Playing with Grace

We hosted neighbor Grace because of the snow day last Wednesday and then the delayed start Friday. She's not used to all the NOISE and chaos and mess of two boys in the house but they love her and I think they won her over by this morning. There was lots of chasing and wrestling and loud fun. The pictures below show her being indignant and exasperated, but I think it's mostly for effect.

Selfies!

Getting ready to drive to the bounce house this morning to get those wiggles out.

Practicing their "mad" faces.

Visit with Teddy and Tom

Thursday Grandma Joanie and Grandpa Stu came up as usual to spend the day with the boys. Aunt Teddy and Uncle Tom joined them around lunchtime and stayed through dinner. After dinner Teddy enthralled us all with an exuberant version of Wheels on the Bus.

This last one is a photo of my mom on wikipedia giving the rest of us of a crowd-sourced Nabokov biography. It's really the final straw for any dinner party, right?

Snowy day at the Strong Museum of Play

Both boys were very excited to ride the Carousel at the Strong Museum of Play. We hopped on and they picked out their horses, but I don't think they realized the thing would move, especially up and down, until it started up. Beck became more and more fearful as the ride wore on, until I finally asked the operator to turn it off (we were the only passengers).

Theo writing a postcard to be delivered at the post office.

 A favorite play area is where they have lots of large plastic Little Tikes construction equipment and fake rocks to dig in.

Night sledding

Saturday night our neighbor Will and his three boys and Mama and T&B went across the street behind the elementary school for a little night sledding. It was the boys' first time sledding and they had a blast! We returned before anyone got too cold or too much snow in the face, and then the five boys under 5 enjoyed tearing the house apart for the next hour while the adults drank wine.

Picnic on the "beach"

For lunch Saturday I told the boys we were going to have a picnic on the beach. Theo spread out the picnic blanket on the rug in the living room and we pointed out [pretend] dolphins, crabs and lobsters on the beach to each other while enjoying PB&J sandwiches, goldfish, and apples. The boys discovered they like putting their goldfish crackers and apple slices into their sandwiches for added crunch.

Tired boys

Today was a great day with the boys, despite all their shenanigans last night (up and down and up and down and water and oops I peed the bed because I had so much water and a whole bunch of other nonsense). We had a bath when they woke up at 7:30, a leisurely couple of books cuddled in bed before going downstairs, and then breakfast before going for a tour at Most Holy Rosary.

I've been looking into options for a more structured nursery school, and this seems to be the best option for us. The pre-k three class is taught by our friend and neighbor Maureen ("Mo"), and Mo's mom is her classroom assistant. They have a great big room with lots of books and toys and tables and sitting area, across the hall from a huge playroom with playground equipment and lots more toys and fun things to do. The pre-k three program is part of the school, which goes to I think 6th grade, so there's also a cafeteria and gym and big outdoor playground. I found very few reminders of Jesus in the classroom beyond encouragement to treat others with respect, kindness and understanding. Apparently there is a rather agnostic prayer of thanks before lunch that everyone does together. Mo is willing to be flexible with us for days, so Grandma Joanie and Grandpa Stu can continue with their weekly babysitting if they want, and we can still send the boys twice a week for full day programs. The boys loved being there and everyone was very welcoming and calm. They were very excited about coming back to "MY school" some day soon. It won't be til September, but it's exciting to think that they will be comfortable and happy somewhere so new and different from where they've been.

While he gave us a tour of the school, I got a surprising amount of gupp from one of the priests, who kind of talked down the church where we've been trying out attending services, St. Lucy's. Jeff grew up Catholic and I have wanted the boys to grow up with some kind of faith background and familiarity with religious customs, and we have kept hearing great things about the St. Lucy's leadership and congregation. We also went to friend Tara's wedding there a few years ago and loved what we heard and saw (e.g. a banner on the wall that read "The holy spirit is loose, and she is wild"). We have attended the last few weeks and are figuring out which masses are best for us, and where to sit, and how to get to the bathrooms for two new potty trainers. But it feels meaningful to us, and it feels welcoming, so I think we're going to keep it up.

The boys took a great nap and then when Jeff got home early from his work trip a little after they woke up, we all headed to a bounce house for a great afternoon of getting the energy out. After dinner Beckett was all but begging to go to sleep, and everyone is now happily tucked in for the night.