Birthday Boys

At the start of the week....opening Grandma and Grandpa's presents while they were here. Electronic toothbrushes!



They wanted robes. They chose the material and I made them while they were at school.

The big present! Bows and arrows.

Matt bought a target and extra arrows too. The day was beautiful so they were able to use them once Matt had them all assembled...not easy without directions!

Cake time....R2-D2. Unfortunately, this is the only picture!

Their last present of the day....thank you, Jesse! Yes, a dirt-bike.

Sunday Morning

If there is time Sunday morning, this is what happens! They are both very good about getting dressed and ready to go....that sure makes it easy!




Thomas definitely didn't get his nice hand-writing from his parents but thankfully both his grandmothers have lovely writing. He can also draw so I think that flows into his writing.

Teeth and more

Working with grandpa in the woods...the three woodsmen.



Thomas lost his first tooth last week!



When I was a teenager, my parents bought me a bow and arrows. It's been resurrected and happily used almost every day. Unfortunately, I know almost nothing about archery other than how to string the bow but they seem to enjoy seeing just how far they can send the arrows. I found an old box for a target which they used briefly. Wish I could find a course for them.

Yesterday, the boys saw a coyote up close in our yard. I let the chickens out early and about an hour later we heard them angrily be-gawking. We jumped up and there he (?) was between our wood pile and our back steps. He looked just like a German shepherd except that his coat appeared to be mottled blending him nicely with the ground. He looked healthy and beautiful. If our chickens hadn't been in peril, we would certainly have enjoyed studying him a little longer.

Outdoor Boy

Finally a picture of the new snow shoes that aren't so new! We went for a walk Saturday through the woods to see the different streams. It rained and got warmer the next day so we were glad we went!

Nathan did excellent yesterday getting his tubes. Thankfully the cold that appeared to be starting last Friday only lasted a couple of drippy days and didn't interfere with the surgery. I think his first real comment in the recovery room was that it sounded like he had his earphones on. Matt has some electronic ear phones for shooting that cancel out really, really loud noises but otherwise amplify normal tones. Nathan had been wearing them on and off the last while....that was what he was referring to. He asked me last night why I was talking really loudly. I had to tell him, I was talking exactly the same. He though, is talking very quietly! I don't think he realizes it. My ears are all plugged from this cold so I'm as deaf as he was! The worst part of yesterday was sitting around for 1.5 hours waiting for it to happen. When we got there, they called us in almost immediately, got him all ready and checked up and in. Then we sat! Poor kid. I had brought a couple of games for us to play, so that helped. Of course, a little snuggling here and there! Really awful. The surgery, though allotted 20 minutes, was about 10. I hurried down to the cafeteria, ate my sandwich and apple...was walking out...and there was the doctor already with his sandwich ordered! He said he cleaned out the middle ear and that it was very thick but that all went well. He'll have another hearing test with the audiologist at the follow up in 4-8 weeks.

100th day of School

Tuesday was the boys 100 day of school! They made these cool glasses to celebrate. Nathan's glasses have issues...was it his 001 day of school? Perhaps they didn't point out what the glasses were supposed to be saying!

Tomorrow, all being well, Nathan gets tubes in his ears.

Visitors

At the end of vacation, much to our enjoyment, we had some visitors from Maine.



Dan singing to the boys about Charlie who was stuck on the MBTA because he lacked one nickle! And then a picture of the kids on the Red line.

At the Prudential Center. A first trip for us to the top. Nice this time of the year because the trees didn't block our view of the sights. They had little audio devices that each person could take around for a narration of what we were viewing...even for the children they had their own versions to listen to.

On the way home from Boston!

Sunday's best! Poor Heather had a fever so she is looking a little limp...not her usual cheerful self. The boys played so well together. Kurtis is just a couple of months older and Heather is only about 1.5 years younger...she held her own.

Vacation Days

These two pictures were taken by the boys after they dressed up their largest bears. Though these are both my bears, the boys have claimed them. Hairy Bear on the left sleeps in Thomas' bed and White Bear on the right hangs with Nathan.





Nathan had some money to spend at Toys 'r 'each (as Thomas says it). This was our outing on Tuesday. He bought an army costume which he proudly wore the rest of his vacation. Upon touring the store, I was underwhelmed by the quality of the toys. This costume, which was a whompin' $25 is probably worth about $2.50. We tried to tell him it wasn't going to last but he just loves costumes and when he saw it, there was no changing his mind. I might add, that the vest has torn in several places in less than one weeks time and some of the toys have fallen apart, though I was able to put them back together well enough to suit him. Thomas had a hard time finding a toy at all. He was looking at and settling for a zillion piece army battalion but then we happened on some more toys that are part of the Imagination Adventure Series by Tree House Kids. We already had been given two of these toys a couple of years ago and the boys really enjoyed them. They take no batteries so no noise! Thomas chose two more of them and he has really played with them.





I know Thomas is strong but I didn't know he was this strong! He is carrying Nathan on his shoulders. The last pictures: Nathan's feat!....to carry Thomas on his back.

Big news: Thomas has a loose tooth! It's the bottom left center. He is so excited and I actually got tears in my eyes! It doesn't seem right that we are at that stage. Nathan is quite disappointed that it isn't his tooth. If your talking to him...act surprised when he tells you!