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."