Apple Picking

We headed out (apparently with the entire state of Massachusetts) to go apple picking! We made the error of picking a large, popular orchard we had been to before (and that Henry went to on a field trip last year and therefore loves). Never again - the lines to drive in, buy your bag,and wait for the tractor ride were all insane. At one point while Henry was fidgeting a bit I told him that this was good waiting in line practice for when we go to Disney World in the spring. The woman in front of us turned around and said "We actually just got back from a trip to Disney World, and this is so much worse!"

But, once we actually made it into the orchard the picking was great. Lots of apples, many ladders for Henry to climb, and great weather.

And just for fun, here is Elliot apple picking in his monkey shirt:

And Henry apple picking at the same age, in the same shirt:

King Richard's Faire

Henry recently has been interested in knights, and decided a while ago he wanted to be a knight for Halloween. So, we thought it might be fun to take him to King Richard's Faire - a local renaissance fair/festival. As expected, it had healthy doses of cheesiness, and many people who were very, very into costumes. But the kids had fun!

Henry got a wooden sword and shield for his Halloween costume. He felt that being a knight meant you had to be VERY serious at all times.

We watched jousting and sword fighting, which Henry was a little scared by at the end (he thought the knights really died) and Elliot thought was awesome:

There was a lot of eating:

And things that just cannot be explained:

It was an experience!

Little Climber

While Henry has started his school year, Elliot is also getting started with some classes. He takes Music Together and My Gym each week. Music he has taken for a while, and is obsessed with it (he knows how to use the little boombox in his playroom and insists on listening to his Music Together CD on repeat All.Day.Long). My Gym he just started last week and he is having a blast!

Taking iphone photos in these classes is an exercise in futility, but I try. Here he is hanging on the trapeze:

Waving to his friend Ben as he passes by in the "boat":

And general frivolity:

Elliot loves doing the gymnastics portions, where the instructors have him do forward rolls, go on the balance beam, etc. He is getting a lot better with climbing up stairs, but still can't really go down on his own. The trampoline scares him, but the ball pit is his idea of heaven.

He is starting to get a few more words, but isn't a big talker except for his 4 favorite words: "Bus", "Car", "More", and "No". Those we hear AAAALLLLLL day. When I get him from his crib in the morning there is no "Hello" from him. He immediately starts yelling "Car! Car! CAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!" until we can get to the playroom and see his beloved cars. Every car that drives by is pointed and yelled at. A bus going by practically causes him to go insane with excitement. His yellow school bus toy is carried everywhere.

Other words we have are "Night night" for bed or naptime, "Boom" said whenever he or anyone else gets hurt (or if something falls), "train", "Daddy" (so cute and loving how he says it. In the meantime he only says my name when he can't find me in the house, and then yells "MAAAAA!!!" in a very braying, rude teenager kind of way), "boat", "Garbage truck" (Not said very clearly, trust me), "quack" for duck, "moo" for cow, and "woof woof" for dog. He makes a siren noise whenever he spots a fire truck or police car, and "down". He also finally started nodding, so we are not only in the land of "no" anymore.

And to finish, some pictures of him on the playground - he finally got over his fear of playground bridges!

First Grade

Today was the first day of First Grade for Henry!

(yes, schools started very late this year)

Elliot was NOT interested in having his picture taken to mark the occassion.

Henry woke up excited to go and was very happy all during the walk to school. He was happy to meet his new teacher - Mrs. Harvey - and see his friends. But when it came time for Mike and I to leave he became a little teary.

When I picked him up, they had a chart of "Our First Day Feelings" outside the door. Henry was one of two who placed himself in the "sad/upset" category. Poor guy.

BUT, he said he had a good day and was in a great mood at pick up. They are starting off with a unit on insects and I learned many insect facts on the walk home. His school does a "looping" system where Henry will have the same teacher and class for first and second grade, which I think will be really good for him.

Congratulations to our big first grader!!!!

Last Beach Day...

We snuck out this morning for a few hours at Crane Beach.... The weather is definitely taking a turn for the cooler (although knowing Boston that will change!) and our next few weekends are already booked, so this was very likely our last "real" beach trip of the year. Luckily, it was a slightly cool, breezy, and beautiful morning for our beach bums.