Nell's sixth birthday!

We just woke up and Nell opened a big present from Milla -an easel and painting set. Nell was very excited and said she had always wished for one and asked if she had the hat that goes with a painting set!

Fall

We are enjoying some beautiful fall days. Last weekend Zaven had a birthday party at Yorktown Victory Center and Nell got to come along they had a great time.

Nell had observation at ballet. So we were able to watch the class. It was fun to see. Nell is very graceful and her teacher is very nice.
Esmé even got in on the act a little.

The kids also had the Whaley Walk at school. Nell's class walked through CW and Zaven went to the stadium at William and Mary and ran 3 miles. We were lucky to have a nice weather day for that.

We just had conferences at school. Nell's teachers seem to really enjoy and appreciate Nell. She is doing very well. In October she was given a bench mark test she needed a 28 to pass she got a 72. So I think she will be fine. She is making lots of friends and likes her teachers. She is inviting all the girls from school to her birthday party.
Zaven's conference also went well. Zaven got all A's and B's. This is his first year with letter grades. Though his marks for behavior were not great the comments were encouraging and said that he is a nice boy and well liked by peers. So i think he will continue to improve.
This weekend has been fun so far. Last night the Brewer boys came over and Katie babysat and the adults went out to dinner. We had a nice time. Then today we were up early, Zaven worked on a school project then we went to a tailgating party. Then had some down time at home and then went out to dinner.
Tomorrow we are going to try to take a Christmas card picture. Wish me luck!

Walk about

Today after dropping the big kids off at school Esmé and I came home and went for a walk. I had thought we would stay in the yard so Esmé carrying a roll of wrapping paper seemed fine. But then we ended up going down Francis street. We had a great time. We saw the sheep a great garden and got to smell rosemary and the saw some chickens. It was a cool but sunny morning. But it was fun to let Esmé lead me around for a little while.

November?!?!

It just seems too crazy that it is November already. I am way behind in my mind. The cool weather seems to be catching up with the calendar as we have cooler temps.
We had a fun Halloween. The elementary school has a parade through Colonial Williamsburg in their costumes. Chris and Esmé and I watched and Nell and Zaven had a good time. Nell was a cheerleader andZaven was a bat.
After school we came home, had dinner and went trick or treating. We went to a nearby neighborhood that is a circle with the houses pretty close together. The kids had a great time. Esmé carried a little pumpkin and really liked going to the doors and getting candy to drop in her basket. Chris and I have enjoyed eating her gains.
Today was the last day of soccer. Nell had a good game and got a medal and small soccer ball. It was so cold and windy that Nell Esmé and I came home and Chris and Zav stayed for his game. Zaven's team tied with Zaven scoring the two goals the team got.
Then this afternoon Nell had a birthday party. Then we came home and had a tea party. And Chris and Zaven played some Xbox. It was a nice day, but I think we all got too chilly this morning that we were reluctant to go back out.

Let's go for a walk!

With so many great weather days we have been taking a lot of walks and playing in the yard a lot.
Last Sunday we went for a 2 hr walk. We saw a lot of things and a lot of people it was very fun. Esmé has discovered the toy stroller and loves pushing that around. Inside and out.
We have a lot of activities today and tomorrow so it should be fun.

Here are some recent pics.

GyroBowl!

Well the time has come. We got a gyrobowl. Do you know them? They are one of those great "as seen on TV"products. Zaven saw it on tv years ago in Rhode Island and we made a plan to get one for the new baby (who we now know as Esmé) when she is of snacking age. Well on Sunday, we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and picked one up. The premise is that the bowl spins keeping the snacks from spilling regardless of how it is turned. And for the most part, I am please to report, it works! Esmé loves it. She toddles around with various snacks and eats and alternately feeds them to Fredo. There is the occasional spill when Esmé has her hand in the bowl and then falls and holding the bowl open keeping the mechanism from working.
It makes me laugh to see her with it. As you can see in the photo, Fredo is ready to assist with any spills!

Sunny Fall day

It is a beautiful day here in Williamsburg.
Esmé is loving playing outside. This morning she spent a lot of time emptying Fredo's water bowl and then filling it with rocks.
This afternoon she is kicking a ball around the front yard and climbing the front stairs.
Esmé has been giving a lot of hugs today. Which is super nice. She is generally very forthcoming with kisses but hugs are few and far between. And she gives a great hug. She will grab your head and sort of hum. It is one of my favorite things. So to have gotten more than one today, has made it very special.

Also I am posting a pic of the carved pumpkins. The kids did a great job. Nell's is on the right and Zaven's is on the left. Nell also wrote shoe on hers. We are not sure why.