Gingerbread Houses

We made a gingerbread house together last Sunday. It turned out well. I think I've eaten more of it than the kiddies! Ethan and Claire also make gingerbread houses at school this week out of graham crackers. We also made gingerbread cookies a couple of weeks ago. Below, Jane is enjoying her cookie with green icing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JANE!

Jane enjoys her birthday supper: pizza and carrots!

Jane blew out her own candles on her cupcake this year! All by herself!

We found this rocking horse for $5 for Jane. It proved to be a great buy!

Jane got a new hat for her birthday!

Jane shows off her new birthday loot!

I love this picture. Jane got another new hat and wanted to show Daddy!

Thanks to all for your birthday wishes and gifts. I think Jane had a great day! When Ethan and Claire came home from school Ethan suggested that we turn our house into a haunted house, so we all dressed up in our Halloween costumes to be spooky and Jane loves to be spooky--that's why you see Jane as a skeleton!

Welcome to the lifestyles of the rich and famous! Jane loves to dress up. She is usually wearing something around the house--at least some shoes and a purse. She has started taking her purse where ever she goes. She keeps her stash of marbles in her purse.

Jane likes to lie on the kitchen floor a lot. I'm not sure why--Claire used to lie on the kitchen floor too when she was a little, little girl. So, sometimes the big kids lie with Jane, and then it has been know to turn into WWF.





For the last few days Jane has been carrying her bath mat everywhere. At breakfast, she set all her stuff up in the corner and took her breakfast down on the floor. She ate lunch there too! For 2 days whenever she sat down, it had to be on her mat!

Happy Halloween!

We hope you have all had a Happy Halloween. Our Unicorn, Spiderman, and Skeleton had a very good time, I think--particularly our little Skeleton! She was so excited to be "spooky" and, of course, to get CANDY! We attended a Halloween party at church on Friday and at Yale on Saturday, where the kiddies got to decorate pumpkins and cupcakes. Claire got a tummy ache from all the candy. This afternoon the kiddies had a nice break and watched a show. Jane settled herself on Ethan's lap. She loves her brother and sister, and they can be very loving to her.

Happy Birthday Ethan and Claire!

6 YEARS OLD! Can you believe it! I think they have both had a good day today. We woke up nice and early and jumped on Dad to wake him up so they could open their presents. They had pancakes for their birthday breakfast, and pizza for their requested birthday supper. This year they both wanted a dinosaur birthday cake, so that's what they got! You'll see pictures below. It was a beautiful day here, so they had a nice walk this afternoon. Since today was Sunday, I took them to a movie yesterday afternoon: Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Ethan single-handedly ate all but the head of his dinosaur cake today. I told him he was going to have bad diarrhea. His response, "Yep. I am!!" He didn't seem to mind. It's nice to see them get bigger and watch them learn and grow. Claire has really blossomed since starting Kindergarten. Ethan keeps getting taller and taller. He is a good boy, and is enjoying his new friends at school. Thanks to all for your thoughtful gifts and phone calls today. You have helped make their birthday special and happy for them.
Look at those BIG KIDS!!





Claire got rollerskates for her birthday. She went down a couple of time right on her bottom! So, we wrapped her in bubble wrap!





Jane was a good girl today. She really liked the remote control cars and really wanted to get her little hands on them! Ethan and Claire are getting better and better with Jane and seem to almost like sharing with her. Otherwise, she sat back and took it all in, or grabbed a toy when someone put it down to do some thing new! I like this picture of her...too bad about those little red eyes.

What We Have Been Doing In New Haven!

I received 5 free passes to go to Quassi Amusement Park in Middlebury. We all went on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and the park is right on the water, as you will see below a picture of the scenery. The children had a wonderful time. The big kids weren't scared at all and went on every ride! Jane loved the merry-go-round, and as we all had wristbands to go on all the rides as many times as we liked, Jane and I stayed on the horses. She was very particular about which horse she wanted to ride on. She said "bye-bye" to her horse when it was time to get off and did't make a fuss the whole day! The big kids said they like the rides that go "round and round" the most. It's a small park, perfect for children.










Jane and Claire have become good friends since sharing a room together. Jane takes Claire's hand, Claire leads her to their room and dresses Jane up--who loves it--especially the shoes!

This museum is a 15 minute walk from our apt. We went on August 29 together on a free day. We all thought it was great.

Everyone hard at work!!

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Labour Day

We spent Labour Day morning at the beach--about 15 minutes from our house. It was a perfect day. Ethan and Claire love the water. Jane does too, as long as it's not too wavy!

The First Day of School

I can hardly believe the first day of Kindergarten has come...and gone! I don't really think it could have gone any better than it did! We had some friends watch Jane so Dan and I could take the kiddies. Parents were to come for the first hour of school to do an activity w/ their child(ren). I was able to keep my emotions under control until we got home, so that was good. When I picked them up this afternoon, they both said that they had had a great time. They took a tour in their respective classes of the school. Ethan's class went to the music room and sang and played duck-duck-goose, and played instruments--this seemed to be the highlight of his day. Claire's class went to the library and she was able to check out a book on her own. That seemed to be the highlight for her. They both seemed happy and very upbeat. I felt so relieved! So, it seemed to be a perfect first day! They also both got a new shirt for the first day of school and looking good always seems to help!

A Couple of Firsts...

Well, we finally had our yard sale a week ago on Saturday--we had been waiting 3 weeks for a sunny Saturday. I must say, though, the rain is actually quite nice and keeps the temp very comfortable. The yard sale was a success and now that all those boxes are moved out of the house, we have started packing up everything else. We are planning to leave for CT in 3 weeks! I'm pretty excited. Earlier this week I went to the dentist to get my very first fillings-2 of them. Going to the dentist is not my favourite thing in the world, and I left w/ a big headache, but will be going back for yet another 2! Claire learned to pump on a swing all by herself this week. We've been practicing pumping for a few weeks now, but on Friday afternoon, she started all by herself and kept herself going for a long time! Ethan has grown out of another pair of pants! He is really enjoying going to the park across the street and playing basketball w/ Danny. One of Jane's new favourite things is jumping on the bed. Well, I think that's all for now. Here are a few photos.


That's Batman Baby in the background.


One afternoon Ethan was out with Dan and I was playing with Claire. Jane all of a sudden got very, very quiet. We found her here in the hall, fast asleep!


This morning I was painting Claire's finger and toe nails before church. Jane came out from her bath and kept pointing at her fingernails. She sat so still while I painted her fingers and toes a bright red. She points at them all day!


The Dynamic Duo


This is a photo of Worthington Hooker Elementary School where Ethan and Claire will be attending Kindgarten.


This is where we will be living in CT. Our apt. is on the top floor. It's about 3 blocks from E & C's school.


This is what we call the "orange park". It's a block from where we are living currently and is where Claire made her pumping/swinging debut!