The worst bloggers ever....MAL & SAL
We started this blog for friends, family and to document the boys growing up....they will probably think 2011 did not exist in their lives. To be fair, they can check Twitter. But I realized how many times I wanted to document what they were doing in more than 140 characters.
So our New Years resolution is to be better bloggers.
For 2011...The year started out with brutal snow and more snow and more snow...at one point we had more than 4 feet on the ground. Henry had his first ski lesson ("Pizza and French Fries") and he continued to mature physically and emotionally. The second half of his Pre-School year was better than the first half, but still not a great year. He would be old enough to start Kindergarten in the fall of '11, but we decided a year of Pre-K would be a good thing to allow him to continue maturing emotionally. One of the first signs that convinced me he was really turning the corner was the bungee jumping he did at the mall. http://youtu.be/Ioj1y2ceJ-c There was no coaxing to get him to do this...he wanted to.
Ted started the year being more toddler-like...moving around on his own, more demanding, more engaged. He's much more physical than Henry ever was...he's a climber and a jumper! He had a little "Fun for Ones" class at the Montessori school in Redding and it went really well. No worries about Ted...it's amazing how you worry about everything with the first one and nothing with the second.
Spring came and we spent hours in the yard watching the snow melt...the last spot finally disappeared on April 4, 2011!!! Henry had his first trip to Disney World with Sandra...a big success. The biggest news of the spring was an addition to the family....our dog, Phineas (Finn). A rescue dog, half boxer, half bulldog...he's a very sturdy 70lbs and incredibly good natured. The spring also brings the annual Nantucket countdown....
School ended, summer started and Henry spent a few weeks at RugRats...a day camp at the Redding Country Club. But the summer was really dominated by a full month in Nantucket. Henry went to a wonderful day camp where the counselors had great things to say about him. The rest of the time was the usual yard time in the sprinklers and water guns but we also and spent more time at Washing Pond Beach which is on the north side of the island and the water is lake-like at mid-tide. Teddy could even wade out 50 yards and stand up on his own. Huge beach fund. Bike rides, Fish grills, Bartletts Farm and always lots of Juice Bar time!
Henry's 5th birthday was a great success. We got back from Nantucket on Saturday, Aug 13 and his birthday was Sunday. He had a couple of friends over and it went really well. The big gift was an aquarium for his room and his pet fish have been a big success.
While the dog was the big spring addition...we had a bigger addition during the summer. We purchased the property at 139 Limekiln Road, directly adjacent to our home. The property has a main house and a guest house. We're thankful that Lalla agreed to sell her house in Bethel and move to the main house at 139 Limekiln...a significant upgrade in housing for her and convenience for us.
The end of Summer brought another significant weather event...Hurricane Irene...not as bad as I expected but we did lose power for 5 days. That prompted the purchase of a whole house generator...getting it installed was a different story. The second freak weather event of 2011 was the Halloween snow that will not be soon forgotten. We got more than a foot of snow that destroyed trees and knocked out power for a week. We spent that week in the lovely Stamford Suites hotel. The whole house generator was installed a few weeks later....never again.
School started and it was like flipping a switch on the boys. Amazing how they both loved the routine and discipline of a schedule. The decision to have Henry do a Pre-K year was huge. He really blossomed from Day 1...while he has a different teacher this year, he has the same classroom aides and they were amazed at the difference. He is the oldest in the class, not by much, and the kids in the class this year are significantly better behaved...a great combination for Henry. The first half of the school year for him has been amazing...he's reading, reasoning and doing some lite math...he is the human GPS, almost to stalker quality. He can recite his entire class list, their addresses and turn by turn directions..by heart...maps and geography...his specialty. But he is 5 and he does really annoying 5 year old things also...he's a little whiny, not a great listener, always negotiates his meals for dessert and watches too much TV. But wow, he is so smart...his mother is a better judge of this, but I've had some experience with some of his peers lately and some of them don't even know all their letters or can't count to 100....he's reading 1st grade level books and doing math!! pretty cool :) Socially and emotionally he has grown up so much. Lots of wonderful friends at school and tons of birthday parties and play dates. He is very much in demand!
Ted is in the Montessori School 3 days a week in the mornings. An amazing experience for him as he learns to interact with other kids and follow basic "school" instructions. He is very ornery but we never get mad at him...he's too cool. He and Henry are getting along more like brothers...mostly from the fighting over toys perspective. Henry is really well behaved when it comes to Ted. Ted will really go after Henry...hitting, biting, yelling...and Henry is really good at not retaliating. A fabulous big brother.
Ted celebrated (cluelessly) his second birthday on December 4...a low key celebration that I'm certain will be very different next year.
All told...the boys are amazing. Growing up nicely as we learn to be more patient with them.
So enjoy the new pictures and let's hope we can keep our new years resolution.
We started this blog for friends, family and to document the boys growing up....they will probably think 2011 did not exist in their lives. To be fair, they can check Twitter. But I realized how many times I wanted to document what they were doing in more than 140 characters.
So our New Years resolution is to be better bloggers.
For 2011...The year started out with brutal snow and more snow and more snow...at one point we had more than 4 feet on the ground. Henry had his first ski lesson ("Pizza and French Fries") and he continued to mature physically and emotionally. The second half of his Pre-School year was better than the first half, but still not a great year. He would be old enough to start Kindergarten in the fall of '11, but we decided a year of Pre-K would be a good thing to allow him to continue maturing emotionally. One of the first signs that convinced me he was really turning the corner was the bungee jumping he did at the mall. http://youtu.be/Ioj1y2ceJ-c There was no coaxing to get him to do this...he wanted to.
Ted started the year being more toddler-like...moving around on his own, more demanding, more engaged. He's much more physical than Henry ever was...he's a climber and a jumper! He had a little "Fun for Ones" class at the Montessori school in Redding and it went really well. No worries about Ted...it's amazing how you worry about everything with the first one and nothing with the second.
Spring came and we spent hours in the yard watching the snow melt...the last spot finally disappeared on April 4, 2011!!! Henry had his first trip to Disney World with Sandra...a big success. The biggest news of the spring was an addition to the family....our dog, Phineas (Finn). A rescue dog, half boxer, half bulldog...he's a very sturdy 70lbs and incredibly good natured. The spring also brings the annual Nantucket countdown....
School ended, summer started and Henry spent a few weeks at RugRats...a day camp at the Redding Country Club. But the summer was really dominated by a full month in Nantucket. Henry went to a wonderful day camp where the counselors had great things to say about him. The rest of the time was the usual yard time in the sprinklers and water guns but we also and spent more time at Washing Pond Beach which is on the north side of the island and the water is lake-like at mid-tide. Teddy could even wade out 50 yards and stand up on his own. Huge beach fund. Bike rides, Fish grills, Bartletts Farm and always lots of Juice Bar time!
Henry's 5th birthday was a great success. We got back from Nantucket on Saturday, Aug 13 and his birthday was Sunday. He had a couple of friends over and it went really well. The big gift was an aquarium for his room and his pet fish have been a big success.
While the dog was the big spring addition...we had a bigger addition during the summer. We purchased the property at 139 Limekiln Road, directly adjacent to our home. The property has a main house and a guest house. We're thankful that Lalla agreed to sell her house in Bethel and move to the main house at 139 Limekiln...a significant upgrade in housing for her and convenience for us.
The end of Summer brought another significant weather event...Hurricane Irene...not as bad as I expected but we did lose power for 5 days. That prompted the purchase of a whole house generator...getting it installed was a different story. The second freak weather event of 2011 was the Halloween snow that will not be soon forgotten. We got more than a foot of snow that destroyed trees and knocked out power for a week. We spent that week in the lovely Stamford Suites hotel. The whole house generator was installed a few weeks later....never again.
School started and it was like flipping a switch on the boys. Amazing how they both loved the routine and discipline of a schedule. The decision to have Henry do a Pre-K year was huge. He really blossomed from Day 1...while he has a different teacher this year, he has the same classroom aides and they were amazed at the difference. He is the oldest in the class, not by much, and the kids in the class this year are significantly better behaved...a great combination for Henry. The first half of the school year for him has been amazing...he's reading, reasoning and doing some lite math...he is the human GPS, almost to stalker quality. He can recite his entire class list, their addresses and turn by turn directions..by heart...maps and geography...his specialty. But he is 5 and he does really annoying 5 year old things also...he's a little whiny, not a great listener, always negotiates his meals for dessert and watches too much TV. But wow, he is so smart...his mother is a better judge of this, but I've had some experience with some of his peers lately and some of them don't even know all their letters or can't count to 100....he's reading 1st grade level books and doing math!! pretty cool :) Socially and emotionally he has grown up so much. Lots of wonderful friends at school and tons of birthday parties and play dates. He is very much in demand!
Ted is in the Montessori School 3 days a week in the mornings. An amazing experience for him as he learns to interact with other kids and follow basic "school" instructions. He is very ornery but we never get mad at him...he's too cool. He and Henry are getting along more like brothers...mostly from the fighting over toys perspective. Henry is really well behaved when it comes to Ted. Ted will really go after Henry...hitting, biting, yelling...and Henry is really good at not retaliating. A fabulous big brother.
Ted celebrated (cluelessly) his second birthday on December 4...a low key celebration that I'm certain will be very different next year.
All told...the boys are amazing. Growing up nicely as we learn to be more patient with them.
So enjoy the new pictures and let's hope we can keep our new years resolution.
