Boston Daze

So I decided last week to spend a day in Boston. It was a particularly warm day and I wanted to take Little there to enjoy a nice Boston day before the cold settles in. I wanted to be a tourist instead of what we used to be...a frantic mom and baby running down Stuart St; trying to catch trains and dodge the crazy man that threw change at us.
When working as a teacher I used to go to The Public Garden on a regular basis with the kids. It was such a great place to observe nature, get some exercise, and enjoy the city.  How lucky were we? Every time I would walk around and wonder how all those people there got the luxury of laying around and enjoying the sun when I had to run back to work. There were always families with babies taking sweet pictures and people napping by the water. It seemed like something that I would never get to do (just lay around enjoying the sunshine and ducks). Well here was my opportunity. I decided to take Amelia to The Beloved Garden. I knew that doing it alone might be difficult and I was really hoping to maybe get together with some of her old teachers or classmates. No-one was really available but we went anyway.
It has obviously been awhile since I have taken a train because we were late and missed the one out of Westborough. So I decided to drive which worked out in the end. First reason it worked out was that after I parked and left the garage with Little, I turned the corner to see two buggies coming right at me. The site of buggies alone reminds me of my job and these two happened to have two of Amelia's former classmates in them! Oh my Goodness, we were excited. Maya and Maddie were both smiling ear to ear at us and Amelia was squealing with excitement. I introduced myself to the teachers (who seemed very nice) and wondered if they thought me to be a bit insane. I was gushing with affection for those two girls and adoration for their families. I walked them all the way to the door of the school where my daughter proceeded to grunt and point, like she wanted to go inside. Break my heart why don't you! As we waved and blew kisses to her friends I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I had NO IDEA I would be that emotional. Man...I miss those kids,  I miss those families, I miss my kiddos teachers, and I miss that school. After a tearful phonecall to Lynne, we pushed on and had an excellent (but exhausting) day. I liked being a tourist for the day and getting to take those adorable pictures I always wanted to take. Next time I hope that some friends might be available to play with although Amelia makes fast friends. She tried to take money out of someone's flute case and was making elephant noises at a man snoring during his nap. :)
Here are some highlights. Out of about 230 pictures it is hard to pick which ones to share.

Ready for our day in The Garden!

Always wanted to get a pic with the ducks.

She wanted to visit them all.

Helping Amelia to give money instead of taking it away.

Amelia loved dancing to her music.

My favorite trees.

Playing Peek-a-Boo!

Favorite!

Her first Frosty was a hit!

Auntie met up with us and tried teaching Little how to blow bubbles.

She tried so hard!

The Borders next to Aunties job had MASSIVE amounts of toys!

After a long long day we took Amelia to the Christian Science Fountains.

She LOVED it!

We got to go to Dave's work and he came to dinner with us. It was such a treat to see daddy!

And we wanted you to know about...

The Messier the Better

As an early childhood educator I have had much experience with MESSES! I know the importance of kids getting dirty. I haven't however in my own home always been good about allowing messes to happen, I vacuum now 2 or 3 times a week! I have always know that when a little one arrived I would have to let a lot of my tendencies to keep everything clean just fly out the window. At school Amelia's teachers were super about letting the children get messy at meals for the sake of learning independence and self feeding. This is was great! Now it's my turn.
I know that Amelia already wants to do so many things by herself (you should see her brush her teeth). I hadn't yet allowed her to eat messy food out of a bowl for fear of cleaning sauces out of my walls and curtains. But the other day when she ws giving me a hard time about eating at breakfast, I gave in. And of course it was awesome. There was definitely a mess and a whole lot of laughing. She had all of her yogurt with a bowl and spoon. At first she wanted to use the spoon but when she tasted the deliciousness of her YoBaby the bowl and all it's contents went right up to the face.
To keep her hair clean it was put up with a little headband that she hates. I can't stand cleaning food out of her hair. I'm considering buying her a hat just for meals!

                                                                                   

THIS BLOG WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY...the beanie skull cap I'm considering getting Amelia for meal times.

iheartbaby on Etsy

New Sister

I've been a super busy lady this past week preparing to be a part of my brother's wedding. It was an incredible day and I was proud to get all fancied up and walk down that church isle for him. The bride looked gorgeous and the wedding was super emotional. They did an excellent job! The venue was amazing, the band was great and we were fed good food allll night. Really, it was all night. We were surprised with pizza,brownies and sandwiches at the end. Awesome!


My daughter has been more and more of a joy each moment of each day. I wanted her to be at the wedding however with a baby's schedule and a baby's energy level, church didn't work out. I was happy that she came to join us for some professional pictures at Institute Park after. Her smile and laughter contributed to the excitement of the wedding.








I have been so very lucky in my marriage and now in my adventures as a mommy. Jessica is a wonderful girl and is so good for my brother. She will give him the memory that so many of us wives provide for their husbands. My brother needs that, just ask him how old I am, he has no idea. I look forward to getting Christmas cards and important info from my new sis :) I wish for her the luck that I have had. I hope she and Oaki see the humor in marriage, laugh at each others quirks and appreciate each other.


Dave and I try our best to remain silly...super silly. This kind of humor is also important as parents. I got to capture a ridiculous moment between father and daughter just last night. Dave is one of the best daddies around and I don't doubt that my brother will be the same. I can hardly wait to see it.








Little's latest- She sings "e-I-e-I-o" and parts of "elmo's song"
She tries to force her foot into shoes
She rocks her baby Tyler
She talks in more adorable baby jargon ("bye bye blughaboo")

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Tea for two

My sister got Amelia the sweetest little tea set for her birthday. I wasn't sure if she was ready to use it yet but I opened it up yesterday to see what she would do. She LOVED it! I quickly grabbed the camera and soaked in the fact that I have a child that now plays...really really plays! She is developing an imagination so very fast. She took that little wooden spoon and mixed the heck out of whatever was in those wooden cups. And she started to feed me, herself, and anyone else around her with a mouth. All the while she was making the cutest lip smacking noises. I added Meeko the monkey to the group and she went to town creating a little tea time for them both.
I know that in her classroom she would have been doing this and sharing with all of her friends. I think we are due for a play date asap. I'm considering going to Boston to visit the ducks at the Garden next week. Maybe some of her old JHCCC friends could join us. I'll be sure to pack the tea!



Feeding Meeko



Mixing like a madwoman




Tea time!





Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Our Little Vacation

We got back last night from a little vacation to The Cape. After all my ranting about the beach on a hot day in my previous post, this was JUST what I needed. We had a beach day that was like 76 degrees out. Amelia and daddy were brave and even went in the water. She liked it a bit more than before. We spent a lot of time playing and eating. Little even tried chowder, fish and chips and a taste of lemon (the lemon ended with some tears) Overall it was a great vacation. Here are my Top 5 Favorite Cape Moments...

1. Little learned how to say "Where Did ___Go?" in gesture

There was a dog outside and then it was gone so she was asking "Where did it go?"

2. We got to see some of our favorite FAVORITE ladies.

I love this picture. I have missed my friend Jeanne so much! And it was her birthday too!

Amelia loves her teachers. 

3. Amelia can walk by herself and I melt every time she walks holding my hand. When did she get so big?

Taking steps!

Walking in the sand with mumma.

4. My Birthday!!!
On our way to Cape Cod I thought my sweet husband was going to be giving me a mix CD and as we are driving he hands me a bag that is much heavier than a mix CD would be. He got my an iPad;  that crazy man. It was an incredibly generous and thoughtful gift. Now I can Blog on the go and even use it for potential job interviews. So so so nice. He also made me chocolate covered strawberries. AMAZING!

My strawberries and my new iPad. I need to name it! Suggestions?

5. The Herring Run

The Herring Run is one of my favorite places in the world! It is where Dave and I were engaged and we try to get there at least once a year. We took Amelia to see it right before the sun went down. We hit a bakery called Buckies before we went and got her a mini cinnamon roll. She Devoured it! It is a calm and beautiful place. We actually haven't been there when the Herring are running in the Spring and maybe we will some day but for now we like to go and eat some sweets and take pictures. Here are a few from over the years.                             

Sitting on a blanket with my engagement cupcake

Sitting on the same blanket spending time with my little cupcake

Engaged!

Expecting!

Little!

                                      

Day Number Five

So we are off to The Cape tomorrow.
I leave you with a photo of the day...

Too Cool

And a video of the day...

Day Number Four: I hate the beach

I should clarify I don't always hate the beach. I love it in the evening, I love watching fireworks at the beach, and I love a 76 degree day at the beach with a good book. So on day four as I'm driving to Plymouth to meet JHCCC girls I had a thought to myself...I thought, "What in holy hell am I thinking?" It was about 1,000 degrees out, I had a TON of stuff with me, and I was traveling alone a day before a hurricane is to hit this very area. Hmmm...
Even though when Amelia and I arrived we had to lug everything down flights of stairs, my sugar was low and I had no sunscreen on, it was 100% worth it.
And this is why it was worth it...

Amelia was so excited to see her teacher and my friend Lynne. If Lynne hadn't been there I honestly wouldn't have been able to do everything. She went to her right away and Lynne got her into her bathing suit in no time. "Little" is a little bit afraid of the ocean but felt secure in her arms. She cried even at the thought of Lynne walking away from us and couldn't stand it when she was out of her sight. When we got back to the beach house we were all sticky, sandy, and gross. Lynne brought her right into the outdoor shower and cleaned her up. She = family. It melted my heart and broke my heart all at once. Just the night before I left I was talking to Dave about whether or not it was too risky to travel with the storm coming. As I was telling him about my reasons for wanting to go, I told him that I want to try my very best (for our daughter) to keep seeing Lynne, Lisa, and Jen as much as we possibly can. After all they have changed her diapers and kissed her boo boos more than we have. That is something that a lot of parents could be jealous of...I am beyond appreciative of it.
I know that I can text, call, or facebook all of my close friends from JH, I know that the Duells and the Parms will forever be in touch. But Amelia can't just hop on a computer and see how Lynne is doing. She needs her mother who may hate the beach and might not feel up to traveling to get off her butt and be sure she gets hugs and squeezes from some of her favorite people.
I was exhausted when I got home and had to laugh about my trying to feed Amelia a blueberry muffin and give her milk from a straw on the way back. I will never forget a sippy cup again! I love my friends and appreciate their kindness. This was an adventure I won't forget. And of course there were other reasons to smile while I was there including these ones...

JC giving bread to Emily to feed the birds

 

Emily eating the bird's bread

JC pointing at the birds :)

Oh and then there was Amelia's future prom date...go ahead and melt.

Day Number Three

Today was a day of gifts. Amelia had her first birthday just last week and got a lot of really nice gifts. She is still discovering how great they are every day; like her rocking chair from Jennifer. With new experiences comes new language. She just loves to climb up in that beautiful chair and rock. We sing "Row Row Your Boat" when she is in it and today I got some great shots of her making a cute "O" face when she says, "row row." Her new favorite word of they day however is, "Sit." She says this because she hears mommy say it oh so many times as she attempts to stand in the rocking chair.
We also went to visit my mom at her job today and her co-worker gave Amelia a gift. She gave her a very adorable soft lion. Little immediately starting to roar and then made everyone in the room give the lion a kiss. I loved seeing her socialize with grown ups like this today. We had a serious following of some nice adults on the train and she looked forward to seeing them every day. I'm going to miss that and I think that routine lunch dates at Becker will help get a fix for Amelia. One of them had doggy posters all behind her desk. I thought A was going to lose her mind. She loves dogs more than most things.
We also had a visit from Amy and she too gave Amelia some gifts. Some of which were clothes that I had given her daughter about 10 years ago. I treasure these.
Amelia had a nice day and I am exhausted. Maybe I should have been in the infant room before I was let go...it would have prepared my body for all the lifting.
G'Night

Perfect Row Row Face

And this is how she learned to say, "sit."

Trying to put her new lion on the counter *Like the chalkboards new home Carolyn?