Thanksgiving 2010

Many people associate Thanksgiving with eating a delicious meal. Our kids seem to associate Thanksgiving with eating up lots of attention from the family. Jocelyn, especially, is all about showing off her "pretty dress" (which she asks to wear every morning) and reveling in the attention that comes with it.


Ian, too, loves the spotlight and showing everyone what a little rough-houser he's becoming. Here he had gotten so worked up that we had to strip him down his onesie.


We were happy to have Julie's parents join us this year for the festivities. Thank you Nana for making everyone feel so welcome!

Giving thanks

With Thanksgiving approaching, I thought it an opportune time to express some thoughts regarding Jocelyn's recent incident.

For those who we haven't yet told, a week ago last Sunday Jocelyn had a febrile seizure (which occurs because a child's fever is rising too quickly for their body to expel the heat fast enough) and stopped breathing for a bit (for how long I have no idea; the entire incident was a blur). Luckily, it happened when Julie's Mom and sister Jenn, both of whom are nurses, were visiting, and they were able to restart her breathing and recognized that her clothes needed to come off so that she could cool down. I do not think I will ever forget seeing Jocelyn lying on the kitchen table, unresponsive and twitching, while they administered CPR, or the look of panic in her eyes when she later tried to speak to us in the ambulance but couldn't get her mouth to form any words.

Jocelyn appears to be fine now. She still has a small lingering fever, but for the most part she seems happy and energetic, and the pediatrician thinks she is just fighting off a minor virus.

It would be the understatement of the year to say that neither Julie nor I have really come to grips yet with what could have happened. I do not think I can fathom the depths of my sadness had something more serious occurred. She deserves the opportunity to show the world the full extent of her inner and outer beauty over a long and full life. As does her brother.

So, I know what I am thankful for this year, and hope that everyone who reads this goes and hugs their little one(s) and lets them know what they are thankful for too.

Happy Halloween!

Trick-or-treating was a highly anticipated event in our household this year, as Jocelyn could not wait to wear her Tinkerbell costume, complete with wings and tiara. As soon as we got her dressed she proceeded to twirl around the living room, waving her wand and (as usual) being a complete ham for the camera.


The little man seemed to like his costume too (he went as a dinosaur), but since he hates having anything on his head it was a race to see whether we could snap a picture before he took the headpiece off. We beat him by a nose.


We went trick-or-treating this year with our neighbors the Walshes. Jocelyn and their daughter Sidney are partners in crime and walked hand in hand most of the the night, which was pretty darn cute to watch.


The only exception to that was when Jocelyn insisted on walking Coco, the Walshes' bulldog that was dressed up as a devil dog. My theory is that she likes walking the dog so much because having Coco on a leash gives her a measure of control that she does not have at home, where she is usually barking commands at her little brother, and he is ignoring her.


Although Jocelyn and Ian only lasted just long enough to make it down the street and back, they got plenty of tasty treats....


...and saw plenty of cool decorations, including the fantastic jack-o-lanterns you see here.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Harvest Festival With Friends - What a Great Day!

We headed over to Newton Center this morning for the annual Harvest Festival. It turned out to be a fun filled day spent with the Callahans and the Giuntas. Ian started the day with a smile...

And kept Poppa laughing with his funny faces...

And himself too!

Jocelyn was too busy posing with her new barrettes from Grammie, Aunt Judy and Aunt Cindy to even notice her little brother. She was very proud of them. All 8 of them!!

We arrived first and started the morning on the carousel - this was the only ride Momma could go on with the kids so that was the only one we did:)

Soon, Aunty Marie and Uncle Tim arrived with little William fast asleep amidst the chaos!

We stumbled upon some sidewalk chalk - Ian was quick to dive into the fun with Timothy!

With Jocelyn not far behind!

Will and Alex, who had been sick all week, looked to be in fine form when they found us in the crowd a few minutes later!

And soon everyone had joined in!

And it wouldn't be a festival without balloons...

Tied to wrists! Thanks for the great day everyone!

Our new swing set

We spent the last couple of weekends getting ready for the swing set that my uncle Sean and aunt Meredith were generous enough to give us, now that their kids have outgrown it. It is now in, and Jocelyn and Ian love it!

There was a lot of prep required. First, Pepere and I built a base last weekend to hold some playground mulch to cushion the inevitable falls. I have newfound respect for those that dig trenches for a living!


Then we picked the swing set up at Sean and Meredith's house this past weekend. There were some tense moments, as the fort section was so heavy that Sean, my uncle Greg and I had to cause it to topple over Sean and Meredith's side fence to get it out of their backyard. Then it *just* fit in the U-Haul with an inch to spare on either side!


When we got it home, into the backyard and assembled, we put in a new floor in the fort section to ensure it would be stable for years to come. While that was happening, Momma got to work making sure the set was suitably tricked out with the new see-saw swing you see her and Jocelyn riding on here...


...and of course a play telephone for Jocelyn to make all of her important calls (usually to Grammy).


The little man surprised us both by scooting right up the ladder to the slide on his own. Not bad for an 18-month old.


Not to be outdone, Jocelyn demonstrates her belief that slides are a lot more fun when you climb up them first before sliding down.


Thank you uncle Sean, aunt Meredith, uncle Greg, Pepere and David Goggin for helping with our new swing set! We love it!

Ian's 1st Day of Playschool at Miss Tammy's

This was the best photo I could get on his first day of school - he was playing in Grammie's playroom waiting to be brought to school. He was completely nonchalant about being left for three hours and could have cared less when Grammie came to pick him up!

Meanwhile, for anyone looking at this blog, I realized later in the rush of the morning to see him off that I was photographing a choking hazard - bagels in both hands and jumping on a horse! I had not finished my morning coffee I guess!

Thankfully, he survived my oversight and made it off to school without a hitch!

Jocelyn's First Day At Preschool

Our little princess had her first day at preschool last Thursday (I can not believe how fast time is flying by). She was very excited to meet all her new classmates and see her teacher Susan, who had visited all the kids' houses the week before to ease their transitions into the classroom. She was rewarded for her efforts at our house with a big hug from not only Jocelyn but Ian too.


Part of the thrill of going to school for Jocelyn is the opportunity to put on a pretty dress and have Momma do her hair beforehand. Even though she usually pulls out the pigtails and barrettes about 10 minutes afterward, she loves the attention and pampering that goes with getting ready.


She was also excited to get to use her butterfly backpack. What will go in there is anybody's guess, but that's probably not the point!