Party of Five

Hayden's 7th Birthday Mad Science Party!!!!!

2011-06-09T23:07:00.002-04:00

Hayden and I started planning his party over a year ago. He never once changed his mind. We had so much fun over the last year putting his party together. Hayden loves science and wanted his friends to enjoy some fun science experiments. Daddy became a "Mad Scientist" and the kids loved it! We were so lucky to have help from family and friends--I know I could not have pulled this off without them. Gigi and Papa came from Texas and Grandma and Papa came from Indiana to help. My friends helped with so much at the actual party---I was actually able to enjoy myself and have fun too! This will be a party to remember! I purchased the decorations from The Celebration Shoppe! Below are some of the 342 pictures that were taken during the party!
When the guests arrived they were greeted by Hayden and Grayson and had to "check in" at the Scientist Check in Station. Grandma was there with a laptop to play a pre-recorded message that was different for each child. We found a website that changed your voice into a funky voice and the kids loved it. Gigi was there to give the kids Mad Scientist hair (spikes and lots of gel). Hayden conducted a retinal scan on everyone by using "the largest glow stick ever made" that we purchased at I-Party.

After each child was checked in-they were able to go to get their lab coat and goggles. We used Command Hooks to put up on the wall, we labeled each child's goodie bag, lab coat, and googles with their name "Dr. Hayden". On the lab coat there was a name tag that Steve created and it also said their name, "Dr. so and so". The kids really felt special. The orange bags were their party favors but we also used the bags to put their experiments in to make sure they could take home what they made. The goodie bag was filled with all kinds of neat things. Steve had the idea to give the kids take home experiments in test tubes. So each child left with four experiments to do at home. They also got to take home their goggles and lab coats. Magnifying glasses, poprocks, and an eyeball drinking glass completed the goodie bags.

After fully being checked in the children entered the "Engineering Station" were Papa South was in charge of the molecule creation station. We used the molecule station to keep the kids busy while everyone arrived. I was able to get (for free) styrafoam containers from my wonderful butcher at Stop and Shop. We used colored toothpicks and marshmallows to create the configurations.
I had the most fun putting together the decorations! I purchased all of the cut outs from thecelebrationshoppe.com. I ordered the cookies and paper goods from their website too! The cake was made by A Little Something Special bakery in West Hartford. Hayden wanted a beaker spilling goo all over the cake! They did an excellent job.

We made jello in petri dishes and put gummy worms on top. I thought these would just be for decoration but the kids devoured them. The day before the party I made a lot of the decorations using water, neon food coloring, and gummy worms and gummy octopus. I absolutely loved how the gummy items expanded overnight making for some pretty cool decorations. We had large beakers that we put water and food coloring in and for a special effect we placed a small amount of dry ice at the bottom of the beaker so they were smoking!
Let the experiments begin! I honestly think this party was so much fun and so easy for me because Steve did a ton of work. We purchased a lab coat for Steve to wear off of EBay. He had a lot of fun conducting the experiments with the kids. We "practiced" the day before with a few of the cool experiments. We purchased all of the science experiments from stevespanglerscience.com. We were able to get petri dishes, beakers, and all kinds of cool experiments from their website. Steve spent a lot of time researching which experiments would be best for 6 and 7 year olds.

SLIME-Oh my gosh! The kids had a blast with this one. Each child made their own slime and was able to take it home with them (parents-no need to thank me).

We had an "Invent your own Sundae Bar". The kids were able to make their own ice cream sundaes and could choose from mini mm's, rainbow sprinkles, chocolate syrup, etc. They liked this a lot. We tried to feed them pizza and fruit salad for dinner but they were so energized, they did not really want to stop to eat. We had music playing the the background to add extra "atmosphere" to the party--Kids Bop 19 was the music of choice! More party info in the next post. . .

Hayden's 7th Birthday Mad Science Party Continued

2011-06-09T22:53:00.003-04:00

The kids did several experiments. Carbon dioxide bubbles were made using a "special" jar purchased from Steve Spangler Science. Steve had to use dry ice to make this experiment work. It was a big hit! The kids loved wearing the glove that made the carbon dioxide bubble not burst. The kids also did an experiment to identify the different density of liquids. They just loved seeing the magic of the colors separating!

The GRANS FINALE of experiments was the DIET COKE Geyser tubes. Every child had a tube and got do do this awesome experiment on their own (also purchased from Steve Spangler Science). What a great time the kids had doing this. The kids all counted down from "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF" for each other!
In between experiments we let the kids play in the backyard and run around while we set up the next experiment. Baby Landon finally joined the party after the loooooongest nap ever. My mother in law sewed his lab coat so it would fit him! He was adorable. The very last thing we did was open presents. This was a STAR WARS birthday! Hayden only wanted Lego Star Wars and that is exactly what he got. Daddy spent a lot of time putting Lego's together.

Pinewood Derby 2011

2011-01-30T19:58:00.007-05:00

Pinewood Derby was held on Steve's 41st birthday. It is something I had been looking forward to for weeks! Hayden and Grayson were very excited and the possibility of not winning was not an option. The entire way there we talked about how everyone has done their best and will try their hardest, but I knew my talk was something they were not interested in.

Sometimes I am so happy that Steve has an engineering mind. He helped the boys build their cars. He didn't spend as much time on it as I thought he was going to and we were a little worried that the boys would not place and would not get trophies.

The first race of the day was Hayden's den. Hayden is in the middle (yes with the big smile). That is because he won 1st place!!!! He was so excited. After four trials he had the fastest time. Hayden now gets to move onto the regionals. March 19th is our next big day!

Hayden kept the fastest time until an older boy beat him in the last race. Oh but wait. . . there is the Sibling heat. Yes, that is GRAYSON's car winning! Grayson beat everyone. It actually was a little embarrassing because he is not even a Cub Scout. But he was so excited. Not only had he beaten the bigger kids he had finally done something better than his bigger brother! It was an exciting day in the Chilcote house! Both boys did GREAT!

Right after Grayson won!

Grayson with the rest of the siblings. We are so proud!!!

First Birthday Carnival!!!

2011-01-23T20:41:00.039-05:00

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LANDON!!!

Landon is a precious child that is always happy and smiling. We know that we have a lot to be thankful for. Landon's first year was full of mostly ups but there were some difficult times as well. When Landon was five months old he was diagnosed with severe hearing loss. Knowing that our baby could not hear us was devastating. Together Steve and I researched, researched, and researched about infant hearing loss and we can tell you pretty much anything you need to know. Thankfully, we do not have to use this knowledge anymore because we met a wonderful doctor that helped to cure Landon's problem. After Landon had surgery in September he was able to hear again! He can hear us talk, he can hear the leaves rustle, and of course his rowdy big brothers! Getting thru this big hurdle gave us even more reason to celebrate.

Landon is our last baby and we decided to celebrate his birthday with a Carnival! I planned it exactly the way I wanted it to be for him. Below are some pictures of how we celebrated Landon's birthday!

This poster greeted guests as they arrived at the party. Steve took the picture during Landon's first birthday photo shoot and then he made the poster.

Tails the clown was wonderful. She came at the very beginning of the party and was here before the other children arrived. She started entertaining immediately. I was very impressed and the kids had a ton of fun! Landon really enjoyed watching her. Several of the adults laughed out loud so I would say she was a big hit. She played her guitar, told jokes, and of course made amazing balloon animals. http://www.tailstheclown.com/

Landon's birthday t-shirt, hat, bib, and sippy cup were made by: BloomingBabies on Etsy. All of the streamers, pennants, etc. were made by Dimple Prints.

The Cake Table! The cake was made by http://www.alittlesomethingbakery.com/

Decorated water bottles! My friends in Texas would understand why I decorate everything including the water but some of my friends in Connecticut think I am over the top!!! I had fun doing it!

Adult beverages!

I found the idea of making a banner for each month of your child's first year while I was researching ideas for our party. I loved this so Steve and I worked on putting together a banner. This is something I am so glad we took the time to do because it is a memento that we will have forever and something for us to cherish. The flags were a printable from Dimple Prints.

The prize tent. This was a super fun way of displaying all of the prizes that the children could chose from when they were done playing the carnival games.

As far as my six year old and my five year old are concerned you can't have a party without Goodie bags!!!

Happy Birthday Banner!

Candy Table. . . yes the children had a ton of energy!

The Popcorn machine ended up being a big hit at the party. The boys keep asking if we can get it out again. We will soon.

Our magician was fantastic and kept the party going. The best part was the kids trying to figure out how he was doing his "magic"!

The party hats were put together the morning of the party by my mom, my mother-in-law, and myself. I am not sure how many times we stapled our own fingers but they were adorable and well worth the pain!

Each child that came to the party left with a gumball machine.

We transformed our basement into a game room for the kids. We "hired" two of the older children to run the games and to hand out tickets. There were several games to choose from. I think the ball toss and the duck pond were huge hits. Each kid came away with a ton of tickets and got to choose their prizes at the end of the party.

Thank you to all of my friends and family for helping us put this party together. It turned out perfect for our wonderful little ONE YEAR OLD!!!

We Are BACK!

2011-01-23T20:36:00.002-05:00

We have made lots of trips, had a ton of parties, Cindy has gone back to work more than full time, and most importantly we had a BABY! That is why there was such a break from the blog. We are ready to start keeping a blog again, if nothing else for us to have a place to journal our memories. Enjoy!

2011 and I am Back!

2011-01-23T09:52:00.002-05:00

After taking a year and a half off from the blog, I am back!

And I am still in Connecticut!

New Hampshire

2008-07-26T11:49:00.008-04:00

Geez-----we have been in the car too long!

The boys were troopers and did such a good job. We have been on the road a lot lately. New Hampshire isn't that far from us about four and a half hours is what it took for us to drive. I am amazed at the beauty, none of the pictures do it justice but this is a place I would like to go and spend 4 or 5 days. We were only there two days and I didn't get to do all I would have liked.

Look at the beauty!

Grayson doesn't want to pose for pictures he just wants in the water!

Flying Fish ride! Hayden loves ride and speed-the faster the better. This child screamed with joy the whole time we were there.

This ride is a barn that goes up in the air and spins around-thought they would freak out a little but didn't!

This is a joyful look on Grayson's face!

New Hampshire

2008-07-26T11:40:00.013-04:00

My two good friends Carolyn and Sue have made a seroius effort to make sure we experience as much as possible while we are here. I had been hearing about this place called "Storyland" both of them have been but we decided that our three families needed to go together. I am so glad we did. We stayed at a wonderful inn that had a heated swimming pool. It poured on Thursday and they even had two tornados near us in New Hampshire (tornadoes are unheard of in this part) but we managed to have a lot of fun even though it was raining. There is a positive side to rain at an amusement park, NO LINES!!! They let us just keep riding whatever we wanted to ride over and over again-for Hayden this was riding the roller coaster five times in a row.

Storyland is a place for young children and famlies to experience fairy tales. All of the rides were appropriate and parents could tag along with their children. We spent a day and a half here and I am ready to go back!

Hayden and Mommy in the swan boat!Larger swan boat.

Grayson in the pumpkin coach!

This treehouse was amazing. Once you climed up inside of the tree trunk and into the house there were different interactive toys. It was magical.

Hayden sitting at the Little Miss Muffet display.

Steve and Hayden driving an antique car.

We stopped for a break during the rain.

If anyone wants to come to New Hampshire next year for their family vacation let me know-I will be more than happy to meet up with you!

Grayson's New Preschool

2008-07-26T11:37:00.003-04:00

On Monday this week we hosted a playdate for Grayson's new preschool class. Most of us had never met before and the kids had not met so this was an opportunity to get together. I must say that I think we are really going to enjoy this year because all of the moms and dad(!) seemed to be VERY nice and easy to get along with. We are looking forward to starting a new preschool.

Mini Me

2008-07-26T11:33:00.003-04:00

The last several times Steve has mowed the lawn, Hayden has wanted to "mow" with him. Hayden is right along side him every step of the way. Steve only wishes the little mower really worked because it is taking him forever to push mow all of this yard!

Wacky Wednesday

2008-07-26T11:30:00.004-04:00

Hayden had a baseball camp that lasted all week and on Wednesday they did "Wacky Wednesday". Hayden had a ton of fun dressing up for this and now wants everyday to be wacky Wednesday! He wore a blue wig, a 4th of July lei, and wore his shirt backwards.

Another reason why the State lets me teach parenting classes!

2008-07-18T10:08:00.003-04:00

On Saturday morning I was off sorting laundry and Steve was doing something else. When I went to check on the boys this is what I found. . .

They were able to put their shoes on, granted Hayden is wearing his daddy's Crocs but Grayson got his own tennis shoes on and even put them on the right feet. I looked outside and to my surprise found them on the back porch hunting for bugs. I love the days when I feel like parent of the year. Now the back door stays locked at all times.

Strawberry Picking

2008-07-18T09:49:00.007-04:00

I remember going to pick strawberries with my cousin Holly and my grandparents. It was a small garden we picked out of but it is still a happy memory from my childhood. I was able to take the boys to Lyman Orchards and pick strawberries this year. Both boys seriously ate more strawberries than ended up in the basket. They had a ton of fun and enjoyed themselves. I really am trying to make sure they experience many of the aspects of living in New England.

I know we won't be here forever so I want to enjoy all that we can while we are here.

Grayson showing off his strawberry-right before he demolished it.

Hayden enjoying the fruits of his labor!

This was the basket of strawberries we ended up with at the end of the day. I am sad to say that I probably owe Lyman Orchards a lot more $ because the boys ate so much along the way. I no longer mind paying for strawberries at the grocery store because this was back breaking work. We ate most of the strawberries in two days but I managed to freeze some for when our family comes at the end of August.

Playing Catch Up!!!

2008-07-18T09:26:00.010-04:00

I have not been good about posting our pictures lately, maybe that is because we are constantly on the go. We have spent time at the lake, the park, and the new ice cream shop in downtown East Hampton. The boys are loving this weather-we are able to spend more time outside then we would this time of year in Texas.

Ice Cream+Hayden as the ring leader='s 5 HYPER children!!!

I can't explain the type of town we live in becasue there is nothing close to it in
the DFW metroplex that I am aware of. Our town only has 13,000 people so it
is quite quaint. A new ice cream shop opened in downtown East Hampton and
the kids and I have enjoyed sitting out on main street eating ice cream and
watching all of the people and cars go by. One of my friends has explained that
in the summer East Hampton is a vacation spot for a lot of people so downtown
starts getting busy on Fridays and stays busy through the weekend.

We have been spending time at the lake/beach in our town.
Both boys have been very accepting of the lake than I thought they would.

Look at how close these ducks are to Grayson. The ducks just come up to people.
Kind of freaks me out. The boys love it though.

This child has "sensory intergration issues". I would love for the therapists that evaluated Grayson last November to see how much progress he has made in a few short months. I am no longer worried about him and encourage him to get as dirty as he wants!!!

I am so proud of the progress he has made!

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-04T22:49:00.012-04:00

We wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!

Today Steve and I spent the day tiling our backsplash in the kitchen-whoohoo what 4th of July fun! We did manage to cook out tonight and then spent some time with the boys doing fireworks in our driveway. The boys had a great time-I thought they would be scared but they weren't! I am having to get used to the fact fireworks are legal here and they even sell them year round. Our neighbors put on quite a show-this made me a little nervous because the sparks were flying over our trees and our house, but all ended well and we got to see some pretty amazing backyard fireworks. Tomorrow we will head to "Riverfest" to see real fireworks.

Steve and the boys with SPARKLERS!

Steve found three foot long SPARKLERS and the boys loved playing with them!

Grayson could not stop smiling!

I told Steve tonight that at some point he will have to explain the "real" meaning of Independence Day to them and not that it is just about shooting fireworks and grilling! We hope everyone enjoyed their day.

Happy Birthday Hayden

2008-05-29T16:26:00.009-04:00

HAPPY 4TH BIRTDAY HAYDEN!!!!

It is hard to believe that Hayden is 4 years old. I know a lot has happened in the last four years but I still feel like time has flown by. He is such a mature little boy and we are having more and more fun everyday. Hayden has been attending My Gym since October and has told me that he wanted to have his party there. So in January we booked his party and the planning began. Hayden gets into planning his party more than some adults-He knew he wanted a Buzz Lightyear party. He was very specific in picking out his theme, birthday cake, and invitiations. Hayden loves parties! I wonder where he gets that from?
Hayden blowing out birthday candles.

Hayden loved the attention he received for his birthday!

Hayden got to have his own parade at the party. The staff at My Gym walked him around in a wagon and he had the parade wave down pat!

Grayson and others being a "table".

There is nothing like Texas Star here in CT, so I was worried that I would never be able to find someone to do Hayden's cake. But it turned out sooooo good. The top was chocolate fudge with a mousse filling and the bottom was white chocolate cake with a white chocolate filling. I was REALLY impressed-oh yeah and the baker delivered it to my home which was excellent since the day of Hayden's birthday we had multiple events!

Hayden's birthday party at school!

Kid City Museum

2008-05-29T16:17:00.004-04:00

Grandma and Papa were also able to come spend some time with us before Hayden's birthday. We enjoyed going to Kid City with them. http://www.kidcitymuseum.com/welcome.html
The boys had so much fun playing with both sets of grandparents.

Aquarium area

Grayson playing in dinosaur land!

Papa North and Hayden

Mystic Seaport

2008-05-29T16:09:00.005-04:00

My parents came to spend the week before Hayden's birthday with us. We had so much fun and enjoyed them being here. We did an activity everyday with them and really took advantage of having them here with us. One day we went to Mystic Seaport www.mysticseaport.org/
It was a museum tha that has a lot of large old ships. The boys were able to walk on the ships and explore. They were able to go underneath and see where people slept and ate. Ever since we visited the Seaport, Hayden has been saying he wants bunk beds now!
One of the old boats!

Enjoying our time together.

Hayden being the captain.

Circus Fun

2008-05-29T16:02:00.003-04:00

We had so much fun going to the circus for Mother's Day. Both boys enjoyed themselves and all of the adults had fun too.

Hayden with clown nose-that lights up!!

These are the days I love staying home with the boys!

2008-04-15T11:21:00.007-04:00

Imagine my surprise when I walked into pick Hayden up from school and this is what I found. . .

After my initial shock-I calmed myself down from what I knew was going to be messy-I was excited about the fun Hayden was having. For the last several weeks Hayden has had an imaginary friend-Sulley (from Monster's Inc.). Sulley goes most everywhere with us and we have been using it to our advantage, if Hayden won't do something we tell him that Sulley is doing it and it works well! On this day-he was no longer Hayden-he became Sulley and acted "in character" all day! I had so much fun playing with him and enjoying this moment.

It was a beautiful day outside today. Our friend Luke came over and we got to enjoy a picnic lunch and play outside. The boys have so much fun together. We spent all afternoon outside enjoying the warm weather!

New York City Here we Come!

2008-04-15T10:33:00.003-04:00

I got to drive thru New York on Friday. Steve decided he would take the day off and we would go check out a granite place in New Jersey. I decided I would drive and let him handle the boys. Well. . .I didn't know I would be driving in the Bronx and in Manhattan to get there. It was so neat-the Bronx really does look like it does in the movies. We saw all kinds of high rise apartments and each of them had their own park with people outside playing basketball! Traffic was horrible but I still want to go back! It didn't take us that long to get to New York but I still think next time we will take the train in. The granite place in New Jersey was well worth the trip-we are getting new granite for our kitchen and bathroom this week!!

Henry

2008-04-15T10:28:00.004-04:00

Henry throwing snowballs!

Hayden and Henry blowing bubbles!

Everyone who knows me knows how special this child is to me. I was so thankful to Chad for bringing Henry over on Easter. The boys got to spend time together and we got to spend time with Chad. Thanks Chad!

Easter

2008-04-15T10:09:00.010-04:00

Hayden and Logan decorating Easter Eggs.
Christmas morning. . . oh wait it is Easter morning. The Easter Bunny and my Mother in law went crazy! The boys had so much fun.

The Easter Bunny brought Rocket to Grayson and that is all he cared about. Grayson would not participate in the Easter Egg hunt or any other acitivities for the day.

Hayden riding his Buzz scooter---but he keeps asking daddy where daddy's scooter is!

Grandpa and Hayden pretending to eat fish in a teepee at the Children's Museum.

Papa was teaching all three boys the alphabet in the old school house.

Grandma's birthday and Easter were fun. Steve and I volunteered to paint some of his parents house and we had fun doing that. There were multiple funny moments! We had fun playing with cousin Logan and seeing how big he is getting.

Kalahari

2008-04-15T09:46:00.008-04:00

This is how excited we were to finally arrive at Kalahari!!
Hayden learning to bowl.

The Easter Bunny coming to tuck everyone in!

Steve and Hayden coming down the blue slide!!

Part of the water park!

One day standing outside of preschool my friend Monica told me about this wonderful place called Kalahari. . . I had no idea what she was talking about but she started getting all excited. I rushed home and checked it out http://kalahariresort.com/hub/ and found out that it would be on the way to see Grandma and Papa for Easter. We booked a room and now this is my new FAVORITE PLACE! Seriously, it was wonderful. The indoor waterpark was huge, Hayden learned to bowl, the boys got to play in the arcade, the Easter Bunny came to read the boys a bedtime story and tuck them into bed. I am ready to go back!

Winter Wonderland

2008-01-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

(Picture is of the wooded area on our property)

After having unusually warm weather last week we woke up this morning to a beautiful snow storm. Steve had to go to work and the boys and I were sitting around watching TV, I decided that we would venture out into the snow and play some! After it took me 30 minutes to get all of us in our snow gear-we headed outside. It was fantastic- not too cold, no wind, and fluffy snow. We played and played until naptime and then woke up again and headed outside, this time to play with Steve!

The view off of our front porch!

Grayson is starting to enjoy the weather more and now agrees to wear mittens!

Hayden and Grayson in the woods.

Playing!!!!

Grayson laughing hysterically!

I turn around to see what Grayson is laughing so hard about and find Karaya burying herself in the snow.

Grayson playing

Hayden making snow angels!

Steve sledding!!!! After I put the camera up, Hayden decided sledding was "so fun". Hayden kept Steve sledding for quite a while! We had so much fun today- I am sure we will be able to do it again a few more times this winter!

Ringing in the New Year!

2008-01-01T22:53:00.001-05:00

Everyone knows that I love a party! This year our friends Sue and Steve threw a party for the adults and the kids. They cooked a great meal for the adults and had a lot of different fun actvities for the kids. It was a lot of fun. The boys danced, played games, and did karaoke! Here are all of the kids with their party gear! Hayden, Grayson, Luke, Amber, Jenna, and Jordan. What a good time!

The Chilcote family hopes that all of you have a wonderful 2008! Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T22:36:00.000-05:00

The boys were so excited to havea whole Thomas train table with the light house and the roundhouse! When Steve and his dad carried it into the room the boys were jumping up and down yelling "drop it, drop it". They have played with this everyday since Christmas!

Daddy had to help with opening ALL of the presents. Opening presents only took 2 hours!

Lesson #1 always get two of the same toy. This is how Christmas morning started out. As soon as the boys opened their stocking and Grayson realized that Santa had not brought him the same Car Hayden got he was very angry! Thank goodness in a few minutes Hayden gave up possession and realized that he had 50 other presents to open!

The boys were so excited when they walked downstairs and saw that Santa had come the night before and had brought them a lot of new toys!

We were so lucky, our best Christmas present of all this year was the fact that both sets of Grandparents came for six days. The boys had so much fun having four grandparents to spoil them and play with them non-stop. It was also very helpful to me since I was sick-the grandparents cooked and made this a special Christmas for all of us. We appreciate them so much and love having them come for visits.

SugarSugarSugar**

2008-01-01T22:32:00.000-05:00

This was encouraged by Daddy!

Okay, it is Christmas and I am trying to be more relaxed and let the boys have fun! Well-I would say that they had a lot of fun! After decorating cookies for Santa-they decided they needed to eat some of what they made.

Christmas Eve

2008-01-01T22:14:00.000-05:00

Grayson decoratin cookies for Santa! Yes- that is an entire bottle of sprinkles!

Hayden decorating Cookies for Santa!

We are Loving East Hampton

2008-01-01T22:06:00.000-05:00

I hate being away from Texas but really enjoy living in East Hampton. Not only have we met great people but this really is a wonderful place to raise a family. The town we live in is small but very family oriented. Imagine our surprise when we heard Christmas music blaring one night and ran out to see what was going on! Santa was riding on the top of a very decorated fire truck. Steve got Hayden out of bed and we ran downstairs to meet Santa. Santa climbed down from the top of the truck and Hayden got to sit with him and talk to the other firefighters, what an exciting way to end our evening!

Santa Visit

2008-01-01T21:54:00.000-05:00

We didn't get to have our own Santa party this year and that was upsetting to me but I figured that we could surprise the grandparents and have Santa come for a visit before Christmas. Santa was great-both boys were so excited. Grayson walked up to him and shook his hand and Hayden was jumping up and down non-stop! We really appreciated Santa taking time out of his busy schedule, the best part of all is that Santa donates 100% of the money we gave him to Easter Seals.

Long Time No Post

2007-12-13T21:48:00.000-05:00

Sorry, for the length of time in between posts! I really will try to be better! Today we had our largest snow storm yet. We got about 9 inches of snow and we should be getting more on Saturday and Sunday. It made me laugh that people make fun of Texans for shutting down during ice/snow storms. . . when Steve and I woke up this morning there were already 300 schools closed and it hadn't even started snowing!!! Steve got to come home early from work so as soon as the boys woke up from nap we braved the elements. Hayden enjoyed the snow, but Grayson is a true Texan and does not like to be cold.

Hayden in the mountian of snow he made his daddy build around him!

Grayson not quite knowing what to do in the snow. No, we are not bad parents, he would not wear gloves for anything!

Hayden and Steve sledding down the driveway!

Hayden first walking out into the backyard.

Our house under snow!

There will probably be more snow pictures to come after the crazy weather we are supposed to have this weekend!

Apple Picking

2007-10-21T21:37:00.000-04:00

We officially joined the Mom's Club two weeks after we moved here. It is a fantastic group of women that have been very welcoming. We have had almost daily activities to attend because of this group. One of the first things we did was to go apple picking. The boys loved picking the apples and looking at everything on the farm. The boys are experiencing a lot of new and different things!

Whale Watching

2007-10-21T21:32:00.000-04:00

When we decided to move to New England one of the things we thought about was how many opportunities we would have to do new things. Steve's department at IAE had a team buidling activity in Boston. It takes about two hours to get to Boston but once there he got to go whale watching (yes, he took this picture) and to Cheers to eat lunch. I would say that was quite a work day. Cindy can't wait until she gets to go whale watching!

Hayden Starts School

2007-10-21T21:25:00.000-04:00

Mrs. Emmett is Hayden's teacher. . .

Ms. D'Antonio is another one of Hayden's Teachers. . .

Hayden started his first day of preschool. It is a lot different that Texas! He goes two times a week for 2.5 hours. Hayden was the only one in his class that had ever been to preschool so he was a pro and tried to help his new friends that were crying. Grayson was upset that he could not stay. . .maybe next year.

Backyard Fun

2007-10-21T21:20:00.000-04:00

When picking out a house one of the priorities was to have a BIG backyard because that was the one request Hayden made. The boys run up and down the hills and often go into the "woods" to play. We are having so much fun exploring (except Steve who still push mows).

Grayson Turns 2!

2007-10-21T21:18:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Grayson! Grayson turned 2 right after we arrived in CT. We were still busy unpacking put managed to celebrate his birthday with three different cakes!

Mystic Aquarium

2007-10-21T21:09:00.000-04:00

We managed to sneak in some fun during Gigi and Papa's visit. We went to Mystic Aquarium and to the ocean. We live about 30 minutes from the beach and plan on spending a lot of time there next summer! Mystic Aquarium was a lot of fun. Hayden got to pet a baby alligator and everyone got to pet the stingrays. We did not want GiGi and Papa to leave and can't wait until the next time we see them.

GiGi and Papa Arrive

2007-10-21T20:56:00.000-04:00

Gigi and Papa came 12 days after we arrived and boy were we glad to have them here! The boys were excited to see them and Steve and Cindy put them to work. We painted, unpacked, cleaned, and built a playset.

We Made it!!!

2007-09-29T13:51:00.001-04:00

We have arrived in Connecticut and have started the long process of unpacking!! We did find time to take in some scenary though.

Party of Five

Hayden's 7th Birthday Mad Science Party!!!!!

Hayden's 7th Birthday Mad Science Party Continued

Pinewood Derby 2011

First Birthday Carnival!!!

We Are BACK!

2011 and I am Back!

New Hampshire

New Hampshire

Grayson's New Preschool

Mini Me

Wacky Wednesday

Another reason why the State lets me teach parenting classes!

Strawberry Picking

Playing Catch Up!!!

Happy 4th of July

Happy Birthday Hayden

Kid City Museum

Mystic Seaport

Circus Fun

These are the days I love staying home with the boys!

New York City Here we Come!

Henry

Easter

Kalahari

Winter Wonderland

Ringing in the New Year!

Sugar**Sugar**Sugar**

Christmas Eve

We are Loving East Hampton

Santa Visit

Long Time No Post

Apple Picking

Whale Watching

Hayden Starts School

Backyard Fun

Grayson Turns 2!

Mystic Aquarium

GiGi and Papa Arrive

We Made it!!!

SugarSugarSugar**