telephone call to Auntie and Zach

Last night in the throws of making dinner and daddy at the stove I bribed the boys with a phone call to Ohio to get them out of the kitchen, it worked. We called Ohio and no joke- i think Jackson and Shane stood there yelling into the phone "Zach, Zach, Zach" and said little else. Jackson tried to show Zach his story land badge and Shane was showing him dinosaurs- of course Zach can't see these through the phone but none the less they kept yelling his name and showing him things. I think Zach was a little tired of if by the end.

This morning Jackson woke up at 4:30! and wanted to go downstairs because Auntie Kris was coming- no joke- he said on his own, Auntie Kris! Kris and Zach will be at the house in a little bit I expect while I am at work, but we'll see them at the wedding.

Imaginations and tool belts

We had a GREAT night last night! The boys put their tool belts on and helped Daddy change out some light fixtures. They got their stools and belts and held the items that Daddy gave them very tightly, at one point Shane was holding onto Daddy's leg so that he wouldn't fall.

We had a great game of blocks and magnet blocks- Daddy was creating amazing shapes and structures and Jackson liked to knock them down. While it sounds a little destructive it was a great time. We'll send out some photos later this week.

busy boys need to be entertained all of the time!

I'm sure like many three year olds, my boys, Jackson and Shane need to be entertained a lot. They play very well by themselves for a while and then bamb for no reason other than because all hell can break lose and they go crazy. My question from this weekend is what to do all day every day with pre-schoolers! No, I don't think that they are toddlers anymore, I do consider them pre-schoolers. We definitely go out every day and we go some place every day but every second of every day can't be someplace else? or can it? I admit it boys, yesterday was the first day that I HAD to put the T. V. on- we watched Winnie the Pooh. You were going crazy we were raking leaves, but you weren't listening and were playing in the street; then the guys were there painting the house and you kept wanting to touch the paint- it was all good in nature- you truly wanted to help but it was not helping. So when we came inside you were crying and yelling and I didn't know what else to do except put a movie on. Daddy and I have tried very hard to keep the T.V. off limits but I am now convinced that there is a time and place for it.

I almost turned it on this morning when you woke up at 4:45 am! and wouldn't let daddy sleep but I resisted and instead Dealt with the crying and yelling that comes along with Daddy being upstairs and Shane being down stairs. Our poor neighbors on the first floor- they got an early wake up call today! I love you guys! When i left you were happy as clams sitting at the island playing Play dough with Trish- you weren't that into the play dough when we were playing it this morning, but what ever, you were smiling and laughing and asking me to roll out the dough so that you could make dinosaur shapes and that made me happy.
All my love.

Raking Leaves

After our October snow storm, fall is in the air. We have had guys working on the house this week which has been quite entertaining for Shane and Jackson. However, today the leaves were the entertainment. We rakes and bagged leaves, or tried to. The boys thought it was more fun to dump the leaves out of the barrel! instead of keeping the leaves inside the barrel. My job was to keep everyone on the sidewalk and we were successful with that.

After a nap in the car, we visited with Nana and played at Robin Hood Park. A good time was had by all.

Imaginations: what is in the pantry?

This morning there were a lot of things happening in the pantry. The boys motorcycles from Grandpa were in there and they started going through the recycling bin for what I don't know. Well according to the boys, they found animal food- and started to rummage some more through the empty containers. The boys played Dogs and made barking sounds. Then there were the kitties up on top of the shelve. All of this while there were guys outside scraping the house (the guys were real). It was an exciting morning before school.

Jackson 3rd Birthday

Dear Jackson- You are now three years old! Happy Birthday Buddy. I can't believe you have been with us for three years. Not only are you getting tall but your words are flourishing. You love to talk and you talk all of the time. Your listening skills have gotten so good and you get stickers every day for such good listening!

You love to run around and play. You like to play with everyone, especially Shane. When we are at the park, you like to play with the Bigger kids - you play ice cream shop and a host of other games. Your dear friend Aiden seems to be more prominent in your little life and you like to pretend that you are Aiden. You come up to me and say 'Mommy, me Aiden" and tap your chest. Your favorite book is still the Balloon book and anything Caillou! You my dear little one, Love Caillou- a bald cartoon character with a little sister named Rosie. I don't fully see the reason why you love Caillou so much but you do. Sometimes Shane will be Rosie and you like to take care of him- you give Shane hugs when he plays Rosie and tell him that it's O.K.

We had a lot of fun this month. We went to Aunt Dottie and Uncle Bill's 60th wedding anniversary party and you and your brother were a hit at the party. You had everyone looking for dragons all over the place and the college kids had a blast with you. Auntie and Abby came to visit for your birthday party and you loved having them here. Everything was Abby, Abby, Abby- (even though sometimes you called her Katie). It snowed this month but the leaves are still coming down and you like to help daddy rake leaves and shovel the snow.

Jackson, my little guy, I"m going to sign off now. I love you with all of my heart. You are mommy's sun, moon and stars.

All my love-

Mommy

Shane - 3rd Birthday

Dear Shane-

I am writing you a letter for your three year old birthday! Happy Birthday little guy! I can't believe that you are three, you have been  alive for 36 months! I love you Shane Kilday.

Your words are coming along perfectly and sometimes when you talk you blink your eyes a couple of times and it is very cute to watch. You love balloon and most recently have had balloons from your birthday, Friendly's and the Bank and you carry them all around with you, this morning you lined up all 5 of the deflated balloons on the floor and were playing with them.

October was a busy month for you. Auntie and Abby came to Boston to celebrate your birthday and you loved having Abby around. You did often call her Katie, but Abby was a good sport about it and didn't mind. Abby took you to see some diggers when we went for lunch at the discovery museum and you trust her explicitly. Every morning when you woke up you immediately went to her room and woke her up as well, you loved to play with her stuffed animals. Your favorite stuffed animal remains to be softy and you are still attached to your snappy p.j.'s. Aiden continues to be one of your best buddies and you love to play with him.

As usual, you and Jackson are pretty much inseparable. You always like to know where he is as does he, you. We continue to work on your listening skills, I"m trying to give you a sticker for every time you listen to mommy- your sticker chart has been a little bare, but I am confident that we will get there. Night time is a bit of a challenge for you, you have lots of energy and jump around and play like crazy at bed time. Again, we will get there.

I love you Shane Kilday, you are mommy's sun, moon and stars.

Love, Mommy.