Moving In

 We're enjoying our new house! The boys love climbing on the big rocks out front (and running around the big backyard). The location is also super-convenient -- we're off of a major road that has grocery stores, Target, restaurants, and all sorts of things within a mile or two.

Arrived!

We arrived in Buffalo at 2 AM on Sunday, and our moving truck arrived at 8 AM.  We've been unpacking ever since!  (And today we finally got home Internet!)  So, more pictures and updates to come soon.

We really like our new house, and the boys haven't seemed a bit bothered by the transition. I'm not so thrilled about the fact that we're in long sleeves in July, but I guess you can't have everything.  :)

Goodbyes

 Amidst all the packing (and getting the house back on the market after we fired our first realtor), we've also had time for some last gatherings with friends -- a cookout with my colleague Chris, a lovely farewell party hosted by Jane, and dinners with our neighbors. Such nice occasions, but sad that it means we're leaving!

Into the Mist

 We also went to a "new" area of the museum -- the misting section, which felt great on a hot day!  (Here are the zombies emerging from the mist!)

Dinos with Daniel

 Daniel and company came to visit this weekend, so it was a perfect occasion for what will likely be our last visit to the Museum of Life and Science.  The boys enjoyed revisiting some of their usual favorites!

Boy in the Bubbles

James loves his bath!

Med Wrap-up

 We had James's last check-up with his surgeon and nutritionist this week. They were pleased with his progress!  He seems to be chugging along at about the 5th percentile for both height and weight, but following a solid growth curve.  We also went up to the NICU and saw Matthew's primary nurse.  It was great to visit the 4th floor and even better that we don't have to be there every day.

The boys also had their 5-year checkup at the pediatrician.  (Mattie is at about the 38th percentile in height/weight -- or one of those, anyhow.)  Overall they're doing fine, although the doc wants to keep an eye on their blood pressure, and recommended also seeing an opthamologist at some point (not due to any specific concern about their vision; she just recommends it for former preemies).  The boys had to get three vaccinations, which they did not like one bit!  (We had to hold them down, and the nurse commented, "They have some fight in them!"  Yep.)  Mattie was fine a few minutes after they were done, but poor Jamesie was limping around until this morning -- I think they must have hit something other than muscle when they did his shot!  At least they got some stickers and t-shirts, which they enjoyed.

Games

 Even when the Centennial was over, the fun and games continued at the grandparents' house. Grandma started teaching James how to play checkers, and Grandpa was teaching Cooper chess.  (James was interested, too!)

Blew Over

There were some threatening skies during the Centennial weekend, but we were lucky -- for the most part, they blew over.

Happy Independence Day

Since we just got home, we didn't plan to do anything special for the 4th of July -- but at the last minute, we ended up having a nice cookout with Ted and Diane. James was especially excited about the Grand Old Flag napkins!  (After dinner, the boys decided to wash the cars.  Aren't they sweet?)

Centennial Parade

 The Centennial Parade was delightful -- it featured an array of old tractors, some fun floats, and of course all the grandchildren in Grandma's decorated bug!  (The kids wore special ladybug shirts for the occasion.)

Walt and Uncle Jim were part of the Veterans' Float -- they were the only ones to walk the entire parade route!

One of the coolest floats was "From Austria to Eden", which included a sign with names of all the families who immigrated from Austria (most of the town).

After their trip through the parade route, the cousins had a great time scooping up the candy thrown by people on the floats.  (Matthew and James didn't really participate in that, since they don't care about candy.)  For the adults, there was a float passing out cups of beer!