Nursery... YES!

Simon turned 18 months old on Sunday which means he finally gets to go to nursery and I finally get to attend some classes instead of hang out in the hall during church. Woohoo! He did really well and didn't need me to come get him, even though I came and peaked in the room about 10 times.
Here's a picture he drew. Notice anything strange about it?

That's right. They thought his name was Sam. Poor kid probably thought we had given him to a new family and his name was now Sam. I was so excited about him going to nursery, and he ran right in. I thought we should take off soon before he noticed what was going on. So I never really spoke with the nursery leader when I dropped him off. She's my visiting teacher so I guess I assumed she'd remember his name. Oops. Poor kid. He seemed to handle it well anyway. :)

Boston

I had some miles expiring and decided to take the opportunity to visit my sister Mel and her family in Boston. Can't beat a pretty much free trip right? My sister Jen was kind enough to come with me so I wasn't alone on a plane with Simon. He actually handled both flights pretty well with one blow out and only a few short tantrums (He's talking non-stop lately which has brought his "terrible 2's" attitude a little early. Oh joy. :) )
Anyway, here are a few pictures from the trip:

Simon loves ducks, but he was obsessed this trip. Mel read him the book Make Way For Ducklings then we took him to the duckling statues at the public garden.

Mel and I at Walden Pond

Concord


Lexington


Fenway Park


Mel was kind enough to watch Simon for a bit so Jen and I could walk the Freedom Trail. So crazy all the history in Boston.
These cemeteries are amazing. They are incredibly old. The victims of the Boston Massacre are buried at this one. Crazy eh?

The church where they hung the lantern.

"Old Iron Sides"


They have the coolest children's museum!




This beach was beautiful.
Jen attempting to eat a hermit crab we found. Ewe.

Simon had a blast at the beach. He chased the seagulls calling them ducks and played in the sand. He didn't seem to notice that it was cold at all.

Mel and Annie chasing Simon



Fisherman's Memorial


Mel made us all fresh lobster and clam chowder for our last night. Soooo delicious!



Thanks again Mel, Derrick, and Annie for letting us come stay with you. And thank you Jen for coming with me!

Halloween

"Helping" carve pumpkins

Ryan decided to stick with tradition and carve his pumpkin themed to our costumes. His Yoda turned out pretty awesome.

Simon ended up loving his costume. We were worried because he would barely let us put the hat on to fit it to him. Somehow on Saturday he miraculously changed his mind. He wore the hat just about all night. Thanks Martha for the awesome costume!

He and Johnny had a good time trick-or-treating. It was cute to watch them figure it all out. They both thought it was pretty weird that all these strangers were just giving them candy.

Hans Solo, Yoda, and Princess Leia