Am I?

I finally captured a photo of a funeral home chain we keep seeing around the Buffalo area. What a great name!

I took the boys to the Williamsville water mill today -- it's an old water mill built by Jonas Williams, the guy who founded this village, in 1811. We got to see a waterfall (just 27 feet high, but still the roaring of the water was impressive!). The chunks of ice in the water and the dusting of snow over everything made it feel extra cold, but the sun was out and it felt good to be outside.

After today, David is off of work until Jan. 4th -- it will be great to have him home. We're hoping to get some more sledding in this week, but there really isn't enough snow on the ground yet. I think some freezing rain and light snow are forecast for the next few days, but maybe we'll get lucky and get a decent snowfall.

Sledding

This morning was cold but sunny and clear, so we took the boys to a nearby park for their first sledding experience. It was a blast!! Jack was a pro from the start, and he liked going as fast and as far as possible. Thomas took a little while to warm up to it, but by the end he was having a great time. Peter, much to my surprise, climbed onto one of the discs and sat down all by himself, waiting for a push down the hill! David gave him a little push and he sailed down the hill, a huge smile on his face. He had impressive balance!

The park we chose had just bunny hills, which was perfect for our first sled outing. I think next the next time or two the boys will be ready for some steeper slopes and faster rides!

And in other big news ... Jack has his first loose tooth!! It's one of the front ones on the bottom, and it's just the tiniest bit loose, but he's very excited. And I can't believe he's old enough to be losing teeth and getting in his adult teeth -- how did that happen?

Proud of my San Diego boys

We're in a patch of fairly wintry weather -- high winds + snow which looks and feels an awful lot like a blizzard to this California girl. In actuality, it's probably pretty tame as far as Buffalo winter weather goes.

We spent yesterday inside because the weather was a nasty combination of high winds, rain, icy rain, and ice pellets. This morning was better, but not by too much -- the snow that fell last night was being whipped up into a swirling, frozen mist by the 50mph wind gusts. The boys asked to go outside, but I didn't think we'd last more than a few minutes before they begged to come back in.

So, we got all suited up in snow gear and headed outside, and Jack and Thomas were in heaven. It was colder than they've ever experienced (probably in the teens with the wind chill), and every time they threw a snowball the wind would blow it right back into their faces (that was amusing to watch, I admit!). But not one complaint or whine --they rolled around in the snow, slid down banks of plowed snow, etc. and were sad when it was time to come inside. I had such fun just watching them tumble around like 2 midget Michelin men :). Being so far from home, from family and friends, has been and will continue to be difficult, but I'm grateful for little adventures like these that are only possible because of our move.

Peter wasn't quite as thrilled with the snow as Jack and Thomas were. He kept looking at the doors to other people's apartments and saying "Door?", hoping that I might open one of those doors and let him get inside out of the cold. He did manage to keep his mittens on today, but only because he refused to move at all when I sat him down in the snow. It reminded me of something a small dog (ahem ... Ali?) or a cat might do if plunked down in the snow.

The more I think of it, the more Peter's personality reminds me of a cat :). He has sort of an aloof approach to life, he's independent (unless he needs or wants something, and then he follows me around yowling "Mammy! Mammymammymammy!). He loves to climb on top of things he's not supposed to, and then look at me pointedly as if to ask "What are you going to do about this?". He is one funny little guy.

Snow!

We woke up yesterday morning to a winter wonderland outside. About 3 inches of snow had fallen overnight. It was beautiful! The boys were so excited. It took me about 30 minutes to get them all into their snow gear (I'm sure by February I'll be much faster!), and then we headed outside. Jack and Thomas were running around and literally squealing with delight. They made snow angels, threw snowballs, played on the piles of plowed snow, and helped me build 1/3 of a snowman (our full snowman had a "mishap" while Jack and Thomas babysat him when I ran upstairs to get a carrot for the nose!).

We're supposed to get more lake effect snow at the end of this week -- the boys can't wait for David to get out there and play with them in the snow, too.

Peter is going to take a little while to warm up the idea of snow, I think. He kept giving it disapproving looks, and he really didn't want anything to do with it. He had mittens on, but he kept taking them off, and then he got mad that his hands were wet and cold, so I would put his mittens back on, and the cycle would begin again. Peter was at his happiest when I pulled out his stroller and gave him his cookie blanket so he could watch while we worked on the snow man!

One fell off and bumped his head...

Last night Thomas took a flying leap off of Jack's top bunk (literally! He told me he was jumping "really hard" up and down and then fell over the edge onto the floor).

He wasn't even supposed to be in their room -- Jack was in time-out, and the door was locked from the outside, but Thomas snuck in there while I was fixing dinner to visit the imprisoned. And then I heard a terrible crash, Jack shouted out that Thomas had fallen, and I rushed in there to see Thomas crying hard on the floor.

My first thought was "no more broken bones, please!", so I checked over his arms and legs, but they seemed OK. Thankfully, no protruding bones or obvious deformations. He was understandably scared by the fall, but it was hard to tell how hurt he really was. At first he said his knee hurt, and then he said his head hurt. I had him lie down on the couch so he could calm down and I could figure out if anything was really hurt. But as soon as I put him on the couch, he got pale, confused, his skin got clammy, and he started trying to fall asleep. Ack!! I kept thinking "concussion!".

Thankfully, David basically walked in the door from work at this point, so he took charge of Jack and Peter while I whisked Thomas off to the ER.

On the way to the ER, Thomas perked up considerably and was his usual chatty self, and he said he wasn't tired anymore. I thought about turning around and coming home, but I was still worried, and I didn't want to ignore a possible head injury, so I went ahead and took him into the packed ER and signed in.

We waited maybe an hour, until close to 7PM, but it became obvious that we would be waiting there for a long, long time. There were people that had been waiting for 5 hours and still hadn't been seen (and these people looked a lot sicker than Thomas, who at that point was totally himself again).

So, I decided to sign us out and come home. The nurse said to bring him back if he started vomiting or crying uncontrollably, but agreed that we were wise to go home and get some sleep. Thomas had a late dinner and got to go to bed later than his brothers (he enjoyed that privilege!), and we checked on him later that night and he seemed fine. Today, he is completely normal -- no bumps or bruises even, and he says everything feels fine!

All I can say is ... thank God for guardian angels -- he must have had his, and maybe he borrowed his brothers' for a minute, too -- helping him land him safely on the floor. That top bunk is close to 6 feet high, and he *jumped* off of it, so I can only imagine how much worse things could have been.

So, Thomas is banned from the top bunk for quite a while (at least a year), and if we need to remove the ladder during the day to keep him off of it, then we will

No more Thomases jumping on the bed!! :)

More walking!

Peter felt pretty confident last night and was walking around without a "cane" or anything. He was very proud of himself! And it was cool to listen to Jack and Thomas cheering him on, too.

This morning, I went to a Mom's club meeting at the Catholic church closest to us. They had free babysitting for the kids, so I was able to sit in a room full of other Catholic moms, drink coffee, and listen to a couple of guest speakers. It was really nice! They do it once a month, which I think is just right for me. The boys did pretty well for the sitters, except that Peter missed me and was crying/calling "Mama" a lot.

In other news, Thomas has pretty much given up his afternoon nap completely. We had a good long run -- about 3.5 years -- so I really can't complain, but he gets a little crabby without that extra sleep, so that's a little difficult. So far, he learned the art of "quiet time" yet, and after about 10 minutes in his room he starts pounding on the door and asking loudly "Can I come out now?!?", over and over again. It's a little unnerving when I'm trying to get some quiet time!

Jack's schoolwork is going a little better this week. I think I need to adjust my expectations a little -- I can't expect to have a classroom experience re-created in my home, so I need to be more flexible in how I teach Jack what he needs to know, and try to take advantage of the many learning opportunities we have everyday. And also make sure it's fun and not drudgery for him (or me!).

Walking isn't so hard...

when the Force is with you:

(don't worry about Jack in that second video -- he's not going into anaphlyaxis, he's just being dramatic :) ).

Peter's broken ankle definitely slowed him down in the walking department. He hasn't really had a desire to take steps on his own since before he broke it, but just over the last couple of days he seems more ready to try, and I'm sure his "cane" helped :).

Some random observations...

-- "Excuse me" is always an acceptable answer to the question "What do you say?". Even if the correct answer is "Thank you" or "Please", the truth of the matter around here is that "Excuse me" is the safe bet 9 times out of 10.

-- Dressing a wriggly 17-month old who really doesn't want to be dressed is a lot like dressing a cat in doll's clothes. And yes, I would know about that (right, Wheetah? ;) ).

Old Fort Niagara

We took a really cool field trip on Friday to Old Fort Niagara. It sits right at the point where the Niagara River emerges from Lake Ontario. We had to pass the exit to Niagara Falls to get up there, but even still it was just about an hour's drive.

The fort was built in 1726 by the French, then it was taken by the British, who gave it to America after the Revolution, then it was recaptured by the British in the War of 1812, and then the British gave it back to America at the end of that war.

The buildings have been restored, and the largest building is a really neat castle. There are also lots of cannons everywhere that the boys got to see and touch. And there was even a musket-firing demonstration, which was cool, but it sent Thomas into a fit of tears because it was a bit loud.

It was a beautiful day to be out -- it was sunny and clear, but fairly crisp. The grounds were so well manicured, and it was amazing to see just how big Lake Ontario is. If we looked close, we could even see Toronto across it on the horizon!

Here are some photos of our adventure:

Beaver(less) Meadow

The weather has been beautiful this weekend -- sunny, dry, and warm -- so we took the boys to Beaver Meadow, a nature preserve about an hour from our apartment. I had specifically selected this preserve because the website led me to believe we would get to see a real beaver habitat (with real beavers!). It was a beautiful drive through farm country and old-timey small towns.

When we arrived, I asked if we would be able to see the beavers, but the information desk lady told us that they left 3 years ago! Their dam and resulting beaver pond are still there, but the dam is leaking and eventually the pond will drain and will become a running stream again. So, we were a little disappointed about not seeing real beavers, but the preserve was beautiful and we got to walk out on top of the dam, which was neat. There was a visitor's center, and inside there was a discovery center with lots of nature-related stuff for kids to play with. The boys enjoyed that, and Peter was both horrified and highly entertained by the beaver puppets!

So, our outing wasn't exactly what we hoped it would be, but it was enjoyable all the same.

In kid news this past week, Jack tied his shoe by himself for the first time! It's been a struggle to get him willing to learn, but he knows how to do it and now he just needs more practice. It was pretty neat watching him do it all by himself for the first time! His schoolwork is going pretty well, minus some "I don't want to" moments and some craziness from Thomas and Peter. It's been more difficult for me than I expected trying to organize my weekly routine and get everything done that I'd like, but hopefully I'll get in a good rhythm in the weeks to come.

Thomas has been upping the sassiness level a bit, which is expected considering his being 3, but it's a little trying on the patience! He's been coming up with a lot of interesting questions, and he isn't satisfied until he gets and answer and understands it completely (and even then he might ask again just because). He's especially interested in Jesus, heaven, and all things religious -- I like to think of him as a little philosopher :).

Jack and Thomas have been playing pretty well together, but sometimes they resort to calling each other names. Quite a while ago they were calling each other "stupid", which I put an end to, but the other day I overheard what they thought was a sneaky insult -- they were calling each other "steward"! I think I deflated it pretty well when I informed them that being a steward is actually a good thing :).

In Peter news, his ankle seems to be feeling pretty well. He's cruising around on it, but hasn't really tried walking by himself yet. He has developed a very loud streak, and just learned the word "Miiiine!" at top volume. He's also learned "cracker", "waw" (for water), and a very loud, long
Maaaaammmmy!" for "Mommy". He is a funny, feisty little guy, and I'm thoroughly enjoying his baby antics and sense of humor!

David, Jack, and Thomas at the start of a Beaver Meadow trail.

David and the boys on top of the beaver dam -- the water tricking down toward the right is the leak in it.

Beaver puppet fun.

A real life (albeit sleepy) owl in the visitors' center.


Peter enjpying a snack on the benches outside.

Halloween roundup

We had a kind of dreary Halloween, but the boys enjoyed it anyway (mostly thanks to candy and glow sticks). We were supposed to go to one of David's co-workers house to trick-or-treat with a bunch of little kids, but they called and cancelled because their kids had the flu.

We decided to trick-or-treat at a few apartments in our complex, but the weather became terribly cold and rainy right as we walked out the door, and on top of that, no one answered their doors! Ah well -- we decided that next year (wherever we are) we'll make a point of trick-or-treating at houses that are well decorated for Halloween --that should increase our success!

Yesterday, Peter got his cast off and we're all grateful for that! He had a long soak in the tub, took a good nap, and was literally bouncing around when he got up. He was spinning donuts on the floor, bouncing on the couch, he was so thrilled to be out of that cast! The doctor said he probably won't put any weight on that ankle for a little while, but so far he seems to be treating it normally. In two months they want to X-ray it to make sure it has finished healing correctly, but other than that he's good to go.

Today, we had a playdate with one of Kim's friends from college who now lives in the Buffalo area. It was such a treat! They have 2 little boys and a lovely, huge old farmhouse complete with chickens and lots of land. They also know of other young Catholic families in the area and offered to let us know about any group events that might be going on. I'm excited about that possibility!

Jack as a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and Thomas as Luke Skywalker.

Peter with a Superman sweater (I thought that complimented his cast nicely :) )

Our pumpkins -- David's autobot symbol, Jack's scaredy pumpkin, and Thomas's goofy pumpkin

The Jedi Knights again.

Say cheese!

Wild boys

So far, the best word to describe the weather in Buffalo is "gray". It's not terribly cold (yet), but most days it's either drizzling, raining, or threatening to. The other day I posted about the beautiful fall leaves being a "nature's bonus", but now I realize they do have a purpose -- they are a gift from God to brighten up the dreary grayness a little :). It definitely makes me appreciate (and miss) all the days of sunshine that we get in San Diego.

The boys are doing pretty well, but they seem to be having a delayed reaction to the move and the new routine. They were so good for the first week and a half -- Jack did his schoolwork eagerly, and they were reasonably good natured and obedient. Let me tell you, this last week or so has been really rough -- I feel mentally and emotionally exhausted by the end of the day just trying to keep the peace here. Jack is really resisting his schoolwork, and they've been picking fights and having tantrums about the tiniest of things. Even Peter is getting in on it -- one of his new tricks is to plug his ears and then do his loudest and longest baby shout (so loud it makes Jack and Thomas cry!). I fully expected some adjustment period for the boys, but it's a little different and a little more trying than I expected. Fortunately, I am blessed with a pretty stubborn nature, and I am doing pretty well at not playing into their drama.

Tomorrow we're heading to a Halloween get-together with one of David's co-workers and his young family. The boys are going as Jedi knights, so we'll be sure to get pictures of them in costume. Monday morning, Peter's cast comes off, and I am really looking forward to that so we don't have to worry about it getting wet (which is a concern when the ground is almost always soggy here!).

Weekend outing

On Saturday, we headed to a nearby park and let the boys ride their trikes around. The fall colors are absolutely stunning! David and I were talking about what a "nature's bonus" fall colors are. To my knowledge (correct me if I'm wrong!), there is no real natural advantage to a tree's leaves being brightly colored before they drop to the ground. There are lots of brightly colored fruits in nature, but their colors serve the purpose of attracting birds and animals so that the seeds can be dispersed. Some plants and animals are brightly colored to warn off potential nibblers because they're poisonous. But I can't think of one good reason why it matters what color a tree's leaves are as it's preparing to go dormant for the winter. The beauty just is, without needing any reason, other than God decided it should be that way, and thinking about it that way makes me happy :).

There were lots of puddles because it has rained the day before, so the boys' shoes and socks got pretty well soaked. I made sure to seal up Peter's cast in a plastic bag, because he kept gravitating to the muddiest and deepest puddles to play in. I'm debating whether or not to buy rain boots for them (just the rubber kind that go over the shoes), but I'm sure as soon as I do then the snow will start and we won't need them anymore!

This park, when the snow and ice do come, has an ice skating pond and a sled hill! That should be a blast!

Today the weather has been gorgeous, and the boys and I started collecting colorful leaves in hopes of preserving them. They got a kick out of that. I did a little research, and there are a handful of ways to preserve fall leaves, so we'll try one this afternoon to see how it goes.