Heroes

Today was the Veteran's Day parade in town. Ryan is way into learning about wars right now and [for the time being] wants to be a soldier when he grows up, so this was right up his alley. When the vets were marching by he kept shouting, "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!"


Cole dug up this flag and waved it while he sang, "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm freeeeeee..." We told him that he couldn't let it touch the ground and he said, "That's right, because we have to show our flag and our country respect." OMG he's actually been listening to us.

A special shout out to our cousin John who served in Iraq. Thank you to John and all of the soldiers who have fought or are currently fighting for our freedoms - you are our heroes!

Cha Cha Van Gogh

I received this note from Charlie's teacher at daycare:
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We got the best picture of Charlie painting today. He turned to face the camera, put out his hands (covered in paint), and said cheese. It's such a joyous, messy moment caught on film. It's great!!!

He also has a sweet way about him to get paint on his teachers. He comes up to us so innocently like he wants us to help him or he needs to show us something, and before we know it - bam - we're covered in paint. This kid is too funny! And very sweet.
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Sounds just like a certain older brother that I know. These boys can charm the pants off anyone. Or in this case, charm the paint onto anyone.

Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto

Last night was Trick-or-Treat and the boys took full advantage of the opportunity. Let's just say that they had to come home halfway through to drop off some candy because their bags were too heavy. Chocolate, anyone?

We were taking pictures on the porch when we realized that number four was strapped to Phil in the Baby Bjorn.


A quick costume change and the whole team was representing. At least Charlie was consistent.

Our neighbors have a pre-Trick-or-Treat party each year. Thank goodness for that, otherwise we would have heard "Can we go yet?!?!?" every 5 seconds.

Cha's favorite part was hiding in the teepee they built in the backyard...he was happily entertained playing peek-a-boo about 7,500 times.

Although I realize this blog post is very Charlie-centric, I still had to throw in this clip of him walking to the party. He toddles like a robot which totally puts him into character for his costume. (Spoiler alert: this video is extremely anti-climactic, but as his mother I reserve the right to think it's cute).

After all the parades and parties over the last few weeks, I'm going to reward myself with some peanut butter cups. Off to dive into the stash.

Healthy

Charlie is only 15 months old but he's already had four run-ins with a hospital gown. His latest adventure was this past week and it was a breeze - he's still smiling so we know all is well.

Here's a montage of our little sicko...I think his New Year's resolution for 2011 is good health.

Fists Of Fury

It's been an extravaganza of Halloween festivites over the last few weeks. Our current roll call includes a ninja, Darth Vader, a robot, and a peapod. I say "current" because Cole keeps changing his mind, and with our trunk of costumes anything could happen before Trick or Treat.

My friend calculated that I'll have the opportunity to attend 24 elementary school Halloween parades...include daycare and that's a grand total of 27 in my future.

Here are some shots of Cole and Charlie from this year's parade. 26 to go.

This is what happened the first time Ry put on his costume. Better not try to take his candy or you'll face the wrath of the ninja.

Corny

This weekend we met up with some friends at the Marlborough Valley Farms. When I read on their website "8.5 acre corn maze" and "corn cannon" I was a little concerned about either losing the boys or losing an eye. Luckily only half of my vision came true.



I sat with the baby while the team entered the maze. When our friends emerged without my family, I knew we were in trouble - turns out they got totally lost and ended up busting right through the corn to get to the end. As Phil put it, "This corn maze is not included on Google maps."


A classic moment: Ry is trying to bury me, I'm trying to get Cole to stop eating the corn, Charlie is trying to eat as much corn as he can before I catch him.



Dean just chilled in the carrier. When I took him out at home there was a small layer of hay and corn feed lining the bottom of his seat - good thing we didn't let him get too close to the animals in the petting zoo.


Last on the agenda was a hayride through the farm. They stopped at a pumpkin patch and everyone hopped off to pick their own.



We ended the day with Charlie getting into the drivers seat and pulling us home. Tally ho!

The Latest On Our Littlest

Well there's not much to report on Dean, but I felt like I needed a post on our little man.

He's almost 3 months old and is waking up out of that newborn haze. The boys have nicknamed him "Deanbo" and I'm hoping that it's sort of like Rambo. He's going to need some super-human strength to contend with 3 older brothers.

Their hugs and kisses are a little rough, but they have the best of intentions. Love you, Deanbo.

I'm Glad Phil Was A Boy Scout

Last night Ry had a bad dream. Based off what he told me, the Statue Of Liberty collapsed into a pile of leaves and just her head was sticking out of the ground.

It may not sound scary, but he considered it a nightmare and was stressed about it allllll day. Before he left for school he said, "I wish that the daytime was really long so we didn't have to go to bed and have dreams."

He started crying at bedtime, despite my textbook coaching that nightmares aren't real, we'll keep him safe, etc.

Always the creative thinker, Phil went downstairs and concocted a dream catcher out of straws, black string, and tape. He hung it on the bed and Ry went right to sleep.

Well done, Daddyo.

Quads

People tell me all the time that my boys look exactly alike. I never noticed deep resemblances until I started dipping into the archives of everyone's baby pictures. Wowsa.

Here's a compilation of the whole team. I considered adding captions so you could tell who was who, but then I figured that would take out part of the fun. And I know you read this blog for the never-ending fun.

These are in no particular order, and all four are included. Can you pass the test?

We Now Bleed Orange And Black

Our good friend Trish has had Flyers season tickets for the last gazillion years, and she shared the wealth for last week's pre-season games. Ry and Cole both got to have their own night out with Dad, thus giving Trish extra time at home to raise chinchillas in her living room. True story.

First up was Cole to watch the Flyers beat the Islanders. Despite the exciting open to the game with lights...announcing the players...national anthem...etc...his favorite part was getting a soft pretzel in the shape of the Flyers symbol.

Next up was Ry to watch another winning game against Buffalo. Traffic kept them from the extravaganza at the start of the game, but the foam finger purchase totally made up for it.

Thanks for the memories Trish. Let's go Flyers!

On The Good Ship Lollipop

Ry asked to make his Christmas/Hannukah list today:


He gets a thumbs up for the Philly pride, however his cousin gets a thumbs down for introducing him to the [*expensive*] world of DS. At least he didn't include the iPhone that he petitioned for the other day. He's 5. Puh-lease.

We asked Cole what was on his list. His reply: "Pretty flowers and a blanket covered with lollipops."

Clearly feeling the need for a manlier response, he followed up with: "But I want Superman and Iron Man to be holding the lollipops."

No words.

How Sweet It Is

There's a quote that I try to keep in the back of my mind at all times, "The days are long but the years are short."

Despite the crying, the screaming, the teething, the puking, the tantrums, and the whining (that includes me on some days), I'm truly trying to enjoy all of the moments that I can.

I was flipping through our pictures from this year and they show that we really do have a great family. Maybe it's the exhaustion talking, or maybe it's because they're all asleep. Either way, life is good.

Getting From Point A To Point B

Cole entertained himself at Ryan's soccer practice by running down a hill. This brought him such joy that he did it again...and again...and again.

Most people would start at the top and go straight to the bottom. He chose to run...roll...roll sideways...roll back up...run...

He may not take the conventional approach, but he does it all with gusto. May he never run right down the hill.

Catching Up

Time to pull out the old trusty "It's-been-so-busy-around-here-that-I-haven't-had-time-to-blog-so-I'm-just-consolidating-all-of-the-pictures-Phil-took-on-his-phone." That about says it all. Here we go.

Our walks into town just aren't what they used to be anymore. We had 8 little ones to keep track of so I had to do head counts every other block, thus making me feel like Maria from Sound Of Music.

This would have been a cute moment, if the bib I had shoved into my pocket didn't make it look like I had a tail.

Cole decided he didn't want to walk anymore, so this is how it all ended up.

Cole on the run...

Re-enacting a classic Ry pose from circa 2005. Charlie looks so much like his biggest bro that it's hard not to do a double-take sometimes.

Phil and Ry attempted to ride some waves, but it was a wee bit windy.

This is how we roll in our alley.

Cole stealing a quiet moment at Smith Playground. At least we have it documented that Cole can have a quiet moment.

Baby Steps

This has been a week of many firsts...seems like everyone decided to grow up all at once.

Ryan has declared that he's totally over the training wheels on his bike and is learning to ride a two wheeler. A few more pushes down the alley and I think he'll be crusing into the sunset.

Cole is FINALLY toilet trained I can officially say that I only have 2 kids in diapers. For that my wallet and my sanity are both thankful.

Charlie is walking! It's that cute Frankenstein hobble and it sort of happened overnight. As one of his teachers said, "I went away for a week and came back to a whole new Cha!"

And last but not least, Dean is starting to hit us with the rare but adorable half-smile. It may not take as much work as toddling across the room, but it's a cute stage just the same.

Of course I probably completely jinxed myself by writing this down. If by next week Ry is back on 4 wheels, Cole is in diapers, Charlie is crawling and Dean is frowning...send help.

Cruisin'

Tonight was Cruise Night at a car dealership near our house. Although the name implies a potential Tomkat sighting, it was actually a bunch of emergency vehicles and vintage cars displayed in a parking lot.

The highlights: A police helicopter taking off just a few feet away from us, petting the search & rescue dogs, getting handed a lollipop from the bomb squad robot.


Despite all of this excitement, my favorite part was the sweet lovin' I got from the Cha. Here's to the simple things in life.

Philadelphia Freedom

The boys headed East to Philly to take in the sights. After playing in the Schuykill sludge on Boathouse Row, they went to the Art Museum for the obligatory Rocky run up the steps.

I feel like Charlie was on a Where's Waldo tour of the city...

Next stop was the Eastern State Penitentiary. Phil told me he had to sign a waiver stating that the penitentiary wasn't liable if the boys ate any lead paint chips.

The combo of paint chips and prison cells led me to believe that perhaps this wasn't the best field trip for kids, but it seemed like they got a kick out of it anyway.



Maybe they were scared straight? Wishful thinking, I know.