Easter and Spring

For Easter, we visited Nancy and Dick on the Cape. The Easter Bunny (aka Dick) is infamous for hiding the Easter baskets so that they are almost impossible to find. He was kind enough to have mercy on our small children this year and hid them in reasonable spots. Both kids were thrilled with their loot.

The day before Easter we dyed eggs with Jess, Joe, Nicole, and Lila. It was a very satisfying creative experience and a lot of fun to see what each person came up with. (Joe in particular seems to have a flair for coloring eggs.)

A few weeks after Easter Nicole and Lila came to visit up our way and stayed with Jess and Joe. It was hot that weekend--such a nice change after the long winter--and we sat outside with the kids. Zoe even had her first experience with the ice cream truck. Happiness!

Happy Birthday Callin!

It's hard to believe it, but my boy is 1!! He is really earning his St. Patty's Day birthday with the red hair and Irish face. We had a small party with immediate family and a few local friends to celebrate the big day. Zoe and I had fun planning it, and everyone pitched in. Nancy made one of her famous bunny-shaped carrot cakes. My mom brought delicious Vermont-made bread to go with the beef stew I made and the pistou that Jess made. Amy brought veggies. Our friend Joe, who plays Irish music, treated us to some accordian playing--a big hit. The weather was beautiful, and Cal seemed to enjoy all the attention. 

One highlight was a green top hat from Maigread and Joe. Here he is looking like a leprechaun.

Another favorite was a mechanical bear from my Aunt Betty and Uncle Ted (known as "Nan and Bub" by Zoe) that sings "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." Cal could hardly believe his eyes. Zoe couldn't get enough of playing the song . . .

Cal is really growing up. He isn't walking yet but crawls like lightning and can pull himself up to standing very well. He started saying "Uh-oh" a couple of weeks ago, and now a favorite pastime is dropping toys and saying it (over and over and over--the classic baby game). He is so expressive and sweet natured.

Zoe has become the most wonderful big sister. Even when Cal tries to take her toys (which happens a LOT), she is nice to him. It's so much fun to watch them interact. 

Christmas

Zoe LOVED Christmas this year. She is still telling stories about Santa and the North Pole (apparently all her babies live there with her, and they are fairy helpers to Santa). Cal made a very cute elf. We had Christmas at our house for the first time this year. My parents and Chris and his girlfriend stayed with us—a nice, relaxing time. 

Then we drove to Cape Cod to spend some time with Rich's family. Zoe got to play with her cousins quite a bit. She and Piper were like two peas in a pod. They looked like twins in their matching jammies. Although Zoe liked the idea of Santa, in the flesh (aka Rich's dad as Santa) he was still quite terrifying for Zoe this year. She says he's "too loud." 

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. Rich's mom came up to celebrate with us. Zoe was a pirate, and Callin was a cow (a hand-me-down from Zoe). Zoe really got into the pirate thing and had perfected her "Yarrr!" by the time Halloween rolled around. She is still saying "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum." We are trying to explain to her that it's not what Santa says (that's "Ho ho ho").

All the local towns do trick or treating on the 30th instead of the 31st, so we did our neighborhood circuit the night before. We are usually the only trick or treaters in our hood, so our neighbors really depend on us to make an appearance. They were taking special requests in the days leading up to it. One of our favorite neighbors, Bob, had a big spread set out for us: cheese and crackers, almonds and strawberries, etc. He also gave Zoe a book that one of his kids had loved and read us an original poem, entitled "Four Years Ode" (he knows I like poetry). 

On the 31st, we visited Jess and Joe in Merrimac, MA. They have a perfect neighborhood for trick or treating, and tons of kids came to their house. I think I may have had more fun than Zoe, though. She got a little freaked out at some of the costumes—especially a very realistic Storm Trooper. She did get into handing out candy, but only for the nonscary costumes.

More Fall Fun

Last weekend we met up with Amy, Victor, and Henry for some apple and pumpkin picking. We found that there had been some hail damage to the apples, but they were still tasty. Zoe enjoyed the old tractor and corn-stalk teepee at the farm. It was Cal's first outing in the backpack. 

On Sunday Rich and I and the kids took Luna on a walk at Seapoint Beach--one of our local gems. The weather was perfect. Rich and Zoe carved one of our pumpkins on Sunday night (we have five of them so far!), and Rich roasted the seeds. Zoe said they were "so so so so nummy."

Fall

We've really been enjoying the beautiful fall weather. We spent Labor Day weekend on the Cape and got to help celebrate Lila's first birthday with her. 

A few weeks later we headed to CT to visit my grandparents and also enjoyed a beautiful sail on Meridian.

Zoe loves school

Here is Zoe on her first day of school. No tears at all! She loves Miss Trish and has been having a great time at Tidewater. She fits in perfectly there--even though there are nine boys in her class! She is one of three girls.