Friday, November 28, 2008

Autumn in the Enchanted Kingdom



I can hardly believe how fast the Fall has come and gone. What a glorious fall it was: The weather was beautiful, the leaves gorgeous and our royal engagements plenty! The kids settled into school and our normal routines but not without making life interesting. Of course the paparazzi captured every moment of the royal family's special moments on camera.

Since the weather was so wonderful, we took advantage of every moment we could spend out side. Renee mastered jumping rope and the monkey bars at school while Chloe spent a lot of time trying to skate. Sir Dominic quietly watched from the stroller while his big sisters tired themselves out before diner and homework each night. Inside, he toddled around in his walker eventually learning he could also push things around with him often against the protests of his big sisters.


In September Princess Chloe took her first trip to the dentist. No cavities! She was such a good little patient. The girls were side by side and although their mouths were full of instruments, they still were able to talk to each other and kept the hygentists very entertained! As you can see, Princess Renee has lost more teeth and her new ones are beginning to arrive.
Dominic changed a lot this fall. He began toddling around in his walker quite well. He has also learned to pull himself up and walk holding on to things. He is a master of standing in his crib and in no time will be walking. He also has had 4 double ear infections to date and is in the process of cutting 5 new teeth (one poked through already). He is also not sleeping well, thus neither are the king and queen! He is all smiles and his eyes are full of mischief. Dominic claps, squeals, and waves. Mama, dada and hi are some of his words. He still loves to cuddle but prefers to be on the move. Such a royal love...

On the school front lots of interesting and fun adventures are happening. Renee has become a reading maniac. She so enjoys to read! She reads to her sister, she reads to her brother, she will read to whom ever will listen. It is truly amazing to see her progress! She recently finished a whole chapter book.
Chloe continues to enjoy Pre-School and dazzle them with her boundless energy and spirited personality. On her Brigance screening she scored very well. She would have done even better except the teacher is only allowed to ask questions a certain way and she must take the child's first response. When asked "What does Miss Kimmie call you?" Chloe promptly answered "Little Meatball" which is true but the answer the test wanted was Chloe Carbonneau. So Kimmie could not give her credit for knowing her name! Hah! She also shortened her teacher's life by a few years by pulling one of her breath holding spells. Chloe came to before Kimmie was able to dial 911 but she left quite an impression on all, including her classmates! Later that afternoon at lunch one of her little chums leaned over and asked her "So, were you really dead or just playing?" to which Chloe responded "I was just playing."

The king and queen continue to be busy not only taking care of the royal subjects but in their work endeavors as well. The king continues to travel when not working from his home office. He is missed terribly. The queen is as always behind in correcting and tired at the end of a teaching day. She has also taken on becoming an independent consultant with Discovery Toys. Hopefully it will give her an outlet and a chance to have something out side of work and her kids. Visit her site for more info!
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/home/STEPHANIECARBONNEAU


The fall also brings crisp Macintosh apples to New England. We are fortunate enough to live just 2 miles from a small farm and orchard. Uncle Gary joined us for our annual trip. His muscles and patience were much appreciated! Of course the kids did more eating than picking but isn't that what it is all about? Dominic even joined in the taste testing by sucking on the cores of the apples everyone else had finished. Yum! The kids took advantage of the old farm equipment and decorations posing for the royal photographer as often as they were asked. It was a successful trip and lots of apple sauce and apple pies were made later that weekend.







Another weekend we joined friends Lisa and Skyler for a trip to Pumpkin Land. Yet again, the weather was beautiful, the scenery gorgeous and the experience delightful. Pumpkin Land had so much to do and the kids truly enjoyed themselves. There were huge slides, jumpy houses, bales of hay to climb, zip lines, a corn maze, decorations, fair type food, hay rides and pumpkins to pick. We spent the whole day and left very tired. We will definitely go there again!




We took our pumpkins home and carved them. The king helped his royal daughters trace designs onto the pumpkins. Renee picked an intricate cat while Chloe chose a look a like face. Daddy then spent a good portion of an hour cutting out the girls designs while mommy scooped out the guts and roasted the seeds. When all was said and done, the pumpkins were lit and to our delight they were fantastic. Next year we will do this again but we will certainly allow more time, have more patience and be prepared for some work. The girls were so pleased with their Jack-0-Lanterns!

The fall festivities continued with Halloween and trick or treating. There was no shortage of magic or super powers in our enchanted kingdom. Renee was Wonder Woman, Chloe Super Girl and Dominic was Yoda. Although the girls were the ones to get candy, Dominic got caught with his hands in goods! Too cute!

As the fall comes to an end and the Christmas season approaches. We wish you a warm holiday season full of God's wonder and love. We certainly will be blessed and busy! We can't wait to share our holiday with you....