Post Hurrican Irene Playground Fun

After being in the house all afternoon on Saturday and all day Sunday, we needed to run and play yesterday morning.  We met up with some of our Mom's Group friends at a local playground.  It was just what we needed!

Gabe on the zip glider

Will's turn

Gabe, Jack & Will having a swing

Gabe-A-Saurus Rex

Momo gave Gabe a Halloween costume yesterday - it's a dragon/dinosaur.  He LOVES it.  He hugs it, he's told me countless times that he loves it, he took it to bed, he took it outside to play, and he wants to take it to the zoo today to show all of the animals.  Funny guy.

Here's the Gabe-A-Saurus Rex:

Melissa - look at his finger!!

So scary!

Frow Rock

Last week, Zach threw a rock at Gabe's head, leaving a small gash on Gabe's forehead.  I wasn't home when it happened, but when I talked to Gabe about it, he put his arms out as wide as they could go and told me that Zach threw a rock that big at his head when he was climbing up the slide. 

Zach hasn't forgotten that he threw a rock at Gabe.  In the past week, almost every day he's talked about "frew rock."  This is how it goes:

Zach:  Frew rock.  Saw-ee, Bay.

Zach:  Frow rock at Bay.  Saw-ee, Bay.

He talks about throwing the rock at Gabe, and then he apologizes.  This conversation happens over and over again.  Is he not the sweetest rock-thrower you've ever known?

Delightful

We've been talking more and more about school over the past week, since Gabe goes back to school on Wednesday (the day after tomorrow!).  All of the school talk has caused Gabe to think about his old school buddies, Jay and JJ.  Today, Gabe asked if Jay could come over to play.  This is how the conversation went:

Gabe:  Mom, we should have Jay over to play tomorrow.  That's called a playdate.

Me:  You're right, buddy, that would be a playdate.  That would be fun.  I should call Jay's mommy sometime and see if he could come over.

Gabe:  Mom, Jay would be delightful.

Me:  I'm sorry, what was that?

Gabe:  Jay would be delightful.  That means that he'd have a good time (a.k.a. "delighted").

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Seriously??  Gabe can be so stinking cute.

Hurricane Irene Hits Our Backyard

Yesterday was a long day filled with lots of cabin fever and Netflix streaming, thanks to Hurricane Irene.  As I was reading Gabe his nap time story, I heard a rumble and yelled out to J.  Turns out, our neighbor's tree top fell into our backyard, narrowly missing hitting our fence, pool fence, roof, and pool filter/heater.  It literally fell into our yard without doing any damage.  Man, did we dodge a huge bullet.  As my friend, Rebecca, pointed out, the curse of this house must be over, since the tree didn't do any damage. 

It looks like J and I might be spending Labor Day weekend "laboring" with this tree top.  One Craigslist tree removal guy came back with a $450 quote to remove it.  No thanks.  That guy wasn't even a professional tree guy - I can only imagine what kind of quote the arborist we called will come back with...........gah!

Here are the pics:

Gabe's inspecting the damage to Henry's runner

so close to our fence!

kind of close to the pool fence

leaves resting on top of the pool filter

a man on a mission

debris in the pool

there's the neighbor's tree, from where the tree top fell

and there's our 80-something-year-old neighbor across the street, mowing his lawn mid-storm

view of the tree from the kitchen

view from living room window

Betty's Bounce

We went to the Wakefield Farmer's Market this morning to see Auntie Mary's husband, Audie, play in his band, Betty's Bounce.  The three band members play gypsy jazz music, and it was fantastic!  I never thought a farmer's market or a park could feel cozy, but the music created such an amazing vibe.  I can't believe I just used the word, "vibe".  Anyway, I'm hooked.  I'd love to throw an outdoor party and have Audie's band playing in the background - that would be perfection.

The boys enjoyed the music and the festival feel at the market.  Here are the pics:

two little boys listening to music

cousin Max was there, too

we saw our friend, Noah, there, too!

Audie and his son, Zach, on the bass

Zach's Really Talking

It seems like overnight last week (when we were on vacation), Zach just started talking and talking.  It's so much fun to hear him express himself for the first time.

Here are some of his words:

-manna = banana
-Henrik = Henry
-chaka mik = chocolate milk
-Bay = Gabe
-a yaya = water
-ray rays = raisins
-fuck = truck
-oh, no weeel duck = oh, no the wheel is stuck
-wa-wa = Noah
-go-go = here you go
-gum-gum = you're welcome
-go-go = thank you
-bowl bus = school bus
-deegah = digger  (one of his first words)
-maman = mailman (and this kid can spot a mailmain truck miles away) - another one of his first words
-uh-uh (spoken in a nasally way) = choo choo
-cumpin = pumpkin
-copy = coffee
-qua-wong-gwee = hungry

Here's a video:

What????

Friday Morning Playdate

Our friends, Susie, Will & Jack invited us over for a playdate this morning.  Rebecca and Zoe were there, too.  The boys had fun playing with Will and Jack's numerous trucks and dinosaurs.  Later, we walked to a school playground where the kids had fun running, jumping, and hanging from bars. We're so lucky to have these friends to play with.

Gabe, Jack & Will

Jack is hanging from the bar - he's 4 months younger than Zach and a true monkey

Zoe jumping

Will jumping

Zoe was showing us what she learned in gymnastics

little Jack hanging from the high bar

Will's turn

Gabe's turn

more jumping

Zach wanted no part of the jumping - he was all set with his bus

Zoe walking Will & Jack's dog, Kona, back to the house (with Zach running up ahead)

See My Paper Trail?

Yesterday morning, Gabe asked, "Mom, do you see my paper trail?"  I was doing something in the kitchen at the time and didn't respond right away.  When I went to go upstairs to get their bathing suits for the beach, man, was I surprised to see the "paper trail".  Gabe took the toilet paper from his bathroom and literally dragged the paper all the way down the stairs, and it didn't even break!  After an initial second of shock, I went to grab the camera.  Gabe thought I was running to punish him in some way, so he high-tailed it upstairs with the paper trail before I could snap a photo.  He then proceeded to re-roll the paper.  I snapped some shots of the roll post trail.

he did a pretty good job re-rolling, actually

here's the close-up