Samwise

...and the evolution of some pretty impressive and incredibly kissable baby cheeks

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

This boy, I tell you, is the best baby ever. I have the facts to prove it, not to mention a proud daddy and two adoring sisters to back it up. Plus he is adorable. Oh, my heart...he has it. Him and those chubby cheeks.

Stats at 6 months: 19lbs 8oz (the exact weight Lainy weighed at her 12 month checkup)

Back to School

A week before the first day of school, Lainy's elementary school invited us (as a new family in the area) to take a tour of the school. There we learned that schools in Massachusetts are different. Different in the way that the government invests a lot of time and money into education, so the schools have some really great programs and curriculum that have been cut in other states. Lainy's school has a full time gym teacher, music teacher, computer teacher, and art teacher, a school psychologist, behavioral specialist, and occupational therapist, plus reading and math specialists for each grade. And the school itself is cute with lots of windows, murals, and bright colors all throughout. It's really quite impressive! And a little easier for me to send my little daughter to a bright, happy place like that.

The night before the first day of school found me packing a little school lunch in my kitchen at 10 pm and marveling over how fast six years can fly by.

Alaina was so excited for the first day of school that she woke up at 6 am. She came in my room, shook me awake and informed me that it was time to go!

A couple of hours later it was really time to go. Lainy was bouncing off the walls. Leah was sad. I was nervous. Sam was oblivious.

Then my little girls did this on the way to school, and oh, my heart!


Soon we found where Lainy's class was meeting outside, and met her teacher. By then she was starting to get nervous.

When in was time to say goodbye, we gave her big hugs and wished her luck. Then she squared her shoulders and marched inside.

Just like that she was gone. Leah and I looked at each other and walked slowly back to the car. (I only cried a little.)

Six long hours later, we had our girl back. She chattered excitedly about her "nice, pretty teacher" and recess and lunch. It was a success!

Now, two months later, Lainy is still liking school. The curriculum is quite intense for a first grader (in my opinion). She has homework every night. But Lainy really enjoys doing it. I try to make sure she has time to be a kid every day. The major hiccup has been kids at school. They've all been going to school together since they were three years old (that's how mom's do it here) and Lainy is the only new kid. So she's had a little bit of a hard time breaking into the little circles of friends. I've had to tame the mama bear in me after Lainy has come home a couple of times saying: "No one would play with me at recess so I just played with my teacher". It makes my heart hurt a little bit. I tell her she's so lucky that her best friend is her sister. Now things are getting better and she's making friends. It was only a matter of time before they realized what a cool kid she is!

{Side note: Does parenting get easier the older kids get? So far, it hasn't.}

We're proud of our little first grader! We love you Lainy!

"I'm Not Going Down There"

A couple of weeks ago, I went down to the basement to do some laundry. Usually two little girls follow me wherever I go, but for some reason Leah was missing. After loading the wash I went to investigate. I found her at the top of the stairs looking nervous.

"I'm not going down there" she declared.

"Why not?"

"Because there's a fire down there."

"What?!" I yelped. "Did you see a fire?"

"Yes. And I'm not going down there," she repeated.

Lainy snorted, skeptically so I turned to her for clarification.

"Okay, I'll show you" Lainy said, and marched down the stairs. I followed but Leah stayed where she was.

Lainy led me to the closet under the stairs. The one that houses the hot water heater. She opened the door and pointed at this:

"We were playing in here and Leah saw this picture and now she thinks there's a fire and she will be like that guy," Lainy said all in one breath.

I was baffled. Then I studied the warning label and the depiction of a little stick figure man on fire and everything clicked.

But all my attempts at convincing Leah that it is safe to go in the basement and that there is no fire, failed. She didn't set foot in the basement for at least a week, mumbling things about "fire" and "that guy".

Currently, Leah has started venturing down into the basement again. But never alone. And always taking a good look at the closet first.

Kids are kind of hilarious.

On Boston

First time on the T (subway)

I'm finally caught up on blogging, sort of. So now we're in real time. In Boston.

I'll be honest: the first two months here were really hard. The move was a bit of a nightmare. And as much as I try to tell myself that this is a great adventure, it doesn't change the fact that we have landed ourselves FAR away from everything we know and love. Add to that an extremely busy husband in a high stress/high expectation job, a crazy expensive place to live, and a mom juggling three kids, and you can probably imagine that it hasn't all been fun and adventure out here.

But things are getting better.

First impressions of Boston:
It is super old. Some of it is cool old (like the cemetery near us with graves dating back to the early 1600's). But a lot of it is just dirty, run-down old. Way different than the West.

People are very...blunt. And loud. They don't have a problem telling you exactly what they think (in a Boston accent), even if it's a little rude. The lady that yelled at me for walking in front of her in the grocery store parking lot is the same one who fawned over my "beautiful babies" in the checkout line. Though I was on the verge of tears, apparently she had no hard feelings. And once I knew that, everything was okay. Now that I've gotten used to it, I kind of love the braziness. It's refreshing after the passive-aggressive culture of Seattle.

Drivers are CRAZY. Seriously nuts. It's every man for himself on the road. Traffic laws are rarely heeded. They are replaced by horn honking and hand waving. Defensive driving is a must. And yes, I was a bit terrified the first time I got on the interstate.

I love New England towns. Every little neighborhood is a township with it's own "common" (green space in the middle of town) and old church. It's so cute and fun. Case in point, our town common with old white church:

Boston is a cool city. Every time we venture downtown, we find something really cool: Boston Common, the Old North Church, Paul Revere's grave, Fenway Park, Chinatown... this is a cool place with tons of history and we love exploring it.

Church wards are amazing. Our ward is what has helped us adjust the most. They have welcomed us into the fold and treat us like family. Even though the boundaries are huge and there aren't many members near our house, the people in the ward have been so kind. Isn't it amazing that you can go anywhere in the world and find a family through the Church? I don't know what I'd do without it.

So we are adjusting to life here. And, like I said, it is getting better. We love our house and yard (even though it makes me sick to pay our rent). We're making friends. We're figuring things out. And I am optimistic that with time, we'll really grow to love it.

So there's an update from our corner of the world: moving is hard but we're hanging in there!

***I've got a lot to catch you up on: first days of school, growing baby boys, visitors, and more. Stay tuned! I'll try to update weekly (at least)***

To Alaina on her Birthday

Dear Alaina,

Today you are six years old! I can't believe it (I know, I say that every year). You are growing so fast. I think you become more smart and more beautiful every day. You are my super special girl.

We have spent the past few months turning your world upside down and slowly building a new one. It has been hard on all of us, but you, my Lainy girl, have made it easier. Especially for Mommy and Leah. You play with Leah all day long. You read books to her and Sam. You make up fun games. You help Leah when Mom is busy with the baby. Your excitement about things, big and small, helps our cautious Leah get excited too. In many ways, you are a saving grace in our family.

Next week you start First Grade. Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do without you. Forget about how much you help me, I am having a hard time with the fact that you will be spending most of the day away from me. For the past six years you have been my little buddy at home. It's a little bit scary to send you out all on your own! I wish I could be a little angel on your shoulder and follow you around all day. I wish I could see you make friends and impress your teachers. It makes my heart ache a little bit. I will miss you terribly. But I know that you are anxious to go. I think you will love it.

And I will always be here, ready to chat about everything you do and learn. I'll give you hugs when you need them. You can count on me to always tell you how smart, and beautiful, and talented, and wonderful, and amazing, and special you are. Because you really, really are.

I love you, sweet girl. I am so blessed to be your mother.

Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mom