Grandma J

Near the beginning of November, my Grandma J, 88, was put under hospice care at the nursing home she had been at since she suffered a fall about a year earlier. I decided to fly home to see her and to tell her the sex of Baby Paulsen #3. Grandma J wanted to know the sex in case she wasn't here in February. (So, yes, we found out the sex, and if we haven't shared that with you, you have to wait!)

The trip to see her was the best thing I did because she passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 4.

After some rearranging of schedules, all four of us traveled in our new minivan to Illinois. We managed to drive 11 hours the first day and the remaining 4 or so hours the second, arriving in Oregon, Illinois on Friday the 7th.

Nathan flew in on Friday. My Grandma J's sister, Sabra, and Sabra's daughter, Leeanne, arrived from southern California. And Chuck Diven, one of Grandma J's and Grandpa Jack's nephews, also joined the Putnam clan - Aunt Sue, Aunt Anne, Uncle David, Neal, my dad and my mom - to remember Grandma J.

The funeral service was held Saturday, Dec. 8. Before hand, we were allowed to bury her ashes at the cemetery ourselves.

This was especially hard, as Grandma J was my last living grandparent.

Here are some photos from the weekend from my dad: Grandma J

Here is a link to the obit: Grandma J's obituary

Henry's 2nd Birthday

We traveled into the city on Henry's birthday to check out the model train show at Grand Central Station.

Waiting patiently for lunch....

The day before H's birthday, we celebrated with his buddies with a playdate at church.

New backpack from Uncle Nathan and new Elmo sweatshirt from Papa and Debbie

Newest addition to the family.....

We bought a Honda Odyssey minivan and are selling our Honda Accord. There was no way around it with three kids.....

November fun

Henry hanging with Lev and Jacob

First snow!

Brooklyn Children's Museum

After fun at the Brooklyn Children's Museum

Thanksgiving dessert!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Waiting patiently for Great-Grandpa Monico

Vacuuming the car in the snow in the Berkshires!

Photos from October

Baby Paulsen No. 3

We had our 20-week ultrasound today. Sam and Henry joined Dave and I to see the baby as the technician took a look. The baby was very active for us. We did NOT find out the sex and plan to wait until he or she decides to join this world sometime in mid-February.

Raggamuffin Parade

On Saturday, the boys, Dave and I participated in the annual Bay Ridge Raggamuffin Parade. Essentially, it's a parade in which hundreds of kids parade down 3rd Avenue in their Halloween costumes. This year, we marched as a group - Christ Church Preschool and Christ Church Playgroup. Sam is part of the preschool, and I am the facilitator of the playgroup, which Henry and Sam attend.

Sam was dressed as Bob the Builder, and Henry, who slept through the parade, was a firefighter. We didn't get many good photos. Sorry. But here is one --- the person who is holding the Christ Church Preschool sign is Sam's teacher, Jose.

Camping Adventure

We took the boys camping for the first time last weekend. We decided to go just one night to test the waters.

We camped at Hammonasset State Park in southern Connecticut. The park is along the shore of Long Island Sound. So, besides camping, we also spend much of our time at the beach, playing in sand and swimming in the ocean.

The campground was a good starter site - lots of other campers/RVs, bathrooms close by and our car right by the campsite.

The boys had a blast. They loved the campfire s'mores and sleeping in a tent.

Enjoy the photos: Camping Adventure 2012

Reid's Birthday

We had a busy social calendar this past weekend - two birthday parties. On Saturday, we helped celebrate Jacob's 2nd birthday. He's one of Sam and Henry's good friends here in Brooklyn.

On Sunday, we traveled to Connecticut to help celebrate Reid's 3rd birthday. Reid, who is about 3 weeks younger than Sam, hosted a fabulous party, which included a tour of the Wethersfield Fire Station. It was a hit!

Also, the boys enjoyed their first game of "pin the badge on the firefighter." Enjoy the videos below. Here's a link to the pictures: Reid's 3rd Birthday

Summertime

Yes, I know - we haven't blogged in two months. Well, we've been busy, so let's get started!

We traveled to Sandusky, Ohio in early July, meeting up with Grandma Debbie, Grandpa John, Grandma Barb, Uncle Nathan, Uncle Kyle and Cousin McKenzie. Plus, Kyle's mom and her friend, Eli, joined us, too.  We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge, a waterpark/hotel. The boys had a blast!!!!! We met there because it is halfway between New York City and Platteville. Here are some photos: Great Wolf Lodge

After this great adventure, Dave returned to New York and the boys and I traveled on with my parents to Wisconsin, staying for more than a week. During our trip, we were fortunate to visit with Aunt Sabra and Cousin Leanne from California, who were visiting Grandma J for her 88th birthday. On Grandma J's birthday - the 18th - we enjoyed root beer floats made by Uncle David.

We also spent time with the Casey family, visiting the Madison Children's Museum. Aunt Susie and Uncle Tony came for visit, too.

Sam and Henry also spent a lot of time playing outside with Grandpa John and some new toys Grandma bought them, including a ride-on car that played music and made Sam dance.

We then packed up my parents' van and headed back to New York, where my parents stayed for a few days before turning around and driving back to Wisconsin. During that time, we celebrated Sam's birthday with them.

Here are some photos from Grandpa John: July Pictures

And the big event of the summer was just this weekend.....Sam's 3rd birthday! He turned 3 on Friday. We opened a few presents, including a new scooter, took him out for pancakes and later ice cream with his best buddy Jack. We also went out for pizza!

AND that night, Aunt Christina and Cousin McKenzie arrived for the weekend.

On Saturday, we had a party with more of his buddies. The party, which was outdoors on the lawn of the church we attend, had a construction/Bob the Builder theme. Fun was had by all!! Here is a link to the photos: Sam's 3rd Birthday (And as you can see in the video below, Sam is not a fan of the 'Happy Birthday' song....)

A little of this, a little of that

Playing catch-up here with some of our happenings....

Dave worked Memorial Day, so I took the boys to see the 145th annual Kings County Memorial Day Parade in our neighborhood. Apparently, it's the oldest continuously-run Memorial Day parade in the country. It was a perfect parade for the boys - full of bands and firetrucks. Veterans gave the boys some American flags to hold. In addition to his teddy bear, Sam now insists on sleeping with his flag.

On the Thursday after Memorial Day, Sam had surgery to repair an inguinal hernia. Basically, he had a hole in his abdominal wall that he's had since birth. A pediatric urologist did the surgery at NYU Medical Center. We were there only a half day, and Sam didn't seem to be in pain at all following the surgery. He has been bouncing off the walls ever since. The hospital had a playroom where we waited before surgery and where Sam got to drive a firetruck:

On Sunday, our church hosted and celebrated the wedding of two long-time parishioners. I helped with the food service end of it. One of the wedding guests was Richard Thomas -- aka John Boy Walton from "The Waltons." I did introduce myself. He was very nice. He gave a toast. Here is the best picture I could get, and I know you can't see him well. It's the best my phone could do. He is the once in the middle at the microphone:

Here is a photo that someone else took at the wedding, and it is obvious which one he is....:

Happy 18 months Henry!

The Uncles

Last weekend, we traveled to northern Virginia/D.C. to visit Uncle Nathan and Uncle Kyle. We visited Nathan's work, had an adventure at Wegman's, rode the DC metro, visited two Smithsonian museums, met Thee Kermit the Frog, went to a great dinosaur-themed park and just had fun all around. Here are photos and video from Uncle Nathan and Uncle Kyle: DC Trip

A Weekend with Thomas

We traveled to Connecticut over the weekend to visit with friends and to meet Thomas the Train. Enjoy the photos: Thomas

The Photos

As we've previously reported, we lost our camera. Therefore, we've had to rely on Dave's phone to take photos. Unfortunately, those photos rarely make it off his phone - although he does occasionally post pics on Facebook.

But after weeks and weeks of my nagging (I know, you're surprised that I would nag Dave about anything...), Dave dumped the photos from his phone. The photos include Easter and Henry's first haircut as well as many other adventures we've had since around St. Patrick's Day.

So, here they are: Photos Liz Thought Dave Would Never Take Off His Phone

More Easter Pictures

Henry's 1st Haircut

After church on Easter Day, we finally got Henry a haircut....

Happy Easter!

It was sure hard to get a good photo of the boys together in their Easter outfits. This is the best we could do: