May 5th - 11th

Monday
Since it was Cinco de Mayo of course we had to have tacos for dinner.  Luckily this is a meal that you generally eat without complaint.

But before dinner we worked outside spreading some of the mulch.  We came up with a pretty good routine.  You and Daddy (ok, mostly Daddy) would shovel the mulch from the pile into the wheelbarrow.  Mummy would hold your hand as we walked towards the street to dump the mulch in the front garden bed.  Then you would ride in the wheelbarrow back to the pile.  While you and Daddy filled it back up again Mummy would spread the mulch and then come to hold your hand to repeat.


Tuesday
Since Tuesday is one of the days of the week when most kids are at school (some of the kids are only in on select days) they held a Mother's Day breakfast at school.  The gifts this year were pretty fun- everyone got a pin, and then each class had a different gift.  Bennett's class painted mirrors.
When we got home I put the mirror on the kitchen counter.  Bennett said it had to go upstairs.  Later I found it on the bathroom counter.  Guess that's where he thought it belonged, but I have since moved it to my dresser.

.
After school Daddy had class.  Bennett was quite helpful with picking up toys so that I could vacuum and then he helped plug and unplug the cord for me when I had to move to different rooms.  Who knew someone could enjoy cleaning so much!

Wednesday
After school we worked some more on the mulch pile and then played outside for a while.
The evening was pretty uneventful until dinner.  Bennett took a bite or two and then threw up.  No warning whatsoever.  Other than that though he seemed fine.  I think he was really confused about what happened.  We explained that it meant that he was sick and he asked "where do I have to go to get better?"

Thursday
He woke up saying, "I'm not sick anymore.  I got better."  Considering there was no fever and no other signs that something was wrong we considered the previous night to have been a fluke.

When Daddy and Bennett came home from school Bennett "drove" the car, even buckling himself in.  He then played outside with Daddy while Mummy made dinner. 

Friday
Nothing too exciting.  He took a good nap at school, watched some Curious George at home, and then played with the Lego fire station.

Saturday
After soccer Bennett came home and worked on a Mother's Day craft with Daddy and then watched Peter Pan.  Meanwhile, I was at OSV for a talk about how the costume department recreated a dress from one that they had in their collection.

Later in the afternoon we went to the Bryant's for Davis' 9th birthday party, which was Harry Potter themed.

Cakes- snitch cupcakes and an acceptance letter cake.

Making wands

Playing quidditch

Awesome present- sent by owl post

I also love this photo as it shows how much DJ tolerates Bennett.

After the party we bought Bennett some new pants as all of his jeans had holes in them.  We were going to get the same size he had been wearing but decided to go up a size since with the weather warming up we wanted him to get more wear out of them.  So here he is in 5T pants and shirt- and they don't look big on him at all!  Although the pants do need to have the elastic inside to make them smaller since he has a super skinny waist.

Sunday
On Mother's Day we went to OSV.  Mom's got in free and the first 200 moms also were given a clay flower pot and a packet of seeds.  Bennett also had the chance to plant a seed and he chose an heirloom squash.  Assuming he gets any squash from it, he will be able to enter them in the agricultural exhibition in the fall.

Isaac and Beulah were in one of the fields running around which was fun to see.

And my Mother's Day gift?  Daddy is sneaky and he ordered and then stealthily picked up an OSV tin watering can.  Bennett is very excited about this and enjoys watering my garden- to the point that I'm not really allowed to do it myself.

Spring has sprung!

It's finally starting to feel like spring!  Bennett is wearing short sleeved shirts most days, and when getting dressed he keeps trying to pull his sleeves down.  But being from New England I know that the weather could quickly turn, so the long sleeve shirts are still easily accessible.

One day this past week we picked Bennett up from school and he had a ponytail, or as he called it, a "popo tail".  Apparently all of the kids who had any amount of hair got ponytails.  What I love most about this though is that Bennett finally has enough hair to be put into a ponytail!  And yes, it is often that curly.

May the 4th be with you!  The Lego store was celebrating by giving out Yoda hats.

On Sunday we went to Sturbridge.  Hey, it had been two weeks, so it was time, right?

Bennett brough his phone with him (an old cell phone of mine) and started taking pictures of the sheep.

We had noticed that Doc and Blue, the two oxen who reside in the center village weren't in their normal enclosure.  When we got towards the farm we saw them working to plow a field.  As we were getting closer, they finished up and came up the path towards us.

When they reached the end of the path, the farmer stopped them and talked to the small gathering of people about the oxen.  Technically they won't be "oxen" for another year or so.  This is the term that they get when they are fully trained.  Doc and Blue (Doc's horns point down) are 3 years old.  They are doing well, but still have some learning to do.

As they were being led away, Bennett very loudly yelled after them, "BYE OXEN!!!"

Then we went into the barn and saw the twin "mambs" that had just been born.

Back at home at dinner time, Bennett had his first corn on the cob of the season.  He ate it like a pro, eating an ear and a half.  He probably would have eated the whole second ear but I wanted more so I split it with him.  We may need to find some plastic corn dishes because I don't think I want to risk these glass ones getting broken.

Day Out with Thomas

So for those who aren't aware, I have a degree in Theatre with an emphasis on Costume Construction.  Other than summerstock the year after I graduated and working on one production at a local theatre, those skills have been pretty under-utilized in the past 13 years.  People often ask me if I miss it or if I would want to get back into theatre.  I say, "not really, but my kids will have kick-ass Halloween costumes."  For years (long before Bennett was even a twinkle in our eyes) I've been saying this.  Well, it's now that time...

Back in August Chris and I brainstormed and we came up with idea of Bennett's Halloween Costume being Sir Topham Hatt from Thomas the Tank Engine.  Right after we decided this I started working again and then had to finish everything for his birthday party, so costume plans were set aside.

Then about 2 weeks ago I sat down and planned it all out.  I had a month to get the costume done.  Not too bad- I could take my time and I wouldn't have to rush or stress.  But then I wondered if "Day Out with Thomas" was coming up.  I figured we'd probably missed it, but that it didn't hurt to check.  It was less than two weeks away.  Eeek!!!

So for the past week and a half I've been up late every night stitching away.
4th went fabric shopping and started cutting out the jacket
5th - 9th made the jacket
10th made the waistcoat (vest)
11th started the hat
12th more or less finished the hat, started the spats (and stayed up until 1am)
13th (while at my hair appointment and in the car on the way there) finished sewing the lining into the tophat and sewed snaps onto the spats.

Phew, that was a long 10 days!

All week long he was very resistant every time I had to have him try his costume on.  The jacket was the worst!  He did NOT want to wear it!  I was a little nervous of how things would go on Saturday.

Bennett napped in the car on the way there, but didn’t sleep long enough and woke up cranky. We tried changing his clothes in the parking lot, but He. Was. Not. Having. It. We managed to change his pants but he didn't really want that to happen.  Put on his dress shoes and tried to put the spats on.  As soon as I got them snapped on, he was ripping them off.  So we put him back in his sneakers and I put the clothes in a bag and brought them in with us. Shortly before Sir Topham Hatt showed up for pictures we changed him. He still resisted, but once we got him dressed he was fine. Only we didn’t bother to change his shoes, since that had been the initial cause of the meltdown at the car. So he was all spiffy- and then in sneakers. Phooey

It was fun to hear the comments from other parents about how he looked like Sir Topham, and from some of the staff as well.

At first he wasn’t happy, but this may have been because we tried putting him down on his own. When that didn’t work, Chris quickly jumped in. Got a few pics that way, and then tried a single shot.

But the best is this one from the official photographer. I may need to pay the crazy amount of money to get it.

Not thrilled with any of the official photos with Thomas, and I didn’t get to take any with my camera. This one may be the best (there were three) and I think Bennett’s eyes are closed.

We then got to ride the train. We had a car all to ourselves which was nice because Bennett was able to run around.

Then at the end of the day (they were about to close) a staff member asked if she could take his picture for the website, but then she later said FB. Either way it’s pretty cool. Guess they don’t usually get people dressing up.

So all in all, I’m glad I pushed to get the costume done in time. I’d like to say I won’t be this ambitious next year, but I doubt that’s true.

Oh, and his hat really does fit. There’s a little resistance when you put it on, and Chris didn’t realize that. So it’s just sitting really high in all of the hat pictures except the last one.

Then yesterday I brought him to Brandeis.  The costume designer there had been most helpful to me with some pattern drafting- especially getting things to me during tech week!  She wanted to see him in his costume, and due to schedules, yesterday was really the only day I would be able to bring him in when she was there.  So after nap we headed in.  I changed him in Chris' office.  He was a little resistant, but not too bad.  Still didn't want to wear his hat though, although he is wearing it here.

We changed him again before we left and he wanted to carry the bag with his costume out to the car.  When we got home, he insisted on carrying the bag in.  Then what does he do?  Reaches in, pulls out the hat and puts it on.  And then starts pulling other things out and wants to put his spats on.  Really?  I'm glad you like it, but couldn't you have been more receptive on Saturday?

 

Still a few more occasions to wear it, so I hope he remains happy with it. (Trick or treating in town on the 26th, costume birthday party on the 27th, Halloween party at school, trick or treating on the 31st, and we're also taking him to have pictures taken.)

Another comparison, and some clothes

First off, here's another comparison photo. Yeah, I know. I'm a couple of weeks late getting this posted. Here I am at 17 weeks. I had meant to take a picture every 4 weeks, but I forgot and then life got in the way, so here I am at 17 weeks.And then here is my dining room table covered in clothes that were sent up from Georgia. Wow! This kid has quite the wardrobe already. It was fun going through everything and seeing some of the clothes that we had given to the nieces/nephew being passed on to our babe. And the cute pink plaid hat! (But where's the matching jumper?)
I sorted it into a few different piles: boy on the right, 2 piles of neutral in the middle, and a pile of girl on the left. Then on the far left are pink and blue bumpers, some blankets, and some crib sheets. There's also a stack of bibs and a pile of socks and hats. Now to further sort things by size. And then find a place to put all of it.