Dagny and Mommy

A couple weekends ago, GG took this wonderful picture of me and my girl.  I just found it on the camera and had to post it :)

Octoberfest 2012

As new town residents, we are trying to get a feel for the place and hit up any and all town events.  West Acton hosted it's (almost) 20th Octoberfest on Saturday so we drove over and scored a great parking place despite the major road being closed for the event.

The scene was hopping! Kids, grown ups, booths, balloons flying, delicious smells all around, and to Finley's great joy--a band was playing up on the stage.  This band was supercool since it was three highschool kids playing and it turns out, they write all their own stuff! How awesome is that? Finley rocked out until they finished their set and then we walked around a bit more.  We came across a gem that will surely become a family favorite: The Acton Model Railroad Center.  Seriously, this shop has been here all along??? Finley ditched us when he spotted one of the trains running in the lawn outside the shop and as I hurried after our usually attached kid, I knew something good must be in his sights and I was right.  Going into the shop was like stepping back in time since my dad used to have a model train set up in our house growing up.  Finley LOVED seeing all the models running on the tracks.

We had to beg and beg for Finley to go back to the festival with us, but thankfully we had a temping offer to sway him.  We'd run into our neighbors in the train shop who asked us if we'd checked out the fire station and the bouncy house at the end of the block and around the corner and since we had missed them, we made our way there.  Truth be told, Finley was only minorly interested in leaving the train shop, truth be told, but since he is in general a rule abiding citizen, he agreed to leave.

Kids were swarming around the corner so we knew we were headed the right direction.  Before we could even make it to the bouncy house/fire station hoopla, we passed something spectacular.  For .50, Finley got to drive this motorized motorcycle for three laps around the track.  He was so excited that he nearly burst.  To our surprise, Finley was able to keep his foot pressed down on the "gas pedal" and steer at the same time but Dan stayed close just to make sure he was safe.

He was a total pro!

And my best picture of the day:

He willingly parked his motorcycle and we headed off to the bouncy house, which was pleasantly deserted.  A few kids came through and Finley had fun jumping around and fake falling.

Then, it was on to the fire house.  What a scene! There were all sorts of fire rescue vehicles there: old school fire engine, fire boat, etc. The fire house was open and they were giving out pizza, cider, chili, apples, juice, etc.  plus all sorts of fun stuff for kids to play with.

Pizza crust in hand :)

We finished our pizza out near the big hook and ladder truck.

I'm regretting that I didn't hop aboard and ask a passerby to snap a family photo...

On our way back, Finley tried out the motorized dump truck but this one had a little too much power and Finley went a bit off course and finished just two laps.

 

We wandered back through the thick of things and ran into some Tufts friends and neighbors and we scheduled a get together for next weekend.  One of our friend's daughters who is about six or seven asked us if Finley had ridden the motorized cars because she "used to love them when she was little."  I guess that activity has been around a while!  Dan grabbed some fried dough and then we walked back to the car.  

A new autumn tradition for us in born and we can't wait to go back next year!

Finley Here and There...and Dagny, too!

I just uploaded a handful of photos from the past couple weeks and they show Finley here and there and just about everywhere.

Finley loves trying out the monkey bars and can't wait till he can reach them himself (either can we).  

At the library playground aboard the wooden train yelling, "All aboard!" He's wearing his new hat we got at the local kids' consignment shop, gotta love a $3 BabyGap hat :)

Happy guy taking a snack break at another local playground.  But after taking this photo, it was apparent that his cold weather winter/spring wardrobe wasn't going to cut it for another season...shirts tight and short and pants way too short!

 Reading with Dan before bed in his new fire truck PJs.  He seriously grew over night and we had to bust out some new clothes that were stockpiled in his closet.

Here he is in some better fitting clothes, post-haircut.  His bangs got slightly butchered; no matter what I say to whoever is cutting his hair...it always happens.  A couple weeks later, things are evening out so that's good.  He's eating his reward cookie since despite losing his %$&@ at first while getting his hair trimmed, he did pull it together nicely :)

 

Finley's helping Dan support his frisbee team this past weekend.

And not to be left out, here's Dagny all swaddled up before a nap showing off her adorableness!

And with her GG at the fields.

 And finally, one of the two kids together.  This morning Finley talked to Dagny while I dug through a new box of handmedowns for something warm for her to wear.

The cute one-sided conversation went something like this: "Good morning, Dagny.  Did you have a good sleep? Do you want to see my Owly?" Such a sweet older brother :)

Loveys

Since Finley loves, and I do mean LOVES, his Owly lovey--it has come time for Dagny to bond with hers that were gifts from her big bro in the hospital.  Both kids were given two potential loveys and Finley's loyalties went to Owly over Fanta years back without any push from us.  Will Dagny choose Rocky the Raccoon or Hops the Bunny?  Well, the first round went to Rocky!

 It's not just how a lovey feels, but how it tastes!

Aunt Caitlin Comes to Acton

Last weekend, my sister came up from NYC to visit us in our new house.  She'd been to see it as we were finalizing our offer on the house but not since we had moved it so I was thrilled to show it off.  Caitlin has been SO amazingly helpful since Dagny's arrival--visiting us often, helping out at Aunt Ellie's wedding, etc.  With Dan off at frisbee practice, having an extra set of hands (literally) is awesome.  On Saturday morning, Dan took Dagny to run some errands and Finley, Caitlin and I went to a storytelling session at a local bookstore that sells only its own books.  Barefoot Books in Concord is a fun store that we have been to a few times and this visit did not disappoint.  We enjoyed some lovely books read aloud, Finley made a turtle out of two paper plates during the craft time, and then we bought some books to bring home.  Heaven. We stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up a couple items and Caitlin captured a rare Allison and Finley photo that I actually loved, voila! Photo credit: Aunt Caitlin.

After everyone napped that afternoon, Caitlin pulled double duty entertaining both kids at once.  Impressive!

It was a treat to have her here and I was reluctant to take her back to the bus station on Sunday afternoon...but alas, she does have her own life and we will patiently wait to see her again (she's coming back in a couple weeks for the Head of the Charles and then in November when Dan goes to AZ for a family wedding).  We love you, Aunt Caitlin!

Happy Sukkot, Finley and Dagny!

With the support of GG and Grandpa, Finley, Dagny and I celebrated our first Sukkot this year.  GG sent Finley three children's books about Sukkot last week in preparation for the holiday.  The books were a HUGE hit (especially Engineer Ari and the Sukkot Express) and we have been reading them over and over since UPS delivered them.  GG and Grandpa arrived early this afternoon with plans to make a sukkah of our own.  Finley had the lingo for this holiday down and so after his nap today, we got to work "building" our sukkah.  Now, we are a bit out of compliance for this holiday since the sukkah is supposed to be built (our porch has been around some 30+ years probably) and you are supposed to be able to see the stars through the thatched roof (we can't see them through the roof, but we can through the screens).  However, it's the thought that counts, right?  Gilda and Murray put up some strings and then we started hanging decorations--Finley was an eager participant passing grapes and leaves to his GG.

 And Grandpa gave him a lift to hang some items himself.

He was jealous that GG got to use the stepladder, so Finley tried it out though the extra elevation did not really help our decorating scheme.

 

Dagny watched in awe and enjoyed all the buzz.

Then, it was time to say some prayers.  GG and Grandpa brought some Sukkot accessories that we had read about in the books we had been reading, including an etrog and a lulav (see children's jewish learning webpage here for more info: http://www.bje.org.au/learning/judaism/kids/holydays/sukkot.html).  They brought real ones and plush ones.  GG shook the real ones and Finley the plush, he was stoked to have his own!  

 Here's our sukkah!

We ordered some Indian food and enjoyed eating it out in our Sukkah this evening.  Something tells me Finley will want to eat breakfast out there tomorrow morning, too :)

 I can't wait to do this again next year (time to head to the craft store to stock up on fake fall leaves, grapes, apples, etc.)!

Dagny Turns 3 Months Old

Well, she is certainly the photo and blog neglected child (what a 2nd kid cliche, right?) but we're really trying--I promise! On this day, three months ago Dagny Eaton joined the Forseter crew and it's quite a ride since.  We are settled in our new house and slowly, but surely Dagny is settling into her own niche as well.  While she continues to straddle the gender lines in her clothing style (a mix of Finley handmedowns and girlier handmedowns from friends), she is certainly her own little person who makes herself known.

She's very smiley and makes great eye contact.  She will often "talk back" to you making some assorted baby noises, it's almost like having a conversation sometimes!  She shrieks with joy and has laughed a couple of times that really sounded like she meant it.  Her grasp has really improved (I'm slightly balder than I was a few weeks ago) though she's still not too interested in holding toys--just our fingers, shirts, my necklaces, and now the blanket that covers her on the early morning rides to Finley's preschool.  I've attempted to teach her how to suck her thumb for self-soothing purposes but she could care less.

Like her brother, Dagny likes to be held upright and does a great job of straightening her legs to support herself.  Unlike her brother, she also likes to sit with some help.  Maybe she'll sit before turning 6 months...Not much rolling over since those early moves shocked us, but I suspect that skill will return when she's ready.  Dagny's pretty good at tummy time and often prefers it to just being on her back while we are in the playroom with Finley.  She loves watching and listening to our plastic beaded rainstick--it's a sure fire way to distract her or placate her if necessary.  Dagny is a social butterfly and is at her happiest when we are out and about. Her baths are a pleasure as she just lays back and relaxes, in fact we keep showing Finley how brave Dagny is when she gets her hair rinsed without tears...unlike his crying spells at hair washing time!  

I'm not going to write much about her sleep patterns since we are embarking on a new phase and I don't want to jinx it.  However, she is in her own crib in her own room at night and while she (we) are still addicted to her swing for her long afternoon nap, I suspect that will be done and gone soon enough.

Finley continues to adore his baby sister and I just love that he involves her in all his imaginative play/storytelling.  When he plays a part from a beloved story, he is always sure to give both me and Dagny a role.  From Harold's Fairy Tale - he is the king, I'm Harold, and Dagny is the fairy.  From Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree - he is the Cookie Monster, I'm the witch, and Dagny's the tree.  Whenever we go on pretend train or subway rides, he makes sure to buy a ticket for Dagny.  He likes to put his toys in front of her so she can see them and touch them if she wants.

We love her to pieces and the next three months will surely reveal even more of her personality and who knows what else!