Baby Blog

May was filled with sports, Sebastien playing and the rest of us watching. He started track on Mondays and Fridays (from 6-7pm, which was a tough time for sleepy Blake), t-ball on Wednesdays and soccer (with Archer playing too) on Saturdays. He loved all three and is really getting good at soccer. I did not love having quite so many activities and from now on, we may stick with a two sports at a time maximum. We saw Sesame Street Live, which we knew the boys would like, but Blake also LOVED it, dancing to the music the whole time. We hiked the Arboretum with the CNS outing club and decided we should definitely go back as a family soon. We spent Mother’s Day in RI and even squeezed in a trip to the beach. The water was cold, but little by little, the boys went deeper and deeper until they declared they wish they had brought bathing suits. (It was only about 65 degrees out and who knows how cold the water was.) I spent my last parent helper day in Arboretum and we had our last parent-teacher conferences of the year, while I tried not to be super sad about Sebastien’s last few weeks in preschool. Sebastien ran the 100m and the 200m in his first track meet while Archer wouldn’t stop running on the track and had to be taken home. Drew, Alli, Anna and Mae came to visit and we rode the duck boats, went out to lunch, bbq’d at the Leitao’s house and visited the Chiesa’s in Andover, where Sebastien and Nicholas became fast friends. Blake, at the start of the month, you started sometimes clapping and waving and dancing to music whenever you hear it. You also started crawling on May 5th and after a few days, were pretty fast at getting wherever you wanted to go! Your two top teeth came in at the end of the month and you started doing, “How big is Blakey? SO BIG!” Your mamas seem more directed now.

In June, I parent helped in Archer’s class for the last time, where they did “foot painting” – a very popular activity. Sebastien had his kindergarten visit at the Learning Project and met all of his new classmates. Nick and I went to the patio party while Sebastien and Archer had their last PJ night of the year. Nick took Sebastien to another track meet while Archer, Blake and I met up with Amy and Max at Charlestown’s annual touch-a-truck day. Archer loved climbing in all of the buses, diggers, police cars and garbage trucks, eating as much free fruit as he could get his hands on and securing his very own balloon from inside the moving truck. Sebastien ran the 100m again and got a personal record! Blake had her 9 month check-up, weighing in at 18lbs even (40th percentile) and measuring 28in (60th percentile). At the beginning of the month, Blake, you started clapping on request and especially to, “If you’re happy and you know it.” You’re so much more socially aware now and respond to your name, let us know when you want something (by whining!) and listen to “not for babies” (maybe even better than Archer currently listens). You snuggle in during Twinkle Twinkle at nap time and dance or bounce to music and singing. On 6/25, you got your top right (fifth) tooth and on 6/27, you got your top left (sixth) tooth. We celebrated the end of the school year with the Arboretum and Riverway journey book celebrations and watermelon parties. Archer refused to sit with his class and only wanted to sit with the audience, but did eventually join the group for, “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” Sebastien did a great job singing with his class. Sebastien had two pieces of art featured in the Charlestown HS art show and was very proud to see his painting of the Bunker Hill Monument and drawing of the Constitution up on the wall. We all spent an evening picnicking at the monument for the Mummers concert and watching our favorite Bunker Hill Day parade the next day. The kids had water balloon fights and ate tons of candy and spent most of the day riding bikes and scooters up and down Green Street. Sebastien and Archer both went to the CNS summer camp program, which they LOVED and which Archer continues to ask to go back to. We spent an evening at Wingershaek Beach in Gloucester and wondered why we don’t do that more often. Sebastien, Archer and I saw Inside Out which we all loved. Archer, your phrases of the moment are, “Mommy, what’s you doing?” and “Hey mommy, what’s wronnnnnng?” and “Why that guy’s mad?” and “Oh no! Blakey’s crawling!”

And the biggest excitement for the month: Archer managed to slice his head clean open requiring an ambulance ride, 3 inside stitches, 7 stitches on the surface and many, many tears getting said stitches. (The boys got down from the table at lunch while I cleaned off Blake and put the dishes away. Sebastien was tending to his plants while Archer rounded the corner into the dining room. We heard a thump and some crying, but not particularly frantic. I asked Sebastien to check on Archer and he responded, “Yeah, he’s ok, he just fell… OH MOM. THERE’S A LOT OF BLOOD!” I quickly ran into the next room to see blood pouring out of Archer’s head from a very deep, vertical cut on his forehead. Home alone with all three kids, I grabbed a dish towel, slapped it on his forehead and called 911 for an ambulance. Once the ambulance was on the way, I called Nick and told him he should pack up and meet us at the hospital. When the paramedics arrived, they told me to reroute him back home so I didn’t have to take all three kids to the hospital with me. When Nick arrived, Archer and I rode in the ambulance to MGH, where we waited around for 3 hours before they finally stitched him up. It took a doctor and a nurse to hold him down while he screamed and thrashed but eventually they got all the stitches into him. I think the stitches were more traumatic than the actual injury – for both of us!)

Latest quotable moments:
Sebastien: What if you had a pet cat who was, like, allergic to humans? And you could never pet the cat?

Archer: Hey Mommy!
T: Hey what-ee?
A: (pause) Why you call me whuddy?

Sebastien: I thought I was a righty?
T: Nope, you’re a lefty.
S: Maybe I’m a both-y.

Archer: I want that one! (points at my mouth)
T: It’s gum. You can’t have gum because you swallow it.
A: But I swallow gums with daddy!

Sebastien: Mom, is the 4th of July on the first day of July?
T: No, it’s on the fourth day of July.
S: Is that the last day of July?
T: Nope, the fourth. It’s the fourth day of July.
S: And that’s not the last day?
T: Nope.
S: Oh. (still confused)

Archer: Where’s my ducks? (when looking for his flippers in the pool)

T: Archer, are you pushing? Do you need to go sit on the step?
Archer: No! I just had a step!

Archer: Remember we saw Anna and Mae re-last-nember?