We enjoyed a fabulous day trip to New York City with Gemma, Aunt Marsha, and cousins Andy and Kyle. We explored the famous Intrepid battleship and then had a great boat tour around Manhattan.
Piloting a helicopter with Kyle.
Glad he’s on our side……
Taking a break with Kyle.
“A three hour tour…..a three hour tour…..”
Had a fun couple of days visiting Cape May with Gemma and Papa this month. We enjoyed a day at Sunset Beach, where Declan played with lots of kids in the sand and Quinn napped to the soothing sounds of the ocean. We got to see jellyfish, a live horseshoe crab that Papa found, and Declan tried eating soft-shell crab for the first time (Gemma offered some of hers for Declan to try, and he kept coming back again and again for more! Sorry Gemma…)
After we came back, we had lots of fun with Uncle Steven, Aunt Marsha, and cousins Andy and Kyle, who were up visiting for the week from Atlanta! Declan had a blast hanging out with his cousin buddies, and Quinn got lots of hugs and kisses, especially from her doting auntie! Wish you all lived closer!
Declan running from the surf.
Beach bunny Quinn on Gemma’s lap.
Playing with Kyle.
Frog hunting with Andy.
Story time with Aunt Marsha.
We all had a good time up in Whitefield for Independence Day….here are the kiddos in their red, white, and blue.
Our first real marriage milestone, we said “I do” ten years ago this week, June 29. (It’s been a total of 17 for “I like you more than a friend”.) With Declan and Quinlan in our lives now, it was our happiest year yet!
This week we got to meet little 8-year old Victoria (“Tori”), daughter of Mike’s cousin, Evan. Declan had a blast hanging out with her and Quinn was smitten, too!
Declan-ism: When we do laundry…..”We take stuff out of the ‘wetter’ and put it in the dryer.”
Smiling with Victoria
“What do you want to do, Victorian?” (Declan kept calling her “Victorian.”)
No response.
“Do you want to jump?”
In keeping with family tradition, here are the men fixing something during a family gathering…in this case, it was the malfunctioning doorknob after Victoria got locked in the bathroom.
We celebrated Quinlan’s baptism on Sunday, June 25. We have a wonderful pastor who worked with us to create a special and unique liturgy, and she included some of our favorite hymns as part of the worship service. Beaming godparents Tracey and Jim, our families, our church family, and many friends, came together to witness this important event in our, and especially Quinn’s, life. We feel truly, truly blessed. One highlight was the reading of invididual blessings by various members of the congregation, friends, and family. Here it is:
“Blessing of a Newly Birthed Child” by Joyce Rupp (one of Erica’s all-time favorite spiritual writers)
May the miracle of your birth always be a source of joy for you.
May you be blessed by wise, caring people who will guide you and protect you.
May you always keep your openness to wonder and new discoveries.
May you have a healthy body, a keen mind, an adventurous spirit, and a deeply caring heart.
May you be treasured by your family and by all who take care of you.
May you be filled with wonderful dreams and dance through life as a child of the universe.
May you have many friends and be a good friend in return.
May you believe in your goodness and value your self-worth.
May you be aware of the tremendous love that the Creator has for you.
Holy One, we entrust our child into your gracious care. Compassionate One, shelter our beloved daughter throughout her life. Beloved of the Soul, fill our child with a deep sense of your radiant presence. Creator of the Universe, gift our child with the twinkling laughter of the stars. Eternal Parent, our child is your child. Guide and direct us as we nurture our daughter with the qualities she needs to live life to the fullest. Thank you for the wonderful gift of this child. We know we are richly blessed. Amen.
This week included lots of fun events, including visits with friends and buddy Norah’s first birthday party! We also filled the playset sandbox with pea gravel and Declan’s been having a blast in his new space. Quinlan is thrilled with her new ability to turn over (back to front) on her own this week!
Baptism photo
With godparents Uncle Jim and Aunt Tracey, and “god-brother” Luca
Jumping around on the trampoline during Norah’s first birthday party
Quinn and buddy Cash
Helping move the sandbox gravel into the loader with Daddy
Digging away in the new sand-gravel box!
Mikey enjoyed Father’s Day as a Daddy of *two* this year, and although he liked his gifts and dinner with the family, he had LOTS of fun using the excavator he borrowed today. Declan helped and you can imagine how much he loved that! Then we all had a nice afternoon with the family at a local restaurant.
Mom’s school retirement party this week helped to celebrate her accomplishments and send her out in style – Quinlan and Declan were proud to be on hand to congratulate her and to help “keep things lively” as only little ones can do.
We got a new pulley/block & tackle for Declan and we took a series of pictures that could probably be best titled, “No, as a matter of fact, we *don’t* have anything better to do.”
Quinn is growing growing growing and she’s starting to laugh now, grab things, and even play with the spinny bear thing for her bouncy seat. Still very chatty.
Declan continues to deepen his friendships with his imaginary buddies “Big 2” and “Hocalo.” He talks about them all the time (Big 2 has been around since Declan turned two, and Hocalo appeared somewhere along the way, about six months ago). They take turns playing with various trucks, they share meals, then they apparently go home at the end of the day. They are varying sizes, depending on the context, from the size of a nail head to adult height. Declan’s also reasoning in new ways to get what he wants. The other day, when we were visiting some neighbors during our tricycle ride, he received some candy from the husband. His wife scolded him for giving Declan so much candy, and he went back into the house. I continued talking with her out on the porch, and Declan suddenly said, “I’m cold.” It was around 80 degrees out. I knew something was up, but I couldn’t quite figure out what. I suggested he stand in the sun, but he shook his head no. My neighbor grinned knowingly and said, “Oh, you’re cold – do you want to go in the house to warm up?” Declan totally brightened and said “Yes!” Not because he wanted to warm up, but because that’s where her husband and the candy were! As luck would have it, her husband came out right then with a bowl of strawberries for Declan, and amazingly, he wasn’t “cold” anymore! Too funny.
Father’s Day excavation fun
Happy Daddy
Airplane rides after Father’s Day dinner
All the Dads!
Hugs at Grandma’s retirement party
Wow – I can lift a cement block!
Wow – I can lift Daddy!
Wow – I can lift *me*!
Quinn actually playing with something, first time.
Declan cutting flowers at our morning farm program.
Quinn had her first trip up to Schenectady this week! She and Declan immensely enjoyed Grandma Chase’s latest, and last, performance conducting her high school chamber music group. She’s retiring! While we were in Schenectady, we had a nice visit and dinner with Grandpa and Gumpa too, and Declan took in a game of pool, as usual.
Later in the week, we welcomed our latest addition to our family of gear, a Massey Ferguson tractor. Our yard and driveway are very excited to finally receive regular maintenance, and Mike is happy to oblige. Declan loves watching his Daddy work, and when the tractor is off, he likes to sit in the seat and tell Mommy all about what various shifts and buttons do.
Pre-performance hugs
Post-performance hugs
A lesson from Gumpa about hitting the white ball
Pretending to drive the tractor like Daddy
“Well, Dad….I think you’ve got a situation here…” (or insert funny mechanic joke here – I don’t have the touch like Mike does…)
Helping Papa put in the new floor in their living room with the floor nailer
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – the time is just flying by! Now coming up to the three-month point, she’s no longer classified as a “newborn.”
Quinn is more and more interactive every day, really tuned in (especially to what her brother is up to) and doesn’t like to miss anything. Then she takes a nap….then she starts all over again. She’s holding her head up better, developing a wide range of sounds (she’s very chatty like her brother, and somebody *else* in our home, no names…sheepish grin), and starting to grab at things. Quinn also tries so hard to fit both fists in her mouth, and that keeps her busy at various times throughout the day.
Declan is higher than a kite right now! My tutoring student’s family gave us their old wooden playset, and Mike and our buddy Mike brought it home this weekend. Highlights include a slide, a treehouse, and a swing. We can’t keep Declan off of it – lots of fun right here in our own backyard.
He’s getting a little better at counting, and he’s currently focused on figuring out opposites, generalizations, and adding to his vocabulary. Such as “Declan, please close the window.” He then does it, while saying, “If it’s cold, then I close the window. If it’s warm, I open the window. Windows are part of our house, but we have windows on our car, too! But we don’t have windows on the dishwasher. Nope. No windows there.” And on, and on, and on. His pronunciation of words is pretty good overall, but he can’t say “milk.” He pronounces it like “muck.” So whenever mommy needs a laugh, I “Declan, here’s some muck.” And he says, “It’s not ‘muck’ mommy, it’s ‘muck.’ ” I clearly need to get out more.
Declan took this one.
Happy Birthday, Daddy!
Smiles.
“Inch by inch…row by row…”
Working hard to get the playset installed.
First ride down the new slide!
First snack in the treehouse part of the playset.
Dancing with Daddy.
Declan attended his first circus this week!
Cuddles with Gemma and Papa.
Photo opp with buddy Luca, Aunt Karen, and Amma Jackie.
Ping-pong ball pipe fun from Aunt Karen.
We had a great trip to Georgia for cousin Ian’s high school graduation! Hooray, Ian! (Same day as Papa’s birthday!)
While we were there, we enjoyed introducing Quinlan to her Aunt Linda, Aunt Marsha, Uncle Steven, Aunt Hattie, and cousins Ian, Kyle, and Andy, as well as having the chance to spend some time with Gemma and Papa who were down south for the occasion. Declan thought he was a teenager hanging out with his cousins and had fun playing games according to his OWN rules, having stories read to him, and rough-housing. They were so sweet to him – you guys are awesome! I remember holding Andy and Kyle when they were babies like Quinlan, and Ian must have been around Declan’s age when I met him, and now he’s out of high school, drives, has a job…all grown up.
The flights each way were uneventful; Quinn nursed and slept for most of them, and Declan was delighted to discover the “Pez” candy machine as part of his plane ride surprise stash. Unfortunately, the airline lost Declan’s car seat on the way back, but luckily, Mike thought to bring the extra one so we got home alright. Should have the seat back sometime within the next day or two. Could have been worse.
Can’t wait to see everyone again!
Ian’s graduation party cake
Little traveler
Quinn meets Aunt Linda
Declan enjoying play-time with Kyle and Ian
Quinlan and Kyle
Looking at the penguins with Daddy at the Georgia Aquarium
Kisses from Aunt Marsha and Andy
Doting auntie
Playing catch with Kyle, Daddy and Ian
Quinn’s first pool
“Push me, Ian!”
Three generations
Sleeping in Gemma’s arms
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Erica enjoyed celebrating her first Mother’s Day of *two* kiddos this year! To celebrate, we had a fun time here at home with G’ma and G’pa Chase, Great G’pa “Gumpa” Chase, and Gemma and Papa Salerno and ate way too much delicious apple pie! Erica was also featured in a local newspaper article today about our experience with elimination communication with Quinn – a nice Mother’s Day gift!
At two months, Quinlan is now 14 pounds (6.35 kgs.), 24 inches (61 cm), and wears the 3-6 month sizes. Declan is 33 months, 36 pounds (16 kgs.), and wears size 4T.
We’re really looking forward to Quinn’s first plane ride as we head to Atlanta soon to help celebrate cousin Ian’s high school graduation! She is excited to meet her aunts, uncle, and cousins!
Mother’s Day — Three Generations (G’ma Chandler in FL makes four!)
Proud Grandma
Daddy kisses
Quinlan Expressions 1-4
Having a good time in the “corn” box (our sandbox filled up with easy to clean feed corn)
Visiting with Uncle Carlo (and friend Maja from Slovenia)
One of Declan’s “big brother” presents from Quinn was this sling and accompanying doll – now he feels like mommy! He named the doll……Quinlan Boe.
Gardening together in the flower box, with Quinn in the sling.
