait for the sun to rise and he needs to change out of his pajamas before it is time to go outside.

We have been lucky until now that Finn didn't really try the door knob. We only have one real door knob in the house, so he hasn't had much practice with it. Well, he finally figure out he could take matters into his own hands and open the front door. Thus we ran out and got those door knob covers and he is none too pleased. Frankly, I have a hard time getting out of the house now too!

17 weeks

How quickly a week goes by and now we are at 17! Holy moly, this is going to go by fast. I have noticed a big change in my belly this past week (and my thighs, butt, hips, boobs, face...ugh!). And I was even told by several people that it is obvious that I am pregnant now.

I *think* I have felt a few of the first movements from peapod too. I always second guess it, but I think I have felt the first little bubbles of quickening when I lie down at night. They always seem to be in the same spot which is also where I can usually locate the heartbeat. I think that is pretty good evidence. I am sure I will get the punches and kicks soon enough.

So, here are the belly shots of the week. Finn was excited to be involved!

A Farm Theme

Finn was invited to a farm-themed birthday party on Saturday. And the benefit of living in the country is a farm-themed party actually includes farm animals!

There was a 3-month-old goat that Finn enjoyed walking around the yard:


And there was a mini-horse named Star that the kiddos got to ride. Finn was very excited about the horse (which for some reason he pronounces "Furto"). He was very excited to pet her, and even agreed to try a ride. Once he was up on the saddle he got a little nervous and didn't stay for long. However, the first thing he told Sean when we got home was that he got to ride a "big furto."

Decorate a Turkey

With Thanksgiving around the corner, you have to do the classic turkey hand craft! You know the one... you trace your hand and make the thumb the turkey head and the fingers get feathered! Our mom's group got together today so the kiddos could decorate their turkey. Finn really enjoyed it. In fact, it was the most intently I have seen him color. Fun stuff!

16 Weeks

This pregnancy is flying by so far. The first trimester went by in the blink of an eye. I actually was lucky in having no pregnancy symptoms, no morning sickness whatsoever. So, it is really just now starting to sink in as I begin to develop the belly. Here are the first of the belly shots. These pictures don't quite convey how big I feel. It is that uncomfortable stage where I don't really look pregnant, but just fat and tree-trunk-like. A few weeks ago, I had to pull out the fat pants and anything with elastic, and this past week, I finally delved into the maternity clothes.

One fun thing: a mom in my mom's group who is done having children gave me her home doppler. It is not something I would have bought, but it is actually kind of fun to listen to little peapod on occassion. It was really fun for Sean because he hasn't been to an appointment with me yet, so it was his first time to hear the heartbeat. It is surprisingly easy to find and always strong. I have my 16 week check up on Tuesday.

Two Year Checkup

We went to Finn's two year check up yesterday. He was pronounced healthy and developing perfectly, and quite the typical active toddler (as he did "big hops" off the step stool). He is also exceeding the language expectations now, so that is an improvement from the 18 month check. He is weighing in at 27 1/2 lbs, a little under 50th percentile, and standing tall at 35 inches, a little over the 75th percentile. He got two shots, but he was an amazing trooper, a little bit of protest and then back to "big hops." He did point to his leg throughout the day and whine a bit. Those suckers hurt for awhile.

Due to a scheduling conflict, we were not able to see the doctor that we usually do, and instead saw the nurse practitioner. I LOVED her! So much better than the doctors we have seen. It was the first time I have walked out of pediatrics feeling good about the appointment. I had been debating switching practices with Peapod on the way, but if we can see this woman, I will be so happy. I think MDs are probably good when you have specific symptoms to be diagnosed, but when it comes to health and wellness, nurse practitioners are the way to go! She was so relaxed. She seemed to listen and understand my questions and gave thoughtful answers. She had obviously read up on the chart before walking in the door. I was in a good mood all day after the experience, when generally, I am in a bad mood and questioning all my parenting decisions after a visit with the pediatrician.

Winter CSA

We were sad to see the end of our garden this fall and so, Sean and I thought it would be great to join a winter CSA. Luckily, a neighbor of ours works very near one in ME and offered to pick up our share when she picked up hers at the Wolf Pine Farm CSA. We were surprised tonight when she stopped by with a box loaded with an array of beautiful organic veggies. Here is an example of the share:

Finn thought is was really fun and he enjoyed pointing out all the veggies he knew the names to:

There was one mystery in the crop. I think I have narrowed it down to kohlrabi? Which is very exciting as I have never had it.

Another Pea in the Pod!

Well, its about time we got around to announcing that we are expecting a new kiddo in the family. Little Peapod is due on May 1st, 2011. Whew, we must be crazy, but we are also crazy excited! Stay tuned for belly pics and all pregnancy related news.

Choo-Choo

Finn got some trains for his birthday and they were a huge hit! "Play Choo-Choo, Mama", "Play Choo-Choo, Daddy", "More Choo-Choo", are phrases that we are hearing constantly now. It is quite fun to see how excited he gets at this age and for the simple things.

Birthday Party

Yesterday, we had a really wonderful birthday celebration for Finn.

First, he made his cake:

Then, the guests arrived. The whole family and our fabulous neighbors came by. Here are the two newest cousins in the family:

Present time! Finn was quite particular about looking at the cards and carefully unwrapping the gifts. We had to encourage ripping the paper:

All the cousins were excited and helped out:

Blow out the candles! This really thrilled Finn:

Mmmm, good cake and ice cream:

Pizza Party

One of the mom's in my group put on a fun little pizza party yesterday, where all the kiddos got to make their own pizza. Finn absolutely loved it. He did a great job putting on the sauce, cheese and his favorite toppings, ham and pineapple. He also did a great job eating all of the toppings as he put them on. I had to wrench the pizza away so we could cook it. Then, he went to town eating it cooked too. There was also some great playtime with his friends.

Finnbar is TWO!

Finn celebrated his 2nd birthday yesterday. It was a pretty low key day. We wished him "Happy Birthday" a lot, but he just didn't understand. It was a nice day with a good walk and a trip to the library, followed by some playground time. For dinner, we had smoked cheddar waffles and baked apples, both of which Finn loved. We are having a party on Saturday for a proper celebration with cake, so I will post pictures at that time.

For now, we are lovin' this age. Finn is so much fun. He is talking so much more and we can have nice conversations. We play a lot of trucks and blocks. He loves to help in the kitchen. In fact, he loves to HELP with all chores from laundry to sweeping, to raking leaves and chopping wood. At times, all the extra help means it takes a lot longer, but it is a lot of fun for all of us. He is really stepping up his need for independence, which is wonderful and challenging at times. I suspect this is going to be a really fun, active year full of change. I am very much looking forward to it.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Finn!

Trick-or-Treat

Finn enjoyed running about in his dragon costume for most of Halloween. We went to visit his Nana and Papa in the morning. Then, after nap, he played in the yard in his costume. We went to the neighbors and ate homemade Halloween candy and then we went to the tailgate trick-or-treating that our town does. It was a lot of fun. As usual, people went all out decorating their cars. Their were kids in costume everywhere. Finn really got the hang of saying trick-or-treat and then, he liked to pick his own candy and put it in his pumpkin bucket. He did get nervous around some of the animated skeletons and singing witches that some had in their cars, but he loved all the jack-o-lanterns.

Pumpkin Carving with Daddy

Finn really loved pumpkin carving this year. He has been fascinated by carved pumpkins we see on doorsteps and he had a blast looking at images of them on the internet. He thought it was really special to carve one with his Daddy:

Mom's Group Halloween Party

On Friday, we went to the annual Halloween party my mom's group puts on. It was great fun to see all the kiddos running around in their costumes. There was Elmo, a fire fighter, two farmers, a princess, a hamburger, a tree frog, and more. Finn was a dinosaur this year.

The kids paraded around outside for a while:


Then, we went inside to play and eat goodies. Finn tried on other costumes:

The kids got crafty making jack-o-lanterns with foam pumpkins and stickers:

Back to Fall

Vacation was absolutely fabulous, but it was nice to get back to the lovely New England Autumn. When we returned the trees we in full color and the air crisp.

Finn jumped right back into the leaves:

Our neighbors gave us several bushels of apples from their trees so Finn and I put up a bunch of applesauce and apple butter. Our neighbor also lent us his apple peeler/corer/slicer. It is a wonderful tool and I can't believe I don't own one. Anyone who does any apple preserving or even just pie baking needs to run out and buy this. I always thought they were gimmicky, but it works amazingly well and takes no time at all. I am the new spokesperson!

Finn had fun sorting the peels into the compost bowl and the apples into the pan. He also had a good time eating as many apple slices as he could: