The past 3 months

Although the kids are in roughly the same position as the first photo we took of them together when Josie was born (on the far left) you can see how the time has flown by.

The months of September and October was pretty stressful. On Labor Day, Aurora had a leg cramp that was so severe it tore her Achilles tendon, ripped a calf muscle, and caused some microfractures of her ankle. Many weeks in a walking cast caused her to slow down the pace of everything, even while trying to help the kids adjust to their new school. Only this week is she able to run to chase Josie or Max while playing outside. They rarely stay still long enough to get photos like these:
While Aurora was hobbling along, Chris was rather stressed out about unveiling his latest invention. Happily, it was well received (click here for the press release)

We continue to enjoy incredibly warm weather, though Josie is anxious to make a snowman in the front yard. Viewing the winter through the eyes of a child does make it more sparkly.

We look forward to another year of adventure, giggles, challenges and fun. We hope yours is similarly delightful.

There's a pumpkin shortage ?!?

We've heard there is a shortage of pumpkins because the hurricane hit just as they needed to be harvested, and many pumpkins rotted in the field. So, we decided to get ours early while the selection was still good. In fact, there were many fewer pumpkins!

We have a super farm nearby that has a variety of different pumpkins, and Max was very excited to choose a white one this year!

These were also very cool, but a bit too big to carry!

Trying new things

Josie tried her first bouncy castle this weekend. She was content to sit and let the bigger kids bounce the floor for her, but she did NOT want to come out when her turn was done!

She has also been a real fiend for puzzles.

New Schools!

Max has started Pre-K and Josie has transferred to his new school to attend one of their Toddler classes. Starting at a new school has been rough, but they are making friends and enjoying the new challenges. The new school has a drinking fountain, which has been lots of fun to master, for example.
They still love to be together (most of the time) so the fact that they can see each other during the day is pretty nice.

Josie has a huge vocabulary, especially when it comes to getting what she wants. "I want the purple pom-pom!" There is some balance with her demands and she will usually then say please and thank you, too.

Making a splash

We have not escaped t heat, but we've made the best of it!

Yes, we are too cool.

Lots of fun outside!

Max and Josie have been so busy outside that we have not had time for updates! Sorry!
The pirate ship is full of water and has a fountain from the crow's nest.
They've been playing a lot on the climber/swing/slide.
And Max and Dad built a pedal race car after seeing the soap box derby! Max loves to cruise around the nearby parks.
And we spend a lot of time playing with bubbles. This photo was taken around 6:30am when Josie refused to do anything until after she got some bubble time! Now that she can say some words, she can be very demanding.

Aruba!

Last month we went to Aruba for a week to enjoy some heat, sun and relaxation. (photo of pool courtesy of Max).

We went on an underwater boat with glass sides to see a shipwreck.

Grandma and Grandad came, too, so we had a great time with them, eating on the beach!

Terrific Toddler

Josie is officially a Toddler! Her first full day in the toddler room is today.
She has been visiting toddler rooms a lot the last month, and has been in her new classroom half-days this week, but today is it! She is also cutting molars, which has been rough at times. Some more words are becoming recognizable, especially "outside!" which is her favorite place to be.

I don't have any photos of them yet, but Max has also been drawing a lot lately. Especially flowers and boats.

So much to do...

We've been pretty busy, and the kids are growing like crazy.
April brought our first trip to Aruba - it was so good to be warm since we did get a big snow just before we left town.

Josie's extremely stable on her feet and loves to climb, run, kick, jump, bounce...
Max is also very active - showing great promise with soccer and baseball as well as a very fast speed when running.

Latest Stats

Birthdays bring fun presents and cake, but also a trip to the pediatrician.
Here are the latest stats:

Max: 43 1/2 inches (95%) and 43 pounds (90%)
Josie: 31 inches (93%) and 21 lb 9oz (54%)

So, Max has gained 6 pounds this year, which shows across his shoulders that are now too broad for most of his T-shirts from last fall. And Josie is sticking to the growth curve she's been happy with, so no complaints.

Happy Birthday Max!

Max has now had four trips around the sun! Happy Birthday!

The fun started with a now-traditional bus cake with friends. He opened the biggest present in the pile... a guitar. He did not open any more because he was instantly transformed into a sullen acoustic guitar musician. Actually, he does just love to play it and make music.

Then we had the cake on his actual birthday. Continuing the transportation cake theme, it was a train.

More Birthday Fun!

The frosting was a big hit, but mostly for it's advanced application as a hair product.


Josie had a rough Birthday week, battling a stomach virus and teething to boot.
So, these photos don't reflect the goofy kid we usually see. Even so, she did enjoy opening and playing with all the presents.


She was soon back to her usual self, climbing on everything to get to the next thing. Yes, she's on a not-so-stable rocking chair. Note the bruise on her forehead from a previous escapade like this one.

Happy Birthday Josie!

Happy Birthday Josie! She had a special hat and some ginger cake with her friends at school today. More fun tonight with a pumpkin spice cake and lots of presents!

Snow, snow, snow

Some friends of ours recently moved to Fargo, ND. We thought they were crazy for going somewhere with so much cold and snow. With nearly 60 inches of snow in Boston so far, Fargo is starting to look better and better.

But, snow can also be fun. Max had a fantastic time sledding at the nearby park this weekend and here is Josie's first trip out to play in the snow with a friend, Maya.

I'm trying to post video of Josie walking, but trust us when we say she is a hoot. Last week was pretty rough for her as she cut 2 top teeth at the same time, overnight, while also battling croup. Really, last week was pretty rough on us all.

Josie is walking!

She has been very close for a long time, and then on Wednesday evening after blizzard #2, she took SIX big steps to try to grab the phone and talk to Grandma! We then set up various situations for her to walk to us or to toys and she certainly has it down. So far, eight steps is the most in one go.

Holiday photos soon. Perhaps even a walking video!