FIRST HAIRCUT

Thirty one months without a haircut. Can you imagine what your hair would look like if you didn't touch it for 2.5 years??

I was torn between cutting and not cutting. We were going to get Ania's hair cut for the school year...you know, new beginnings, new look, etc. Nah, I chickened out, I was set one waiting at least until she was 3.

For the past month, Ania has been mentioning getting her haircut. So, today was the big day. She was pretty excited...until we got there. We went to a place called the "Hairy Bear" (which there is nothing hairy or bear-like about the place) in South Burlington. They have a room devoted to kids and have all sorts of cool seats for them to sit on. We got the pony because it was closest to the door for a quick exit if need be.

With Boden looking on, Ania reluctantly mounted her horse, got some water spritzed in her hair as I fed her bunny crackers, and with a snip here and a snip there she was done. I swear it was literally 2 minutes and I was out of $14 with a few blurry pictures to mark our mini adventure.

However, after a blue balloon and a cool certificate marking her first haircut, Ania was all smiles and very proud of herself. It was barely a trim, just enough to even the back a bit, but it looks better already! She still has her "curlies" and enough length for pigtails.

Here's a before shot and salon shot.

Latest and greatest

It didn't take me long to realize that I am not very dedicated to this blogging thing. I really don't know how some people find the time to post daily. However, I will continue to try and make a better effort for those of you who want more info!

So news for today...
We met some more new friends today. I joined the local MOMS Club (Burlington chapter) which just formed over the summer. It is a really nice group of people from the Greater Burlington area with children and moms of all ages. We have really been very fortunate to meet so many great people in such a short amount of time. It has really filled up our weeks and created a nice busy schedule filled with fun outings and get togethers.

Ania has adjusted to life at pre-school and for the first time did not cry on Tuesday when Matt dropped her off. She basically told him to go to work, then on his way out...she reminded him to close the door to the classroom! She is so particular about everything and quite the neat-knick. Nothing can be left out of order in her room when it's time to go to bed. This is either great (we'll never have to nag her to clean her room) or it will turn into some sort of OCD later in life (and we'll be in therapy as parents wondering what we did so wrong!).

Sir Boden on the other hand, is totally the yang and full of chaos and destruction. He has still has NO TEETH! But I swear, I REALLY think he is teething this time. =) I'm sure like his big sister, he'll get them in time for Halloween!

Matt and I are busy, busy, busy. Matt's class is going well, and work is fine, too. He is finding his niche, so I think he is generally pleased with it. Photography has been a HUGE learning experience for me, but very worth it. I am finally starting to get some good pics of the kids.

We have set up a home gym in the basement, so we'll have a nice spot for keeping in shape over the cold months. I ran my first post-partum road race on Sunday. It was a 4 mile cross-country race (unbeknownst to me....I guess I should have read the race details more clearly!). The pack was small, so there wasn't too much competition (not that I ever truly race anyhow). My finishing time was around 31 minutes, so I'm back to just under an 8 min./mile which must just be my natural time as I can never seem to get much faster.

Also in the basement is our PING PONG table. Yes, we will be hosting many tournaments I'm sure. Did I mention the winters are long and cold here? (Either it's true or the locals just want to scare us!)

In closing tonite, I have to share a cute story. I was nursing Boden in his room to put him to sleep while Ania was playing. She came in to Boden's room and said to me, with a stuffed animal in hand and make believe purse, "I have to go buh-bye. I have to get my keys, and get my phone, and get my water, and get my ducky, and get my shoes and get my snack, and go buh-bye. I have to go to work. I have to go do errands. I have to go to the park. Buh-bye." Then she waved and left. She came back a moment later to kiss me and Boden, and say "Love you. Have a fun day. Buh-bye." Then she waved and left again. About a minute later she came back and said, "Mommy, mommy." "What?", I replied. "I forgot to get Boden."

Too cute.

Time is flying

Gosh, it's hard to believe it's been over a month since my last post. Where did the summer go? We have been in Vermont for exactly three months now and it really feels like home. We have met a lot of great people and made some wonderful new friends. Weekends have been filled with house guests, dinners with new friends, quality family time, and of course, lots of exploring!

The children are doing great and have now fully adjusted to their new space. Boden's personality comes through a little more each day and it's been so much fun watching him grow into a little boy. At his 9 month appointment, he was 23 pounds and 31 inches!! Not so little, eh? Just in the past three weeks, he has learned how to sit himself up, crawl, pull to stand, and now cruise. He keeps trying to walk and it scares me. He has no fear and gets very upset when he can't do something. Nothing like his sister!

Speaking of the big sister, she is also doing wonderfully! We decided, sort of impulsively, to sign Ania up for pre-school. She is in a program for two year olds and was VERY excited about going to school like the big kids. (She didn't understand that Nick, her [much] older boyfriend from Barrington, was not going to be there.) However, that first day was rough - lots of crying, both from mommy and Ania - but the second day was a little better (daddy got to drop her off). When I asked her if she had a good time Tuesday, she said yes; however, when I asked her if she had wanted to return on Thursday, she replied, "Ummm, no." Gotta love it.

As I mentioned, she did go back Thursday, and did very well with the other students. I guess a little boy bumped his head and was crying. Ania went over to him and rubbed his head for him, asking, "Are you ok, buddy? It's alright." The teachers are very impressed with her language skills and have said she is quite ahead of the other two-year olds. (I can brag, it's my blog!) What a proud mama I am!



Other brief news, we explored Jay Peak this past weekend. It was beautiful and looks like a great mountain to ski. We had a campfire and Ania got to stay up late and have s'mores. I think she ate about 15 marshmallows straight from the bag before her s'more was ready. (pic below) Matt is already looking at real estate up there. Someday, his dreams will come to fruition and he'll be the real estate mogul of his dreams!



I am taking a photography class, so keep watching for improvements in my photos! Learning professional photography skills is like learning another language. It's a great challenge for me and I've learned a lot already. I'll let you know when I have started putting my new skills to use. In the meantime, all the above shots are the usual point and shoots. Hope you enjoyed!

Almost

I love life's surprises; especially, when it's my children who surprise me. Today they both got me.

I had to go to the bathroom (a mom's moment of peace), so I put Boden in his crib with some toys. Ania is free to roam the upstairs with the gate closed, so she was playing in her room. I was gone all of two, maybe three, minutes. When I came out, Ania was in Boden's crib playing with his mobile and Boden was pulling up on the crib rail to stand!

I was shocked because 1)Ania has never climbed into or out of anything before and 2)Boden has not learned how to push himself into a sitting position yet or really started crawling. He can rock on his knees, but belly flops before he gets anywhere. He is trying like hell though. So much so, he isn't napping well and is waking at the crack of dawn again. Thank goodness he's a cutie! It's his saving grace.

In other news, we have had both sets of grandparents, and some aunties and uncles, visit us over the past couple of weekends. Last weekend, Grammy and Grampy (Matt's folks), and his sister Heather came to explore the area. We went to good ol' Shelburne Farms, had some good cheese (thanks to Grampy forgetting it in our fridge!), and Ania had the chance to feed a baby goat.

Then last weekend we had a full house. Nana and Poppy, Uncles Kevin and Chris, and their girlfriends all stayed here. Saturday we went out to eat at A Single Pebble, http://www.asinglepebble.com, and it was fantastic. Ania was learning how to eat rice with chopsticks. No small task! Then the big kids hit the town while Nana and Poppy stayed home with the babes. It was strange going out past 8pm (for me anyways!), but we had a great time. However, I'm still feeling the effects 3 days later! That's when you know you are getting old!

Lastly, I need to mention I have a new baby. It's a Nikon D80, digital SLR camera and it's the coolest toy I think I have ever owned. Photography is my latest hobby and I absolutely love it! The children grow so quickly that I want to capture every moment I can so I can savor each age, stage and milestone forever. So, it's my mission to learn how to take great pictures of them and their life events. As soon as I upload the photos (and I'll have a ton - my memory card holds over 500 photos) and edit out the yucky ones, I'll send a link.

Whole New World

I have finally had some time to sit down to learn about blogging. This is a whole new world for me and I think it's going to take me some time, but why not give it a go. My mind can use something intellectually challenging.

Let me begin by saying we are officially VERMONTERS! Ok, well we are official owners of property in Vermont which we now inhabit, but as far as the registry is concerned, we are visiting from Rhode Island. We are working on that.

The children have adjusted to their new surroundings and we have spent the first month exploring what the area has to offer. We have discovered ECHO (an aquarium which focuses on the ecosystem of Lake Champlain), Shelburne Farms (which is breathtakingly beautiful), Sand Bar State Park, Catamount (open space for trail running, mtn. biking, XC skiing), and so, so much more.

Everyone is doing great. Ania is silly as ever. She loves to read, explore outside, and run. Yes, she can run almost 1/2 mile (from the playground to our house). She has the most adorable gait I have ever seen! Boden at almost 8 months, has no teeth yet, but insists that he is too good for pureed baby food. I have started giving him whatever finger foods I can think of and he gleefully eats it up!!! He has mastered "girl" push-ups and once he figures out how to fully get on those knobby knees of his.....we are totally in trouble.

Matt enjoys his job and I am enjoying being the mom. It felt strange at first to not have to worry about packing and moving (since it consumed so much of my time) and to just have time to "play". It's great to be able to focus all of my energy back on Nugget (our dear Ania) and Wiggles (the maestro who is forever rocking in his seat!).