Clams

Randy and I cooked Portguese for dinner tonight and decided to make our favorite littleneck clam appetizer. We had 2 dozen clams and Caleb easily ate a dozen of them...he is all about the clams! He was even dipping his clam shells in the broth and drinking the broth. Lina really enjoyed the clams too. I told Randy that I really love hanging out with our kids on nights like tonight....nothing better than sitting down and enjoying some awesome food together!

Snow!

We were all very excited for the first Nor'easter of the season to hit on Sunday. We measured ~12 inches in our back yard, but most local snow reports had at least 18 inches...so we aren't exactly sure how much we got. Caleb and Lina were ready to get bundled up and play in the snow, and Caleb was excited to use his yard stick to make measurements. Once Lina was outside, she wasn't so thrilled with the snow. It was very cold and still quite windy so I think that was her problem with the weather. Caleb played for more than an hour while Randy shoveled out the driveway. I was able to get out for an hour and snowshoe...although I'm still feeling it today!

Caleb just in from the cold

Caleb and I went back outside today with the goal of making a snowman. Unfortunately, the snow was too powdery to pack into a ball so we couldn't make it....but we found lots of other things to do. We used Lina's Bilibo seat to slide down a big snow pile in the yard....which Caleb then scaled and measured.

I also showed Caleb how to make a snow angel, which he thought was really funny.

But we had the most fun sledding down the little hill in our back yard. I started pulling Caleb down the hill first, but then we discovered that it was much more fun if we did it together. Caleb wondered what Baby 3 thought about sledding, and I assured him that he/she loved it!

Caleb trying to sled down the little hill

Caleb and Mom sledding.

Lunch at Finale

On the Wednesday before Christmas, we got to lunch with our favorite Stroller Strides mamas and kiddos at Finale in Brookline. The kids were a bit rowdier this time (compared to our visit in the Spring), so the moms didn't have much time to chat...but needless to say the kids had a great time. I was excited to have an occasion to try out my new camera after I had to unexpectedly replace our old camera. A little bird told me that Lina dropped our old camera very hard on the kitchen floor...just what we needed, another expense the week before Christmas! But we can't live without our camera!

All the kids sitting down for lunch

Finally...cupcake decorating time! Caleb chose the white cake and white frosting, while Lina went for the chocolate-chocolate combo.

All the kids busy decorating and eating

Merry Christmas!

The excitement over Christmas was definitely more apparent this year. Caleb has been doing a Christmas countdown and looking forward to Santa's arrival and Adelina has been doing her best to understand and mimic Caleb's excitement. Adelina has been talking lots about "Baby Jesus" and even found a fireplace in Mary and Joseph's house that she said Santa would come down.

I prepared a small batch of sugar cookies with the kids for Santa's snack. They loved picking out the cookie cutter shapes and of course had a blast putting on the sprinkles. Truth be told, I think they ate more sprinkles than got on the cookies.

Randy sat down with the kids to write a letter to Santa.

After dinner and a bath, we let the kids watch "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas". About half way through, Lina decided she needed to have every stuffed animal on the couch with her.

Finally it was time to put out Santa's letter and his cookies. We left some oats and apples out for the reindeer, checked the NORAD Santa tracker, and then headed to bed. With all the excitement (and maybe a little apprehension on Lina's part), it took a LONG time for the kids to settle for bed.

And then it was Christmas morning!!! Caleb just kept saying "Wow! He came!!"--it was really cute. They both wanted to see how many cookies Santa ate and if the reindeer ate their treats. It was nice this year because Caleb could read most of the labels on the gifts and could help sort them out...and see who the gift was from. Caleb was also very anxious for Randy and I to open our gifts and kept pausing from his presents to tell us to open ours.

Caleb and Lina opening presents

Lina and her "Bunnies"

Lina got a pink Bilibo seat from Matt and Beth and quickly discovered how fun it was to spin her baby around in it. This toy is pretty cool because it has endless possibilities. Caleb used it today to mimic my pregnant belly, to pretend he was a turtle, and to "hatch" out of an egg.

Caleb was very happy to get a new set of paints, cups, and brushes...

...and a model of the solar system.

Caleb's big gift from Santa was a giant set of wooden building blocks. He was very busy yesterday building.

Between the late night Christmas eve and a short nap Christmas day, Lina was very happy to lounge on the couch reading books and snuggling with her Wibble and new doll, Lotta.

Caleb got a new tape measure that goes out to 100 feet. He was super excited about that! He and Randy spent a lot of time outside measuring landmarks around the yard.

Lina loved the butterfly wings from Grammy

Adelina spent lots of time playing with her bunnies and chatting away yesterday.

Merry Christmas from Oscar!

10 Weeks and Counting....

Time is flying by and I'm 30 weeks into this pregnancy. I had a great midwife appointment this week and she confirmed that this baby is head down! I've been having dreams about this baby's position and was feeling a little anxious about it, so I was very relieved. Caleb got to help measure my belly and they both seemed to like hearing the heartbeat. I have pictures of myself at 30 weeks for all three pregnancies, so here is a trip down memory lane.
Baby3

Adelina

Caleb...maybe it's the shirt and the hair, but I think I look huge here compared to the other two pregnancies?

Zoo Lights

We bundled up tonight and took the kids to the Stone Zoo for their annual Zoo Lights event, which runs from Thanksgiving until the New Year. For one reason or another we hadn't made it to the zoo the past couple of years, so it was nice to get to see all the lights this year. The highlight is Santa's Village where you can sit with Santa (for the bargain price of $11) and look at really old (and sometimes a little creepy) Christmas displays. Caleb was more than happy to sit on Santa's lap and chat. Adelina wouldn't have anything to do with Santa, but when Caleb told Santa what he wanted for Christmas (a speedometer and tachometer), she yelled "I want bunnies". It was really funny.

They also have some rides for the kids, which Caleb was really excited about. He really loved driving these Jeeps around.

We also rode the carousel, but Adelina wasn't too sure about it, so Randy just held her. It was a fun night.

Rockland Holiday Pageant

Caleb had his preschool holiday pageant on Friday. I had no idea what to expect other than that all the kids would be participating in the event. When we arrived, the place was packed and Caleb went off to sit on the stage with his classmates. The lighting was terrible in the room and my camera couldn't handle taking pictures since Caleb was so far away. This is probably the worst picture ever, but Caleb is directly above the right-most video camera.

The older kids put on a little skit to a reading of "The Night Before Christmas" and then all the kids sang 6-8 holiday songs. Again, Caleb is very hard to find in these videos, but he was singing along and it was adorable! His teacher had told me earlier in the week at out parent-teacher conference that singing is not Caleb's favorite activity, so I was expecting him to observe more than participate. I had no idea that he knew so many songs!

After the pageant was over, the kids loaded up on snacks and even got to visit with Santa. It was a fun day!!

Up and Down Game

It seems like Caleb and Lina are either fighting like crazy or laughing hysterically at each other these days. Thankfully there seems to be more harmony than discord in general. They have lots of things that crack them up....and playing the "Up and Down" game is one of them.

Caleb's Fourth Birthday Party

We had Caleb's party last Friday night...pizza and cake for Caleb and five of his friends. He was really excited for the party and was a big help in getting things ready. He decorated treat bags for all of his friends and helped me design the craft below. I had a few activities planned that were based on Caleb's love for car instrumentation. The first was a craft where the kids could design their own town that they could then drive cars on...but it was a total bust. Lily was the only one who had any interest in making the town, and then I forgot to send it home with her!

We then played "pin the needle on the speedometer", which the kids seemed a bit more into. Ryan was the winner of the game, with his needle pointing to about 140 mph.

The kids were more interested in running around and playing than doing activities, so that's what they did. There was definitely lots of energy in our house! Thankfully the dinner hour came, and we got everyone seated at the table. Randy and Caleb had gone into the North End and picked up some Ernesto's pizza for the occasion.

Video of waiting for pizza

The kids loved the pizza and Randy and I loved a few minutes of quiet while they ate. They all looked so grown up sitting around the table, eating and talking and laughing with each other.

Finally it was cake time!! I'm no cake decorator, but I was really happy with the way Caleb's cake came out. He kept saying to me "Oh Mommy, it's beautiful"....and that's all that mattered. I don't think any of the other kids even noticed what was on his cake, but he was thrilled with it.

Singing Happy Birthday

Lina had really wanted to sit at the table with the big kids, but still stayed close to the action in her high chair. Once the cake and ice cream was out, she didn't really mind being away from the action.

As the kids were finishing up their cake, Ethan suggested that they play in tents after eating. Randy and I will always love Ethan for this idea!! We had about 15-20 minutes left of the party and weren't really sure what to do with the kids. We set up the pop-up tents and got out lots of blankets and let the kids do as they pleased. There was lots of laughing and piling under blankets--it was really cute.

There are actually four little bodies stuffed into this cube!

This video really makes me laugh. The boys are completely crazy...while Lily and Lina sit quietly on the couch reading and playing with a doll.

A few minutes before the parents were due to arrive, I attempted to get a group shot. Another funny series of pics...

It was a fun (but exhausting) party...Caleb was more than ready to go to bed Friday night. It was such a great group of kids and what a cool thing to be able to hang out with them for a couple of hours. We are blessed with great kids and great friends for sure!