Maynard Fest

Back in September, we went to watch Dan's first game of the tournament nearby and then made our way to Maynard Fest.  Maynard is the small town just south of us and I'd heard about their annual festival from friends, so we were excited to check it out.

After scoring a great parking spot, we walked over to Main Street that had been closed off for the festival.  It wasn't long before Finley spotted the train that we have ridden twice before at other local events, so we immediately got in line.  Finley hopped into a green carriage while Dagny and I squeezed in to the blue one ahead of it.

 After a fun and wiggly train ride, we needed to cool off with some icees.

 Just as we were getting ready to leave, the local-famous Mr. Vic began his set and the kids were thrilled to join in the musical fun.

 Ah, those warm days seem a dream now!

Dagny hits the lanes

Dagny has been to a couple of bowling alleys in her young life, but two weeks ago was the first time she got to actually bowl and it was quite a sight! She loved getting on her bowling shoes (and they had to be force-ably removed when we were done).

 She watched the rest of us bowl and was more than ready for her turn!!

 She saw her first ball roll SLOWLY down the alley...

And then she and Finley celebrated her knocking down of two pins!

 

She eventually lost a bit of interest in rolling the balls down the alley, but really loved helping the balls roll back and choosing which balls each of us should bowl next.

 And what goes better with a blue Giants jersey, a blue gatorade* tongue!

 

*We bought berry gatorade for Finley's last Blue Jays soccer team game that ended up being cancelled.  But I will NEVER buy it again, their tongues were blue until the next morning despite eating dinner and multiple toothbrushing/tongue brushing sessions!!! Gross!!!

The Purple Train

While Finley has loved trains since we can't even remember when, it's taken Dagny a bit longer to get on board with them. (See what I did there??? That pun was for you, Granddad!)  But now that's she's cool with trains, we have made an effort to ride the commuter rail downtown after school once a month or so to meet up with Dan after work/school.  We first went as far as Porter Square (Cambridge) for bookstore window shopping and dinner expeditions but now we brave the longer ride downtown to get off at North Station.  Both kids love the hustle and bustle of the station and the fact that the Bruins skate right upstairs!

Last time we went in was back in October.  The kids angled for the best view out of the window for most of the ride.  Finley now knows nearly all the names of the stations in sequence :)

 We met Dan near Fanueil hall and ate dinner in Quincy Market.  Then, as the sun was going down we walked across the Greenway and made a stop at the beautiful fountains near the aquarium before walking back to the seaport to Dan's car.

 These amazing moments make the long train ride beyond worth it.

We may live in the 'burbs, but we can totally fit in like city folk!

Finley Turns 5!

Yep, he's five!! On Sunday, November 16th, our first born turned five years old!! We started the morning with customized pancakes - a 5 and a cookie cutter dump truck :)

 Then, Dagny gave Finley her gift - small lego glider and he couldn't wait to put it together himself.

Later on that morning, Aunt Ellie and Uncle Donny came down to deliver the gift they had brought from NY that was from them and GG and Grandpa.

http://youtu.be/wRaPNvdd24Q

 The lego police station was  HUGE HIT!

 We had a little bit of time to read book with Uncle Donny before heading off to Finley' party.

 

Gym party pictures to come later, but here is Finley the day after his birthday with his completely built lego police station -- Thank you, Dan, for loving legos as much as your son and helping him put it together in record time!

We couldn't be prouder of our big kid.  He continues to be a terrific big brother - teaching Dagny all sorts of fun things, tolerating her toddler ways, and genuinely wanting to include her in everything.  His teachers rave about his level of enthusiasm and engagement at school and we know he will be more than ready for all that kindergarten has to bring next year.  He loves all things sports from soccer to tennis to hockey to playing "two hand touch" in the basement with Dan.  He's learning to be a good sport and instead of being upset about losing to challenge his opponent to a rematch!  Finley continues to love music and we are really looking forward to the SteveSongs concert next week where we are really hoping he'll perform Finley's beloved "Recess Rocks."  He's growing up in many ways from being relaxed at the dentist to taking showers instead of baths and his complete obsession with Legos seems quite mature and amazing!  

Happy Birthday to the kid that made us parents and happier than we ever knew we could be.

Finley's 5th Birthday Party

To please our sports nut, we had a gym party for him at the local Boys and Girls Club.  We did a little bit of everything.

Hockey.

Messy backyard.

 Four corners.

 What time is it Mr. Fox?

Soccer.

 Bumper pool.

Air Hockey.

 

Running around!

After sports galore, it was time for pizza.

 And then homemade Bruins puck cakes*

 Everyone, especially Finley, had a blast and we were reminded how lucky we are to have made such great friends in such a short time and how happy Finley is with his lot in life :)

**here are the little cakes I made for the party from start to finish

I'm certainly no Martha Stewart, but I am a full time working mom who can put out a darn good set of hockey puck cakes for my #1 boy!