Halloween 2012

Halloween was a bit of a bust this year.  Our whole family usually goes over to Cioci Kimmy and Uncle Jason's house to have some yummy pizza and then go trick-or-treating on their street.  But because we were had been without power for a few days and didn't know when to expect it to come on again, we made alternate plans.  We still were planning on going to Colchester, but we would be trick-or-treating in a different neighborhood that never lost power (those lucky s-o-b's!).  But luckily for us, right before we headed over to Kimmy's house their power came back on.... so we were able to get ready with lights!  (But because we still didn't have power - AJ was the only who got dressed up this year!)  So nice!  We still kept our original plans of going to the new neighborhood though and it worked out quite well!  There weren't that many trick-or-treaters out and the neighborhood was quite nice!

AJ looked absolutely adorable as a kangaroo again and he totally got the gist of how to trick-or-treat.  I was such a proud Mommy!  Once Katie and Allie would either knock on the door or ring the doorbell and the homeowner opened the door, AJ would go right up to the candy basket and pick up a piece of a candy.  He then would bring it over to me as I was holding his treat bag, drop it in and then he would go back for second's!! He's such a silly roo!  For AJ's first 'real' time trick-or-treating, he totally got it and Mommy and Daddy couldn't be anymore proud of him!

Uncle Jason pulled Allie (Miss Snow White) and AJ (Little Kangaroo) around in the Radio Flyer wagon - they loved it!

Trick or Treat!

AJ going in for some candy!

Hurricane in the Living Room!

This isn't even that bad... but nonetheless, this is what Hurricane AJ does to our living room on a daily basis!

GG's House

Hurricane Sandy wasn't so nice to my Gram's house.  When my Dad went to check on Gram's house this morning, this is what he found.  Needless to say, after the tree crew came and cleared up our road, I dropped AJ off at Babcia's house (where GG had been staying) and Michael and I headed down to Uncasville to help clean the mess.  Thanks to all the boys in the family who came out to help clean up - you don't know how much we appreciated it!

The backyard

There were lots of holes in the roof

Other angle of the back of the house

The sideyard

Looking at the side of the house form the road

Oh hello there branch...in the kitchen.

The aborvites are no longer

That stick had some force...

The branch was wedged in there for sure. 

The Calm After the Storm

[Disclaimer: Since our power is out - this entry is clearly being written from the future!]

Hurricane Sandy has passed and our power is still out.  No trees fell down onto our property this time around, but as Michael was outside helping our next door neighbors, Mary and Norma with their generator, I went out to take a peek at the damage.  Looking down the road, I noticed a tree had fallen across our road right as you come up the hill and there were downed power lines everywhere.  Michael had seen some downed power lines yesterday, but we never realized it was due to a tree having fallen right in the middle of the road!  Thankfully though that seemed to be the only damage caused by the storm this time around.

After checking out the damage and right before walking back into the house, I took a peek at the sky and noticed the beautiful moon that was still out.  These pictures don't even begin to capture how beautiful it was and just how calm the skies looked after the storm had passed through.

Cupcakes!

As we were waiting for Hurricane Sandy to approach, I decided to bake some cupcakes so we would at least have some yummy treats for when the power went out!

Yummy cupcakes!

AJ wanted one before the power went out!

'Hey AJ, you have a little something on your face!'

Me and my love bug!

Hurricane Sandy and AJ

I got the call on Sunday that work would be closed on Monday and Tuesday as we were expecting Hurricane 'Superstorm' Sandy.  The storm was supposed to be worse than Hurricane Irene with more powerful winds and wind gusts, but less rain.  The damage expected was supposed to be unreal.  Just like last time, we were pretty well prepared for the storm- we filled up the washer and all bathtubs with water, Michael had stopped to get ice for the cooler, we had cell phones charged (and had our handy-dandy Die Hard compressor all charged up to keep our phones charged!) and we had plenty of candles to get us through the dark nights.  Oh and I forgot to mention we had plenty of gas to keep our generator going!     

Michael went in to work in the morning, but by 1pm he was on his way home as the Governor had closed all major roads and highways.  As AJ enjoyed a little bit of tv time in the morning, I got to cooking up some quinoa and sweet potatoes along with some rainbow chip cupcakes.  (I actually had Michael stop for icing on the way home!)  Once Michael got home, we all enjoyed some family time with tv and lights..... 

AJ decided his new toy was the laundry basket...

But then he wanted to escape it.

But then decided he wanted to sit down, take a drink and enjoy some kids tv!

Then he wanted to crawl on Daddy before the lights went out. 

Then the lights went out at 5:20pm.  And that's when the fun began...

AJ decided he would start feeding his big brother his goldfish.

And he didn't even try to hide it from us...

'Oh.. maybe he wants his dog bone instead?!'

Then we noticed something interesting... and we think AJ gets this from his Daddy! AJ took out all of his goldfish and stock-piled them into both of the side compartments of his toy box.  I think he was storing them away so he would have them for later.  Such a silly little thing!

Cutie Patootie!

Mommy's Flip Flop

I wasn't able to capture a clear picture of AJ trying to wear my flip-flop as the kid just wouldn't stand still, but you can still see the silly boy trying to be a big boy and wear big shoes!

Swim Class

Watch what AJ is up to these days in swim class....

First he's working on his jump and backfloat..

Next he's working on his slide into the pool!

Madeline, on the other hand, was not all that interested in what the kiddos were up to in swim class!

Grandma and Grandpa's House

Since FritoLay is so close to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we headed over there for dinner after the Halloween party. Of course, AJ made to get in some quality cuddle and reading time with both of his grandparents.

AJ takes this reading thing quite seriously, can't you tell?!

Grandma showing AJ his new book!

Halloween Frito-Lay Style

Every year FritoLay puts on a mini Halloween party for their workers' children.  They transform their hallways and conferences rooms into a Halloween extravaganza - there is a kid-friendly haunted house, a room filled with lots of sweet treats, and lots of Delta Dental toothbrushes to hand out.  (WHAT?!  Yeah, we said the same thing! But I guess it's good to promote candy AND tooth brushing! haha) This was the first year that we made our way there and AJ had a good time.  We dressed him up as a little kangaroo and off he went hoppin' around to all the fun at FritoLay!

Feeding Daddy some sugar cookie.

We got to walk through Frankenstein's mouth!

Our little kangaroo

Lunch at Applebees with Babcia and the Kiddos

Cioci Kimmy and Uncle Jason are still at the hospital with Madeline so Babcia and the girls accompanied AJ and I are on our trek to Willimantic to find a Halloween costume at the Salvation Army Store.  But first, we had lunch at Applebees... Yummy!

AJ wanted something from the 'big kids' menu!

His Blanket

While we were hanging out at home today, AJ brought out his dinosaur blanket from his room and was carrying it around with him.  He then decided he wanted to lay it on the ground and lay on top of it in the kitchen.  So adorable!

Just hanging out on the kitchen floor with my blanket

My little peanut

All smiles!

What a Mess!

AJ loves to go into the bathroom cabinet and take out all the lotions and soaps while I'm in there with him.  He's a silly boy!

The Family of Five

The girls were so excited to meet their new baby sister... they've already given her lots of kisses!

Madeline's Sweet Sound

The video isn't all that exciting to watch, but just listen to the sweet sounds of Madeline as she is just a few hours old.

That sound never gets old.

On our way to meet Madeline!

Super excited to go meet his new cousin, Madeline!

Excited he could bring his goldfish with him!

LR3 has Arrived!

I got a text around 4am this morning from my sister letting me know that she was having some contractions and was going to make her way to the hospital after having talked to the on-call doctor.  My mom met Jason and Kimmy at Backus Hospital around 4:45/5am-ish to pick up the girls and then came straight to my house.  Kimmy wanted me to be in the room with her and Jason when LR3 was born so I could video the momentous occasion so Babcia was going to watch AJ for me as well.  I ended up getting dressed and was almost ready to go when Jason text me around 5:45am that Kimmy was 2cm dilated.  I figured I had plenty of time to make a coffee, have a bathroom break and get my camera ready before having to walk out the door.  Well, not less than about 10-15 minutes later, I got another text from Jason saying Kimmy was now 9cm dilated. (HOLY CRAP - that was some fast dilation situation!) I dropped everything I was doing and rushed out the door leaving Babcia with the three kiddos.  I whizzed down the back roads, did about 80mph on Route 2 and then ran into the hospital trying to get to the maternity ward as soon as I could.  I finally got to the maternity ward door and I heard my phone go off. 'It's a girl!!!!!!!!!' wrote Kimmy.  I missed it.  :(  In the back of my mind I knew the labor was going to go fast, but I didn't think that fast so I thought they were just playing with me.  But when I finally got buzzed into the maternity floor and made my way to Kimmy's room, LR3 really had arrived and she was on the warming table.  As I walked into the room, I started crying and with tears streaming down my face I said 'I missed it'.  I was devastated.  Right then, Dr. Hendsch said to me 'Don't worry honey, I almost missed it too!'  It didn't make me feel any better for having the missed the birth of my new niece, but it put it into perspective how fast the labor went.

After having a minute to get over the fact that I missed LR3's birth, I fired up the video cam and began taping the first moments of LR3's life.  She was absolutely beautiful and I was just so overcome with emotion that I started to get teary-eyed again.  Another beautiful and healthy niece - what an awesome gift from my sister and Jason!

Introducing the newest member of our family.... Madeline Josephine.

Looking up at Mommy for the first time.

Isn't she just precious?!

A Normal Wednesday in the Sevigny Household

First, we went out on a jog with Timber this morning.

Then, AJ and I had some playtime outside.  Even though it was a little bit chilly, AJ was loving every minute of the fresh air.  He even brought me some presents...

Then, as we were making our way inside, AJ made sure I knew there was a home-grown watermelon on the chair just waiting to be cut open. 

(Sorry for the blurriness!)

Then it was time for AJ to pass out.

And finally, it was time for AJ to do some reading of Mommy and Daddy's magazines/catalogs.