July & August 2015

July and August feel so long ago now that we’re in the routine of school! But I will do my best to remember the high points…

I have tried hard the past few years to find the right balance of camps and time off and I felt like this summer, we really nailed it. We kicked off July with a 5 day trip down to Narragansett over 4th of July (lots of beach and pool time and even water slides!) and then headed immediately to Long Island for the week of prep for Ashlyn’s shower. We pulled off the not quite a surprise shower and then drove back up to Boston. About one hour into the drive, on a 90+ degree day, our a/c died which made for a pretty uncomfortable ride home (as evidenced by my face in the photo below). The next week, Sebastien took a theatre camp through NEMPAC which he LOVED and ended the week with his first performance, Where the Wild Things Are. He was one of the “wild things” (like the chorus) and we were all super impressed with how quickly he learned all the songs and dance moves. (This also kicked off us listening to the soundtrack from the play non-stop for the next few weeks.) The next week was swim camp at Boston University which he liked but didn’t seem to love quite as much (and I wasn’t sure it really helped his swimming a whole lot). Having his buddy Grayson in the same class made it worth it, though. We took the boys to a Red Sox game in the PwC box which was super fun minus when Nick fed Archer some smoked gouda and he proceeded to gag and vomit all over. Thankfully I caught most of it in a popcorn bowl… until Nick tried to take the popcorn bowl away mid-vomit. Good times. We spent a day at the Franklin Park Zoo, visiting the playground and feeding the birds, and went to a Mister G concert with Max and Harper. Then we headed down to RI for a few days with Dani and the girls while Linda and Bruce were visiting and back up to Boston to pack for our trip to NH.

Back in March, we had bid on (and won) a week at a lake house at the Learning Project auction and decided to go up the first week in August. It was a cozy, rustic cabin set back in the woods with a huge field of wild blueberries and raspberries in the front and forest in the back. There was a fire pit where we roasted hot dogs and made s’mores and the boys played baseball every afternoon. We went to Canobie Lake Park, hiked to a swimming hole amid a bunch of rocks, pretended to be geologists as we mined for rocks, swam at Lake Sunapee, took the ski lifts up the mountain for a picnic and ate almost daily ice cream at this amazing dairy farm. Everyone had a really great time.

When we got home, we celebrated Archer’s 3rd birthday with family and CNS friends at North Point Park. He chose a Paw Patrol party, we ordered pizza and Ashlyn and I made puppy cupcakes for dessert. He really enjoyed seeing all his friends after being away for a few weeks and we were happy so many people could make it.

Sebastien finished up his camps with a week of Meet the Instruments, also through NEMPAC and also with his buddy Grayson. We spent the rest of the month down in RI with Ra and Papa and in LI with Grammie and Pop-pop where we pooled and beached and amusement parked and finished out summer with a bang. When we got home, it was back into the swing of things with new haircuts and dentist appointments and… Sebastien’s first day of kindergarten! He didn’t seem nervous at all leading up, but the first morning after we went in and hung up his backpack, the teachers asked him to write his name and draw a picture of himself and then the tears welled up in his eyes because he didn’t want to do it. (My little perfectionist didn’t think he could draw a picture that was as good as the example one.) But we talked about it, he did his best and I said goodbye – and from the moment I picked him up on the first day, he has been all smiles about school. He has two best friends, Benno and Salman, and lots of other friends too. He loves legos during choice time and playing soccer at recess and art time at “the mothership.” And we are so happy he is happy.

Blake grew so much in these two months. She started standing on her own in July and took her first steps at the end of August (at her 1st birthday party in NY – pictures to come next month!) She started waving bye-bye for sure and doing the sign for milk and maybe the sign for all done too, although that one is harder to tell. She got her seventh tooth (bottom left side) on August 14th after a week of terrible sleep. She gives a distinctive high pitched squeal any time she sees a dog or if she is standing on her own and wants to get your attention. Mira really got her to play peek-a-boo and it became her new favorite game. Some of her first words (after mama and dada) were “dog” in July and “balloon” and “bird” in August. And here is a list of her first words through September (in no particular order): doggie, mama, dada, ball, bird, bow, juice, balloon, baby, book, uh-oh, apple, lemonade, num-num (which means she wants whatever you’re eating or drinking) and Sa (for Sebastien). No definitive word for Archer yet! She also started shaking her head (and sort of her whole body) no when she doesn’t want something and boy is she sure she doesn’t want it.

Archer, your screaming in frustration really ramped up at the end of the summer but now you seem to have had a big burst of language so maybe you were working really hard on that? But please stop screaming now. Thanks. You raise your voice in an adorable way for a question and you like to ask, “Whatchou eatin’ some?” whenever someone is having a snack. During Sebastien’s camp, we started a pretty serious watching a show (usually Mr. Peabody & Sherman) and peanut butter toast on the couch ritual while Blake took her first nap. You are still quite unhappy with diaper changes but also refuse to use the potty. Maybe someday soon? You were very excited to go back to school and didn’t quite understand why Sebastien had two full weeks back at school before you started. My favorite quotes from you lately are:

“What’s in my nose?” when you smell something

Me (when Blake was crying): Maybe you can cheer her up?
Archer: CHEERS!

Archer: I’m gonna turn into a dog. ((spirit fingers)) TA-DA! I’m a dog!


Created with flickr slideshow.

Created with flickr slideshow.

Created with flickr slideshow.

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