SNOW FALL in Boston!

We finally got a good bit of snow this weekend and the boys have been excited to play in it!
Yesterday Daddy took them on the sled around the neighborhood and they "sled" down the driveway. This was after making snow forts of course. Jackson decided that he needs his swimming goggles to make the snow fort with, we'll see if we can find them because it is common sense that one would wear swimming goggles to see through the snow!
Here they are sledding- Jackson in front, Shane in Back.

Photos from the cousins visit!

Shane December 2012 letter

Dear Shane-
As 2012 comes to a close, this will be the last letter of the year that I write to you. 2012 has been a good year and you my little guy have grown a lot this past year. I didn't write you a letter last month and I am sorry for that, it was a busy time.

We spent Thanksgiving up in NH at the Mount Washington and I think your favorite part of the trip was swimming and seeing Santa on the Cog Railway. Your cousins came out from Ohio for a visit and I think that was the highlight of your winter holiday celebrations. It wasn't until just the other day that you started talking about Santa Clause- up until that point it was all about your cousins and when your cousins were coming. We had a great time with your cousins! We went to Payson Park and you played football with Zach. Zach was kicking the ball and you continuously tried to told the ball for him to kick- it was very cute to watch!!!!You always wanted your cousin Abby and if she wasnt' playing with you on the slide or something, you were calling her name. We also spent one morning at the Museum of Science and had a great time there- again you just wanted to be with your cousins! We celebrated Christmas early with our family and Auntie and your cousins were there as well as Uncle Adam and Dave, Auntie Val and Uncle Terry. You and your brother had a great time with all of the people around. You and Jackson play well apart and actually at school they tell me that  you play apart very well. But I have noticed that you like to have your brother around and you will ask me "where is my brother?". All in all it was a great visit with your cousins! and I hope we will have the opportunity to visit them soon.

We celebrated Christmas at Nana's church in Stoneham and you were very intrigued by what Nana was doing and when mass was over you ran right up to her and gave her a hug. We had Christmas dinner at home and then the Legor's came over for an afternoon visit. Joan gave you some glow in the dark necklaces that link together and they kept you busy for a long time!!!Now that Christmas is over you have started to ask about Santa but you have also gotten the Christmas flu that is going around and you haven't been feeling well for days now. And you have also refused to take the purple medicine- you only want red. Jackson is running around telling people that Nana gave you a cold and Shane took your cold and he (Jackson) is fine.

Swimming continues to go well you graduated to the next swimming level and are enjoying that. You are also taking a little gym class at the Arlington Boys and Girls Club and enjoying that as well. I love you Shane Kilday! You are mommy's sun, moon and stars.
All my love-
Mommy

Jackson-December 2012 letter

Dear Jackson-
This will be the last letter I write you for the year 2012. I was remiss in writing your November letter so apologies for that. The Holiday season as we call it is coming to a close and it has a been a busy few months. You continue to grow and talk more and enjoy your friends. Every where we go you make new friends.

We spent Thanksgiving in New Hampshire and Nana joined us and we had a great time, I think your favorite thing up there was swimming and seeing Santa on the train ride. We had an AMAZING Christmas season and I'll post some photos in a bit. Auntie and your cousins came out to visit us and in all honesty, that was all you cared about - every day you would wake up and ask if your cousins are coming today? When they came it was excitement beyond belief. On the day they arrived we spent the day at home and went to Payson Park after lunch at your favorite place.... Comellia's Pizza. At the park you were very busy collecting sticks, digging holes and building "things". We went to the museum of science one day and we visited with Nana as we had an early Christmas at her house with your cousins, Uncles Adam & Dave as well as Auntie Val and Uncle Terry- it was a blast! There was so much energy in the house we had a great time! One night you also made our annual ginger bread house and Christmas cookies with your cousins. We had a great visit with them and I wish we all lived closer so that you could play with them more often.

We went to Church this Christmas at Nana's church and you were very interested in where Nana was and what she was doing. Christmas day was at home and you said phrases like Oh Wow and This is great! I think your favorite gift was the pirate ship from Nana. The Legor's came over later in the day and you LOVE the Nutcracker suite stage toy that Joan brought you and some mornings I come down stairs and you are drinking a juice box and playing with the Nutcracker Suite toy, hitting the music button again and again.

You and Shane continue to be the best of buddies and like to do things with each other and you let people know that you are brothers. Today daddy took you to Skye zone- a trampoline place and you love it there. Daddy sends his love and today he is calling you his action hound. You love your fly ups when we go to bed and lately you have taken to going to bed with your flashlight. Last night I went in to check on you and you had the covers over your head with your flashlight on- very cute.

Happy New Year Jackson, you are mommy's sun, moon  and stars.
Love always-
Mommy

play time

my boys at school Jackson left, Shane right.

Misc. happenings around the holidays at home and about

Well this week is Chunukah. Sesame Street had a special on it and we have attended two Chunukah parties! The boys had a blast and loved the dradles and the chocolate coins more than the dradles. For some reason neither one wants to eat the chocolate candy but they must have it in their possession at all times- bed time especially and that is an odd one- so at night there is a lot of crying about their chocolate coins but none the less it is all good.

Jackson is an early bird these days and he has started a new thing. He goes down stairs, plugs the lights on the tree in- O.K. can live with that. But then he must go into the pantry and look for drinks- Juice boxes or what have you and he struggles to open them and then he goes and hides under the table to drink all of the juice. The other day I cam down stairs and both of the boys were under the dining room table, feet hanging out. When I peeked under there they both had juice boxes, the ipad and they had gotten into my purse and taken gum- all of the evidence was on the floor! And of course, when you confront them they just hide deeper under the table like they did nothing wrong.

On another note, Keith and I met with the teachers at school last night. The boys are doing well but there is some concern over their speech articulation and the school thinks they should be evaluated for speech therapy. Not a big deal, just something else to look into. I'm sure with some speech therapy they will be pronouncing more words just fine in no time. It wasn't until after the teachers mentioned it that I also agree, there are some things that Shane will say that I can't understand and Jackson will "translate" for us. They are lucky to have each other.

It's cold outside!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had an amazing Thanksgiving weekend- it was low key in the sense that it was just us and Nana but we certainly made the best of it. We headed up North to the Mount Washington Hotel and stayed in a town house which for us was much better than the hotel because there was room to run around for the boys while we could still enjoy everything the hotel had to offer (indoor swimming pool was the best). 

We ate Thanksgiving dinner in the "Grand Ballroom" with everyone else and the boys ate all right and we had samores by the fire pit that night. We spent a lot of time swimming in the pool with all of the other kids. We saw Santa and got a bed time story from the big guy in red. We spent lots of time in the hotel just lounging and the boys would run all over the place with the other kiddos that were there. On Saturday we went half way up Mount Washington on the Cog Railway and that was fun and who would of thought- we saw Santa AGAIN! We also did a lot of exploring on the Mountain and we watched the skiers, played on a kiddie zip line- the boys wanted to try it after daddy spent 3 hours doing a zip line canopy tour on Friday (He had fun)! Jackson was very enamored with the skiing and wanted to try it, we told him maybe next time..... All in all it was a great trip- the hardest part was the three hour drive but I know that pales in comparison to the drive times that others make on their trips- i.e. 13 hours coming from Ohio! YIKES!!!!! Happy Thanksgiving to all. I am personally thankful for my kind family and especially Shane and Jackson; our good health and all of the good fortune that has come our way.

Four Year Check Up

We had our 4 year check up at Doctor Yogman's office and both boys passed their physicals with flying colors. They had an eye exam this time  which was interesting and they each got 4 shots! The shots were not so fun, they both cried but that is O.K. They got 4 sticks! Everyone survived.
Statistics:

Jackson:
Height: 41 1/2 inches
Weight: 39 1/2 pounds

Shane:
Height: 41 3/4 inches
Weight: 39 pounds

Pretty close to identical for me! I asked the Doctor about getting them tested for twin status- identical vs. fraternal and again he told me it wasn't worth the money, but I'm still interested. We'll see...

Sneaky faces

I came down stairs this morning greeted by two smiling little boys- they had smirks on their face.
I didn't say much about it. A few minutes later, I couldn't find Jackson and I found him in the pantry- under a chair eating Halloween Candy! He got the bowl down from the top shelf and was eating candy at 6am! Mommy took the candy away, we talked and I thought it was the end of the story.

A few minutes later after we were dressed etc. I hear the boys under the dining room table- again eating candy. !!!!Needless to say, mommy took the remainder of the candy to work today.

shane at school

shane making a castle with funky blocks.

Peter and the Wolf at Symphony Hall

Well, we did it- I actually took two 4 year olds to Symphony Hall today to hear Peter and the Wolf; It wasn't so bad. We had a good time, the were restless after about 20 minutes and Jackson said very loudly- where are we going next ? But all in all I would say that they were well behaved and it was a success.

Jackson and the ER

Mommy had her first Emergency Room visit in four years last week. Jackson was called home sick from school- fever, lethargic, wouldn't move, crying, wouldn't drink etc. I took him to the pediatrician who sent us to the Emergency Room at Children's. Once they got some fluids into him Jackson perked up a bit and he did NOT have meningitis which is what they were concerned about. So after a few hours we were sent home with the rest, and lots of fluids instructions and all was good by Sunday.

First Snow Fall Nov. 6, 2012

Last night was the first snow of the season. Jackson and Shane were very excited and wanted to go outside even in the dark to play! No way on that front but this morning Jackson woke me up asking about the snow and when we went to the window- he yelled- there is a lot of snow on the ground, let's go outside! We received about 2 inches of snow, so not a whole bunch. When I left for work, both boys were at the island talking to Trish about what was needed for a snowman. Shane said that we have big carrots for his nose and that they could use cucumber for his eyes. They were very excited to go outside but it was raining this morning so don't know if they got out at all.

First snowfall in Boston.
First snowmen of the year- last year we only had 1 small snowman. While I don't want more snow- here is hoping that the boys can make more. Notice, Mommy's good scarves on the snowmen!

Halloween 2012

Halloween 2012 is here. Jackson and Shane picked out their costumes in August when the first Halloween catalog arrived at the house. True to form, here they are-
Jackson is Batman and Shane is Spiderman. This afternoon they will go trick or treating in Cushing Square and then we will trick or treat tonight with mommy and daddy.

Notice the abs on both boys- Gone are the days in which mommy could pick out cute costumes, we are into superheros all the way! Love you guys. Next to dressing up, the boys are psyched to use their flashlights from Uncle Adam and Uncle Dave that they received for their birthday!

We had a GREAT night trick or treating. Both Shane and Jackson at first were more interested in handing out candy to trick or treaters than getting candy- we sat on the porch waiting for the kids to come for a while and they were pushing each other to give out the candy. We left a BIG bowl of candy out for kids to take a piece or two so that there would be enough for everyone but we swung by the house 20 minutes after we left and all of the candy was GONE- we suspect the group of teenagers in front of use took it all. But we were out for about 10 minutes when we bumped into some friends from school- the parents were at the bottom of the stairs waiting for the kids and I heard a mom say - that batman just hugged Matthew! I turned around since I had a batman and low and behold it turns out that he was a friend from school. So we joined their group - about 8 small superhero's, villains, skeletons and a few babies. Anyhow, the boys went crazy! They were yelling at each other- more houses, candy, candy- "come on guys" there is a house over here". It was GREAT! All the kids had fun and I think I even might have gotten a babysitter out of the night- one of the new houses up the street- she was giving out candy- 18 years old so we'll see. The boys had a BLAST and that was what is important.

Fast forward to this morning- I thought they would have slept late, NOT! They were up at 5am and when I cam into the kitchen they were both sitting on the kitchen counter eating candy! here they are last night assessing the evenining's haul of candy-

Shane Happy 4th Birthday!

Dear Shane-
Happy 4th Birthday! I can't believe that you are officially four years old! It seems like yesterday you were just born. We have had a lot of accomplishments over the last year- no more diapers! (YEAH!!), you are riding a bike, you can climb onto the counter and get into EVERYTHING- even things high up, you can hop the baby gate and go upstairs any time you like...the list goes on and on regarding your accomplishments for the year but I'll stop here for now.

You had a fabulous birthday party complete with a visit from Spiderman! But you were very shy around him and didn't really want much to do with Spiderman but you did have a great time with your friends. You are getting more and more into writing and coloring- you have any activity book that you do almost every day and Uncles Adam and Dave gave you a Leap Pad kids computer for your birthday! and you love it- in some regards Shane, it is like watching TV so I have to control the usage but the programs on there are all about the alphabet and making letters so it is a delicate balance!

Even though you are 4 now, you are still very much into your snappy- you even call it him sometimes. We are trying to get snappy away from you but that is a big challenge. Yesterday, Trish hid snappy and you were freaking out b/c you couldn't find it! My Little Shane you need to leave the snappy upstairs on your bed where it belongs!

 

You and your brother are still like two peas in a pod, for the most part you play well together but you certainly have your moments in which you fight like crazy! Yesterday you were fixated on a tonka truck bridge that was missing a piece and you and Jackson wanted nothing more than for me to find this one particular part of a bridge! You enjoy snowball's company and like to pat him when ever you can. You are very much attached to Daddy these days, and you get very upset when he is not around. 

 

You have a new saying for mommy- you squeeze my cheek and call me "Bella" (meaning beautiful in Italian) and sometimes you also say- mugga mugga mugga- I love you from the Daniel Tiger Show. You are a sweet little boy Shane and I love you with all of my heart. (There is enough room in there for you and Jackson). You are mommy's sun, moon and stars. Happy 4th Birthday little buddy.
Love always-
Mommy

Jackson Happy 4th Birthday!

Dear Jackson-
This Sunday, on the 28th of October you turned FOUR YEARS OLD! Three is gone and four is here. Happy Birthday little guy. We celebrated your birthday the superhero way with the real life spiderman coming to visit you and your brother for the party! You were all into Spiderman and had a great time with him, even though "Batman is your favorite" you didn't take any issue that Batman didn't come to the party. We had a great party at home with your friends from school, but you missed the fact that your cousins weren't there. We did however facetime with them and that seemed to suffice the need to have them there. Your birthday cake was a batman one and we sang happy birthday to you individually- I think all in all it was a great party.

Jackson at the moment you are into "cozy" things- cozy jammies, cozy sweaters, cozy blankets etc. Not sure where the coziness has come from but you like cozy things. We have had a great month together and done a lot of things together as a family and alone with mommy and Nana. You had a few months in which you were treated like royalty because you had something every weekend day! We went to the circus, Salem for haunted happenings, parks, Nana's house and much much more.

You and your brother continue to get along for the most part but you certainly have your moments in which you fight and push each other around. I wish this wouldn't happen but I have no control over it. Daddy has been working a lot so you have had some mommy days which have been fun. I can't believe that you are four years old- gone are the days of diapers, not being able to communicate with you, putting things on the top shelf so you can't reach, baby gates ( you now hop the gate) and much more. I love you Jackson Reid- you are mommy's sun, moon and stars.
Love always-
Mommy

Family photo 2012

Jackson in Orange, Shane in Red.
The calm before the storm- Hurricane Sandy that is. The Hurricane hit a few hours after we took these photos.

More birthday photos

 jackson and Spiderman at the parthy.

 Jackson an spiderman at the party

 Shane says hello to spiderman.

Shane and his cake- spidey is in the background.

misc. photos from the month

 even at 4 years old, boxes are still fun. This is the box their legos came in from their cousins!

 Sticks at Nana's house- Shane brown, Jackson red.

 Salem haunted happenings- kiddie train ride (before Jackson's melt down)

 Uncle Jays visit to Boston- Nanna's house

 My three guys at the cirucs.

 Jackson and Shane goofey faces and all at Drumlin Farm.

 Smiling Shane at Drumlin farm.

 Helping daddy rake the leaves before the big storm comes. Both boys wore"Safety goggles" like Daddy.

 Nana's hat at the Salem Haunted happenings- Peabody Essex Museum

 My very own batman- Jackson.

 Jackson turns 4 at his birthday party with friends.

 Jackson at the Topsfield fair.

 Shane as spiderman- Halloween costume.

 Nana and Spidey at the boys birthday parthy.

 Shane's very own hat that he created at the Peabody Essex Museum.

 Potato sack slide ride at the Topsfield Fair.

 Look at all the loot the boys won at the topsfield fair!

 Shane and Spiderman- Spidey was the special guest at the boys birthday parthy

 Shane turns 4 with his friends.

Twins- can you tell who is who?