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.

Summer so far

We have been having such a fantastic summer that I haven't had time to post lately. Callin is so portable, and Zoe has become very independent. I've been lucky to have the time off from working to spend with the kids. We have really taken advantage of it, going to the beach, berry picking, a local amusement park, swimming lessons, and lots of other fun stuff. We've had visitors and taken a few trips. Here are some highlights.

Zoe has discovered the joys of ice cream.

Some quality time with Dad.

We had a fun visit with Amy Scott (who lives in Argentina now).

Zoe had a big-girl birthday party (an "art party") with friends. It was a great success . . . except that the birthday girl cut her own hair the morning of the party. She was so proud. Now she has no bangs. I know it's a rite of passage, but it did cause a momentary freakout on my part (it happened less than an hour before guests arrived). Zoe also got to take a pony ride on her birthday, which she loved.

Jon and Juliana Rose and Joe and Jillian Connor spent a long weekend with us. (Zoe kept calling them "my friends.") We brought Jon and Jul to our local lobster joint.  

We've spent some time on the Cape, both in Mashpee, with Rich's family, and in Wellfleet.

The kids have grown and changed so much over the past few months. It has been amazing to watch Zoe experience summer for the first time. 

Milestones

We made our first post-Cal trip to Portland for a visit with Amy and Henry last week. It was a beautiful early summer day, and after lunch we sat on the grass in Amy's backyard while Zoe wreaked havoc with the garden hose. Amy's neighbor Carolyn came over with half a bottle of white wine . . . so nice. We took a whole bunch of pictures (see here for more). 

Callin is changing so fast. This week he started making little cooing noises--the sweetest thing ever (click here for a demonstration . . . sorry it's sideways). It really brought back memories from Zoe's babyhood. When she started making those little "a-goo" noises, I felt like she was really becoming a person for the first time. Cal has also started putting his hand in his mouth consistently. This is more exciting than it sounds; it means he can soothe himself for a minute while I'm running around like a maniac, trying to free myself so I can get to him. And the biggest miracle of the week is that Cal slept for 7 hours one night. Finally we are seeing the light at the end of the sleep deprivation tunnel! The little Meatball is also fighting off his first cold. Hate the coughing--it is just too sad.

Zoe finally started napping again after a two week break. She was a wreck--nonstop whining and crying. Now that she's getting some more sleep she's an absolute joy again. And she has made some real progress lately with her words. The other day she put a toy over Cal's face, and when I shrieked at her to get it off, she calmly said, "Don't worry, Mommy. It fell off. Baby's fine." (Of course--what was I worried about?!) I can't believe my girl will be 3 next month. She is having a (small) "kid party" with a few friends. It should be interesting.