Leap Day

My son and I did a little research on Leap Day and Leap Year.  Here is why we have an extra day every four years: "A complete orbit of the earth around the sun takes exactly 365.2422 days to complete, but the Gregorian calendar uses 365 days.  So leap years are added as a means of keeping our clocks (and calendars) in sync with the Earth and its seasons."  (You can read more interesting facts about Leap Year from The Telegraph here.)

For me, Leap Year means an extra bonus day added to the schedule, and since bonus days should be fun, I took the day off from work, and I let Lewie take a day off from school.  (Okay, I shouldn't advertise that too loudly, but Lewie hasn't missed any days from school yet this year.)  We played chase and hide-and-go-seek inside the house; I played MineCraft with him on the Xbox (I think he became annoyed at Mommy's lack of coordination there), and when the sun finally came out (it rained in the morning), we headed outside to play and work on his school geography project. 

Since Lewie is only in first grade, he isn't required to participate in this year's geography fair.  He confuses states with countries all the time.  But then, after considering the project some more, I thought we could make the project fun and interesting by focusing on our own hometown of Beacon Falls.  In order for young children to understand more about states and countries, shouldn't they first start locally? 

He had questions like, "Is there a president of Beacon Falls, and how many people live in our town?"  We didn't complete the entire project on Leap Day, but we did get a good start.  When the rain stopped, we hopped in our car and went to visit our Town Hall, library, churches, the train stop, and of course, our local parks (where Lewie spent the majority of his day on the swings). 

We still have more places to visit such as the fire station, police station, and senior center, but I must say we accomplished a lot in one day, and Lewie learned what it's like to meet people and ask important questions.  Besides taking regular still photos, Lewie brought his video camera and asked for a few interviews; my favorite is with our First Selectman.  (It needs to be edited somewhat, but Lewie did well for his first time.)

Here's what it's like to live in our little town...(in no particular order).

The Train Stop - This train runs to Bridgeport and then onto NYC.

Toby's Pond (One of our three town parks)

The Rimmon School House; this small building was one of the first two schools in our town. 
There must have only been about twenty children back then!

Entering our Town Hall.

Lewie posing with our First Selectman

Our library (inside the Town Hall).

St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church.
(This is my church from childhood, and now it's Lewie's.)

Lewie's elementary school.  (I went there as a child too.)

Our other church in town.  We often have our Cub Scout Pack Meetings in the basement.

Our favorite park in town - Matthies Park. 

The park used to be a summer residence for a prominent and affluent industrialist in the area. 
When he died, he gave the land to the town.

This was the summer residence, which now is an abandoned house on an island.

This is the way to the playground.

The falls inside the park.
(When I was little, I used to sit on this bridge and make a wish.)

Yes, we made Leap Day fun this year (and maybe even a little educational).  The geography fair will happen in a few weeks.  Wish us luck on the final project!

Lewie Meets Thomas the Train!

Last Sunday, our son Lewie had a chance to meet Thomas the Train and receive his little Junior Engineer Certificate.  For the past few months, Lewie knew he would be meeting Thomas in person, so the anticipation of seeing him steadily grew, and grew, and grew up until the final moment!

Indeed, there were no disappointments.  The Day Out with Thomas (part of the Go Go Thomas Tour 2013) was so much fun!  We arrived about an hour before our train ride, so we could enjoy some of the other amusements. They had ice cream, cotton candy and food vendors; a fun house, merry-go-round, and car ride; and, of course, above all, they had trains!  With Lewie being such a train aficionado, we didn't have to worry about standing in long lines for the rides; he was content just looking at the trains (or more specifically, the trains' wheels).

My husband and I smiled from ear to ear the whole day as Little Lewie's enthusiasm was contagious.  Everything made him shake with excitement--seeing Thomas, watching the engineer shovel coal into the firebox of a steam train (located on the opposite end of Thomas), listening to the steam train's loud whistle and Thomas's little whistle, handing his train tickets to get punched, and riding the train while listening to Thomas talk to us on the intercom.

After our train ride, my two Lew's went to get ice cream, while I took a look around the Thomas the Train gift shop.  Consequently, Sir Topham Hatt was there to greet all the visitors...

Thomas proved to be a "really useful engine" that day as he made Lewie one of the happiest little boys on the planet.  Who would have thought a child's happiness could bring so much happiness to our own hearts?  Well, there's no doubt about it, our "fireboxes fizzled" with joy! (Note: Please don't feel obligated to view all the pictures and videos...He was just so excited that I couldn't put down the camera.)

Having lunch before meeting Thomas.

Lewie and Daddy pointing to the Essex Train Station on the map.

Me and my little guy at the restaurant.

Lewie sporting his Thomas the Train Overalls.

"Hey Everyone, Look it's Thomas."

Admiring his "James" train tattoo.

Checking out the steam engine on the opposite side of Thomas.

Thomas pulling in from one of his trips.  His eyes moved, and he whistled to everyone!

Waiting patiently...

Lewie took a picture of us on the train.

Well "Buff My Bumpers"...It's Thomas on the intercom!

The best train ride ever!

Lewie meeting Thomas.

Lewie explaining how a train's wheels work.

Lewie enjoying the train ride. 

Library Days

A few months ago, I discovered this wonderful library a few towns over from me--The Woodbury Public Library.  Besides having a great adult section, they have a wonderful kids floor with books, DVDs, computers, and a special toddler room filled with toys, puzzles, and board games.

For Lewie, the toddler/preschool room was love at first sight.  Not only do they have a train table and various sets of train tracks, but they also have linking logs, legos, a kitchenette, barbecue, Barbie Dream House, workbench, racetracks, Hot Wheel play sets, and multiple other toys and games.  Since they will accept our library card from the next town over, we've started coming here quite frequently--not just for the toys but also to borrow their wonderful books and DVDs.  Recently, I just discovered that they also have themed backpacks that we can take out for two weeks at a time too.  Lewie, of course, found the train backpack that's filled with train books, DVDs, and activities. He was so excited to take home his very own backpack full of stuff, but since we've come home, I haven't been able to peel him away from it.  Not only is he taking inventory of everything in there every hour on the hour, but now he insists that he needs to bring it with him to preschool; it's become a mini-obsession!

I'm so happy we found this library.  He loves playing with these "new" toys, and he now shows an interest in books, puzzles, and learning games that don't have the same allure when we're at home.  For now, my goal is to continue taking him every Tuesday night after preschool (that's when they're open late).  Anything that will invoke a love for learning and take him away from the TV for a night is number one in my book--(no pun intended-LOL).

Yesterday we started by reading Animal Train.  What a cute book!

A picture to capture all of the toys in this toddler/preschool area.

Here are more toys.

Lewie at his work bench.

Playing with trains.  (He has a train table at home, but he never gets bored of them.)

Grilling me a hot dog.

Playing with another pair of Thomas the Train tracks.

Looking at more books.

His favorite train backpack.  (I'm afraid he's going to have a hard time parting with it after the two weeks are up.)

An Apple Picking We Will Go...

Since the start of September, I've been craving caramel apples, apple pie, and my favorite-- apple crisp.  I pinky swore we were going to find time to go apple picking, and last week, we finally had a chance to do it...not just by ourselves but with some of my friends' families too.

It was a warm, sticky day (definitely more July like than Autumn like), which made us feel pretty exhausted all around.  Still, my little guy had a chance to really pick the apples off the trees (and take a few bites of one too!)

This week the apples have been sitting on my counter, a daily reminder that I now need to do something with them.  If all goes well today, the goal is to make apple crisp.  I'll peel and slice the apples, and I'll let little guy arrange the apples in the pan and put on the crumb topping.  I can't promise that some of the crumb topping won't get eaten along the way...I guess I'll have to see how it all works out...

Here's some pictures from our apple picking excursion:

"Give me a high five!"

"I'm ready Mommy!"

"An apple picking, we will go..."

"There's one!"

"Thanks for the lift Daddy!"

"Don't drop me!"

Yay for friends!

"Time to rest!"

"This is the life."

All in all, it ended up being a short trip for us, but I still enjoyed being outside in the orchards.  If I get to making apple crisp today, then my September will be complete!

It's Fair Time!

When I think of September, I think of apple picking, apple cider, and my favorite--country fairs!  So far we've been to at least three of them, and everyone in the family seems to have their preference.  My husband loves the food (especially the "bad" stuff like fried mushrooms, fried oreos, and onion rings galore).  Little Lewie loves the rides (especially the cars and the merry-go-round).  My mom loves crafts, and I love the animals.  (Actually, I love it all, which is the reason why if my husband doesn't want to go, I invite my mom and vice versa.)

While I've taken Little Lewie to country fairs before, this year is the first time he's really "understanding" them.  In the past, we kept him in the stroller, and he had a chance to "observe" the animals, the crafts, and the fair happenings.  This time, for the most part, we let him run the show, and he had a great time getting his first "tattoo", visiting the animals, going on a few rides, and enjoying the food.  The pictures below capture a few highlights of the past three weekends.

"Look Mommy, I'm gonna get a real tattoo like Daddy has..."

"I'm still being brave Mommy."

"Check out my tatt!"

Daddy and Lewie at the Slurpee Station.

"This is awesome Mommy!"

This pumpkin weighed a mere 521 lbs.

My little boy and me.

"Say cheese with Daddy..."

"Ice cream too?  This is my lucky day!"

"Yum!!!"

Let the rides begin...

"Check me out on my Harley!"

"Just wanted to let you know how much fun I'm having Mommy."

Just chillin'.

My mom and Lewie.

Lewie and his "cake pop"!  (Yes, cake on a popsicle.)  Can you tell that over three weekends
we went from shorts and tank tops to sweatshirts and pants?

We're going to try to squeeze in a few more country fairs over the next few weekends, but by mid October, the season will have ended... Time just flies...