Hannah Turns One!!

After a pre-party melt down, Hannah pulled it together and did very well (without a nap too).


Thanks to everyone for making her party a success. It was crazy, but fun.
Here are some pictures. Enjoy.

Hannah's Walking (and has been for awhile)

Okay. So it is harder to keep track of child number two. She's probably been walking for about 3-4 weeks now. At least we captured the progression on film. We thought she was trouble before though....

Sad News

We have been off the radar for a little while. At the end of August my dad received word that he has Multiple Myeloma. We were all devastated initially, but he has started chemo and is doing very well with the treatment. He certainly isn't letting it stop him. Despite having promptly retired, his days are very busy. He's been out to breakfast several times with Marcel. He visits with the girls and I several times a week. He is still running and working out as always. We can't seem to get him to take it easy, but that's his nature I suppose. I want to thank everyone for their well wishes and support. I'm pretty sure we have the most amazing friends and family out there. Please keep us in your prayers.

Storyland

It was such a beautiful weekend that we decided to pack the car up for the day and head north. Our original plan was to camp out in the White Mountains overnight, but between the lack of time and the idea of staying in a tent with two babies, we decided against it. The kids were so well behaved though that a day trip worked out just fine. We got to the park around 10am and Maddie was rearing to go. Some of the days highlights of our day included going on the Polar Coaster and the Flying Dutch Shoes. We went to the circus where there were performing dogs, gymnasts, and this crazy dance show. Maddie drove us around on a tractor and an antique car. She went on the log flume with Brian.

Maddie got her face painted like a puppy dog which was her favorite part of the day. We stopped off at Friendly's for dinner and ice cream before heading home. You can see Maddie passed out, face totally smeared, sitting in her car seat on the way back.

As an aside, we ran into Kevin Scanlen, a college acquaintance from the "Burg". Also, this is so totally weird and random....We are wrapping it up at the park when all of a sudden I see Lauren, then Ryan, and then Ben. I shout out to Lauren and she seems to be surprised seeing us out of context too. They were up with their parents for the weekend and intended to go back to Storyland on Sunday. Will, Rory, and Marie were in attendance but very busy playing in the tree house. Maddie was too, enjoying the slide. Maybe next time we can organize something together guys. Nice to see you all.

Aquarium

Bri, Maddie, Hannah and I spent a rainy day last week in Boston at the New England Aquarium. It was an amazing field trip and we had a great time. Maddie really like the penguins. I thought the sea dragons were super cool. Due to an unforeseen Facebook snafu we missed cousin David. Sorry David, we'll catch you next time. We later walked around the Boston Garden and tried to go on the Swan Boats. We'll have to save that for another time though. I think they were closed because of the weather forecast, but it was disappointing given that it was sunny in the afternoon. Maddie also liked the T. I think we could have just taken her into the city for that alone. Hannah slept most of the day away. She especially liked it when Brian had to carry her up the steep staircase at Government Center (Can you believe they don't have an elevator at that stop?). We walked through Fanueil Hall and Maddie saw the big macaroni noodle and wanted her picture taken. She also wanted her picture taken with Red Auerbach? We had Bri stand with her so it wasn't so weird. She's a character that one.

Blueberries!!

I'm Going to be Walking Soon.

....And Back to Maine Again.

Katie and Trevor invited us up to their cottage in Lakeview Plantation, Maine, over the holiday weekend. It's tough to find LP on the map. It's easier to locate if you look for Schoodick Lake. In any case it's pretty far up there - remote. - past Milo and just south of Millinocket. We had been up before back in 2007. The water was just as beautiful this time and we had some nice weather. As you can see Maddie went out in the kayak with Dada, and Hannah and Ameilia played together. Brian bought Maddie this floatie combo bathing suit (and also bought a life preserver because he's more neurotic than I am) and she was so cute learning how to swim. Thanks for hosting guys.

Some Pictures from a Quick Trip to Maine

The weather was perfect this time around and we had a great time.

Maddie has decided her favorite flavor of ice cream is "nilla".

Hannah is so fair but thank goodness for SPF 50. She wasn't as enthusiastic about the beach as Maddie was, but we think it will grow on her.

Their First Bath Together

Billy's Shower

Billy Seymour's wedding is just around the corner and we were all recently out at Erin's house in Holbrook to celebrate. Erin and Darcy have a beautiful home with a big back yard. Ciara and Maddie played together all afternoon on the swing set. There was some drama early on (mostly with Maddie) which later resolved and the two were fast friends. The twins seemed to enjoy the slide and were on the go and Colin was running all over the place too. Kids, kids everywhere!!!

The bride and groom had a Pampered Chef party and then sat out under the tent with everyone. It was a beautiful day and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

We were also celebrating Mrs. Seymour's Master's Degree. Congrats to all and thanks for having us.

So Hannah began crawling on May 12th. She is also finally starting to eat real food. Blueberries and Cherrios are her favorites at the moment. Anyone else see my brother here in this profile picutre of Hannah?

Maddie is keeping us busy as well. We planted raised beds this past week with green beans, squash, tomatoes, chives, and oregano.

My days off are so busy with the girls it is almost more restful to go to work.

6 Months

I can't believe how big you are getting. Stay little awhile longer.....

Easter

Maddie left food for the Easter Bunny-lettuce, toast, eggs (hard boiled), and berries, all with a glass of milk. Mmm Mmm. He brought the girls seeds to plant a garden, along with some special candy treats. The whole family came out for the Easter Egg hunt pictured below. Maddie caught on pretty quickly and was off and running. The grandparents followed like paparazzi. Grampie managed to find other eggs even the Easter Bunny wasn't aware had been hidden ;)

Recent Photos

So time has gotten away from us as usual. We finally uploaded all the photos from our camera - at least all the new ones of the girls we've taken since we got back from the cruise. Here's a few we thought we'd share.



Here's my happy baby!
She's wearing Daddy's hat.
Maddie made this crown for Hannah at a birthday party we went to back in March. Cinderella stopped by for a visit and read a story to the girls.
Awwww....