Character Breakfast

We brought Scarlett and Holden to a special Character Breakfast recently. It was seriously adorable. There were about a dozen 7th and 8th graders hosting the breakfast, and they were dressed as various characters - some of which were completely unrecognizable, but they did have a Snow White; that poor, poor girl. Scarlett and her friend from school, Molly (who we bumped into at the event), followed this poor girl around for the entire breakfast. Neither of them actually talked to Snow White (star struck)...they just followed her around and stared at her adoringly. It was pretty cute. And funny. Holden drank juice (a rarity). We saw Spiderman.

Heard a story.
Ran around.

And danced....with Snow White and the other princess girl.

Beach days

It has been very hot this summer so we've been bringing the kids to Short Beach. It's somewhat surreal because it's the same beach Joe and I both went to as kids having both grown up in Stratford - and now we're bringing our kids there. Weird. But yeah...we get over it pretty quickly though. It's just too hot for surreality.

Beaches are a bit different with kids. There's not a whole lot of relaxation going on. Scarlett and Holden were quite busy. Observe...
Oh wait...what's this? A glimmer of hope? Is Scarlett...relaxing? Oh my. Her eyes are closed and she seems to be enjoying just lounging in the... Sigh. Nevermind.

Italiano Festival

We're back to doing stuff now. Stuff besides unpacking. We had an awesome time at the Italiano Festival in Westport last weekend. I won a family four pack of ride bracelets on a radio station (because, ahem, I was the 9th caller. Go me.) so we went on the three or four rides the kids could go on a bunch o' bunch o' times. This included the princess girl horses: The "Dizzy Dragons." (We're inside of a giant dragon that spins in a circle and makes adults who are too old for this kind of ride want to throw up, and also makes small preschoolers fall out of their seats on to the floor which, apparently, makes fathers laugh and mothers have a heart attack. Okay. Minor heart attack. These pictures were before the ride started. Needless to say, we only went on this one once.):
"Who is about to have mixed feelings about this ride once it starts? This guy!"There were helicopters:And Scarlett played the "pop the balloon with a dart" game where she actually popped 2 balloons with the first of three darts and was so horrified by the "POP!" that she refused to throw any more. But she won this cute puppy. The highlight of the day was the Ferris Wheel. Good thing that we rode the rides for free. It would have been $20 for a family of four to ride this ride. Craaa-zzzy.

Looking for our car.We let Scarlett get an airbrush tattoo.
Sheer heaven.

And that, folks, was our day.

What happens in a new house?

For starters, what does NOT appear to happen in a new house is the updating of blogs. Sorry it has been an eternity since my last post; I'm sure you understand.

We are officially in the new house in Stratford now. We moved out of the condo at the end of May and have spent the last month at Nan's house. While we loved being at Nan's house it's great to finally be in the new house. And it was high time we high-tailed it outta Nan's. Especially once Holden learned to walk. Nan's house is not baby-proofed. (See exhibit A)

exhibit A:

"You can't catch me!! I'm gonna drink this here Windex and you can't prevent me from doing so!! (maniacal laugh)" Unfortunately, not much changed the first night or two in the new house before we ourselves had a chance to baby-proof. Holden still went after the "DON'T TOUCH!!"es. And he still maniacally laughed while doing so. So...what happens in a new house besides maniacal laughter? Playhouses are built and then played in. A lot. Phones are talked on. A lot. Swings are swung in. A lot. Indoor swimming pools (or insanely large bathtubs) are swam in...and then mommies dive in to save their crazy 1-year-olds who are, apparently, very interested in scuba diving. And maniacally laughing.Big boy booster seats are sat in.
And freeze pops are consumed. A lot.
So...what does a new house look like? Here are a few pictures. More to come.