The Webcam is up and running

About 4 months ago...maybe even 5 Mom and Eddie got us a web cam so they can talk to and see Harrison through the computer. Well after ALOT of technical issues and a visit from the Geek Squad, it is now up and running. We had the maiden voyage or I should say the maiden viewing last night. It was great. I actually really liked it. I can't wait for Harrison to use it and see his Aboo and Poppy.

Harrison's first Movie

On Sunday we took Harrison to see his first movie. Cars. We talked about going for a few days and gave him 4 rules:

1. You have to stay seated in yoru seat.
2. You have to eat popcorn
3. You have to eat your M&M's
4. You have to whisper.

So we talked about Harrison getting his own big popcorn bag and M&M's and Jelly Beans if he followed the rules.

When we got to the theatre it was pretty crowded. I think alot of people had the same idea as I did to get the kids out of the heat. What I found there that I was very pleasantly surprised was that they had booster seats for the kids so we used that and it worked out great.

Harrison sat and watched the previews, ate his popcorn and candy and began enjoying the movie. He would laugh heartedly when the rest of the theatre would laugh and look around at all of the people laughing as well. I think he liked that everyone was laughing at the same time. About an hour into the movie Harrison wanted to go home. It was about 2:10 and there was about another hour left of the movie. We tried to get him to sit and enjoy the rest but he really wanted to leave. So we left and as soon as we got into the car he fell asleep. He was just so tired he didn't want to stay at the movies.

I think for his first movie, he did amazing. He sat quietly during the whole time he was there and enjoyed his snacks and only when he was super tired did he want to leave. It was a very enjoyable experience which exceeded all of my expectations.

Its gonna be a hot one

On Saturday and Sunday they predicted it was going to hit and even break 100 degrees. So I made plans with Shannon and Abbey on Saturday to go back to the lake. Cliff and Ken (and Larry) were enjoying their Free Food Day Fest. So we installed Abbey's car seat in our car and headed off to the lake. We all had a great time. We quickly found a little spot under an umbrella. We got there at 10:30 am and it was already 90 degrees so we immediately headed into the water. It was gorgeous. You didn't feel hot at all. The kids played in the water until the first life guard breat at noon. They were having a great time walking on their hands in the shallow end and kicking their feet. Harrison and I went out to the "Deep Cold Water" a few times but he was really enjoying pretending he was a "crab".

At noon we broke for lunch and the lifeguard safety break. I think Harrison and Abbey worked up a huge appetite after all of that swimming. We has PB&J sandwiches, chips, carrots, grapes, cheese sticks and juice boxes and water.

After lunch we spend about another 2 hours in the water and finally left the lake at 2:00.

It was a great way to spend the very hot day. Harrison fell asleep in the car almost immediately. I thought I was doomed because usually if he falls asleep in the car he is done for napping during the day. But thank goodness he went right back to sleep when we got home and slept until 4:30.

Cliff came home from his Free Food Fest day at 6:00pm saying he had a great time and found some really interesting places like the Asian Farmers Market/Flea Market and the new market that opened on Lake Street in the old sears building. He said he even tried Goat. ...I like the cheese but I dont' knwoa how I feel about the meet.

The Burt Bacharach of the Toddler Set

Harrison has begun making up songs lately. Also he just enjoys singing and dancing constantly (I think he gets this from his uncle Brad).

In a previous blog entry I gave you the "Deep Cold Water" song. Here are 2 others:

The Pay (sung to the tune Hi Ho the Dairy-o)

Were going to the pay

Were going to the pay

Were going to the pay now

Were going to the pay

Pooping

I'm Poopin'

I'm Poopin'

I'm Poopin'

Lake Elmo Park Reserve

I found the best place to be during the summer. The Lake Elmo Park Reserve. What I love about it is the swimming lake they have. It is a lake with sandy beaches but the water is filtered and chlorinated. It is the best of a pool and a lake/beach. Plus the deepest part is only 6 feet deep so Harrison can walk so far out and it is still only up to his chest. He absolutely loves it. Just like in Otis he likes to run in and out of the water plus Cliff and I spread out and he runs in between us. We also take him deeper and bounce him around which he likes. He even make up a song:

The deep, the deep, the deep cold water

The deep, the deep, the deep cold water

(keep repeating)

It is a great song...especially when he sings it.

We have been to this lake 2x already and I think we are going again on Saturday because it is going to be 100 degrees.

Last weekend we went with the Kunkle's. Shannon wrote about it in her blog..so I am just going to give her kudo's and include her descrption with my additions:

Abby & Harrison had a lot of fun in the water. It was very shallow for most of the way so they could wade out pretty far. They played with beach balls and splashed. Abby (and Harrison) also enjoyed bringing up fistfuls of sand from the bottom. We ate lunch on the beach. Since we didn't pack anything, we got hot dogs & chips from the snack stand. (We did pack lunch and snacks..yummy sandwiches, fruit and pretzles) ... Right after noon there was an emergency in the pond. We were sitting in the water when all of a sudden a man rushed out of the water carrying an unconscious 7-year-old boy. He laid him on the sand and the lifeguard came over. They got the kid breathing again relatively quickly but his eyes were rolling back in his head and he wasn't very responsive. After a short while, the paramedics, cops and an ambulance came and took the kid away. Not sure what happened - apparently a woman saw him go under the water and grabbed him but she also had her own 2 kids with her so her husband or someone else carried him out. The kid's parents were not there, just an older teenage sister and some other siblings. Apparently no one was watching him and the lifeguards didn't see him either. They had us all get out of the pool while while the paramedics gave the boy oxygen and then took him to the hospital. It was pretty scary and I hope the kid is all right.

I can't wait to go back again on Saturday...I invited Shannon and Abby also because I didn't want to go alone because Cliff and Ken had plans to do their "Free Food Day" - FFD for short. They have made a game of trying to get free food...or food samples. They are hitting grocery stores, speciality shops and the MOA. I think they get points for if the food is offered to them or if they ask and it is given to them. I don't know...I hope they have fun and I am glad us girls don't have to participate.

Otis 2006

In June we spent 10 days in Roslyn (NY) and Otis (MA). The day we arrived at mom's house was absolutely crazy. The Hotchkiss family was all present and accounted for - At the house was: Mom, Eddie, Cliff, Harrison, myself, Wendy, David, Jacob, Lacey, Hilary, Mo, Jon, Jill, Hannah, Sophia, Brad & Merryl (and that is just the immediate family). There was also Cousin Elaine, Sharon, Charles, Eric and Ellen, Ava, Will, Mark, Marsha, Emma, Jonah, Jon and Jill's friends with their son's Jack and Ross, a lady named Judy, and Merryl's parents Laura and Jim. I hope I am not forgetting anyone. If I wasn't clear, there were about 35 people of which 11 were under the age of 5. It was chaos to say the least. Mom and Eddie didn't dissapoint with the food. There were yummy sandwiches, potato latkes, sides and dessert. The kids played upstairs and down stairs. I led the boys in taking turns with the jack in the box. At one point Jon pulled out about 100 water balloons and get the kids to go outside and have a total water balloon fight which was more of a water balloon fight again Jon. I broke a balloon over Harrison's head and he wasn't too happy about that at all but I thought it was funny. (Does that make me a bad mom? I hope not)

I think everyone was gone by about 8:30-9:00pm. Which was really late because Cliff and I were up at 4:00 am for our 7:00 am flight.

The next day was Merryl's Bridal Shower. Cliff, Harrison, Eddie, Brad, David, Jacob and Jon all stayed back at the house. It was a great shower. There were about 60 people there from all aspects of Merryl's life. They played a great Newlywed game where Brad was on video answering questions about Merryl. He was really funny. One of the funniest answers he gave was to what superhero would Merryl say she was most like...and you would think Brad would say Wonder Woman but no, he said Batman...I think that is Brad's favorite superhero. Merryl got some great gifts and we all had a fabulous time.

On Monday we took Cliff and Harrison to get their Tuxedo's. Cliff always looks great in one and Harrison wanted nothing to do with putting on his. But when we finally got it on him (with ton's of bribes) it was too big. They didn't have the smaller size there but they could get it in the next day. We were then off to the mall for lunch and to play.

On Tuesday I had to pick up my dress and that took absolutely forever. They couldn't find the extra fabric I ordered but for some reason it was under Merryl's name so that was causing the confusion. We also went back tot he Tuxedo shop and we got Harrison to try on his tux again and it just needed to be shortened a bit but he did try it on with the promise of 2 "molly pops" (Lolly pops to you and me).

On Wednesday we headed to Otis. It didn't take long for us to get there at all. But we did stop at McDonald's for lunch and the grocery store to stock up for the week. It was still a bit rainey when we got there but by the afternoon it cleared up enough for us to take Harrison over to the lake. He totally dug the lake this year. He was absolutely not afraid of the water like he was last summer. He ran right in, clothes and all - all the way up to his waist. I couldn't believe it. He just loved walking/running in and out and throwing rocks/skipping rocks. We then played in the playground for a while before heading back to the house for dinner and bed time for Harrison.

My favorite spot in the house during the summer is the screened in porch. It is shaded and is always cool and breezy. There are these comfortable chairs in the corners where I just love to sit and read when Harrison is sleeping. In fact I am just yearning to go back just thinking about it.

The rest of our time there got busier and busier. The next day we went to the goat farm to see the goats sleep. Harrison was quite bored so we left after buying some cheese and went back to the playground and lake.

That afternoon Wendy, David, Jacob and Lacey joined us in Otis and Eddie arrived as well. We all had very yummy hamburgers with corn that night.

On Friday Jacob and Harrison began the morning racing each other around the living room/kitchen on big wheels. It was hilarious to watch. Later we all went down to the lake and playground to play. We had lunch there and played in the water almost all afternoon. We then took the boys back for their nap. That night Brad and Merryl joined us and Hilary and Mo came extremely late but for dinner we had a clam bake. We all dined on clams and lobsters...can I just say YUMMM!!!

On Saturday we took the kids to see David Grover in Great Barrington. He is a children's musician and was giving a concert in a park. It was a great show but it was incredibly hot. It was so hot we went back to the house right after to cool down and have lunch. Later that day was the Otis Wood Lands Community Picnic. That was so much fun but of course Harrison started it off in the Lake....in fact he bee-lined for it. We played there for about 45 minutes when somehow I convinced him to get dressed and join the picnic. He didn't want to eat while we were there but played in the playground. He also tried to do the water balloon toss and tried to watch the magic show. I even saw my old neighbors the Epsteins...that was a total blast from the past....I saw Bonnie, Steve and Jaclyn and Jordan. I hadn't seen them in over 20 years. They are all totally grown up.

Sunday was outlet day. I just love outlet day. The outlets in Lee have great stores and Harrison was in an exceptional mood so it made the outing very pleasurable. Everyone went to the outlets except for Eddie. We all had lunch at the food court, which again was great and we all got some great buys...my favorite of all was this huge beach blanket which we have used several times already.

On Monday we packed up and left. Our flight left NY at 3:00 so we drove straight to the airport from Otis. I already miss the the screened in Porch.