Miscellaneous November

November had some warm days, some cold days and some days in between.  We tried to get out and enjoy as much as we could in addition to doing a few new indoor activities too.

Rollin', Rollin' Rollin'

Tonight, while Daddy was away, Logan started rolling from his belly to his back.  He has been doing better and better with holding his head up during tummy time and tonight he figured out how to flip over.  As you can see, he was so quick that I had a hard time capturing it on video.

My Little Buddy

Logan still isn't doing too much yet...at least not when you compare him to his big brother who NEVER. STOPS. RUNNING! But he does make some awfully cute faces, give great smiles and is a very happy, easy-going little guy who deserves a few blog posts all his own.  Here's one for you, little buddy!  Thanks for brightening every one of momma's days!

Beginning to look at lot like Christmas

It's that time of year again...the holidays are here!  Thanksgiving was early but we decided to get a tree and start decorating this weekend anyway.  The beginning of December is busy for us with a bachelor party, Bruce traveling, and then a weekend away at Mohegan for Mommy and Daddy.  For our tree this year, we decided to cut it fresh from a local tree farm in hopes that it would last a bit longer than normal and not lose so many needles.  It was a chilly day but we found a tree before we were too cold.  I think this may be a new tradition for the Skarin's.

Two Little Turkeys

Everyday I live with two little turkeys...today was a day celebrating them...well sort of.  We started the day with pumpkin bread watching the Macy's Day Parade.  Evan was pretty excited to see some of his favorite characters and was especially excited to see Santa.  We then began the annual RI tour starting at Uncle Bob & Aunt Chris's for dinner and then heading to Uncle Rick & Aunt Donna's for dessert (where I guess we had our hands too full to take pictures).  It was a long, busy day but it is always nice to see everyone.  Once we were back at Papa & Gramma's and watching the Pats game, Logan discovered his voice.  (Videos to come at a later date.)

I was thinking about doing a little project...

If I had a dollar for every time Evan uttered those words over the last few weeks, I'd be a rich woman.  Instead, I have lots of construction paper projects hanging on my fridge.  I guess I am rich with the memories we are making.  (As you will see, there is an obvious reason why Mommy was a math teacher and not an art teacher before she was a mommy.)

Gymboree

Since Logan was born, and even shortly before, Bruce and I have been talking about getting Evan involved in some sort of class or toddler program.  We get together with friends and cousins as often as schedules allow but a bit more socialization never hurts.  We also felt it would be good for him to improve his listening skills in needing to follow directions from someone other than us.
After scoping out some options, we decided to check out classes at Gymboree.  Today we attended a music class and a play & learn class.  Evan loved the music class and was singing, dancing and clapping the entire time.  He was a bit more cautious in the play & learn class and mostly just explored on his own instead of joining in the activities with the rest of the kids, at least until the end of the class.
Seeing as he is always singing and dancing at home, I think we will register for the music class and take advantage of the open play time so that he can get familiar with the play space before committing to a play & learn class.  This will be a good way to get him some physical activity as the weather gets colder and snowier.  I'm looking forward to watching him grow and learn.

Big Boys in the Bathtub

I am looking forward to the day when we can just put both boys in the tub to take a bath together.  No more of Evan in the big tub and Logan in his little tub on the bathroom floor or having to do them one at a time.  I feel like we waste so much water!  Today, I decided to experiment.  I put Logan's little tub in the big tub with Evan.  It doesn't leave tons of room for Evan but it worked out ok. Based on the looks on the boys faces, I'm not sure if this is a short term solution or not though.

Patriots Party

We love having parties and hosting get togethers.  We used to get stressed about it and argue a little while trying to get ready but now we seem to have a good system worked out and we can put together a party for 30 people with relatively little effort.  Most of the parties we host are during the summer when people can be outside.  Our house is a decent size but not huge and not very open...making indoor parties more of a challenge.
Today we had a small Patriots party.  We invited Uncle Dan, Auntie Karin, Danny & Sean, Gramma & Papa and Grammy.  What we thought was going to be a party for 11 turned into a party for 8.  Sean was sick so Auntie Karin stayed home with him and Uncle Dan went to the game.  Danny still came with Gramma, Papa and Grammy which was great because Evan was really excited to see his cousins.  Logan had lots of smiles and stories for everyone.  We had a nice afternoon and watched the Pats beat the Bills.

Sleeping Angels

Every night before I go to bed, I peek in on the boys.  I check to see that they are covered up and warm enough, give them another good night kiss and tell them that I love them.  Despite what may have happened during the day and what struggles we might have encountered, at night they are my sleeping angels!

Perfect Snow Day

In my opinion, today was the perfect snow day.  The sun was shining brightly and felt warm.  There was enough snow to play in but not so much that you were up to your knees when walking through it.  It was warm enough to stay outside for a while making putting on all of the snow gear worth the time and effort.  We built a small snowman, a snow castle, made snow angels and had a snowball fight!  Logan even came out to join us for a few minutes.  The snow was melting as we played so it was a little wet for Evan's little knit gloves but all in all, it was a great day to play in the seasons first snowfall!

Three Months Old

Logan, today you are three months old!  You are smiley, giggly, nosey, chatty, fidgety, wiggly and drooly.  You weigh 16 pounds, 13 ounces and are wearing 6 month clothes and size two (soon to be size three) diapers.  You have lived through some hot, humid, end of summer weather as well as tropical storm/hurricane Sandy (which was really pretty uneventful in Millbury) and as I type this we are getting our first snowfall of the season.  Yesterday, you came with me while I went to vote and Barack Obama was elected for a second term as the 44th president of the United States of America.  A lot has happened in your little lifetime.
More importantly, you are a thriving, growing, learning little man.  You are still eating about 30 ounces per day and are more consistently sleeping through the night for longer and longer stretches of time.  You rarely wake up in the middle of the night anymore but you often do like to say "good morning" between 5 and 6.  Although the last two nights you have slept for almost 12 hours with the exception of one 9 or 10 pm feeding for which you barely woke up. If your big brother is in the room, you watch him where ever he goes, running, playing, talking and singing.  You love to suck on your fingers and thumb, especially when you are hungry or tired.  You give the best smiles and have this sweet, bashful little look that often follows your smiles.
I am excited to see what the next three months (and beyond) brings and to see what your little personality will be like.  Will you be silly and entertaining like Evan or more laid back like Sean?  Will you play by the rules like Danny or be an independent adventurer like Hannah?  Will you continue to be built like a Kavanagh or become long and lean like Daddy?  Only time will tell.  For now, just keep growing, smiling, learning, eating and sleeping like you do and I know you will do amazing things!  I love you, little one.  Love, mom.

Quiet Weekend

Sometimes it is nice to just have a quiet family weekend at home.  This weekend was just that for us.