Visit to Smolak Farms

This morning we brought the boys to an amazing farm in North Andover, MA called Smolak Farms.  The setting was beautiful and they have fresh berries all summer.  We were lucky enough to get a gorgeous pint of huge blueberries that the boys happily consumed without sharing a single one.  :)  The boys loved feeding the animals and climbing on the tractors.  There was a pretty little pond stocked with fish that you could feed...and of course the ducks were happy to eat the food, too!

After our exciting morning, we went out to lunch at a family restaurant nearby.  The Red Sox won last night, so the kids ate free!  Got to love that!!

They got the hang of these things REAL fast.  

I could barely keep up with their demand for quarters! 

These tubes would slide the food to the animals - no compromised fingers!

Tommy literally yelled, "HI CHICKENS!"  

Big improvement over his quacking at them at our farm visit last year.  :)

Llama Llama Red Pajama and his friend the cow.

Seriously cool way to have boat races!

There was a fun playground complete with a tractor and pirate ship.  

What farm is complete without a pirate ship?

My favorite photo of the day.

Summer days... ("Day out with Thomas" photos added)

We are WAAAAY behind with our posts lately.  But only because we've been SOOOO busy!  After a crazy week last week, we learned that the boys will be attending pre-school in the fall after all.  What?!?  My babies are headed to PRE-SCHOOL?  *sigh*  This is all going by way too fast.  I would like to press the pause button please!

I'm happy for the boys and honestly, it really is an *introduction* to school.  They'll be attending twice a week for 2.5 hours during the morning.  That is just enough for now considering they aren't even 3 yet.  Based on their birthday, they'll be in pre-school for 3 years anyway.  Plenty of time to ramp up to a three-day schedule.

So school means backpacks, packing snacks, labeling items, potty training and separating from mom.  The last part will be the hardest for all of us.  Cole is my shadow and I know he'll struggle a bit.  (Heck, I'll probably be in the parking lot in TEARS!!)  But we're going to work on the separation bit this summer so it's a gradual transition.   My buddies.  Their little minds being shaped by some other person.  ACK!

Let's see...now to catch up on the boys and their happenings.  Well the weekend before Father's Day we went to CT to visit family and attend our nieces graduation party.  It was an incredible party and the boys had a blast.  The highlight for them was Uncle Steve's tractor without question!!  :)  By 7:00pm they were ready for bed, so we packed up and went back to grandmas to start their bedtime routine.  The ride back is about 45 minutes, so we were practically dancing in the car to keep them awake.  (Anyone with little ones knows...if they fall asleep...even for 5 minutes...you're DOOMED!!!)  Here are some pictures of the boys on the tractor.

The week following was ALL about pre-school.  We were relieved when the week came to an end and we could move forward knowing what the boys would be doing coming fall.  Last weekend, we took the boys to see Thomas the Tank Engine at Edaville Railroad in Carver, MA.  They had a blast and loved seeing all the trains and riding on Thomas.   (I've had no luck trying to post pics from our day with Thomas.  I'll try again a bit later.)     SUCCESS!!!!

Tommy and their pal Gavin - commenting on an engine

BIG train!!

The boys were SO excited that the conductor punched their tickets.

So much to see...so little time!

Tommy finally collapses.  :)  We left right after this photo.  Great day!

Father's Day was spent with Daddy, Papa and Great Grandpa Frank.  Just a relaxing afternoon.  So here we are!  All caught up.  Sorry for the short hiatus.  I'm sure summer will be full of them.  And that must mean we're having fun!!

Brotherly Love!

Mr. Smarty Pants

Yesterday, I took Tommy to the elementary school for screening as we're considering sending the boys to pre-school in the fall.  Seeing that they won't be turning three until October, the school system wanted to conduct some testing on the boys.  We've had a series of tests so far, but our big test yesterday was all about speech and cognitive development.

Tommy blew my socks off.  He was testing in most areas at cognitive level of a 4 1/2 year old...and in some areas at a 5-year old level!  After asking him one question and having him answer it correctly, the woman conducting the test looked at me and said, "I have never had a child this age answer this question correctly before.  He is a smart little boy!"

He aced everything and understood ideas/concepts that were advanced for his age.  We're actually going back next week so she can work with him some more.  I'm not saying his is a genius...but it was so reassuring as a parent to see him excel in his testing.  He is our little smarty pants!!

Cole's test is next week.  I'm curious to see if the results are similar.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

We had a very busy Memorial Day weekend here.  So busy that we didn't even get to take many pictures!  Our annual BBQ was on Sunday and we hosted about 40 adults and 36 kids -- most under the age of 3.  It was a great day and the boys had a blast.  So much fun, that they keep asking everyday if we are going to have a party.  This morning while getting Cole dressed:

Mom:  "We are going to have a GREAT day today!"
Cole:  "We having a party mommy?"
Mom:  "No, honey.  Not a party.  We're just going to have fun today."
Cole:  "No, have a party!  Um...friends come over.  Gavin, Ryan, Aidan, Brendan, Ella, Sophie..."

He continued to list off friends until we were dressed for the day.  :)  My little social butterfly.   Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!