The Dubows

2011...A Great Year

2012-01-02T17:54:00.001-05:00

Christmas Vacation

2011-12-26T12:20:00.001-05:00

A day after Christmas and here is the ~~Griswald~~ Dubow recap...

It was the first time since being married that the Dubows did not travel. Christmas was celebrated in Haverhill with Tom, Karen, Molly and Chris (Molly's friend). It was great time, the kids and adults had a blast.

Joe gave everyone gift cards for x-mas....Amy told him this was boring and to get creative so he put the car is Bilz Boxes. Not able to open, not able to use the gift card. Some people were better than others at it.

Good thing Molly and Chris like kids because Amy and Joe pawned the kids on them while they hung out...just kiddin. The kids were all over Aunt Molly and Chris. Fist bumps all around.

We did some intense moving watching....Cars 2 and Tinkerbell.

The new Fireplace kept us warm on Christmas Eve.

You will notice that several pictures have booze in them. It started early with Bloody Marys. Life was good on X-Mas

A few pictures by Amanda Feagle

2011-12-11T17:28:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we had our Christmas pictures done by Amanda Feage, my sister's sister in-law (see if you can follow that one!). Here is a sneak peek...

How to have a conversation with a four year old.

2011-11-13T23:50:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the direction of the video, but I could watch this conversation over and over again. How long did it take you to figure out what they were talking about.

Its been awhile....

2011-11-11T18:54:00.001-05:00

We know, we know....we are not the best bloggers. It was late September when we last posted on the blog and it wasn't much....the length of the post, not our sweet little Cakie. We are using the "busy" excuse......So here is an attempt to improve on our recent performance.

Since we have been "busy" we thought it would be a good idea to you give you stalkers a brief run down of what we have been up to over the past couple of months (in bullet point form).

Joe is finishing up school...only 4 more classes left.
Both Papa and Coco (separately) visited last month. They were supposed to visit at the same time and watch the kids while Amy surprised Joe with a weekend away....but Joe ruined the surprise by not writing his plans on the calendar....but hey, Amy did not write the surprise weekend on the calender either.
We made a visit back to Michigan to visit Grandpa and Papa. Good times.
We are knee deep in urine while Kate is learning that she needs to sit on the potty to pee....you can't pee out the belly button.
We are in the process of buying another house. Only a structurally unsound foundation wall, potentially chemical drenched soil and a broken furnace stand in our way of closing by December 23rd.
It was our last pick-up of the season from the CSA today. Kinda sad, Grabbed a bunch of apples from the farm and I am making Joe's world famous apple pie while I write this blog.
When the kids are older and can read, they are going to find out by reading this post that Joe ate all the good candy and left Darth Vader and Minnie Mouse with Dots and Tootsie Rolls.
Finally got to use our generator...for THREE STRAIGHT DAYS!!! Joe was very happy in the investment.
Amy is dominating the 5K race circut and getting in great shape. Joe is dominating the Juneau Ave Fritos eating competition on the couch. He claims he needs to bulk up for the upcoming cold winter.

And now some pictures for you people who get headaches from too many words.

Our little Strawberry Shortcake

2011-09-24T12:05:00.000-04:00

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Hollywood....Here We Come!

2011-08-19T18:46:00.004-04:00

Smartypants Academy had their annual Ice Cream Social last night and Tommy was a star!!! He did a great job with Row Row Row Your Boat and the We Are the Sharks song. We are very proud of him!

Unfortunately Kate was home with a bad case of the poops and was unable to make her debut as a bumblebee. We have included a video of her from a few weeks ago so that she doesn't feel left out.

Feeding the animals at the CSA

2011-08-13T10:10:00.000-04:00

Mass Audobon

2011-07-30T19:53:00.007-04:00

When we were on the cape, we bought a membership to the Mass Audubon. Today the family made its way to the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. It was a great time. The kids really enjoyed themselves. Below are some pics from the day...

Goofing off in the rock caves

Checking out a .......

...Blue Heron.

Can you spot the BIG snapping turtle...not the little one.

Yummmmm

2011-07-30T12:40:00.001-04:00

Enjoyin' Red Raspberry ice cream from Bensons

Band aid and make up

2011-07-19T19:21:00.002-04:00

Or black eye and bruised forehead

Sammy the Snail

2011-07-17T19:57:00.004-04:00

We found a couple of snails by the cottage on Cape Cod. We tried to create a homely environment for them, but in the hot sun the black dish was probably not the best option....I probably should have put a little garlic and butter in the dish instead of water, sand and rocks. Below is the 1st snail we found. Tommy named him Fireman Sam.

Grilling in Paradise

2011-07-04T18:16:00.001-04:00

T-Ball

2011-06-25T13:54:00.006-04:00

For the past several weeks, the family had been spending Saturday morning on the baseball diamond. Tommy is part of the YMCA Pee Wee T-Ball league. His team, the Orioles is undefeated and he is batting 1.000.

this pic has nothing to do with baseball, but everything to do with art....

Material for Future Use

2011-06-25T13:47:00.002-04:00

Is it bad that I am already thinking about sharing this video and the picture in the post below with Kate's future husband?

She Dresses Herself

2011-06-17T17:58:00.000-04:00

The Birthday Month

2011-06-10T06:53:00.011-04:00

May is a very busy month in the Dubow household. It is filled with birthdays. First we celebrated Kate's two year birthday. We can't believe how big she is getting!

Her favorite gift this year was a new dolly. She likes to push her around in her stroller and strip her naked. We hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Then we had a joint birthday party for Tommy and Kate. They wanted a Dr. Seuss themed party, so we thought it would be appropriate for them to be Thing One and Thing Two.

Princess Kate at her party....There friends liked to dress up too!!Then it was time for cupcakes...yummy!We were so happy the Papa could join us for the party!

Long day after a great party!!!

Next is was Mommy's birthday!!! I think the cake now breaks fire code.

Then finally it was Tommy's birthday. He waited all month. He had to sit through everyone elses's day. It was tough, but finally it was his turn.

Future rock star with his new guitar.

Guess who

2011-05-28T13:36:00.001-04:00

The owner of this foot is younger than Amy and older than Kate.

May...The Busiest Month of the Year

2011-05-27T07:22:00.009-04:00

A couple of weeks ago the band (Joe, Amy, Connor, Jackie, Ken, Mer, Brent and Susie) got back together. This year, the venue was Mer's family's Central Pennsylvania "cottage". See pics below.

Its funny to think just a few years ago, this trip was all adults.....now kiddies are coming close to out numbering the adults. We got, Ian, Tommy, Kate, Noah and.....

....Zach
The kids had a blast...dress up was a favorite activity.

Capes and tiara's seemed to dominate dress up....

and tutus...

Besides dress up, we also did a little swimming.....

and hanging outside.....

on the tractor....

in the feild....

We also did some relaxing. Below is a great display of parenting.....cuddling with your son, drinking a beer, feeding him junk food and watching The Hangover.....don't worry folks, we eventually stopped watching the movie.

Some scenes from Easter

2011-05-26T20:15:00.004-04:00

I know, I know....its a bit late.

Always a fun time coloring Easter eggs.....

But even more fun cracking them on Dad's head

The Easter bunny loaded every yard in the neighborhood with eggs.......

One Month at a Time

2011-05-22T20:33:00.008-04:00

My intent was to catch you up to date on all of the Dubow's activities...however...Joe is trying to study and Tommy is having a melt down so we are going to take it one month at a time. Here is a quick look back at April

Tommy is Joe's favorite study buddy....

April vacation it was off to Las Cruces to the sunshine!!!! We had a great time with Coco and Papi. Here is a quick recap....

Cakie loves her sunglasses. She is such a diva!

I'd say he is going to be the next Tiger Woods...but....

Tommy loves to read with Coco.

Next it was off to White Sands National Park. We already posted some pictures, but here are a few more.

Then it was a day at the Farm and Ranch Museum. Tommy and Kate got to milk a cow...sort of...

and ride a tractor. Watch out...Tommy is driving!!

Don't worry. They let her out for good behavior.

Tommy went through a period of time when he was obsessed with volcanoes. This is an inactive volcano by my parents house. My mom renamed it "Tommy's Volcano". He thought that was pretty great!!

Then it was back to Haverhill and time to catch up on some sleep. What a great trip!

White Sands

2011-04-23T10:11:00.004-04:00

Curls

2011-04-02T09:28:00.002-04:00

2010 in Pictures

2011-03-06T15:10:00.002-05:00

A little late, but here it is.....

Kate's Love For Baby Andy

2011-02-26T18:54:00.002-05:00

The background story goes like this:
Amy decided that it would be a great idea to show Kate a picture of Baby Andy. Kate immediately fell in love with "sleepin' baby". So....we had to sing lullabies. Kate would happily sing away and then immediately fall apart when we said "night night" to Baby Andy. So we sang...and sang...and sang.... This video was taken at the end of this saga so she is much more upset during the actually singing than she was at the beginning of this story. Anyway...enjoy!

Bathtub Fun

2011-02-21T07:09:00.002-05:00

Valentine's Day

2011-02-18T18:21:00.004-05:00

Kate is soooo excited. It's PJ day at school AND it's Valentine's Day AND she got chapstick in her Valentine's bag!!!!

Tommy is NOT so happy. It is not PJ day for him AND we made him take a picture with his sister :(

But life gets better when Daddy agrees to take a picture with Tommy WITHOUT Kate.

Now for some random pictures. We came downstairs the other day to find that Kate had made her own spot for watching some Saturday morning cartoons.

So handsome!!!

Sassy!

Dance Party

2011-02-13T15:13:00.002-05:00

Our little photographer

2011-02-05T07:36:00.004-05:00

Santa gave Tommy a digital camera for X-mas. He is an Ansel Adams in the making. Below are a couple of his choice pictures.

God Has A Sense of Humor....

2011-02-04T14:31:00.002-05:00

...but ours is fading.

The kids can no longer play in the snow because it is well over their heads. Tommy is upset that his snowman melted. We have tried to explain that it is just buried...it definitely has NOT melted!! Amy has had 8 snow days!

This week's forecast:

Saturday: A "small" storm which will "only" drop about 6 inches of ice and snow.

Thursday: Another major storm....

Sesame Street Groupies

2011-01-29T08:18:00.002-05:00

Dressed and ready to go meet Elmo at the Sesame Street Live show. Kate is even putting on lipstick (chapstick) for the big event.

January

2011-01-23T08:58:00.004-05:00

January has been eventful around here....at least in terms of snow!!! We arrived home late from our Christmas trip to Indiana because of a snowstorm that closed down Logan Airport. We asked Santa to come on New Years Eve instead and he was kind enough to grant our request. Tommy and Kate carefully crafted and dictated a letter to the big guy and put out a cookie and some chocolate milk. They were insistant that Santa prefers chocolate milk.

Sure enough, Santa came and spoiled up all. Tommy got his rocketship and Kate got her easel.

And then there was more snow. Four snow days for Amy in two weeks. We are running out of places to put it. The mailboxes are just about covered and they are predicting another foot or two for this week. There was nothing left to do but go out and play in it.

And then some hot chocolate.

Although Joe says that one can never be too sure if it is poop or chocolate.

And then some rest.....until the next storm.

Christmas in Indiana

2011-01-02T12:38:00.005-05:00

Every other year the Skiles clan gets together for Christmas. This year we got together in Plainfield, IN at the Flecks. While we ended up staying 2 extra days due to the snow storm on the east coast, we had a great time. Here are some pics from the trip:

Amy and Tom getting ready for the flight in the airport bar.

They look so calm in these pictures......if you could have only heard them.

Tommy playing with Uncle Danny's train set.

The game was on the big screen so Tommy and Kate (and Joe) were relegated the travel DVD player and the little table.

Joe's cousin, Evaleen, is serving in Afghanistan. She sent all the girl cousins scarves from Afghanistan.

The kids are playing school in the old school desks. They each have their own back pack........can't leave home without the back packs and all the stuff they can hold; cars, barbies, teddy bears, markers, etc..

Thursday Night Pics

2010-12-30T22:31:00.003-05:00

Tommy and his bud Noah
Kate taking up her mom's purse obsession

Kate at gymnastics

What a cute expression

2010-12-12T16:09:00.001-05:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Friday night pics

2010-12-10T21:01:00.000-05:00

Facial Hair

2010-12-10T19:59:00.003-05:00

I can't grow much of a beard, but I like to try to grow one every once in a while. Generally, it occurs over a long weekend and I shave it off before I go to work on Monday. This past Thanksgiving I started my standard long weekend facial hair tradition, but midway (Saturday) through I decided to try the mustache. Right before we were to head out and take the kids to build-a-bear, I converted the beard to a mustache.....here was the result...

{joe walks down the stairs sporting the new look}
Amy: What the hell is that?
Joe: It's my new look.
Amy: Shave it off now, we are going out in public.
Joe: nah, I kinda like it
Amy: Please shave it off
Joe: You don't like it? It's sexy, Tom Selleck style. You know Magnum PI.
Amy: Sexy? The police wouldn't let you within 500 feet of a school with that thing on your lip. Shave it off, it's creepy.

Check out the Tom Selleck cool below

A few videos for you sunday night viewing pleasure

2010-11-21T19:58:00.004-05:00

Kate is quite the dancer....

Here is Tommy bouldering. We find it fascinating watching him problem solve on the wall. Which foot should go here, which hand should go here, etc.

Tommy with Coach Pete

Year End CSA Gathering

2010-11-11T20:28:00.002-05:00

Last weekend was the year end CSA get together. Cider doughnuts, chili and pony rides...

Climbing

2010-11-07T09:36:00.005-05:00

We enrolled Tommy in rock climbing at the local YMCA. We were not sure how a three year old would do in a rock climbing class, but he likes to climb on stuff at the house, so we decided to give it a shot. The results......he loved it!! It is kind of funny seeing a bunch of three and four year olds hanging out in helmets and harnesses. No pictures of him climbing up the wall, but we will try to get one of him next week.

Here is game they played called shark attack, not much climbing going on here, but they were having fun.

We also signed up Kate for mom and daughter Gymnastics. No pictures, but she sure did leave an impression on other moms. I believe they said "My she sure is strong willed". Kate does not like to wait her turn or get off the trampoline when her turn is done.....but she sure did have fun running away from the instructor when the instructor was trying to get her off the trampoline.

Halloween Happenings

2010-10-30T20:05:00.006-04:00

It sure has been spooky here on Juneau Ave......

Friday night Tommy and Kate went to the Halloween Party at their school. Here are the kids getting ready for the party.

Tommy was not just Batman, he was Bat-Tommy

Tommy chillin with his bud Richie

Haverhill conducted the Trick or Treat activities on Saturday. The Juneau Ave gang stormed the houses together. Below is Tommy, Mason and Tyler.

Kate with her boyfriend Evan

Tommy in his glow in the dark skeleton PJs

Kate in her her Hallowween outfit

And now some random pictures.....

Papa and the kids

2010-10-16T14:31:00.001-04:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Random Thoughts + Cali Trip Report

2010-10-16T12:25:00.011-04:00

First, the random thoughts..

Amy got a new job at the Lowell Community Charter Public School. Started a couple of weeks ago. Everything is going well.
Our kids have a fascination with toilet water. A while back we posted about Tommy and toilet water. Now Kate is into the toilet water. After she eats she likes to go into the bathroom to get toilet paper to wipe her face off. Every once in awhile she feels the need to have it wet to wipe her face off. Have you figured out yet how she gets the toilet paper wet? What makes it more problematic is the fact that Tommy forgets to flush the toilet sometimes. Don't worry folks he only has #1 down on the toilet, not yet #2.

More toilet fun. The up stairs toilet is clogged. Nope, it's not because it was sloppy Joe night yesterday. It is because there is a comb stuck in there. Tommy is very proud he clogged the toilet. [Update - Joe had to replace the toilet because the comb was so stuck]

Tommy had his soccer pictures taken this morning. You know the kid in the school photos who is never looking at the camera, never smiles and sometimes is picking his nose. Yup that's the T-Man
And now on to California

A couple of weekends ago, the Fam packed up and headed out west to attend a wedding and visit Uncle Katie, Uncle Johnner and Cousin Ben (ed. note: Uncle Katie is Tomminese) in Davis, CA.

Overall the travel with the kids went fairly well, if you exclude:

The moron at the Southwest counter who made us late to the gate which resulted in us being the last ones on the plane, which resulted in us sitting in completely different rows. Not fun being 6'3" , sitting in the middle row with an 18 month old on the lap and a person requiring a seat belt extender on the right. Also, not fun is sitting next to a 3 year old that really wants to sit next to daddy.

Kate having a MASSIVE blowout while sitting on Joe's lap and him (and her) stinking like bleep for the rest of the trip.

Tommy singing loudly "whistle while you work" and singing louder when we ask him to tone it down.

Points 2 & 3 all happened in the last 15 minutes of the flight, but made it feel like the last 15 hours.

Enough with the travel, on to the good stuff. A couple of points before we get to the pics

The weather was great. Mid 80s and dry

We had our first experience with In & Out Burger. Double Double Animal Style with chopped chilies, cheese fries well down and an Arnold Palmer. Yum Yum. We loved it!
Great farmers market in Davis. We hung out there Saturday morning. Check out KT's blog to see the kids getting crazy with balloon swords at the Farmers Market.

Davis, CA has a Mediterranean micro climate which allows for growth of some non-New England fruit trees. Figs, Olives, Oranges, Lemons, Limes, etc. Eating fresh grapefruit off the tree was awesome

Ever seen a pumpkin growing in a tree. See below. Katie and Jonathan's neighbor have a pumpkin growing in an Orange tree.

We went to this great park in Davis that had a 60 foot slide made of cement. While the cement is smooth enough to slide down with out help, the locals slide on card board enhance the experience. While this sounds neat, it is a bit extreme. Part this feeling is do to the fact that Joe took out Ben while sliding down down this monster at about 30mph.

Greg and Susan's wedding at Solage in Calistoga, CA. It was a great wedding.

A few pics of Kate and Tommy

Head Bobbin Music

2010-09-19T18:59:00.002-04:00

Baby Cake No More

2010-09-12T20:48:00.001-04:00

She is just Cake

The New Pele

2010-09-12T20:11:00.004-04:00

Tommy started Pee-Wee soccer this past Saturday. As a parent we were excited to see our son's first sporting event, but after "Going on a Bear Hunt" we were not sure if he would actively participate or not. It was great. He jumped right in and had a blast. The games were as you would expect. A bunch of kids running after a ball, while a couple would pick flowers or stare at their feet.

Tommy's buddy Jonah was on his team

Teaching sportsmanship

Going on a Bear Hunt

2010-09-11T21:54:00.009-04:00

So last week, Tommy and Kate's school (Smarty Pants Academy) had their end of summer BBQ. At the gathering, each class displayed their singing and dancing talent. Tommy's class performed I'm Going on a Bear Hunt. Leading up to the big day, Tommy would run around the house singing "I going on a bear hunt, I have my flash light and my rope BY MY SIDE!!". Apparently he felt that his classmates were not up to his standards, thus he should not lower himself to their standards. Rather than say anything, he sat, looked frightened and stared out into space...I was so proud of him!!

P.S. My favorite part is when he picks his nose.

Tommy's affinity for coins

2010-08-18T20:26:00.003-04:00

Get a call from Amy this morning.......

Amy: Ahhh Joe, Tommy swallowed a penny

Joe: A penny?

Amy: Yeah, we were sitting on the couch [Screaming in the background]. I have to go

Amy hangs up the phone

Joe thinking my son choking?!?!

Amy calls back

Amy: Sorry about that, Tommy was throwing up. He did not throw up the penny. Should I call the doctor?

Joe: Not sure. I swallowed a nickel when I was young and I made it out alive.

Amy: You did? What did your parents do?

Joe: Nothing. I never told. them Thought it was best they did not know.

Amy: Your weird. I am calling the doctor.

Amy never called me back. Tommy seemed normal when I got home. Seems like everything worked itself out (or is at least in the process)

Don't forget about Kate.....

Three Year Olds, Quarters & Cars.....Don't Mix

2010-08-13T21:58:00.006-04:00

A couple of months ago, Tommy and his friend were playing in the car and decided it was fun to shove quarters in the CD slot. I am sure it was fun for them at the time, but it pretty much killed the radio/CD player. It was not a fast death. Every once in awhile, we would hit a bump and it would start working, then we would hit another bump and it would stop working agian. Then it quit all together. We were forced to play pandora via the speaker phone on Amy's Driod. Not the best quality but it worked. Last Wednesday we decided to invest in a new car audio system, so we would not have to rely on the speaker phone. When we told Tommy that we were going to get a new CD player, he became exicted and explained to us how he was going to put quarters in the new CD player. We eventually convinced him that he should not do this. So now everytime he gets in the car, he states loudly "Don't put the quarters in the radio!!!".

While he understands that he is not supposed to put quarters in the radio, he does not know that he is not supposed to put quarters in the consol covering the shifter assembly.

This afternoon Tommy was playing in the car while we were outside. He was up near the radio, but he kept yelling "I am playing with quarters, but I don't put them in the radio". Eventually, we came back inside to get ready for bed. While I was putting the kids to bed, Amy went to Target to get some much needed ice cream. As I am putting Tommy to bed, the phone rings. It is Amy. She says that she can not get the car into park, thus she can not remove the key from the car, thus she can not go into Target, thus we won't have any ice cream tonight. She comes home and sure enough the car won't go into park and we cannot take the key out of the ignition. Neither of us know much about cars, but we do know how to use google. A couple of quick searches leads us to believe that some thing is wrong with the shifter assembly or shifter cable. The fix looks fairly straight forward, so we start disasembling the consol to see if we can fix it. Note Tommy is in the car with us, because he did not want to go to bed. What do we find......a FRIGGIN QUARTER preventing the shifter from fully engaging into park. Below is a picture of the bent quarter.

When Tommy see's the quarter he says "Mommy did you put the quarter in there".

A few thoughts

2010-08-09T20:57:00.002-04:00

Just watched Julie and Julia. Makes me want to pick a cook book and cook through it.
Blogging while watching the Bachelor Pad.
The CSA is in full veggie and fruit form. This past week we based our selections on what kinds of drinks we could make with the product. Yummy cucumber green tea mojitos!!
We went to York Wild Kingdom (aka The Zoo) this past weekend. It was pretty sweet. The kids had a great time.

So you think you can dance

2010-08-01T21:26:00.002-04:00

Kate obviously gets her fantastic moves from her father.

Randoms

2010-07-25T19:33:00.004-04:00

As mentioned in the previous post, Joe installed a new fence in our back yard. He had a great assistant. One scoop Tommy, one scoop Joe. Not sure why it took him so long to construct the fence. With this help, I would have thought it should take half the time, not double.

So Tommy is able to go to the bathroom by himself and dress himself. When he does them one right after the other, you get quite the fashion statement. This one is right after he decided to use his outside toilet aka the tree in the front yard. When Joe saw Tommy he said "Son, are you on drugs". Note that he is wearing boxer briefs. This makes the tuck job in the second pic all that more interesting (See the skin).

Kate has the quite the morning routine. She gets up, has her diaper changed and then enjoys the Today Show on her favorite chair with her donut. Then she takes the crazy coupe for a morning drive.

Summa Time

2010-07-19T19:47:00.008-04:00

Here is the long awaited summer update blog post. A few bullets before the pictures....

Here is out new favorite website. The more you read the better it gets.
Joe replaced our fence. He states "I lifted over 4,800 pounds of bagged dry cement.". He is an effing beast (or a big fat liar). You decide
As we write this blog, we are watching the bachelor. While watching the show, it cuts out to the local news to announce that our county is having a tornado warning. All of the sudden Amy breaks out the baby voice "wah wah waahh, der is a wittle bitty tornado, wah wah wah.....WTF!!!! TURN THE GD BACHELOR BACK ON".
Joe used to think the girls on the Bachelor were just crazy. Going on a game show to fall in love after meeting some dude for a total of three minutes. But now he thinks the dudes are also big losers. Falling in love with some chick they have met for a total of three minutes. DUDES GET A LIFE, YOU ARE THE PEOPLE THAT GO TO JAIL FOR BEING CREEPY!!!
FYI - The wind just picked up

And now for the pictures (targeted at our readers who prefer US Weekly over TIME)..

Two years have gone by and similar activities are occuring

Kate bathing in the sink at the cape a few weeks back.

Tommy bathing in the sink at the cape 2 years ago.

Kate and Amy walking on the beach a few weeks ago.
Tommy and Amy walking on the beach 2 years ago.

Some Cape Cod pics...

Lama Lama in Red Pajamas!!!!!

Thanks Mom

2010-06-22T22:22:00.001-04:00

We're Gonna Party Like It's Your Birthday

2010-06-05T20:35:00.008-04:00

Today was Tommy's third birthday party. He asked for a train birthday party, so a train birthday party is what he got!!

We were so lucky that the forecasted thunderstorms held off and we had a beautiful sunny day!

When all 15 kids (yes I know I am crazy) got there, it was time for a game of musical train. This is similar to musical chairs excepts nobody is eliminated. We didn't want any toddler tears at Tommy's birthday party!

Next it was time for a little game of Pin the Number on the Train.

Then a little juice break.

Pinata time!

Happy Birthday, Tommy!!

Tommy and his daddy...

It was such a great day!!! We love you, Tommy!!

One last picture..."Uncle Katie" sent Kate a new set of wheels for her birthday. Kate hasn't quite figured out how to make it go,so she like to sit in it and dance to the music!

Tommy Turns 3!

2010-05-31T05:47:00.009-04:00

Tommy had a great birthday yesterday. The weather was beautiful! Both kids were up at 5:30 and gifts were all opened by 6.

Joe made a great birthday breakfast...chocolate chip pancakes. Then it was scooter time!!! Tommy loves his new scooter!

Then we went for a nice walk with Tillie at Weir Hill. Back at home, Tommy spent the rest of the afternoon "helping" Daddy build the new fence with his new toolbox.

Kate had a great day. She wasn't jealous at all, even with Tommy repeatedly screaming, "It's not your birthday" in her face.

Then it was time for cake!!!

I think we got him all tuckered out!!

Three Strikes You're Out of Here!

2010-05-15T20:30:00.004-04:00

Tommy has been working really hard on this.

Now we know who should clean up

2010-05-06T21:29:00.002-04:00

Because the boss man says so.....

(you will need to turn up the volume)

Kate's the big ONE - It's PARTY TIME!!!!!

2010-05-02T14:21:00.011-04:00

Not only is it the one year anniversy of owning our Honda Accord, but it is also Kate's 1st birthday. It is hard to believe that one year ago today, Amy and I went to Action Cove playground, test drove cars, bought the Accord and had Kate all before 11:25pm. A very productive day.

A few thoughts about Kate

I always think Kate's birthday is on the 5th or the 3rd. May 5th was the day of the scheduled c-section and she was born so late on the 2nd I always think of it being the 3rd.
Her eyes are starting to turn from blue to green.
Her hair is red with curls in the back - we are wondering how curly it will be.
Tall and skinny - just like a model.
Along with the red hair comes the red headed temper. She definitely has a strong will and an attitude.
She is a cuddle bug. Always snuggling up to us.
She prefers to "sleep" in the big bed with mom and dad rather than in her bed. Her defintion of sleep is snoozing for 10 minutes followed by belly flops on mom and head butts for dad.
Kate proves that a human being can live only on hot dogs.
It is hard to believe kate went from a this to:

Amy planned a great birthday party for today. It had a Ladybug theme. Below are some highlights from the party

Life at the Dubows

2010-04-23T20:57:00.007-04:00

Just a few thoughts....

The Dubow house has been a petri dish of bacteria recently. All kinds of sickness has passed through our house....stomach bug, bronchitis, common cold, pink eye, ear infections, more pink eye. The other day while I was at work Amy texted me a picture of a rash on Kate asking if it looked bad. Initially, I thought not really, but then I thought if I get an email with a picture of a rash it is probably VERY BAD. Just Google rash and check out all the pictures. Not one picture on Google images can I look at without not wanting to vomit....a sure sign that if you take a picture of a rash it is more than likely not good. Oh Yeah - Kate is fine, so maybe the lesson is don't Google "Rash"

Tommy has learned the joys of peeing outside. I believe he thinks the world is his urinal. He marks his territory in our yard more than our dog. See picture in previous post. When he has to go and he is outside, he goes. It could be in a parking lot, it could be in our neighbors yard, it could be in the woods, it could at the park. The other day he treid to pee on the play ground....at the bottom of the slide. Luckily, I was able to get him to go on a tree nearby. Amy asked me what I would have done if he peed at the bottom of this slide. I am not sure what I would have done, but I do know I would never go back to that play ground again.

I believe most people in America have been kicked out of a bowling alley at least once in their lifetime. Well Tommy and his friend Jonah got an early start with this. While Amy went to her book club, Dave and I went bowling with Tommy and Jonah. Apparently, bowling alley employees do not like kids rolling multiple balls at the same time and then reseting the pins (click here)......I guess it breaks the machine or something. Tommy and Jonah had a blast prior to being removed from the bowling alley.

Kate is walking. She looks like a drunken sailor.

We eventually got hugs

Tommy has started to give a lot of thought to his upcoming birthday. It started a while back when he started telling everybody that he is getting a scooter for his birthday. The other day I asked him what else he wanted and he said, "I'm going to turn brown when I'm three." Ummm...what? Apparently Tommy had decided that he would like to be brown like his best friend, Jonah. I have tried numerous times to explain to him that he will, in fact, NOT be turning brown, but he just doesn't seem to want to accept it. I hope that he isn't too disappointed when he wakes up white on the 30th of May.

Apparently being brown is on Tommy's mind. The other day at the park Tommy was playing with Jonah when all of a sudden Tommy noticed a Black family walking by. His little face lit up and he started yelling, "Look Jonah! They're brown! Just like you!" Okay...very embarrasing for the mother!!! I was sweating bullets the next day when we arrived at the park to find a lady with one leg walking around. Thank God this did not seem to interest Tommy as much as the "brown people".

Kate Rockin Out Part 2

2010-04-10T07:29:00.002-04:00

Kate's a Rockstar!

2010-04-05T19:49:00.002-04:00

Easter in Pictures

2010-04-04T20:38:00.004-04:00

Here is Easter at the Dubows

Wake up early to see what the Easter Bunny left....Tommy needed two baskets to collect all the loot that was left.

Color Easter Eggs with Grandma "Papa" Dubow....then crack the eggs on Dad's head.

Take a ride in the wagon.

Relax outside

Relieve yourself on the tree with the neighbor.

Where'd my cracker go?

2010-04-04T20:31:00.001-04:00

Cuteness!

2010-03-28T19:56:00.003-04:00

I caught Tommy singing to himself the other day. It was really sweet. I didn't know that he knew all the words to Baa Baa Black Sheep.

Here are some pictures of Miss Kate that we took a couple of weeks ago when the weather was warm.

Standing on her own!!! Our big girl!

CHIM CHIMERY

2010-03-14T15:44:00.002-04:00

2010-03-14T11:23:00.001-04:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

I got the Power!

2010-02-27T10:02:00.009-05:00

Big storm Thursday night, lots of rain and strong wind (60 mph). Wake up Friday morning to no power. Look outside. Lots of trees down. Check the local newspaper via the cell phone and see that power for most of Haverhill should be restored by 5am....it is 6am. Assume power should be restored soon. Joe goes to work. Amy stays home with the kids. Joe checks the National Grid website to get an update. Finds the outage map below. Joe thinks "That's a lot of people with out power"

Joe then finds the following website. Verifies orginal thought - 57K without power. He thinks "Assessing the condition? They said the power would be on at 5am it is 11 am. Uncle Danny at Duke Power would not let this happen" and then he comes to the conclusion "this is not good"

Joe calls Amy. Amy confirms that the power is still not on. The house temp is at 58. Breast Milk in freezer may thaw out. Amy calls neighbor for help. They have multiple generators. Neighbor hooks up their generator to the freezer with the breast milk. Amy then finds out their other generators are not at their house. Amy feels like a jerk. Amy calls the local Home Depot and asks if they have generators. They laugh. She calls Lowes they laugh. Joe finds finds a store with a generator. Buys the generator. Drives home. Starts to hook up new generator. Power goes back on.

We may have over reacted in buying the generator, but last year it was 4 days before we had power. As of this morning there were still 50K houses with out power in our county. Perhaps we were first in line rather than last. Oh well, we are now the proud owners of a 5,000W generator. Powerful enough to run the furnance, fridge, some lights, and a TV or two. We are a litte bummed we did not get to use the new generator. We are both secretly wanting another power outage.

Enough of that, here are some fun photos!

Having Fun

2010-02-06T20:42:00.003-05:00

Ice Ice Baby

2010-01-31T16:23:00.004-05:00

The last time Joe skated, was March 1996....almost 14 years ago. Santa gave Tommy ice skates this past Christmas. Eventually, Joe was going to have to get back on the ice because Amy can't skate......Today was the day.

We all went to the Haverhill Veterans Memorial Ice Rink for open skating. It was a great time.

Joe tying Tommy's skates...It brought back memories of Grandpa Dubow tying Joe's skates about 28 years ago.

When Joe received his skates from the rental counter he said that the skates were older than he was....then said if they were good enough for Bobby Orr, they would be good enough for him.

Tommy watching Joe do a warm up lap

And we can't forget about Kate!!!

2009 In Pictures w/ Music

2010-01-30T13:53:00.004-05:00

A little late......but here it is

We Be Crawlin

2010-01-23T21:16:00.003-05:00

Body Parts

2010-01-13T18:53:00.000-05:00

So I am up stairs in our bed room putting away some clothes and I hear Tommy utter the following sentences:

Bum Crack!
Mommy has a bum crack!
Kate has a bum crack!
Tillie Has A Bum Crack!!
TOMMY Has A Bum Crack!!!

Then I hear him run up the stairs. He runs into our room and grabs the back of my pants and starts pulling. He gets a big smile and yells:

DADDY HAS A BUM CRACK!!!!

I am not exactly sure what happened down stairs, but some how he found out that there is a crack between two bum cheeks and that everyone has the crack and that it is called a bum crack.

Amy claims she did not teach him about bum crack....hmmmm...Tillie? Kate?

I wonder at school today if he asked Ms Monique, Ms Tanya or Ms Laly about bum cracks.

Hockey Night at Fenway

2010-01-09T13:59:00.004-05:00

Through a connection at work I scored some tickets to the Boston College / Boston University hockey game at Fenway Park. Papa and Grandpa Dubow flew out, bundled up and went to the game with me and Amy. While it was very cold (23 degrees with wind and snow), we had a great time. The ballpark was packed and the atmosphere was great......which was aided by the popular warming agent.....cold beer.

Checkout that warm hat on Papa

The seats we had were great ....... for a a baseball game, but not for a hockey game......but we could see the game easily on the Jumbo-Tron

You can see it snowing in the video

New Year's Eve Party

2009-12-31T23:29:00.000-05:00

We had our friends, Becca, Dave and Jonah over for an early New Year's Eve gathering. I say early because, Kate, Tommy and Jonah were not able to make it to midnight......or at least that is what the parents are blaming it on.

The kids did "make your own" pizzas while the adults noshed on some tasty hors d'oeuvres. See if you can spot Mommy's sippy cup in the pic below

Tommy and Jonah watched a movie while the parents and Kate played Balderdash. Do you know what a GAI stands for?

Once the kids got tired we broke out the sparkling grape juice and watched the ball drop.......the 2008/2009 ball drop at 9:10 via you tube.

WELCOME 2010!!!

Winter Wonder Land

2009-12-22T22:22:00.001-05:00

We were hit with some snow last weekend... 8-12 inches .....setting the scene for a White Christmas in New England. It was Kate's first big snow storm, so we bundled up the kids and hit the snow. Kate did well - no crying - even when we sat her in the snow.

Tommy's friend Mason came over to help shovel the driveway.

Sleepy Head

2009-12-20T19:57:00.000-05:00

Recent Happenings

2009-12-12T17:35:00.000-05:00

Birthday Party Fun!!!

Here Kate...I'll help you with your sippy cup!

I think they forgot about me. I guess I'll just take a little snooze.....

Brrrr......It's cold!

A bath is so much better when you have someone to play with!

Christmas card picture taking fun!!!

Making Christmas candy!

Candy eating!

I love Santa!

Who the hell is this guy?

Santa sent Tommy a video message

http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/8b4b1ae21f9a02616933599e5c1ecbaa

Crazy Pants Revolution

2009-12-05T06:58:00.000-05:00

Kate is starting a funky pants trend among baby girls. Her inspiration comes from John Daly.

Rock'n Roll Grandma

2009-11-28T10:16:00.000-05:00

Does your Grandma wear AC/DC t-shirts? Well Tommy and Kate's Grandma does. Not only does she wear the t-shirts, but she also goes to AC/DC concerts, watches the concerts with the wives and girl friends of band members, attend back stage parties, hang out with band members next to the lead singers Bentley, walk out on stage before the band plays and oogle over Angus, lead guitar player. What a cool Grandma!!

Where did the sleep go?

2009-11-26T06:56:00.001-05:00

So the last few weeks have been very tough on the sleeping front. Kate has been getting up every few hours and Tommy likes to wander around at 3 am. To get the kids to sleep we have been bringing them into our bed. It works.....at least for them. Kate cuddles up to Amy and Tommy sleeps in the opposite direction and shoves his feet in Joe's face....Needless to say with the crowded bed, Mom and Dad do not get much sleep.

Just some pics

2009-11-10T22:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T21:32:00.000-04:00

So we went old school for Halloween. Tommy and Kate's costumes were home made. A little electrical tape, a yellow towel, a couple of pipe cleaners, a cape and BAM - you have a bumble bee and a super hero.

We did not have plans for Tommy to wear a "super crown", but after we put an antenna on Kate, Tommy had to have some head gear.
The kids had a costume parade at daycare. It was great to see all the kids in their costumes. Not sure what Tommy is saying here, but it was hilarious watching him have a conversation with his buddy. It was just a bunch of jibberish, but they seem to understand each other.

Tommy and I carved pumpkins after the parade. I thought Tommy would be in to cleaning out the insides, but he wanted nothing to do with it.

Check out the product of our work.

Sleepy Cake

2009-10-31T21:23:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin Picking

2009-10-10T17:43:00.001-04:00

Hmmmm...which one should we get??

This is a tough decision....
Let's test them out to see how sturdy they are.

This is it!! The perfect one!

Lots Going On!

2009-10-04T19:28:00.000-04:00

We have had a lot going on lately!
Kate is finally big enough for her bumbo seat!

Tommy broke into the sugar bowl. I walked into the kitchen and found him with two fistfuls of sugar...eating it raw. It's hard to see all the sugar in this picture, but trust me... it's there!

Coco and Papi came to visit!

Kate started solid foods! As you can see...she was NOT a fan. She is now starting to get the hang of it...thank goodness. Mommy is hoping that means she will start sleeping through the night again!

Tommy hanging out with his best bud, Jonah.

Tommy has moved into his "big boy bed". For the most part, this is a good thing. It can be challenging, however, to get him to stay in his bed for naptime or bedtime, but once he falls asleep, he usually sleeps through the night in his bed. He LOVES his big boy bed.

Tommy found Mommy's make-up drawer. He came into my room the other morning and said, "Look Mommy! Pretty eyes!" By the way....it is not easy to get mascara off of a two year old.

Joe had class this weekend, so I ventured down to the Cape with the kids to visit Coco and Papi.

Tommy had a blast playing in the ocean!

This picture was taken right after Coco rescued Tommy after he was knocked down by a huge wave. If you see him in the near future, ask him about it. He loves telling people about how he "fell down in the ocean".

It rained most of the time we were there, so Coco took Tommy out walking in the rain.

My babies before bed....Tommy says, "Mommy, I hold Kate's hand for bed." So cute!

Labor Day Trip

2009-09-21T21:37:00.001-04:00

Every April and Labor Day we get together with the crew in the posts below. The location of the April trip changes every year, but the Labor Day meet up is always at Lake Wallenpaupack. Like every year, we had a great time visiting with friends, hanging out on the boat, watching the kids play......well the "watching the kids play" part is fairly new, it took the place of staying up way too late and drinking large quantities of beer. Below are a couple of highlights from the weekend.

Check out Jackie's Blog for pics of Ian trying to put the moves on Kate

Below is Brent's Boat - Makin Time

Tommy and Noah goofing around on the stairs. The boys had a ton of fun....only a couple of tussles over toys

Tommy getting ready for a boat ride. Binky and Monkey in tow

Dad and the kids

Noah and Tommy chowing down on Oreos. Oreos must have been a sponsor of this year's trip, because we must have ate 2 bahzillion cookies over the weekend.

The kids of labor day weekend

2009-09-15T20:22:00.000-04:00

Labor Day Crew

2009-09-12T08:29:00.000-04:00

More info to come

Sunday Night Comments

2009-08-30T20:36:00.000-04:00

This past week, I had a business trip and Amy went back to work. We did not have daycare set up, so Papa (Grandma) Dubow came out to help. Papa was a great help! She played with Tommy, rocked Kate to sleep and allowed Amy to have some "adult time".

It is interesting to watch Tommy's relationship with Papa grow. Each time they get together, Tommy becomes more attached. The morning after she left, Tommy walked around the house saying "Where'd Papa go? Where'd Papa go?". It was also very interesting watching Papa's relationship with Kate grow. Quick / Funny story on Papa's visit. She took Tommy to the grocery store. While walking down an aisle, an overweight old lady on a motorized scooter took Tommy out.....SHE RAN HIS ASS OVER!!! Tommy has recovered, Papa is still recovering and the old bag is still driving around the grocery store.

This past weekend, our friends Robyn and Mark came down from Vermont to visit. It was a great time. Some good food, good drinks and good laughs. Below is a pick of Mark and Tommy bowling.

Tommy has become the master of the supreme meltdown. The supreme meltdowns can be extremely frustrating, but also can be extremely funny........and sometimes they are so good that you need to breakout the camera and start taking pictures of the little guy.

It is amazing how fast babies grow. Kate is starting to become more verbal. When she wakes up in the morning, she starts squealing and babbling. Sometimes it sounds like she is upset, but she is not....she just wants to hear herself scream

Stylin....

The cutest dog in the world....

The Royal Ball

2009-08-22T18:13:00.000-04:00

Prince Tommy and Princess Kate were invited to attend Princess Raychel's royal ball in order to celebrate her 3rd birthday. Appropriate dress was required. Here are some pictures of the big event:

Prince Tommy before leaving for the ball.

Princess Kate getting ready for her grand entrance.

Here is Tommy at the ball. He is getting ready to fight the mighty fierce dragon.

Prince Jonah with Princess Raychel

Our Trip to the UP

2009-08-22T08:09:00.000-04:00

Sorry it took us so long to post pictures from our trip to see Grandma (Papa) and Grandpa. It has been a busy few weeks here. Amy finally got a contract from work and has been in a mad rush to find a spot in an acceptable daycare (not an easy task)! We have finally got that settled and are looking forward to Papa's visit next week! So, here are some pictures from our vacation:

Tommy pig piling on Grandpa

The Dubow women

Captain Grandpa and First Mate Tommy steering the boat

Tommy and Aunt Molly on the playground

Look at that smile!!!

2009-08-17T21:22:00.000-04:00

Can you Boogie?

2009-08-17T21:13:00.000-04:00

At Least He Wasn't "That" Screaming Toddler!

2009-08-11T21:09:00.001-04:00

Here is a picture of Tommy flying back to Boston from Papa/Grandpa - Watching a DVD of Barney, eating M&Ms...anything to keep him in his seat and quiet. Please don't ask why he isn't wearing a shirt...it's a long story.

Stay tuned for more pics from our vacation.

Hangin with Brent

2009-08-01T21:45:00.000-04:00

Chatterbox

2009-07-28T20:55:00.000-04:00

What Should I Be When I Grow Up?

2009-07-27T19:52:00.000-04:00

by Tommy Dubow

Recently I have been on a quest to find my true calling. Mom's been helping me out by bringing me to lots of different places. First we went to the police station because "Officer Dubow" sounded pretty good to me.

I was definitely excited to see the cool car I would get to drive.

My friends Jonah and Owen thought they might want to be cops, too.

Then Mom found out I might get to ride one of these and she nixed the cop idea...what a buzz kill!

So my next idea was that I might want to be a train engineer.

This was fun for a while, but the train that mom brought me to had a very small track and I was afraid that I would never really get out and see the world if I was confined to such a small area...so I nixed the engineer idea. My next idea was to become a jockey.

Unfortunately the stupid horse wouldn't stop going in circles. I know...a zoo keeper!

It was all fun and games until I met this guy (don't mind mom's reflection in the glass).

Maybe I'll be a fireman!

Let's see....cool truck....

Nice ride.....

My friends are on board....

Cool outfit....

...and you get to go down this cool pole!!!

Yup..that's it. I think I want to be a fireman. Mom told me that I have a few more years before I need to decide for sure. I heard her muttering something to dad about "running away from danger, not towards it" and "it's too dangerous", but I'm not sure what that was about. I can't wait to be a fireman!

Rollin', 'Rollin', Rollin'

2009-07-23T20:26:00.000-04:00

Our little girl is rolling over!! I can't believe she has only been with us for 2 1/2 months. I can't remember life without her! We love her so much!

If You're Happy and You Know It

2009-07-23T20:06:00.000-04:00

Every time Tommy and I sing this I wish I could freeze time and keep the moment forever. I love how happy he is every time!