Kitchen Envy

Probably the biggest present Bobo got this year was a giant and awesome play kitchen that inspires real kitchen envy from me.  It's so nice and pretty and I very much want a mommy version!  He didn't open it on Christmas day, so he had a while in between presents to sort of extend Christmas out a bit.  Plus, this thing required a lot of set-up.  You can see that from the two separate boxes!  Which Bobo loved playing in, of course... Finally with Grampy's help it got set up, and is now sitting in our living room taking up about half of it.

Get Ready For Sledding!

No snow here yet but this video sure puts me in the mood to go sledding!  And also makes me want to curl up by a fire, brrrrr!

Santa's Lap

 Friday was our library's annual Christmas Tree Lighting, and of course Santa was there to do the honors and then ask all the little munchkins what they wanted.  Bobo was sitting on him so nicely with his hands folded so sweet, and ventured to ask for Thomas trains and a Mickey Mouse toy.  He was so well-behaved and looked adorable, so cute that a lady from the newspaper had to write down his name because she was sure the picture she took of him 'was a keeper'.  I'll be checking tomorrow to see if he's in there of course!

Believe in Santa

The New York Sun, September 21, 1897

We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of THE SUN:

  "Dear Editor: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; Is there a Santa Claus?
        "Virginia O'Hanlon.
"115 West Ninety-Fifth Street."

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no VirginiaS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest man that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank GOD! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/

Poem for a Sick Day

When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so
I watched my leaden soldiers go,
With different uniforms and drills,
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets
All up and down among the sheets;
Or brought my trees and houses out,
And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still
That sits upon the pillow-hill,
And sees before him, dale and plain,
The pleasant land of counterpane.
            ~ Robert Louis Stevenson



Yesterday Bobo and I had a sick day.  I was going to go into work and deal with it even though I had lost my voice for a few days, but then Monday evening when I picked up Bobo from daycare he had a raging fever which lasted all night, so home we stayed.  We slept most of the day, but managed to watch "Feel Better Little Bear" for a while in between pancakes and drinking fluids.  In one of the episodes Father Bear recites this poem and Little Bear acts it out, I wanted to share it.

Boots the Puppy

Okay here is something recent I found in my gmail!  Pics from my BlackBerry... these were taken late October when they wisely had a carnival in our town.  It was *freezing* and pretty much no one went!  But we did, and we had a (mostly, tantrums aside) good time.  We pigged out on fried dough, Bobo got a big old fair hotdog that he ate in 3 seconds flat, watched Bobo and Julie get stuck on the giant slide and then them close it down due to condensation, had Bobo go on the train ride all by himself, played whack-a-mole so he could win a huge ($10) stuffed chinese dragon, and met up with Julie's friend Will and his puppy Boots! 

After we defected to the -regular- playground cause I had no money left for more tickets and froze our bottoms off, we headed home for some hot spiced cider.  Boots had to stay on the porch, but it was so chilly out there we finally set up the baby gate so she could come in the kitchen and play!  And that's what I have pics of!

Cheesy Face

Since I'm apparently incapable of sitting down to update... here are some pics from JULY that my dad emailed me!  These are huge if you click on them.  Saved the best for last, love it! 

I promise I will get around to putting up summer and fall, before Christmas I hope!  I have to order Snapfish prints anyway, I'd love to do some scrapbooking over the holidays... maybe after Nanowrimo (as if I'll finish that anyway!).  Love!

Walking the Forest

Arin getting a ride through the wonderland of woodland trails behind my mom's house.  After her yard ends there are wide trails that four wheelers make occasional use of, which eventually lead to the pipeline and a large river.  We used to explore the area all the time growing up, and it was fun to take Bobo out there for a walk and I hope to do it more often.  The only trouble is we have terrible ticks, but for enchanted moments like this it is worth it.

Two Confessions

I have a confession....

I am super obsessed with this little adorable creature!  I honestly think he is the handsomest boy in the whole wide world and I'm so lucky I get to spend every day with him (even if he might also be the naughtiest)!

 I have another confession....

Sometimes, I give in when he reasons with me, 'but you can paint my nails too, mommy!' and holds out his little teeny fingers.  Look, it's brownish grey, that's a manly color right??  Plus, rock stars wear nail polish.  He's going to be a doctor, so he might as well get this wild streak out now. ;)

New Us!

New facebook picture, might as well post it here too!  I have to say that no matter what, I really just love Bobo's hair when it is shaggy and in his face.  He looks SO adorable with longer hair, I can't help it!

First Apple Pickings

Night Monkey

I never have enough fruit around the house.  This kid loves bananas, they never last more than two days!

Tired Little Farmboy

Congrats Dad!

My dad won the Keene Photoshop PhotoWalk contest this year!  Congratulations, and everyone take a look at the winning photo.  It turns out that the person who won the entire PhotoWalk contest (worldwide) also had a reflection/windows picture, pretty neat huh?

Warp Drive

Washer Boy

Arin has always been obsessed with the kitchen sink, he absolutely loves to 'wash' dishes.  I feel like this picture could have been from last year, instead of the beginning of this summer.  It looks like he hasn't changed one bit, even though I know he's gotten bigger.  I can pretend though!

Sunship Setting

This was the gorgeous sunset we had when coming home from Long Island during our weekend adventure in July.  The boat rides were really fun (and exhausting) because Bobo was having a blast.  We distracted him for a while by taking silly pictures.  I love how these came out because you can see the deep red glow from the sunset.  Such a perfect evening!

I'm on a Boat!

Bobo had a great time on the ferry boat down to Long Island in July.  It was really hot the whole weekend, except when we were on the boat.  I was freezing since I forgot a sweater, but luckily I remembered to bring a hoodie for Bobo, one that Julie bought him in England.  I love all his teeth (anyone seen that commercial?).

 

Then and Now... Sunsets

Here's a picture of my dad with the second cutest little muchkin ever... yup it's me!  I think I was two here.  And below, twentysomething years later is me with the cutest munchkin ever... my Bobo, who is almost three here!  I could adjust the colors to look the same, but you get the idea.  Full circle.

Mugshots

These are passport photos.  They were REJECTED because they were no where near the correct size necessary to obtain a legal United States of America Passport.  But, I still liked them so I took a picture before going back to get ones of an appropriate and acceptable format.  So, long story short - soon (hopefully) we will have our passports in hand and Bobo will be introduced to the wonderful world of international travel!

Now where to first...

Waiting at the Fair

Yesterday there was a Circus in town.  I wanted to take Bobo to see the acrobats, but my idea was vetoed.  There were no 'animal' acts listed, so I agreed that Bobo might not make it through it, or worse, might try to jump into the ring like he kept asking!  The "midway" was open before the show though, so we went there, lured by the pony ride.

Sadly, the pony ride did not translate into reality.  We bought the ticket, stood in line and then as soon as it was Bobo's turn to get in the saddle... no way.  There was a giant slide next to the ponies, and that's all he wanted anything to do with.  Oh well, at least we got to LOOK at the ponies.  Here he is with his 'golden ticket' to go on the object of his desire... the slide.

Ferry Boat to Long Island

Just got home from Long Island after a long but exciting weekend.  Bobo got to hang out with his great-grandparents, Zsa Zsa and Gramps, at Paradise Point as well as visit the family homestead, Howell Holme where Grampy and Kathy were staying.  We  soaked up some sun and waves on the beach at Founder's Landing where we also got to go for a great Lobster Fest for Saturday dinner.  The round trip ferry boat rides were a great hit, and so was playing with Rocky, the one-eyed kitty.  We rounded off the weekend with lots of delicious food, shopping at the Tanger Outlets, and plenty of playing and didn't get home tonight until a few hours into Bobo's beauty sleep.  Hope everyone else had a fantastic weekend as well!

Beach Faces

So happy to be at the beach!

 That's more like it, what a sweetie

 

Fake smile!  Look at his scar/fake dimple :(

Bobo LOVES being at the beach!

Cutie Face

My sister saw me editing this picture and told me I make the same face!  I don't think I do, I've never seen me make this face.... have you??

In other news, we're trying to get him to be more 'British' by saying this like 'knickers', 'brillo' and 'well-chuffed!'  Dual citizenship is right around the bend! :)

Summer Chocolate Face

I love this, perfect summer memory!  Nothing like a breakfast of a rich chocolate muffin while the warm air beckons for a day of playing outside.  Fresh flowers from the garden help too.  I'm starting a new 'starred' label for my favorite single pictures.  This way I can eventually organize them into sections that are easily clickable and findable, and all my favorites will be right there!

Early Spring Hike

Here are some from a few months ago... look at that snow on the ground!  Taking the first thaw opportunity to hike around through the path in the woods and 'sunbathe' in the yard.

Morning Glory

I took this the spring before my little Bobo was born, back when I still let me DSLR see the light of day.  Used the Orton technique post-process.  Too busy to be mucking about taking close up portraits of pretty flowers now, but I guess what that is what retirement is for!  :)