Edible Orniments for Animals

We enjoyed hanging out with the Plummers at Wolfe's Neck Farm in early December. We got to listen to a great kids nature story, create natural ornaments for animals to eat (from dried fruit, pine cones, soynut butter, and seeds), and then go for a walk to hang them in the woods. It was a really fun and creative activity! And, we always love seeing Payson and her mom and dad!

Looking up at Matt hanging some "ornaments" up high.

Here are some attempts at Christmas card photos - they came out well... but neither one made the final cut!

Late Fall Recap

Our Fall was a whirlwind, and here are some overdue photos of some of our adventures.

The big oak in our backyard decided to drop practically ALL of it's leaves one mid-November day. It was incredible - like waking up to a fresh coat of snow... except it all needed to be raked! Note the new shed still under construction. It's now complete (sort of... it needs to be painted) and happily holding much of the stuff that took up lots of space in our basement.

Leah loved playing in all the leaves!

Here we are at Open Gym at the Maine Gymnastics Academy. Leah had a blast climbing, swinging, jumping, sliding, etc. It's a great facility just a mile or two away!

We shared Thanksgiving with Aunt Sara, Kristin, and Dan at Kristin's house just outside of Boston. Unfortunately, our camera ran out of battery, so we just have a few photos of the holiday. Let's just say we had plenty to eat and lots of fun hanging out and relaxing. We missed seeing Em and Josh, who were with their dad, but Leah sure enjoying playing with all their toys!

Once back home, we took Leah on a short hike not far from our home. She loved kicking the leaves and walking on the bridge over the waterfall!

Kay's House, Fall 2008

Leah continues to love being at Kay's house - a.k.a. Our Growing Place. Below is a compilation of pictures that shows some of their autumn activities. We love getting a glimpse of how Leah spends her days, and we are so grateful for the quality care that she receives from Kay and Daniel.

Blogging Drought

It's been far too long since I last blogged. Our routine has transformed from summer bliss to work weeks and weekends. We've enjoyed a gorgeous Maine fall, and can hardly believe it's almost Thanksgiving! There are lots of stories to share and pictures to see, but for now these slide shows of September and October will have to suffice. Enjoy and I'll update more soon!

September, in a nutshell....



October



To see these images in a larger screen and at your own pace, click on the slide shows themselves.

End of Summer Fun and Sticking Out My Tongue

The final stretch of summer vacation has been packed with activity and lots of time with family and friends. As the title of the post warns, Leah is often caught on camera with her tongue out - it seems to happen when she's deep in thought, hard at work, having fun, and just goofing around... pretty much more often than not, as you'll see below!

Leah and Payson had a ball riding trikes on a cool, overcast morning.

It's hard to believe, but winter is just around the corner... sort of. You've got to shop the consignment stores in August to find the best winter gear. Here are some pics of Leah modeling her "new" snowsuit and boots!

Here we are squeezing in more time up at the beach...

Waving from the hammock

Playing some tunes with dad

The first of many golf lessons from Birdie!

Erik caught cleaning up the blueberry pie plate

Goofing around with Uncle Scott

Playing with Grumps

A rainy walk on the beach (or what's left of it with all the rain) with Mom

A photo with Slugger at our first Sea Dogs game

Playing peek-a-boo with the L.L. Bean bear at the game

On our last official vacation weekday, Leah and I visited Smiling Hill Farm. We hurried there once Leah woke up from her nap so we could have plenty of time to play, eat a picnic dinner, and enjoy an ice cream cone before heading home for the bedtime routine. We had a blast and can't wait to go again with Daddy!

Leah LOVED the monster truck!

I hope you are still keeping track of the tongue!

Moooooing for the cows - they are much less intimidating from afar.

Leah had to indulge in Ladybug ice cream (strawberry with chocolate chips) since her ladybug hat has been a permanent fixture this summer. The ladies at the ice cream shop were quite enamored by Leah - you can see one peeking over the counter to watch her eat her cone!

A perfect treat to wrap up our summer vacation together!

Vacation in Beantown (Part 2)

Day #3

We were all very excited about visiting the Boston Children's Museum on our last day! Erik and I were even more excited to learn that the museum was FREE to educators... so we paid a grand total of $2 (for Leah) to visit. At that rate, we'll be there every time we're in the city!

The museum is amazing and completely overwhellming. In the lobby there is a huge climbing structure. Leah was too young... mostly because she would have been trampled by older kids.. but we loved watching all the kids climb from each of the three stories.

We focused our visit on the following exhibits: Toddler Play Space, Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China, and Boats Afloat.

Despite not loving her first T experience, the "nains" in the toddler room were a big hit!

A postcard from China... just before the Olympics started!

Drum ditty, drum ditty, drum, drum, drum!

Why start with the American alphabet?

Leah, in her glory, wearing a "BIG big" playing with boats in the water.

Big duck down!

Puzzling with tangrams on a cool light table.

After exhausting ourselves at the museum, we (adults) re-energized with a latte and were off to do some wandering and shopping. Since Erik practically works for Apple, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit one of the newest and the biggest Apple stores in the world. It was very impressive! And, Erik was very pleased that he was almost able to stump the Genius Bar crew with some iPhone glitch he encountered.

Here's one for Dad to post in his office!

Leah was much more intrigued with the T on our final ride to Auburndale.

Vacation in Beantown! (Part 1)

Erik took a few days off from work, and our original plan was not to head to Boston, but instead to go camping, biking, and hiking in Acadia National Park. We kept an eye on the weather forecasts, and at the last minute decided that camping in the rain with a toddler was not how we wanted to spend our family vacation time! We made the right decision - it poured in Bar Harbor and was gorgeous (except for one short downpour) in Boston. Many thanks to Kristin, Emily, and Josh for letting us stay at their place - it was the perfect "home base" for all of our adventures!

Day #1

We rode the T into town. We thought this would be a highlight for Leah (as she loves "big rucks" and "nains"), but in reality she was irritated because we had to fold up her stroller to board. She really wanted to push it around!

Walking through the Government Center plaza on our way to the New England Aquarium. Leah insisted on holding her book as she took in all the activity.

Erik and Leah watching Myrtle, the green sea turtle in the giant ocean tank at the aquarium.

Leah (and all of us) could have stood at a window to the giant ocean tank all day - it's a couple of stories tall, so there is a lot to see in front of you, above you, and below you. Very cool!

A penguin enjoying the spray. Leah loved watching them dart all around!

Reaching to touch a shark in a special touch tank

After visiting the aquarium we walked around a bit. We didn't go far before running into this fountain - a green space addition made possible by the Big Dig. We watched for a while, and were impressed that there doesn't seem to be a clear pattern! The locals were all in bathing suits - we were not that prepared, but nonetheless, Leah and I couldn't resist taking the plunge!

We ventured into the North End... primarily to go to Mike's Pastry shop for a latte and canoli! We enjoyed our snack in a park with Paul Revere on his "horsie."

By the time we made it back to the Commons, a thunderstorm was approaching. We waited it out in a parking garage shelter (with many other people tying to escape the downpour!), and then headed to the Public Gardens to visit the ducklings. They had to make way for Leah, as she smiled, patted, and quacked at each one!

After catching the train back to Newton, Leah was thrilled to push her stroller most of the way home. The walk is about a mile, and she probably pushed it half to three-quarters of the way! After such a busy day (and only a short stroller nap for Leah), we all slept very well that night!

Day #2

We reserved our second day for biking! We started off in Auburndale and headed to Newtonville to eat breakfast at the Bread and Chocolate Bakery Cafe. I can't imagine why this particular cafe caught our attention! We enjoyed delicious mini quiches, a ginger chocolate chip scone (great combination!), and some caffeine - a great way to fuel our morning!

In Watertown we met up with the Charles River Bike Path, and followed it all the way to its end in Boston. It was a lovely ride.

Once downtown, we stopped at a great playground for lunch and lots of play. We were all having so much fun that we ended up staying for a couple of hours! The playground was designed for young toddlers (another one for older kids was next door), and Leah was able to do almost everything on her own. She had a blast!

Sliding with Mom - the spandex biking shorts were zippy!

Where to, girls? (Shouldn't everyone wear their helmets in this kind of car?!)

Leah and her pockets.

Getting back into the bike trailer took some convincing for Leah, but she settled in and chattered away about all the people, bikes, and boats in view from her vantage point.


There is more to come, but I figured I'd post this as it is for now. If you'd like to see even more pictures from our Boston adventures, click here.