a sight that i am trying to hold on to...

The other day, I was coming down the stairs and I saw these shoes...they were not perfectly lined up as they are in the picture, but they were thrown there...resting and waiting for Kelsi and I to put them on. For some odd reason it hit me and a wave of nostalgia came over me...It is a simple and everyday sight and there are tons of these sights all over my house but on this day this one caught my eye. To see her tiny shoes next to mine and to know that those little feet are going to just keep growing made me so sad. I want to appreciate her little feet a little bit more and take in every moment that I possiby can....Before I know it, the shoes that are next to mine will actually be bigger than mine and my little girl with the tiny feet will be all grown up.

sunday mornings...2010

Welcome to 2010!! It is already February and I am finally adding some new posts! 2010 is off to a great start for our family...Douglas and I are still very busy, I have already shot 2 weddings, I have a new blog for my business and I am working on a wedding website. Douglas has already been snowmobiling 3 times and I had a scrapbooking weekend! Tyler still loves school, Kelsi loves Pat's house and her new Gymboree class, and Tyler had his first cavity filled WITHOUT novicaine and STILL loves the dentist!! We have set a goal to spend more quality time together, enjoying life because we feel like we are in a rat race of work!!

SOO...Here is a Sunday morning at our house...this past Sunday morning...it was a FULL day that we were going to spend together. As you can see we sometimes get Dunkin Donuts and Douglas usually finds a comfy spot on the couch. Tyler is always doing something...coloring, playing with his animals or dinosaurs and Kelsi has been playing with her babies alot.

She always seems to find her way to me when I run to check my email or do some editing....

She was just standing in the room when she touched her face...she said the cutest thing in a high pitched voice..."Mama you never cleaned my face" and she giggled...She could feel the strawberry frosting still on her face from her donut. This is actually what made me grab my camera and take some pictures...She was just too cute!!

More posts coming soon!

Tree Hunting 09...

With looming clouds and a hint of rain falling, we met the Marder's for our tree cutting. We only lasted about 15 minutes, but we were able to squeeze in a bunch of pictures and some fun before the rain really started. After we realized that all of the good trees were tagged, we wound up at Boston Tropical.

Tyler has been LOVING Trevor lately (not that that is unusual), and can't stop hugging him and smiling for pics...Trevor is a bit on the reluctant side and it takes a minute of Tyler's prodding to warm up to the idea!

I love that Douglas took a couple of pics of me and kelsi, and I even like all of the trees that are in the picture...they almose look fake!

We took some family pictures...

To keep everyone calm and happy on our walk back to the car, Erica started to sing, "We are the dinosaurs, marching, marching", and EVERYONE loved it as you can see in the pictures!

Thanksgiving Parade, 2009...

This year we made it to the Thanksgiving Parade here in North Attleboro...The last time we went, Kelsi was a sleeping baby in a car seat!! We always wanted to go, but something always came up or we never knew when it was. This year worked out for us though! We walked from the house after the Marders and Chicks arrived, and it was actually only a mildly cold day!

Tyler and Trevor sang, "My Poker Face" all the way there, running, giggling and holding hands, and everyone had bags to collect the candy that is thrown. There is always a ton of candy! We are on the beginning of the parade's path, so a lot is thrown! We filled our first bag and started a second!

Jorja loved the characters (Mickey, Elmo, Big Bird, Superman, etc), and so did Tyler! Kelsi was a bit scared of them!

Kelsi liked waving to everyone in the parade, but Tyler learned quickly that if he said hello and waved, it got their attention and they would throw him some....Such a little smarty pants!!

Kelsi and Kallee weren't very aggressive (pretty much could care less), so the only things that went in their bags were the ones that we got for them or on the rare occasion, their brothers handed them a piece!

We will definitely return next year!

Tyler...

Now that I wrote about Kelsi, I have to write about Tyler!!

Tyler has grown and changed so much in the last couple of months...He has become a school boy three mornings a week and loves it!! He has adjusted well, and his teacher gave me a quick update to say that he is doing great! He is the oldest in his class, but not the biggest!! I have volunteered twice so far and I love to see what they do, and what he does!! He mentions a few of their names, but I think is mainly concentrated on doing what they are supposed to be doing!! Even though it is a boy heavy class, he mainly talks about his friend Grace who happens to be the youngest in the class!!

Tyler has given up naps....Since mid-August, he has napped 4 times...two of those times, he had a fever and the other was the first day of school...Today was the 4th time and it came after a week with Noni and Nono! I bought an egg timer and he was supposed to stay in his room for an hour...when the egg timer went off, he could come down....I think the rule of having to stay there, gave him the time to fall asleep....we will see what happens in the next few days with it!!

Tyler is obsessed with potty words right now....Dr. Berard handed me a paper that said this is normal 4 year old behavior (at his 4 year appt.)....

He got the swine flu shot in school (without me!), and had 2 more at his dr. appt. later that day!!

Tyler loves activity books, coloring, hidden picture sticker books, playdough, painting, dinosaurs, building with blocks and tv.....He loves Caillou, Little Bear, Franklin, & Backyardigans....He loves Madagasgar & Curious George.

After less than a month of school he was writing his name....I think his computer and Scribble Time helped him to learn that and then seeing his name at school so much brought him to this point...I don't think they taught him that officially....

Tyler and Kelsi love to play together (at times) and love to wrestle etc....They also love to fight over things....such a killer!!!

More on Tyler later too....I am off to bed...It is WAY late!!

Kelsi...

It has been so long since I have had a chance to update the blog or edit pictures for my own family....I am hoping that I will change that by mid-December!!!

In the meantime, I wanted to document some of the funny things that Kelsi is doing and saying!

Kelsi is now TALKING....She is non-stop on the move and constantly talking...usually in complete thoughts and sentences!! It is just amazing to me!!

• She loves to apologize if she thinks she got in your way or did something wrong...it sounds like "thorry, mama".
• If she falls, she will yell, "Just me mama...I otay, mama"
• She will say, "Let me tell you a secret (thecret)...i love you"
• When Tyler pushes her/hits her...she comes running and crying..."Tyler pushed me in my thomach (or "on my arm")".
• If you say we are going somewhere, her response is always, "Right now?"
• She is ALWAYS saying, "I wanna go to store."
• When she wants a snack she says, "I need somethin"....and that happens multiple times a day.
• On Thanksgiving she went pee-pee and poop on the potty multiple times and then went on the grown up potty at the hotel with her Noni & Nono...progress!
• She still LOVES babies and stuffed animals...she feeds them bottles and her sippy cups...changes them, and wipes their bums with a real wipe....She asks, "I have wipe?" and then tilts her head and puts up her finger..."just one?" She will do that several times!!
• She LOVES to play, "Where are me?"...She covers her eyes and says, "Where are me?" Then I say...I don't know where Kelsi is....maybe she went to the store...maybe she went to get a snack, etc....Then she uncovers her face laughing hysterically and says, "i here".
• She repeats EVERYTHING tyler says and copies everything that he does.

There is so much that I could say and document...this is just a start....more later!!

Love you sweet girl....

preschool orientation...

Tyler is officially a "big kid"...He had his preschool orientation yesterday (9-3-09) and met his first teacher, Mrs. Gagne (said gag - knee). He loved every minute of it!! He is definitely ready to go to school!! Turns out that he will be the oldest child in his class of 15 students! He was definitely one of the most social, saying, "Hi, My name is Tyler" to many of the kids that came near him, and he made a lot of eye contact with everyone!

We were greeted with this at his classroom (he has the first class down the hall)...

Then he had to find his name and pick a shape to velcro it too. This will be his sign in proceedure every morning.

Then we had to go to each table for an activity....At this spot, he had to find his name and color the picture of a little boy...Those little guys next to him are twins, and they aren't the only twins in the class!! There are another set of boy twins too!!

He did a great job and then had to pick a cubby that he wanted...He put his picture on the ball of tape...

At another station, he found his name on a sticker, and placed it on a shape...then he picked his hook in the closet where he will put his coat and backpack....so exciting!

That is Tyler's teacher who sat down to chat with him while he was playing with some cars!

There is a big sandtable in the center of the room!

Tyler is SO excited about this chart...There will be a star of the day, and there will also be helpers everyday...line leader, door holder, circle assistant, snack helper, etc....Tyler can't wait to lead the line and help pass out the snack!

This is Mrs. Coehlo, on of the 2 teacher assistants in the classroom (the other is Mrs. D). She played so nicely with Tyler "cooking" with the food!

Saving the best for last....We took a picture with Tyler's teacher, Mrs. Gagne, on our way out the door...Tyler didn't want to leave because they didn't have snack yet!!! I had to explain that it was just a meet the teacher day, and he will have snack next week!!

Mrs. Gagne seems like such a sweet lady and teacher...I am looking forward to a good first year!