CORN-ucopia of Corn Fun

Last weekend, we visited a farm with a corn-maize. They had a lot of activities for the kids.
here Jessica pretends to ride a little tractor. They also had a big pit of corn kernels for the kids to play in. Jessica liked being buried in the corn.

Of course, the big feature was the corn mazes. They had 3 different mazes (kiddie, easy, and hard). Here is Catherine in the easy maze with Alexis. There were not to many wrong passages and the wrong turns always looped back to the turn point.

Here is Matt and Alexis in the play area. They made animals out of hay bales. In the mazes they had fun games and quizzes to both help you get through the maze and to win prizes. They had alot of CORNY games - where you need to decipher the picture quiz.


After lunch, we ventured into the hard maze - they said the average time to complete was 40 minutes. There were alot of turns and direction choices. Often, Catherine and I would split up to find the CORNundrum games. Below is a part of the maze where Catherine and my paths crossed over/under each other.

After, Catherine took the photo of me and Alexis - you can see the expanse of the maze - the barns in the background is the entrance location. The maze encompassed 12 acres of cornfield.

After finding our way out of the "maize," we took a hayride on a trailer pulled by the farm tractor. We went around the maze, and out to the pumpkin patch. There were alot of 'Great Pumpkins' and a bunch of little ones too.


Here Alexis and Jessica stand by the biggest. They were 30-40 lbs each. There were also alot of small pumpkins that Jessica loved.


It was a very fun time, and we look forward to going back next yearwith friends (and/or family).

Matt, Catherine, Alexis and Jessica

School Beginnings

Jessica started full time at a new daycare center. She was very excited on her first "day of school." She has a new purple backpack to help her carry her things.


Of couse, Daddy still carried most of the stuff. Here is Jessica waving bye-bye to Mom (Mom was coming along - she wouldn't miss the first day!).


And above is Jessica walking in to the daycare center. She has turned into such a big girl. She want to do everyting herself, whether that is walking someplace, eating, etc.

And everyone at the daycare loves her. She is very polite, helps all the other kids, and even gives them all a big hug when it is time to leave for the day. Being with the other kids is helping her to vocalize more. You can hear her trying to repeat what you say.

Matt, Catherine, Alexis and Jessica.

Please pray for Moriah, Victoria & Justin

Alexis dear friend Moriah has been in the battle of her lifetime, over the past 10months in the hospital. Moriah has the cutest face, the dearest smile, the most wonderful parents and the widest support network. She also has the best doctors and some of the most challenging conditions. Please check out their blog:
http://momentswithmoriah.blogspot.com

Moriah is a sweet dear girl with a lot of spunk and energy, let's pray to get her back that way.
We love Moriah, Victoria and Justin!
Catherine

What I do at School (by Alexis)

First things first, I drive myself in, they get me off the bus. I got my driver's license at 3, evidently anyone can drive in MA. It's not required that I can see over the steering wheel. Although, I could go a lot faster if I could reach the pedals.

This is me eating breakfast too bad my mom is so lame at posting pictures that I'm sideways.

On occasion, I get to play with scissors. I'm not really sure why I have scissors and a mouse stuffed animal, but I enjoyed the scissors.

I had to read something to Bridget. She's fabulous, I have this funny look on my face because they were taking my picture.

And the best photo for last, sometimes I just have to take a nap at school. I have an exhausting day, getting up at 6:30am every morning, having a full day of school. Yep, I find a time in my day to just chill. (Again, I don't really sleep sideways, it's just my mom posting the pictures sideways).

Alexis on Perkins website

So our superstar Alexis is on the front page of the Perkins website!
It's a great video describing a Communication Portfolio that parents, kids and educators can use to describe the kids and their progress.
The website is: http://www.perkins.org/
You can see a picture of Alexis here-- (she's the small link at the bottom right)

Alexis and Jessica

We took pictures last weekend at the condo, the series speaks WORLDS about how expressive Jessica's face is.
I was taking the pictures, which is why they are so lame. Matt was giving Jessica some "coaching", "reminders", "pointers" to stay seated, look forward and not to bother her sister.
You can see the results. She is definitely MY daughter.
Catherine

The day before School

Alexis goes back to School tomorrow. Technically this is her first full year of school. She loves school. I'm not sure she's going to love the 6:30am bus (but neither are her parents). I'm sure this week will be a struggle rejoining the normal school week routine, learning her new schedule and readjusting to her hectic schedule.

Jessica also starts "School" tomorrow, full time daycare at our local YMCA. It'll be good for her to see and be around other little kids.

We wanted to post something quick and short because the VIDEO describes it all (I think).
Alexis has made a lot of progress since school ended in July -- WALKING. Yes, I have to hold her hands and navigate her to some extent, but she's doing the rest of the work.

I hope you all will enjoy it.
Catherine