Yoga

Henry tried out a new class today with some of his friends - toddler yoga!





This was his favorite pose:

Leaves

Weekend

We had a big weekend here. Saturday ended up being a beautiful day (despite the forecast) and Henry started the day by helping us in the yard:






Then later that day Nana and Papa came for a visit! We spent the afternoon in Marblehead, where Henry has a great time running:



And watching the boats:



Sunday we had a lovely Nor'easter come through (it SNOWED. A lot. In mid-October. Very depressing) and spent the morning at the Museum of Science. Henry had a ball:








After all that activity, Henry felt like relaxing for a while:



Thanks to Nana and Papa for a great visit!

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Vermont

Henry went on his 3rd annual Vermont pilgrimage this weekend - he is becoming quite the traveler. As we know, Mike and I take a trip to Vermont every Columbus Day weekend to enjoy all things autumn; foliage, apple picking, cider donuts.... Usually the trip is with a group of friends, but this year it was just the 3 of us. We had a wonderful trip - we only wish it could have lasted longer.

This year we stayed in Dorset Vermont and rented a perfect little house for the 3 of us:








The foliage was gorgeous (as always):





We went up early on Friday, and spent the day exploring the house and the town. Saturday was a little rainy in the morning. We had a phenomenal breakfast out in Manchester:


Spent some time in Manchester looking at the sights:




And headed out to Weston and then Bennington for some sightseeing, shopping, and apples (yes, we were all over the state):





Sunday morning we headed to Merck Forest for a gorgeous hike:






Henry was a trooper, and discovered the joys of a walking stick:



During his nap I got to spend a few hours going crazy in Manchester's fabulous outlet stores - always a good time :) That night we headed to Stratton, a cute ski resort town, for dinner.

Today we took the long way home so we could stop in Woodstock (where Henry thoroughly enjoyed the covered bridge):



And Quechee where we marvelled at the Quechee gorge:





We had a wonderful weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the wood stove, home made apple crisp, the views, and our time together. We can't wait to go back next year!

Topsfield Fair

We had a really rainy weekend for the most part. Yesterday was pretty much a washout and today started out the same. We killed some time by taking Henry out for breakfast and then had a playdate with his friend Jake. Then, at around 2 PM the sun suddenly decided to make an appearance. We decided to take advantage of the sun and warm weather with a spontaneous trip to the Topsfield Fair. We went last year and had a great time as well, but this year Henry was big enough to go on the rides!

He went on the carousel:



And the giant slide (he loved it so much we did it twice):




He went on this ride all by himself - we were very proud:




Henry also met some sheep:



Played some drums:




Got to sit in a tractor:



And Mike and I officially became "those parents" who bought their child a ridiculously annoying, shockingly over-priced, horrifying loud fair toy (that of course Henry loves):




I think this horn may need to mysteriously disappear tonight.

Still keeping Huggies in business....

All I can say is that it was a valiant effort. Kate and Henry had a great time at their "potty party". We had their potty charts on the wall, lots of stickers for rewards, some potty DVDs to watch, etc. Henry and Kate had a hysterical conversation when Kate first arrived:

Kate: What's on YOUR underwear, Henry?

Henry: Elmo! What's on YOUR underwear, Kate?

Kate: Elmo, too!!

Despite our best efforts I think we are holding off for a while. Henry just seemed kind of indifferent - while he wanted a sticker, he didn't care at all when he had an accident (and oh, there were accidents). I am going with the philosophy of when a kid is really ready, potty training will be easy. He just isn't there yet (I am not surprised in the slightest seeing as he still throws a hissy fit any time we try to change his diaper). The good news is that he went 2.5 hours totally dry - and only started having accidents when I began plying him with juice boxes to get things moving. I think that is a good sign for future training endeavors.

Here is Henry making a potty chart for himself (at his insistence):



And here are Kate and Henry:




Bad news of the day - we are still on nap strike. He says he is tired, yawns and rubs his eyes, but will stay in his crib for 2+ hours doing everything BUT sleep. Not such a bad thing until you get to about 5 PM and the epic over-tired meltdowns begin.

The good news of the day - we had Henry try on his Halloween costume (don't get too excited - he is wearing the same one as last year!) and practice trick-or-treating by knocking on his bedroom door and receiving candy corn for his efforts. Lets just say that Henry will be an excellent trick-or-treater this year. He is really excited about Halloween and I think this will be the first holiday he really understands and enjoys (he is also already talking a lot about Santa - watch out!)