Guests

I haven't written in a few weeks so I will do my best to recap!

About two weeks ago my friend Jim Lagos' family came up from Medfield to visit. Jim is my oldest and one of my very best friends. It's always a pleasure to have him, Christy, Jordan and Noah for a visit. They came up last year just after a snow storm and this year was no different!

They arrived on Friday night and everyone was excited to see each other. Jordan, who is 4 came right in and gave JD a big kiss. JD, both Jordan and you both asked Jim and I prior to them coming up here, if you are cousins. We decided to make you honorary cousins. You were both extremely excited about this.

Friday night Jim and I went out to get Chinese food. We got A LOT of food and completely devoured it. That night marked the first night EVER that I have eaten China Food and had no leftovers! The rest of that night consisted of you all playing in Adam's new bus tent, all of the kids coloring, and the adults having some much needed catch up and alone time.

After breakfast on Saturday we decided to go sledding. It was a cold, but beautiful winter day. The ground snow was VERY icy and we knew it would be quite slick. After all of you kids got bundled up in your snow suits we were off to Powder Hill. We were literally the only people on the hill which kind of surprised us, but it didn't take us long to find out why the hill was so desolate. The ice was so slick that the sledding runs were almost dangerous. We had a couple nice runs and then JD, you and I went down together on our big blow up sled. We hit about 4 jumps and on the last jump (the biggest I have ever gone over) you flew out of the sled. Mom and Jim thought that you might have gone about five feet in the air! I spun the sled around and caught you with my feet before you landed! You were quite scared after this trip down and so was Mom. Shortly after this we took off. Mom and Christy were nervous that someone might get hurt. Luckily we got in quite a few runs prior to you popping out of the sled! Adam, you and Noah spent a lot of time walking down a snow path at the top of the hill. You were easy to keep track of and had so much fun. That hill is great for your ages (and mine)!

As we came back in the afternoon, we had lunch and put Adam to bed for his nap. Naoh was in the playroom for most of the day and the rest of us spent the day playing UNO. It was Jordan's first time playing and she did so well. She is extremely smart. We thoughy she won her first hand but after the hand was over she reveled to us that she cheated and pulled out a hidden card! Pretty sneaky! We must have played this game for three hours! We ate all day and even had little bit to drink :)!



As Mom got dinner ready Jim and I went outside in the cold and made a fire. We smoked a couple nice stogies that Grandie and PopPop got me for Christmas. I always enjoy smoking cigars with Jim. Each time we get together like this we make a point to spend some alone time together. I see him quite a bit when I go back down to Mass but it's different when we get the whole families together. While we were outside, Adam and Noah enjoyed banging on the glass and waving and laughing. JD helped us start the fire but didn't last long in the chilly air.

The Lagos clan took off the next day pretty early as the Pats were playing the Chargers for the AFC Championship. The Pats pulled it out and are once again headed to the Super Bowl. The weekend with Jim's crew was very fun. It was nice to watch you guys interact with each other. Adam and Noah are the same distance in age as Jim and I, just a few months and JD and Jordan got along great. We talked about potentially planning a beach trip in the summer..

Later in the week we had a special guest arrive. BRICK, Gramipie's dog needed a place to stay for a few months as Grampie was going in for hip replacement surgery. It's real hard for him to get around these days and we are all hoping that this surgery works wonders. Mom and I volunteered our house and hospitality to Brick and he has been quite the guest.


We have had him for a week and the difference from when he arrived to now, is amazing. Asbury had a little problem sharing his family and his territory. He growled every time Brick came near and Brick wanted to play so he kept poking at Az. Brick is a four month old Boxer and Az being an old 8 year old lab, we knew we might face some challenges. Throughout the week they both became very comfortable with each other. They have been playing outside each day and even sharing their toys.

Brick is great with both of you guys. Adam you like to chase him around and then have him chase you. Its almost like you are playing tag. JD, he has taken a real liking to you. He sleeps with you every night and cuddles with you on the couch most nights before bed. Mom has been the unsung hero though. She makes sure he gets his food each day,
exercise, and a generous amount of cuddle time. I think its VERY safe to say that Brick is comfortable with all of us. I have never met a dog that likes to cuddle as much as Brick. He almost never sits alone, he prefers to sit ON or right next to one of us at all times! He is the most well behaved puppy I have ever been around. Grampie's surgery also went very well! We are hoping for a swift recovery, and I know Brick is too!

This past weekend we all hung out and relaxed on Friday night. This was the first night Brick decided to sleep with JD and that hasn't changed since. The prior night I went out for a bit with Chad Merwin and Mom let JD stay up late to wait for me to come home. JD, you so enjoy waiting up for me and I have to say it's nice to have your smiling face to come home to.

The next day Mom and her friend, Leanna went to Freeport for the day. It was boys day at home! We went outside to play with the dogs, colored a lot, built with blocks, played with your helicopter, and Adam wore his sunglasses and flip flops for about two hours straight. Ad, it was fun to see you get your eyes acclimated to the light after wearing those glasses for so long!


I met Chad F for a drink and some snacks when mom came home in the late afternoon. While I was out you both had dinner and prepared for our trip to the new Folk Music joint in Rollinsford. Pondering Judd was playing here on this night and I figured we would all go and check it out. This folk place could have some real promise. It's only about three miles away and they are trying to get some serious acts from the Seacoast to play here regularly. If they pull it off, it could be great for us!

We arrived at about 7:00 and the PJudd went on around 7:30. As always they were great! JD, you recognized quite a few songs from listening at home. Marty, the lead singer came over to say hello, and talked with Adam for a few minutes. This band has been growing on me for quite some time and it was nice to have them play right in our backyard. This venue was nice and small, only sat about 100 people, but it was packed. We ate some yummy brownies and had some coffee. It was a nice night for us all. (The above picure is from that night)

Next weekend, Pats vs Giants for the Super Bowl. I hope its a blow out, but as always, I'm cautiously optimistic... GO PATS!

Adam is 2!

I really can't believe that you turned two years old this weekend! It really does seem like just weeks ago we were in the hospital and preparing to bring you home. A lot has changed for us over the past two years, all for the better.

You are certainly your own person, very unique. You are such a happy, smiley, fun loving boy. You can light up the room with your smile and your great big laugh. You are assertive and truly know what you want, when you want it. Sometimes with your brother, you show clear signs of leadership. There have been many times when JD will come running and say, "Dad, Addie stole my drink again! Or Adam stole my car!"

You have also followed in JD's footsteps with some things. You love to throw balls in the house and rocks in lakes. You enjoy playing with Hotwheels and trucks just like JD and you love to SNEAK sips of soda! Your love for music is also very apparent. When JD turned two I remember dancing with him at night while he cuddled on my shoulder. You and I do this all the time.

I keep thinking how much I look forward to you getting older and getting to know you even more, but truly, I love the age that you are right now. You are learning so much every day, you enjoy such simple things.

This years birthday was very special. The extended family is coming up in a few weeks to celebrate so on the 12th, your true birthday, it was just the 5 of us (including Az). You were a little sick on this day and decided to take your alligator, bubba and a book to bed. You slept for quite a while and when you woke up we opened your presents. Nana sent some gifts for you and favorite was a bus. You love pointing out JD's bus in the morning and finding them randomly on the highway. You played with this gift all day. JD, Mom and I got you an iDog and some other stuff. The iDog dances to music just like you. You liked him so much that you tried to feed it some of your birthday cake!!

Adam, you a brand new dynamic to our family when you arrived, I don't know where we would be without you. You make me smile each and every day and I can't wait to learn more about you as the years move on.

Germs

Over the last few weeks you boys have been SICK! It all started two weekends ago. You both spent some time at Grandie and PopPop's house and had so much fun. Mom and I went down to Mass to see a bunch of our friends. JD, you were excited to spend the weekend at the cabin. When we arrived to pick you guys up, JD was outside sledding. There had to be 20 inches of snow up there and PopPop plowed you a trail from out in the back yard. It looked really cool as the snow was so high and your trail was plowed down deep! Adam, you had fun too. You read stories before bed and gave no one any trouble!

Mom and I were staying for dinner on this night and just before dinner JD became ill. You didn't even sit at the table with us. You began to immediately feel warm and went to lay down on the couch. By the time we got home you were pretty upset. We gave you some medicine and you went off to bed. Last week you were out of school 3.5 days!

We have also had tons of snow again over the past few weeks! We got about 12 inches the other day and more to come on Friday. Jimmy and Jordan are due to come up this weekend so perhaps we can go sledding at Powder Hill? Today it was 14 degrees outside.

Adam, you have also been sick. Five days ago your eye's were noticeably getting yucky. They have progressively improving but its hard to give you the eye drops required to get you better. You HATE it and when you protest, you protest! You have been in relatively good spirits though.

Lately when I have been cooking dinner you have been sitting on the counter with me while I cook. You typically have a snack and talk away. Tonight you had some Grain Nacho chips while I cooked. You were playing cars demanding my attention for each car crash that you would simulate by saying, "Daddy look, Daddy look!"

"Jenga" seems to have been the game of the week, too. JD you are getting good at this and consistently asking Mom and I to play. We have also used the Jenga blocks to create some real cool domino courses. There are probably about 60 of them and we've had the domino path run the length of the table!

Prior to this last snowstorm the weather was abnormally warm outside. We did end up taking advantage of this over the weekend. Sick or not, we were all ready to get out! We had some fun snowball fights,
JD road his bike and Adam rode his new scooter! Mom was the MVP of snowball fighting. She had a nice sneak attack move to get JD, but as you can imagine JD didn't wait long to strike back. We were out for quite a while and by the time it got dark it was time to come in.

Tomorrow night JD and Mom are going to a "Bingo" function at Hussey School, I know you are both looking forward to that. We are certainly hoping for a germ free, eventfull weekend coming up!

Night Sledding

New Years 2008! I can't believe it's here already, people say that every year, I don't know why. I think I have just accepted that every year is going to fly on by.

Mom and I both agree that this years NYE get together was one of the most fun that either of us can remember. Remember might be a key word here, but I digress..

This year we arrived at Chris and Tara's around 7:00 with China food. Mom had Chris order Chinese food from her favorite place. There was just one problem here though, she gave him the wrong name! The four of us went over to pick up the food and they didn't have our order. We drove around Dover for about 15 minutes looking for the right Chinese joint! Not a good start and my frustration got the best of me, surprise I know!

By the time we arrived at Chris' we all had a nice laugh and dug into the food. Chad and Ash were here too. Chris is the only adult who has more toys than most kids. He set up a race track for you guys and it kept you both very busy. Adam, you were feeling about 95% better than at Christmas and were almost back to normal.

After dinner and some drinks it was time to go night sledding and watch fireworks! We wound up walking to a hill right up the street all strapped with sleds. Chad looked for a sled at a few stores before coming but couldn't find one so he did what anyone would do, brought a blow up mattress! I always wondered if that would work and sure enough it worked like a charm! We arrived at the hill around 9:15ish and there was no one else in sight! It was SO fun! There was some light from the condo complex nearby but mostly it was dark. It was mild in temperature though and very tolerable. The snow made a nice resting place for New Years drinks!

JD, you went down the hill a bunch of times by yourself. I was actually pretty surprised that you went by yourself with no one at the bottom in the dark. I think Mom had the record for the furthest ride. Tara had her camera out that night and if I get some pictures from her I will add them here, I hope they came out well.

Adam, you came down on the fast sled with me. You didn't like it at first but by the end you seemed to, at least you stopped crying?? You also went down on the mattress with JD and Mom, this you liked a lot. The mattress ended up being pretty short lived as it popped at some point while we were up on the hill.

No only did we sled in the dark, but Chris brought a bunch of fireworks out with us! He even set some off while going down the hill on a tube. Mostly, though we all sat at the top of the hill he set them off at the bottom. The coolest part was toward the end where he set a bunch off in a row. It lit up the entire snow white field. We were out there for a good two hours.

By the time we got back in to the house, we had about an hour before the, "Ball Dropped" to ring in the New Year. You both stayed up and had some juice and cookies. You could not have been more well behaved and everyone enjoyed you both very much. We gave happy New Year kisses after the ball came down and then we were on our way!

The next day we all woke up around 9:00, so nice to sleep! We went down to Framingham to meet the Hart side of the family as we do each year. It was great to catch up with my cousins, Aunts and Uncles on that side. We say each year that we should get together more, maybe this year will be the year?

I hope this year brings good things to us all. We have lived in Maine now for over three years and I'm starting to think that maybe the move was a good idea. JD's school is going so well, Adam is being raised at home, and things for Mom and I are going well too. We have found good friends up here, and geographically I don't think there is a better place in the country than the NH/ME Seacoast.

2008, here we come...

Reindeer Food

Well, December has come and gone in a flash. We experienced the largest snowfall in the month of December (in inches) since sometime late in the 1800's. I can't even remember when it started but I know that there we have about 16 inches outside right now!

Last week, brought the much anticipated week of Christmas! Our festivities started out early on Christmas Eve. Grandie and PopPop were nice enough to allow us to hold Christmas Eve at our house, starting about five years ago. Mom and I have always appreciated them passing the torch to us, but it makes even more sense with you both getting older. Grampa and Grandma also started joining us in this tradition a few years ago. It has been a fun, relaxing, but crazy time each year!

This year started with Grandy and PopPop arriving around 11:00. Mom and PopPop work extremely well with each other in the kitchen and each year they prepare eggplant parm for Christmas Eve night! This is one of the many foods that mom introduced me to and it seems to get better each year.

JD, you helped Grandie make her Russian Tea Cake cookies shortly after they arrived. I have probably mentioned many times what a good baker you have turned into, largely due to Grandie's guidance. While you did this PopPop, Adam and I shared a drink in the Den. We talked about how each year you both change so much and how fun it was to see JD so excited. JD, at five years old you are really at the pinnacle of Santa stuff and Christmas involvement.

After a few hours it was time to open presents! Adam, you were so sick on this day and JD was recovering from a cough/cold combo. You did your best to have fun, you even smiled and tried to run around but it was a tough day for you. You would not let me put you down all day, unless you were sleeping. We were truly attached!

JD was excited to get his very own kids digital camera! JD, you started taking a few pictures and unfortunately we had a bad batch of batteries, but it was fun while it lasted. You also got you own set of UNO cards, and the board game, "Sorry!" You really enjoy boardgames, you like to think about your moves and find out what type of moves other people are preparing to make.

While PopPop and Mom put the finishing touches on dinner, Grandie, you and I played Sorry for a while. We also spent some time in the kitchen. It was fun to hang out and talk with everyone while the meal was being prepared. JD, you were very happy with your gifts from Grandie and PopPop but it didn't take you too long to ask, "When are Gramdma and Grampa coming?"

They arrived in the late afternoon. We decided to open presents upon their arrival so that you and Ad wouldn't have to wait any longer to open your gifts. JD, you got some Transformers and a remote control helicopter, amongst many other things. Adam, you recieved a four wheeler that you could actually ride on top of! I have to say, I like the helicopter the best, its real fun to fly and pretty easy to maneuver.

Dinner was great! Eggplant, and Chicken parm, pasta and other yummy side dishes. I think I'm still full from eating the my portion that night! We had some sort of double chocolate cake muffins that Grandie made for dessert too!

After dinner it was getting pretty late and we wanted to make sure we had everything set to go for Santa. I should mention that we were tracking Santa ALL DAY on the Internet. JD, kept asking where he was and how far away "That" was. All of us went outside to throw "Reindeer Food" that Donna sent up to us. Grandma, Grandie, PopPop, Grampa, and the rest of us were outside in the cold weather throwing out what was essentially glitter and oatmeal! It was so nice that your grandparents were able to be a part of this for you. I know how much it meant to them and it might just be one of those things you remember as you get older!

You were both off to bed shortly after. JD, you fell right to sleep. This was in great contrast to the night before where it took you about 2.5 hours to fall asleep. You were really trying to, too! You said, "Dad I'm just so excited I don't know what to do. I think I might throw up!"

The grandparents stayed until about 10:00. We had a great time all day long and I could tell you both did too. Adam, I have never felt as bad for one of my kids as I did on this day for you. You were miserable and really wanted to take part in the opening and playing but your body had other ideas. When we're young and our parents tell us that they wish they could take on our sickness for us, I'm sure we don't really understand what they mean. On this day, I wish I could have taken on yours..

The next day, I was the first one up. That's right not you guys...me! I lay in bed waiting for one of you to awaken and finally I heard Adam stirring. I know how you like your time before rising Ad, so I gave you a good 15 minutes. You slept about 15 hours straight, which isn't really that uncommon but given your cold and stuff.. Anyway you seemed a bit better in the morning and off you went to wake up JD. He actually THANKED you for waking him up and then we all went in to get Mom!

When we arrived down stairs we noticed that Santa ate the cookie we left him and drank his milk. We also noticed two piles for presents with Adams stocking on one pile and JD's on the other. You each had three Army men hanging off your stockings and Adam grabbed as many of them as he could hold. You tackled your stockings and then it was time for the bigger gifts. You each got a brand new NBA style basketball as well as a cool motorcycle and other stuff. JD, you were looking for a box that might contain an iPod and after opening a few you found it! This was the gift you wanted most. You aren't like most five year old kids when it comes to music, so I think Santa new and appreciated that. You have not taken it off since you've opened it and you picked all of the songs yourself!

After opening Santa's gifts we exchanged gifts with each other. Mom and I and Adam and JD switched presents. We had some coffee and cookies while we opened gifts. We took some time to play with our new gifts from this morning and last night and then we were off to Nana's house.

After we arrived here the Cranney's were not far behind. It was so nice to see Meg and her family, it had been a while. After Grammie and Grampie arrived, Nana thought that it would be best if the kids opened first and then the adults followed. Typically we all go one by one, but there were TONs of gifts this year and you kids are getting older. Nana thought that it would be nice to let you have at it! JD and Ad, you got so much stuff from Nan and Grampie here as well and G and G and the Cranney's. Walkie Talkie's, lots of sports stuff and mostly outside toys and games.

It was very well done for so many kids and fun for me to spend time with Grammie and Grampie. Grampie and I got to spend some time chatting, mostly about family but also about how it was nice to have a basketball team to cheer for again in the Celtics. We agreed that it had been almost 20 years and it took some getting used to.

After presents and catching up Nana prepared an great ham dinner. Mom helped Nan in the kitchen from the time we arrived until the end of the evening. I know that Nana appreciated this very much and it helped the meal move along nicely.

Shortly after dinner Gram and Grampie had to leave. Grammie isn't feeling well these days and they agreed it would be best to hit the road a bit early. This was kind of tough for the rest of us as we are more accustom to both Grammie and Grampie being very involved in the ongoings, but what is best is best, I suppose.

Later in the evening all four kids played the piano and threw around some of the new footballs. JD, Liv and Adam had a dance party upstairs in my old room. This seemed to last quite a while. David cuddled with Nana before it was time for them to take off and I was able to spend time with my sister and Grampie B.

It was a controlled whirlwind of a Christmas like it is every year. After the Cranney's left, and Ad was in bed, JD and I hooked up Nana's old Nintendo 8-bit. It was old but we eventually got it to work.

The next day I went out all day with my friends from Millis and you guys had fun playing with Mom. You mostly spent time trying to beat the dragon in Super Mario Brothers! It was great for me to see my friends as always and I was happy that Adam started to perk up just a bit on this day.

We came home the next day and took down our Christmas decorations. You were both reluctant to see the tree go, but it was time. Christmas was over and as nice as it is to decorate the house at the beginning of the season, for me, it's just as nice to get it back to normal at the end.

On Saturday night the Patriots were challenged to be first team in NFL history to go 16-0. There was one other chumpy Dolphins team to win all of their games but it was in a 14 game season. I went with Chris, Tara, Chad and Ash to Chad M's house to take in the game. I have to say, it was one of the best games of any sport I had ever seen. So much fun to watch it with the guys too! To top it off, they won the game and set ton's of personal and team records.

New Years is coming next!