Middle school isn't so bad after all

 I was initially worried about Bruce entering middle school this year, but he is thriving. He recently had some art put on display at the Children's Museum, so we went to the opening reception to get a look at it for ourselves. His is the flamingo print.

 It was perhaps the funnest art reception ever because we got to play in all the exhibits too.

We had a blast playing there on a Friday night. Thankfully I packed this kid's pajamas; he fell asleep on the bus ride home!

Bruce joined the cross country team. I didn't want to force him into it, but was more than happy when the gym teacher encouraged him to join the team. It wasn't really legit cross country: they ran 1-1.3 miles twice a week on a small flat grassy field behind the school. They had one meet at the end of their short season where they competed against the other three middle schools in the district. Bruce's school team was the largest and they won handily. Bruce ran the just-over-a-mile race in a bit over 10 minutes and finished in the back of the pack, but was happy that he improved his time throughout the season.

While other parents chatted and walked their dogs, we were the most experienced cheer section out there for sure. We had our cowbells, drum, a sign, and lots of high-fives to give.

Birthday Week!

Bruce and Oliver have birthdays within two days of each other, so we ate a lot of cake that week. The festivities started on Tuesday with Bruce's birthday and the traditional ginger chocolate cake. That would be TEN candles up there.

Thursday was Oliver's birthday. We invited Phoebe's best bud (who also happens to be Oliver's best bud) to come over after school and help us celebrate. We played with balloons and did some finger painting.

 We decorated chocolate cupcakes. I didn't put much effort into Oliver's cake: he isn't a big fan. He put all those marshmallows and M&Ms onto the cupcake and then took them all off one-by-one and ate them. He didn't even touch the frosting. He is officially TWO now and only terrible sometimes.

 On Saturday Bruce had his birthday party. We invaded the park next door and did the usual: games, lunch, pinata and cupcakes. This year Bruce wanted to have a water gun fight.

Even though it was in the low-to-mid-60s, the kids didn't mind. Fun was had by all.

Mt. Auburn Cemetery

 A few Sundays ago we headed to Mt. Auburn Cemetery for a stroll since it was such a beautiful day.

 Bruce and Phoebe are so happy to be wearing shorts again. Any day it is above 50 degrees they beg and beg to wear shorts. This is a cool monument (a memorial to George Washington) in the cemetery. It has dark, creepy stairs inside that allow visitors to get a nice view from the top...

 It is nice to be so close to the city but feel so far away. That is one reason why I love Boston. It is easy to escape city life.

Worst. Winter. Ever.

 We've seen some crappy New England winters, but this one has been the worst ever. Technically, second worst ever. February was the snowiest month ever recorded in Boston, and the second coldest ever. We are five inches from the all-time snowiest winter ever, and another snowstorm is headed our way tomorrow night that is expected to bring 3-6 inches. Bruce really wants the all-time record to go down. I feel nauseated every time I see a snowflake fall from the sky.

 The crappy weather has affected everything we do: when we go grocery shopping, how we get around, etc. We are up to six snow days so far this year. When the kids do have school, it has been rough getting there. The sidewalks are surrounded by tall snowbanks, so visibility is tricky at crosswalks in particular. Homeowners often shovel a skinny path big enough to put one foot in front of the other, but not big enough for a stroller to get through. I have been carrying Oliver to and from school in a hiking backpack for the past two months; it is killing me and he isn't even that heavy! Oh yes, and watch out for icicles along the way. Phoebe and Bruce like to collect them, but they are a bit dangerous. A friend of ours said one shattered her windshield.

 The playground at school is buried in snow. It is usually much taller looking than this. I'm convinced that the snow will still be in huge piles until May. There is just so much of it. There is so much that the City has been hauling truckloads of it away during the night.

 I think the City is losing money on the parking meters. No one can get to them. Parking here is crazy. Snow replaced a lot of parking, and the spaces that people dug out for themselves are occupied with "space savers" when cars aren't there. Some people haven't moved their cars for months and have let them get piled in snow; you can just see a side mirror poking out here or there. Often, the snowplows take those off, scratch up the sides, and shear the bumper off.

 There have been several epic blizzards where we have been stuck indoors. We watched a lot of TV and library DVDs...

 ...and we put together a 500-piece puzzle...

 ...and we have been getting out toys new and old.

 We have made a zillion art projects...

 ...and we have gotten plenty of use on our Children's Museum pass. Ok, so this photo is in front of the Boston Tea Party Museum next door to the Children's Museum. Bruce and Phoebe liked the Sam Adams photo opp with the icicle.

 And they wanted a photo next to the snowbank by the museum.

 We eventually made it into the museum, where Bruce and Phoebe starred in "The Three Little Pigs."

 Oliver has learned how to say, "Two, Uhhh, Pssshhhhhh!" (countdown and blast-off noise)

 We have seen a lot of these bobcats moving snow and Oliver has become quite obsessed with the beeping noise when they back up. One night there were some snow removal operations going on in our neighborhood and he was up with his nose to the window at 2 a.m. looking for the trucks and machines. When Oliver saw this at the Children's Museum, he sat in it for almost 20 minutes (an eternity for a 21-month-old) and threw a huge fit when I finally climbed in to get him out.

 The large amount of snow (102 inches so far) and long-lasting cold has caused so many problems in our neighborhood and in our condo building. Being the condo association president, all problems make their way to me. Pictured above is our neighborhood's water main break that left us without water for 24 hours. We have had dozens of frozen and cracked pipes. We are sooooo over-budget on snow removal that it is disturbing. We have had to shovel our flat roof off because there was concern that the weight of so much snow would cause it to collapse. The roof drains froze and cracked, causing a three-story waterfall through the wall of the common area hallway. We haven't had to file an insurance claim yet, but this is going to be the year. We are $50k and counting in damages.

 Only 21 days until spring. I don't think we are going to see the crocuses pop out of the snow this year!

Happy Noon Year

When we got back from Ohio, most of us got sick. Scott, Oliver, and I got nasty colds. Phoebe had some kind of bug that made her sometimes feverish, sometimes sleepy and tired at weird times, and all the time whiny. Random photo above: that would be Oliver posing for a picture at the piano, one of his favorite places to hang out. He loves playing, then stopping and clapping for himself like it was a recital.

She was bummed about missing church (really), so I told her we could do something cool at home. She chose to have her hair braided, which is remarkable considering that 99% of the time she doesn't let me touch her hair at all.

Once we recovered, we headed to the Children's Museum on New Year's Eve. We got a membership as a gift from Scott's parents, so we tried it out.

 The kids had a blast of course, and they tell me they want to go every single day this year.

 A few minutes before noon, we huddled in the museum lobby and watched a "ball drop" to celebrate the "Noon Year." We counted down, got sprinkled with confetti, and went back for more play!

Fall fun

Every year our neighborhood has a pretty rocking block party complete with bounce houses, pony rides, face painting, food and activities. Phoebe fell in love with the ponies years ago and looks forward to riding Tigger and DoubleUp every fall.

 Guess who showed up at the block party this year? "My guys," as Phoebe calls them. Even though she sits in Engine 2 at least once a week, she still spent a fair amount of time buckled in.

 The day of the block party was quite hot, so Oliver and I hung out in the shade when possible. Oliver is 16 months now. We started a mother-baby music class a few weeks ago and he seems to like it. We are still working with Early Intervention and will be for at least another year. He has language delays - doesn't talk, doesn't seem to understand or follow simple directions - and a few sensory quirks. It's hard to know how concerned to be as some developmental delays clear up on their own, but it never hurts to be aware early on.

 A few weeks ago I won Red Sox tickets! I answered a trivia question from a real estate newsletter (from one of my former GBTC teammates who is a real estate agent) and won two tickets. Somehow we have lived in Boston for a decade now and haven't been to Fenway Park, so it was time. I took Bruce because he really wanted to go.

 My next-door neighbor is an usher at Fenway Park, so we met up with him and he gave us a little history of the stadium and showed us around a bit. He is from Trinidad, so on a 65-degree night he wore a heavy coat, winter hat, and gloves with hand-warmers in them!

 He took our picture for us, got Bruce a baseball at the end of the game, and got us awesome seats.

 We sat in our ticketed seats for awhile (pictured above while we did The Wave), then moved to our neighbor's section for a plusher view. We ate peanuts (Bruce ate the shell and all; I guess he had never seen a whole peanut?!) and Cracker Jacks, cheered the Red Sox against the Tampa Bay Rays (Red Soc dominated!), and had a great time. Bruce said, "This is the best day I've had in two decades." Yes, he is nine years old.

 Also a few weekends ago, Scott didn't have to work and wanted to take advantage of whatever nice weather was left of this year. He picked Bruce up from school early and drove to New Hampshire to go backpacking in the White Mountains.

 They hiked a few miles to a campground where they stayed for the night.

 They saw some beautiful views, ate lots of trail mix, and enjoyed some father-son time.

 When they hiked back to the car, Bruce ate almost an entire package of Oreos on the way home. Awesome.

Phoebe was crazy jealous that Bruce and Scott were having a fun trip without her, so she and I visited the fire station to try on turn-out gear and sit in the trucks. Again.

Camp Mom

 I have not been posting much this summer, but it isn't for lack of stuff to post about. It is the lack of time to blog at all. We have been hitting up the local splash parks, modeled above by a hyper Oliver. He took his first step on his "due date birthday" (July 16) at 14 months and just this week started letting go of the couches and walls to finally walk across whole rooms. And now he is everywhere.

 We went to a few outdoor movies at the parks. I think I love going to these as much as the kids. It's like going to a drive-in movie theater minus the cars.

 Bruce signed up for two weeks of summer camp this year. One week was a Lego-building-themed camp through his school; he saw lots of his friends there, played with lots of Legos, and visited the new Legoland nearby. The other week was a youth safety day camp run by the county sheriff. Bruce was a "cadet" for a week and did police training, fire drills, trust exercises, and the like. He got a deluxe tour of a fire station one day and Phoebe was terribly jealous. Pictured above is his graduation on the last day of camp.

 At graduation, we got to eat lunch with the cadets and check out a few emergency vehicles. Phoebe still prefers firetrucks, but this motorcycle is a close second.

 Phoebe learned how to meditate from a neighbor, so does it when she is super-bored - like when picking Bruce up from camp and waiting for him to go potty...

 The rest of the summer was Camp Mom. We did lots of fun stuff, only some of which is properly documented. We went to the Children's Museum...

 ...checked out the snakes...

 ...ate lunch outside and fished for crabs...

 ...and spent some time in the toddler play area. Oliver loved having a space to crawl around in and not get run over by bigger kids.

 Look at those giant teeth. We need to stop breastfeeding. For reals.

 Oliver is still a little behind developmentally, but he is making progress. He just started imitating sounds - "nonono" and "ahhhh-choo" are two favorites. He loves pointing at airplanes and is obsessed with all things that spin. At his 15-month well-baby check-up, he was 19.5 pounds. He is in the 8th percentile for weight, but the 78th percentile for height. I think that's a Raymond thing?

Finally, here is another we crossed off our bucket list: bouncy houses. Check!

 And another must-do on the list: the Arlington Ward campout! Phoebe followed Firefighter Brian around, we all hiked and hunted for bugs, and we got a lot more sleep this year than last.

 Speaking of firefighters, we have been seeing a lot of "our guys" this summer. This is what Phoebe calls our local crew at the firehouse. She makes them art work and they have been hanging it up in their kitchen. There is a "Phoebe corner" at the station.

 She gets the royal treatment.

 And I have to post this: this kid is so funny. Now that he is walking, nothing is safe. More childproofing is needed!