Enjoy the pix!
Making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Shrieks of excitement as we make the biggest bubbles EVER!
Crazy games with Uncle Jim and Daddy.
Two pix of intense play-doh concentration.
Lots of fun pix this week, including some of fellow preggers friends. We’re all due within a few weeks of each other.
Enjoy!
Some playground time with Olin…
Posing with Linda Brook (due 2/06)
Bubble fun in the backyard by day…
…and by night.
Dinner prep with Olivia…
…and chow time!
Petting a horse during our walk with Aunt Tracey (due 2/06)
Belly bumping with Randi (due with twin boys in 2/06)
Enjoy!
Two pix from our hike to Awosting Falls with Nikki and Norah (4 mos.)
Playing “blocks and marbles” with Daddy and Mike
Helping Aunt Tracey blow out her birthday candles on the cake he helped to make
Installing our new door with Daddy
A view from Mommy’s favorite walk off of Butterville Road
Whether it’s bathtub time, playtime, or helping Daddy put something together, Declan often comments, “I’m working hard,” peppered with “I can do it all by myself.”
Declan and Mommy attended their first La Leche League conference this weekend. Here are a couple of pictures from our downtime in our swanky hotel bathroom.
“Letterman!”
Declan’s having fun practicing pretending – here he insists that Mommy “Eat it!”
While I was browsing through Waldorf store recently, Declan had a blast playing with the blocks and marbles set they had on display. We ended up buying a set, and he’s played with it every single night since. With Daddy. Let’s just say that Mommy has skills in other areas….
This is a “before” shot, as the marble begins its journey.
And here’s the blissful glee afterwards.
We bought a “Learning Tower,” a wooden structure that Declan can stand on safely that places him at counter height when we cook together, etc. Declan had so much fun helping Daddy assemble it that now all he wants to do is take it apart and “Build it all by myself!” Here are the various stages of the assembly project.
This week, we spent a lot of time outside, including playtime with friends, as well as a long-awaited trip to the Catskill Game Farm.
Here’s a shot of Declan enjoying some swing-time with Cianan
Julian and Declan enjoying a moment under the slide
A treat for a Barbados Sheep at Catskill Game Farm
Trying to make a new friend…
Feeding time!
Imitating some of the animal sounds around the park
Playground time at the park – “Here I Come, Daddy!”
After seven days of straight rain, we had a good time spending time outside this weekend! But the rain didn’t keep us down, and we had fun with our friends indoors during the downpours, too. Enjoy the pix!
“Yee-haa!” – Declan riding like an experienced cowboy at the local pumpkin picking patch down the road.
Ooooooooooh – watch out for this pint-sized scary skeleton!
Singing the alphabet while drawing his “letters,” in deep concentration.
Playing piano with Olin and Julian during a playgroup we hosted last week.
Declan and mommy enjoyed a couple of good hikes this week – one around Lake Minnewaska with Carlo and Sarah, and one to Awosting Falls for a picnic lunch.
View of the New Paltz area from Lake Minnewaska Loop
Enjoying the mini-falls on the way to Awosting Falls
Walking around looking for treasures in the water by Awosting Falls
Declan bought some new shoes this week – he’s about a size 9, 26 in European sizes. Afterwards, we stopped for a goodbye summer treat!
Declan was still fighting a cold last week so he couldn’t attend toddler church, but this week he felt all better and had a blast with his friends, Rachel and Kyle. Here they’re all playing along with some toddler bible songs.
I’m about halfway through this amazing pregnancy, 20 weeks, and to help celebrate the upcoming baby, I hosted a “Succulent Wild Women” Party for myself this weekend, my version of a small, no-gift shower for this second child. We all wore something “empowering,” which for me was a borrowed bellydancing outfit, complete with bindi and belly decoration! We ate delicious chocolates, fruits, cheeses, and artisan breads, and my friends read poetry they had either written for me or specially selected for the occasion. This baby feels very celebrated, indeed!
Erica’s pre-party pose
The gathering: Tracey, Nikki, Linda Brook, Caitlin, me, Jennifer, and Maureen. Not pictured: Tarie.
We are in the throes of toilet training around here, and mommy and daddy are learning a lot! In between our trips to the potty, we’ve been baking up a storm and playing backyard basketball. Declan is also having a blast talking on the phone “all by self, Mommy” but he doesn’t quite understand that the person on the other end can’t *see* things he holds up, like this tomato.
Making our first rolled-out crust for apple pie
Shooting hoops out back
“Showing” a listener his tomato
Declan and I have been leading weekly hikes with our friends this month and here’s a picture of him “rock climbing” at Awosting Falls.
When we got home, we were happy to find a few more ripe tomatoes to pick!
We really have Vanessa and George, and everyone in the Houston area, on our minds right now with impending Hurricane Rita coming. They’re bracing themselves, storing food and water, and boarding up windows in preparation for the storm. Here’s another picture from our wonderful recent trip down there.
(This has been a special week with daily updates to help new blog subscribers see how the set-up works. Now we’ll be back to updating the blog on a weekly basis.)
xo
~ Erica
