8 Apr
We colored eggs this afternoon (well, most of us: Wesley boycotted the whole process).
Mary was pretty serious about drawing on the eggs.
“Vibrant” colors indeed.
Conor demonstrated some egg-dyeing tips.
Mary’s favorite egg:
Waiting for eggs: BORING.
Please ignore his grubby little fingernails.
Happy Mary (egg-coloring is exactly her sort of activity).
16 May
On Saturday, we took the kids to a local farm to pick strawberries.
Conor showed Mary how to find ones that were red all the way to the end.
She was delighted to find them.
I think Wesley was irritated when I asked him to stop and let me take a photo.
…because then he wandered off.
She found one!
berries!
Taking a rest after we finished up:
Showing off their beautiful berries:
The farm also had a sand pile with lots of toys!
When we got home, I made a rhubarb-strawberry custard pie–the kids approved.
And then a batch of jam–six half-pints plus a bit left over is just about enough to get us through the winter (or perhaps I should say, to get Mary through occasional PB&J phases for her school lunches):
26 Oct
Conor: “I feel like parenting would be easier if our kids were either less cute or less annoying.”
16 Sep
Our bedtime routine is as follows:
* kids and Conor go up to the guest room and read a chapter of the book they’re doing (right now it’s “Winnie the Pooh”), while I either join them or tend to a few housework things;
* I change diapers while Conor brushes their teeth;
* we read the last story (stories?).
The other night, for some reason, instead of reading their book, the kids made Conor draw pictures for them. When I came in, Wesley was begging Conor to draw a submarine.
Wesley: Sub-mean, Daddy! Another sub-mean!
(Conor begins to draw)
Wesley: Is it…is Mama? Is…..sub-mean? Is….tanker truck? Is octopus? Yeah, is octopus!
(It was actually John Lennon looking through the porthole of the Yellow Submarine.)
Conor: I already drew you a submarine! And a dog, and a cat, and a horse, and two cars, and a tractor, and John Lennon. What more do you want?
Wesley: Sub-mean! Another sub-mean!
10 Aug
This was from the first night we went to the ocean–the first time Mary saw the ocean close-up.
23 Jul
So I still haven’t uploaded all of these photos (takes forever, you see, because we are too cheap for fast DSL). But I’m working on it! Anyway, here are a few pics from the foray out to Fort Jefferson.
We assembled in the morning on the pier to join our rental boat. Mary was fascinated.
We waited for the boat, wearing yellow shirts.
Our boat!
Mary wanted her sunscreen taken off (well, after we managed to get it on her in the first place) and had a tantrum. She stomped around the deck, shouting. Luckily it eventually blew over and she was a delight for the rest of the day. I think it was just that it was so very early.
Wesley, on the other hand, cut right to the chase.
Grandma and aunt Kelly inspected the plaque.
It was a hot day to be wearing a baby–but Conor and I each had a sweat factory in a baby carrier. Here’s Conor and Mary:
Outside the fort, the day was sunny and beautiful:
More to come. I have some great pics of the fort itself and I haven’t even uploaded the ones Conor took with our smaller camera.
23 Jul
Oh, my. It’s been five days since we got home and we’re STILL recovering! That was an epic trip. It was great, though. I really can’t even begin to cover it all in one post, so here are a few things from our first couple of days there.
First of all, we all had a great time spending a whole week together. The kids were so delighted to spend all that time with Daddy!
We got to hang out with a lot of Conor’s family members that we don’t see often, including some I’d never met–it was cool. Also very interesting because they are an educated and engaging bunch!
Our house–rented by Therese–was really nice. Remind me that I only ever want to travel to places with laundry facilities and full kitchens! We didn’t have to go to restaurants unless we wanted to, which meant that we only went out to lunch once and to dinner once…which is incredibly nice when you’re traveling. I like restaurants, but in moderation.
Our housemates:
Therese, who was the world’s biggest help with the kids:
Michael and Naomi (Therese’s children–Conor’s cousins):
…and Kelly (Grandma M’s sister) and her husband George–unfortunately I am not sure I have a pic of George, but here are Kelly and Grandma, looking very much like sisters:
After spending Sunday lazing around and recovering from the drive (which, by the way, is Really Freaking Long), we got motivated on Monday and went to the Butterfly Conservatory. Wesley loved it.
Like the big fedora? That was the only hat we could find that would cover his ears. It’s a men’s hat. We figured, if he wouldn’t wear it, Conor could.
Mary did not. I think she was just overtaxed by the whole traveling situation and the fluttering and whatnot was too much for her to handle. She demanded that we take her out. This is Mary, looking flummoxed:
It was pretty in there, while I was allowed to stay in! Conor came out and took over with Mary so that I could go back in and see the butterflies more, but by then Wesley was tired and not interested anymore, so I didn’t get many pictures.
Hanging out in front of the butterfly place:
Later, we met up with the rest of the pilgrims in Mallory Square. Wesley’s favorite thing about Key West was this bike rack:
Isn’t this cute?
Next time I’ll post some of the Fort Jefferson pics. Right now I have to go; Wesley has notified me that he needs a new diaper, a bottle, AND a hug. Demanding kid.
26 May
So, the latest bedtime story fad at our house is “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” Conor reads it. [Some bedtime stories–chiefly Dr. Seuss–are Mama stories, others are Daddy stories.]
Tonight, he was reading and Mary was helping him. The following conversation ensued:
Conor: …and the thought of picnics made him hungry. So he laid out a nice simple picnic lunch. There was nothing but pie. But there were all nine kinds of pie that Harold liked best.
Wesley: Pie!
Mary: Pies! I like cherry pies.
Conor: They are delicious, aren’t they? Let’s see…nine kinds of pie: cherry, rhubarb, chocolate, peach, [I contributed “apple”], blueberry, pecan, blackberry, strawberry!
Conor: When Harold finished his picnic there was quite a lot left. He hated to see so much delicious pie go to waste.
Wesley: pies! PIES!
Conor: …So Harold left a very hungry…
Mary: Moose!
Conor: ….and a deserving…
Mary: Moose! I mean porcupine!
Wesley: PIE!
Conor: And, off he went, looking for a hill to climb, to see where he was.
Wesley [singing]: Pie, pie, pie…pie, pie, pie….
Etc.
That boy has a pie fixation.
7 Feb
So, we ventured out in a small and tentative way—Conor went and dug out the Cavalier, which he had the foresight to park at the end of the drive, while I took the kids out to the back porch to play in the snow. There was about a foot of snow on the porch–more in the drifts, less in the protected places. Mary was into it. Wesley…not so much:
Climbing on a drift–luckily she wasn’t heavy enough to really break through:
“You want me to do WHAT with the snow?”
Snow all over the bushes–this is why there are downed trees all over the area:
Conor, industriously shoveling out the car:
Mary doesn’t want to go inside. Note the adorable hand-knit hat–I love how it turned out.
Conor drove around the block; he said that one side of our house toward town is pretty clear, the other direction not so much. I expect I’ll be able to get to the university tomorrow. But there will still be enough snow for the kids to play in if they’re brave enough to go out in it again. We came in and did a workout DVD to try to burn off some energy before their naps–Wesley is strangely good at the Cardio Cabaret burlesque workout.
greenepiece 