Memorial Day and Hayley's Graduation

Once Memorial Day weekend hits, the Ahouse family turns into traveling vagabonds. This year was no different. We headed down to CT to see Hayley, the youngest of the siblings, graduate from Westminster High School.

This weekend was extra special as this was the first time that all the siblings and grandkids would be together with David Sr. We couldn't wait to see the Seattle contingency!

Because the Woodbury house was so full with guests, we crashed with at the Lyons' Den down the road and go to spend some quality time with them. Any chance to catch up with my girlfriends is a luxury. And Theo got some QT with his little buddy Abigail - 2 months his junior.

Sophia was most excited about the chickens & cows, until they mooed at her!

Graduation day was a giant wash out - we had our boots on under the tent to cheer on Hayley as she received her diploma. (Fun note: Westminster doesn't give you YOUR diploma on stage, but rather a random person's. Afterwards, the entire class stands in a circle and keeps passing until everyone gets their own. Tradition is entertaining, if not wholly efficient!)

After that we headed back to Woodbury for the festivities. Food, family and fun. Despite a tent, everyone gathered in the tent. Luckily, Sunday afforded much nicer weather and a chance for some well needed outdoor time for the kids.

It was a great weekend of catching up,

Dance Party

Parades

Cheering the parade

Bonding time:

Hanging with big cousin Dillon

Theo awash in grass.  

 And Togetherness:

Full Family Shot


Sleep was left for the end of the trip...

Can't wait to see everyone again! Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Siblings, Significant Others & Friends - what could be better?

Last Day of "School" for Sophia

This past week, Sophia had her last day of "School" a.k.a Tot Time. It's a great town program that she attended 2 -1/2 days each week.

It was a perfect start to socialization with other kids and a number of her neighborhood buddies were also in the class. She made a ton of artwork and some really fun projects. The best was looking at her "Class Photo" they sent home at the end and she could name everyone there. I had heard so much about these other kids, it was fun for me to put faces with names!

My favorite part was taking her to school on my way to work. In order to be as efficient as possible, I had Sophia ride her bike...alongside mine. I commute every day to work year-round on my bike, so this made the most sense.

Sophia would ride down on the sidewalk while I was on the street. I was able to run clearance for her on the cross streets and before long, she was bombing down the hill, through the flats and back up again to school. People would watch her whiz by in her dress, Minnie Mouse sunglasses and helmet, no matter the season - it makes me so proud!

Here's a shot of her at the end of school with her teachers, Ms. Jenny & Ms. Alicia.
Next stop, Agassiz Preschool in the Fall.

Easter Celebration

We're not particularly religious, but there is something festive about Easter and the celebration of Spring. I think I mostly like it for the cute outfits for both Sophia & Theo.

Sophia developed a concept of the festivities last year and it's kept growing. She loves the concept of hunting eggs and even got to pick out hers (and Theo's) baskets this year. We may or may not have reminded her that the EB talks to Santa and so it was really important for her to be good!

We started off with some Egg coloring

(Sophia took the lead. Theo cheered her on...)

We went for brunch & an egg hunt in Newport. Last year, if you'll remember, Sophia was quite taken with the Easter bunny. This year, she talked about him for a solid 2 weeks beforehand. Sophia really enjoyed actually participating in the egg hunt this year. It's a funny thing - a holiday all about candy and then the general annoyance by parents that the kids are eating a ton of candy. Sophia definitely enjoyed snacking out on some hollow chocolate bunnies and jelly beans, but mysteriously, her Reese's chocolate peanut butter Easter egg disappeared! :)

Here are some fun shots of the day:

My little fashionista!

Family Shot

Theo's got an admirer!

Ready for the hunt

Hugging her long lost friend!

Run!!

They're looking the same way at least...

Theo's First Haircut

Theo was born with an amazing head of hair. It was actually quite shocking when he first came out - a whole head of dark, curly hair.

Fast forward over the year, through the helmet and the hair kind of took on a life of it's own. The curl got squished out a bit from the helmet (at least in my mind) and quickly went from adorable baby with lots of hair to "Wow, what a cute little girl!!" remarks at the grocery store. (It probably didn't help he was often wearing Sophia's purple/lavender coat).

At 13 months we decided it was time for a trim. Thanks to the wonderful woman Melissa at Lulu's family cuts, we walked
In with a baby...                                                                                            And out with a little boy!

Here are a few action shots of the experience. I didn't actually cry. But it was far more emotional than I thought. I saved a few locks of hair and actually got them into the baby book. 

Checking out the toy bucket

Thinning out the baby hair

Good fake ice cream

A very happy customer!

Theo's Swim Class

Here's a quick video of the little man in swim class with Dad!

A little about Sophia...

I have been making a very conscious effort to make sure Theo's accomplishments don't get lost as the second child, and I seem to be keeping my head above water on that. At his age, the growth and development happens so rapidly that I can take for granted the developments happening with Sophia.


Her big thing is swimming - we enrolled her in swim classes and we're on the second semester at MIT. She absolutely loves them - she's in the water with three other kids and the instructor takes 2 of them out at a time (the remaining stand on the 'tot dock') with noodles, floating barbells, etc. and work on all sorts of skills. She is completely in her element and also starting to make friends. She remembers the other kids' names and really is starting to interact more with them. It's great to watch.


The other exciting news is that she got accepted (or, I guess we did) to Agassiz preschool for the Fall. I say we because when I was asking about the admissions criteria, the director told me it wasn't about the child - they just had to interact well with peers and be age-appropriate. It was about what the parents and family as a whole could bring to the community. As a co-op, we are all expected to be on a committee and also volunteer time in the classroom. Dave & I fell in love with the place - it's a very art/creative learning place - something we both admit are not our strong points but believe is great for our kids. Sophia had a blast on her visit - especially because she got to a) feed the fish b) they gave her cupcakes & cheerios and c) they had new (to her) cool toys. What's not to like?

Overall, Sophia is growing and developing so much. She still zips around on her balance bike - the best is every Tuesday/Thursday, she rides it to school. She's on the sidewalk and I ride my bike on the road next to her. She's getting to be quicker and more balanced every time! Her vocabulary is pretty impressive- her focus is on having us spell everything for her. She is constantly taking in new words and often parroting (for better or worse - gulp!) what she hears.

She also goes from being the world's best big sister to, well, a big sister. She has started taken on a protective instinct when something (other than her) makes Theo cry. When it is her, Theo has at least started to defend himself a little. As for she and I, we have some quality time together each weekend and also at night after Theo goes to sleep.
And that's my big, almost 3.5 year old in a nutshell!

Theo Turns 1

For his birthday, Theo got to celebrate in true Carletti fashion. That means, his celebration was not a day, but more like a week.

I took the day before his birthday off and we went to the Children's Hospital Brain Study Lab for a cool experiement. I had done something similar with Sophia, so it was fun to get to do it with Theo too. Hurrah for science!
Here's a shot of the little man in action - he was watching pictures (and eating puffs!) and they recorded his brain waves.

He had great hair afterwards (they moisten the sensors so he had quite the look.) We have a great magnet with a picture on our fridge commemorating the day. And a neuroscientist in training T-shirt. You guessed it - we're geeks!

The day of his birthday, we finished up the last of the stickers. Here's his 12 month shot. Much more difficult to get the shots with the actual sticker as he would much rather pull off the sticker and play with it than leave it on. Oh well - good thing for development.

Lidiana (na-na) brought him a motorcycle! It plays all sorts of fun songs and vroooms. Yes, it makes noise, but she is the one who has to listen to it all day :)  He loves it and looks like a natural on it.

 I baked cupcakes and Lidiana, Sophia & Theo decorated and ate them. Here are some great shots of the eating:

And finally - laughing and enjoying his big day:

Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet Baby Boy.