Phoebe getting busy

I was disappointed to not find a school for Phoebe to attend.  Before we left Texas, she had been going to the same Montessori school as Landon and loving it!  I really wanted to get her enrolled in something in Maine, but I haven't been able to find anything for her age.  So we did gymnastics instead!

 I wanted her to have something in her weekly routine where she got to get out of the house, have fun and learn.  We did a trial class last week and she loved it!

 For her age group, it's technically mommy and me - I have to be in there with her, but it's so much fun I love it too.  

 I had a blast watching her run around and try everything there.  

 At almost 2 years old, she is so big and independent now.  She wants to do everything Landon does.  

They have gotten to be really good buddies lately and I love watching their relationship develop :)

Christmas

This was a memorable Christmas for many reasons...of course we were in our new house in Maine, gratefully with family - Grammie, Grampy, Uncle Brian and Uncle Steve made the trip out - and in the midst of a horrendous, winter ice storm, which left us without power (that means no heat or water) for 3 days!  I am very grateful for my MacGyver husband who was able to wire our generator into the house's fuse box and get power for us!  It was also exciting because Phoebe is older now and was genuinely excited about opening presents.  

 Christmas Eve we let the kids open presents from Grammie and Grampy, to tide them over until Christmas morning. 

 What a great smile!

 She was so pumped to get presents this year.

 Wearing 5 layers of clothing in the house to keep warm!

 Phoebe thought Rocco really needed his teeth brushed with her new tooth brush.  Don't worry we cleaned it!

 Christmas morning, the kids got their big gifts....including their new kitchen!  It's been a hit!

 Landon loves his lego table!!  DIY at it's best ;)

 Phoebe vacuumed the house all day!

 Still freezing in the house, hence the many layers, robes and jackets.

 So grateful for a wonderful holiday and loving family!

Landon's new school

Luckily our new house is located just a few miles away from the local, public elementary school.  Unfortunately however, their pre-k program is only half day...that is if you consider half day only 3 hours ;)  Perhaps I am spoiled because Landon had such a fantastic school in Texas, but 3 hours a day to "learn his letters" isn't quite what Landon is used to.  I hope I'm not sounding like an arrogant, biased mother...but Landon is a sharp kid and that coupled with his excellent experience at a Montessori school since he was 18 months old really put him at an advantage to his peers here.   Not only can he already write all of his letters, he's already reading!  Okay...now this is me sounding like a proud mother :)

 Even though this program isn't what he's used to, I was still eager to get him enrolled in order to meet new friends, have a sense of community and get assimilated into our new life in Maine.  This is his class after school - the teacher walks all of them outside and onto the bus.  All but a few kids take the bus to and from school everyday.  

 We were here to pick up Landon on his first day - that's him in the red jacket, looking quite depressed because he didn't get to go on the bus like all of his friends.  

 So being the compromising mother that I am, I let him come home on the bus the next day.  Although, I still drive him in the mornings.  (Not really okay with him riding the bus in the morning with the 6th graders!)

 The first few days he rode the bus, the weather was horrendous, so only I went outside to greet him after school.  

 Since then the weather has been better - 20's/30's - so we all go outside to wait for brother!  Mommy, Phoebe, Grammie and Rocco!

 Phoebe is excited every day to wait for Landon and greet him as he gets off the bus.  

 Rocco just looks for an excuse to get outside ;)

It's adorable to watch him wave goodbye to all his friends and see their little faces pressed against the glass waving back at him!

Big Changes This Year!!  We are thrilled to be embarking on an incredible new chapter of our lives....in Bangor, Maine!  Scott has successfully completed his anesthesia program at TCU and is now a practicing Doctorate Nurse Practioner of Anesthesia.  I am beyond proud of him for accomplishing this tremendous task and securing an incredible job.  He has accepted a position in Bangor, Maine with an all CRNA group and is loving it.  We are loving it here too!

 We only had a few days in Bangor while out here interviewing, not enough time to find a place to live.  So we headed back to Texas and scoured the internet for rentals in the area.  We found the perfect one waiting for us!  So we secured it, sight unseen, only the handful of photos posted on the internet listing.  Boy did we hit the jackpot!  This is the 400 foot driveway leading up to our house....

....and here is the view looking at the house from the driveway.  

These pictures were taken when we first arrived in Bangor, the middle of December.  Not knowing any different, we assumed the weather is always like this.  Apparently, this is unseasonable cold weather for December...very cold!

There was a storm when we arrived, putting temperatures in the negative numbers!

 When it's this cold and the roads are constantly being sanded and salted, this is how dirty your car looks all the time!

This is the view from our back porch.  

Another view off the back porch.  We are at the end of a cul-de-sac and there is nothing but forest behind us - it's very cool!  This is exactly what we envisioned when looking for a home, something close enough to town, but far enough out to give us space to roam and play without being in spitting distance of neighbors. 

 Sadly, poor Felicia didn't make the journey with us out to Maine.  She succumbed to her lifelong battle with arthritis and hip dysplasia right before we left Texas.  It was VERY sad and difficult for us...and for Rocco.  However, Rocco has made the transition to Maine very well and really enjoys the snow.

 I still have to pinch myself to actually believe we're here!  All the years of hard work, sacrifice, and stress have finally paid off...and it feels incredible!  

Finally caught up...I hope!

Scott and I were lucky enough to get some good date nights in this summer.  My love surprised me with tickets to Fleetwood Mac, a concert I've been dying to see for as long as I can remember!

It was a blast, I loved every minute of it...even though we sat in the nosebleeds :)  Unless you're willing to fork out some serious cash, it's the best you get buying your tickets the night before.  It was okay though, the incredible sound made it to every square inch of the place and it felt like we were front row. 

Landon started pre-k this year.  He is at the same Montessori school he's been at for the last 3 years, but this year he's in the "big boy" class.  Really though, it is the big boy class.  They're doing serious work in preparation for kindergarten.  I'm so proud of how incredibly intelligent he is.  I know his time at school has more than prepared him for what lies ahead!

And....Phoebe started school too!

She was so pumped to get her own lunch box and nap mat and finally go to school with Landon. 

Going with me every single day to take him and pick him up, she'd been waiting for the day that she got to stay.  The first day I dropped her off, she gave me a kiss and said goodbye.  No tears, no clinging, no fight.  It was awesome seeing how confident and secure she was!

The mini train in Fort Worth is a family favorite, so we hit it up a few times this summer.  We love riding the train, but we hate waiting for it. 

We let them get popcorn this time during the stop at the park.  Usually I'm a mean mom and pack our own snacks so we don't have to pay for popcorn. 

Today I was feeling generous.  It was worth it to see them get so excited!

We got our Halloween costumes early this year, to make sure we got some use out of them.  Phoebe wanted nothing to do with her Minnie Mouse (which I eventually returned), but loved Landon's Spiderman mask!

I couldn't believe how long she kept it on for!

Landon is so "pumped" to be Spidy for Halloween this year!

Totally random, doesn't fit here, but so hilarious!

Staycation

Since Scott had a busy summer at school, we didn't go outta town for any summer vacations.  We still felt the need to get away and have some family time, so we opted for a staycation.  We rarely go all the way into Dallas (slight sarcasm here - it's only an hour, but an hour with kids and heavy traffic is a no-go in my book!), so we thought why not check out the kid-friendly sights in there.  We booked a hotel room and spent a few days there.  Totally worth it to get a room with a separate bedroom!!  The evenings were spent relaxed in our own bed, while the kids slept in the other room...as opposed to camped out in the bathroom like we usually do.

We hit up the Dallas Aquarium, which is really more like a zoo.  It was very cool, with lots to see.  Landon even got to feed a bird a blueberry. 

Phoebe enjoyed the multiple fish tanks.

And we all enjoyed the monkeys!

Landon now insists on pushing the stroller everywhere...by himself, with no help from you!  As he will frequently remind you. 

We also checked out the Ross Perot Museum, which was also very cool!  Although I think we'll wait until they're older to go again.  They did have a kids floor with plenty of age appropriate areas to play in, but the majority of the place was aimed at older kids....like Scott's age ;)  He loved it and had a ball checking out the exhibits. 

There was coloring and stamp work for the kids (while Scott was playing on other floors).

And lots of dinosaurs, which Landon did enjoy.