Honey Pot Hill

Today, we took a trip to Honey Pot Hill Orchard. Our friends, Jaime and Connor, met us there. We had chosen this orchard because it was within reasonable distance from each of us, and we wanted to get the kids together again. We went to a pumpkin patch last year, too, and had a lot of fun. This year was even better because the kids can run around and explore on their own. She, of course, spent half of her time running around like a crazy person. She ran from animal to animal, announcing the name of each one. "It's a pig! Oink! It's a goat! Baaa! It's a bunny! Hi Bunny!" Dave and I took turns taking pictures and chasing her all over the place.

Mairead had a blast. She got to drive a tractor...


See a bunny...


Eat apple cider donuts and drink apple cider with Connor...


See a scarecrow (when she says it, it's more like 'care-coh' but it's really cute)...

And then there was the best part- there are hundreds of pumpkins around and you can just re-arrange them all you want! She spend a good twenty minutes picking up pumpkins and moving them to more appropriate spots. The farm staff members kept bringing out more pumpkins and putting them in rows. One of the men realized what she was doing, so he just kept putting out small piles and letting her put them in rows herself. It was so funny to watch. I guess she is her mother's daughter!

These pumpkins were the perfect size for a two year old!

There are more pictures in the slideshow to the right. It was such a beautiful day- perfect for being outside in New England. Next year, we'll bring the boys. Then we will really be busy chasing kids!

School Days

This afternoon, I took the kids to Daddy's school for the first time. Saugus High is very different than Brockton High. Their entire student body is just over 800 kids. At the last graduation I did, we graduated 908. I liked it there- it felt more like a 'regular' school than Brockton because it is so small. Giant high schools are all I know after attending Lowell High and working at BHS, so it was neat to see someplace totally different. Mairead LOVED it there.

First, we checked out Daddy's classroom and ate some chicken nuggets. She was sitting in the seat saying, "Numm, numm."


Then, she had to check out the books on the shelves.


She looks a little too old for me, here. I already feel like her first day of school is going to come too quickly!


Dave scooped her up after she was running through the hallways. The dismissal bell rang and suddenly the hallway was filled with kids. Instead of being intimidated by these tall, loud, unknown kids, she went running through the crowds of them yelling, "RUN!! RUN!!." I told her we had to go back and find Daddy and she started yelling, "Daddy? Are you???" She had a blast weaving her way through the kids and running up and down the halls.

Lest you think we are all about school and 'smart' stuff like that, here's a picture of Ben from dinner last night.

I promise, he didn't actually drink any beer. He liked that bottle, though!

Special Blankets

When the boys were only a few months old, we lost a very special aunt of Dave's, Aunt Ellen. She was a warm and loving person who had a very big heart. She lost her battle to cancer and never had the chance to meet the boys. Shortly after she died, we found out from her daugher, Megan, that Aunt Ellen had knitted two blankets for our little guys as one of her last gifts, and Megan sent them to us for Jack and Ben to have. We were so touched by yet another act of kindess from Aunt Ellen, and we will always treasure the blankets she made for each of our children. Today, we used the blankets for the first time because it is getting chilly for our walks now. Don't the kids look nice and cozy, all bundled up? Thank you, Aunt Ellen! And thanks, Megan, for sending the blankets.



These little acorn hats were gifts from our friend, Alisa. When she gave them to us, the boys' entire bodies probably could have fit in them! But, they have grown into the hats just in time for cooler weather. They were actually happier than they looked in these pictures- it was just about nap time!

Jack


Ben


Ready for our walk! I have joked that I am going to make an exercise DVD and sell it to make millions. There are only three steps. 1- Have 3 babies. 2- Live on top of a huge hill. 3- Take the babies for walks in a triple stroller. What a workout!


When Mairead was born, there was no mistaking that she was Dave's daughter- she looked just like him. Now, though, I definitely see myself in her- both physically and in terms of personality.

Don't mind the cookie crumbs!

This is how we found Ben yesterday after being on the floor playing with Jack. We had to pick Jack up since Ben had rolled pretty much on top of him. Ben is dying to crawl. He gets up on his knees and elbows pretty well, actually, which is amazing for a 6 month old preemie! We are really happy with how they are growing and developing. Their personalities are SO defined already. Ben wants to move constantly, but he doesn't care where. He just twists and rolls aimlessly, winding up under furniture, on top of Jack, etc. Jack is so deliberate. He doesn't try to move until he makes up his mind to go after something specific. Funny how identical twins can be so different so early on!

And here's our daughter. With a bucket on her head.

She is SO much fun right now. She is learning so many new words and so many new ways to play. She likes to organize things-- toys, books, the spice drawer in the kitchen. I have no idea where she gets that from... She is also very sweet to the babies. When she gets up in the morning, she comes down and says, "Babies? Are you?" Then, when she finds them, she says, "Babies! One, two! One, two!" She also plays with them a little bit more. They LOVE watching her. And, of course, she loves the attention! We are SO lucky to have these amazing children!