2010 in review

Almost Christmas! How in the world did this sneak up on us? It seems like it was just Halloween. I feel like the time in between Labor Day and New Year's is a blur. Every year once Labor Day hits it's like the year is on fast forward. We've had a great year, and have lots to be thankful for.

Nicholas was born this year. Can't imagine things without him around. Annie has become more self sufficient, which has been good and bad. Good that she can do more things on her own and bad that she can do more things on her own. I don't mind admitting that she's driven us to purchase several new parenting books, all with similar titles like "How to make your child mind" or "How to make your child take you seriously", etc. We're still working on that.

Karen also started taking care of both kids full time, which has been tremendous. Aside from all the obvious advantages, one of the best parts for me is not to have to rush out the door every morning making sure that everyone is all packed up, etc. I used to dread Sunday nights, knowing that Monday morning we would have to be out the door by 7:30 in order to drop Annie off, and make it to work on time. And I certainly don't miss all the times last winter when Annie was getting kicked out of daycare for a runny nose or some other lame excuse. I can't imagine how much more stressful this would be with two kids.

We've went on a lot of great trips. Ohio, Florida, Pointe Aux Barques, and who can forget... Paris. We tried selling our condo, to no avail. That was a bummer, but the upside was that we hadn't found a new place, so we never had to go through the disappointment of falling in love with a new house only to not be able to buy it. Or buy it, but not be able to sell your old place.

For 2.5 years we never had to go to the ER, until we had to go twice in two weeks. Let's hope that fills our quota for a while. First Annie fell at the park and put a pretty nice gash in her forehead, then two weeks later Nichol got hives...

It's definitely been an adjustment with two kids, but it feels good. It feels good to go to a restaurant and be a party of four. It feels good to always have a kid in your arms or holding your hand. It feels good in the morning when everyone crowds in your bed and inevitably someone gets a foot to the head. It feels good when you get a big wet kiss. And most of all it feels good when you come home and so many people are happy to see you.

As this year comes to a close, thanks for reading and checking in with us. See you in 2011!

Leftover lunch

Things sure have gotten busy around here. Or maybe it just seems that way when I haven't updated the blog in a while and it feels like I have a lot to catch up on. First things first... in the past few weeks we've made two visits to the ER. A few weeks ago we were all at the park, and Annie was playing, fell, and ended up putting a pretty serious dent in her forehead. So we went to MGH to get her checked out. One of the things I really like about living in the city is how close everything is. MGH is in Beacon Hill and a short drive from where we live. It's also the hospital both Annie and Nichol were born in. Of course, being in a big city can have some drawbacks. While we were waiting in the ER, a prisoner in full on shackles (hands and feet) was brought in with two guards. You see all sorts in an ER waiting room.

Annie ended up having two stitches, and hopefully the scar won't be too noticeable. She was a trooper throughout the whole thing too. After that saga, fast forward two weeks... It's a Friday night and as I'm getting Nichol ready for bed, I notice he has got these red bumps on his torso, I thought they could be hives? I gave him some benadryl, waited 45 minutes and checked him again. I thought the bumps looked better so I put him to bed. The next morning the hives/rash had spread all over his trunk, up his back, down his legs, and started to go up his head. So we headed to the ER, worried they might impair his airway if they continue to get worse. Back to MGH.

This time as we're getting checked in, the same lady who checked us in two weeks ago peeks over and says, "Weren't you just here?" Me: "Yes, but different kid." Her: "Well how many more do you have at home?" Haha... Everyone is a comedian! The doctors settled on a diagnosis that Nichol was allergic to mangoes, since he had just eaten them on Friday for the first time. However on Monday, our pediatrician didn't think it was a food allergy because the benadryl was not effective. He thought Nichol had a virus that he was allergic to and that was causing the reaction all over his body. Either way, Nichol will be avoiding mangoes for a while.

What else has been going on... We had a great Thanksgiving hosted by my sister and her husband. We got our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving and have been enjoying it every day since! We were a little late on the Christmas card bus, so they might be pretty close to deadline! Annie's latest music class has ended so we're in between sessions until January. The weather has turned pretty crisp recently going from the 40-50s down to the 30s. Nichol has pretty much begun crawling, maybe you'd call it more of a slither. He's working up to the actual crawling on all fours, but I have a feeling that's going to be pretty soon. And that's about it, other then getting ready for Christmas!

The locals

I mentioned earlier how I had initially heard French people maybe weren't the friendliest sort. This turned out to not be true. To prove just how friendly they were, one night we happen to meet a local who invited us over for drinks. We were at a bar down the street from where we were staying, and Kyle started talking to this guy, Francois. He was a local artist who was at the bar and Kyle had this great idea that he should draw a sketch of us. After thinking it over he decided to, and the top pic is what he came up with. Not too bad for 10 minutes of work.

After that he hung out with us for the rest of the night, which may or may not have entailed trying to throw oranges from one side of the Seine to the other. I think after that he decided we were decent so he invited us over the next evening. The next evening we went over and had a great time. He was a very friendly host. It felt like we were back in college, cramming into someone's studio apartment, listening to music, and talking loudly.

All in all it made for a great experience to add to all the incredible things we saw in Paris. It's always fun to get to do something that's not on any guidebook!

Santé!

Santé means cheers in French. It took us all week to remember that... I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to why. I've written a lot so far about the city and things we saw. What I haven't written about so much is what a great time we had spending the week with our friends.

Everyday was so fun, because in the morning we'd get up, and usually most people had decided what they wanted to do for the day, and then we'd take off. Every morning Karen and I made an appearance at this cafe down the street for a café au lait and croissant (if we'd gotten there early enough). After we were finished we'd meet the rest of our party and we'd start touring. If the six of us had split up, we met somewhere around lunch time and found a place to eat. I'm 99% sure we ate every lunch and dinner together, which I think is pretty impressive.

You also really get to know someone traveling together in a foreign country. We got to know the Kessels very well a few years ago in Italy, especially after all of our bags were lost for a few days. Nothing brings you closer then when you are all stuck wearing the same clothes for three days. They are on our "will fly international with" list. And now so are the Nicholsons and Cranes.

Within every group you need certain roles filled. You need a planner, to help people who like to let someone else lead the way. You need someone to get people out of bed in the morning and keep people to a schedule (10 pts if you guess who this was... there were two). You need people who can speak the language and help the group out of any tricky situations. You need people who don't mind asking for directions. You need people who can go with the flow and easily adapt to changing environments. And most of all you need people you can tolerate for long hours at a time! We had all of these people, and the week went by so fast.

We had so much fun at every meal. Most of the time the six of us were crowded at some small table in the corner somewhere, eating elbow to elbow. Plates would be passed as everyone tried the other person's meal. Glasses clinked and the conversation never stopped. Things were never boring, even when we were doing something boring.

The afternoon that we decided to spend on the bus, things got a little boring. But only because we were stuck in traffic for so long. It was at this point that we were all sitting upstairs, and it was getting cold. So some of us moved down below, and then promptly fell asleep. One by one everyone woke up, and then went upstairs with everyone else. Eventually everyone was up there except for Bekah. John had just come up, and Kyle asked him where Bekah was, John's reply-- "She's downstairs. Probably getting picked clean apart as speak." Luckily she woke up shortly and then everyone was back upstairs.

Great friends make so much tolerable. And they make an incredible trip to Paris even better -- Santé!

Crushing it

The daunting thing about going to Paris is that there is so much to see and a limited amount of time to see it. It's just as daunting a little over a week later trying to write about it. I'll try using broad strokes...

Sunday. Everyone arrives. We head out of the apartment and go to Notre Dame since it is a short 5 min walk. Awesome. Unbelievable. To see something up close that took 200 years to build and it is still standing - awe inspiring. For much more detail than I could provide, check here.
Afterward we head to a cafe and have our first Parisian meal. Some had salads, onion soup became a staple, and I had my first roast chicken - which did not disappoint.

The cafes were funny. Funny in the sense that some of them were packed with all the tables full, and other times they were empty. Whenever we sat at empty cafe, within ten minutes the place was full.

Monday. We decided to take it a bit easy since we were all jet lagged. Karen had been doing some reading on this famous open air market, that apparently was close to some flea market type deal that also sounded interesting. We figured we'd go to the market, find some food for dinner, then walk around the flea market. We took the Metro to Les Halles, where it was supposed to be, and looked and looked around but couldn't find it.

After walking around and trying to ask people where it was, a closer inspection of the guide book revealed that it used to be where we were, but has since relocated... Newman! We were about 30 years too late. Off to the flea market. Which was pretty cool. Lots of small shops with tons of antiques and other unique items.

We headed back on the Metro to get closer to home and find a spot for lunch. Once we got underground, we realized we were in a bit seedier area of Paris. We started to buy some more tickets, when a couple of youths came up to us trying to sell us tickets. At first we just ignored them while we were trying to operate the machine, but then we were having issues with the machine, a line was queuing behind us... more and more people kept coming in... and we were about to lose it. Then, all of a sudden this other group of youths came down and about 10 people in row just jumped the gates heading into the system. The whole thing was a bit surreal, and then we finally figured out the machine, got our tickets, and headed into the tunnel... A bit touch and go there for a few minutes but we made it!

Tuesday was pretty low key. We walked around the city and checked out some more sights that we wouldn't cover on the bus tour. We went to the Place de la Concorde, which is at the foot of the Champs-Élysées and also where the guillotine was located and Marie Antoinette was decapitated. The Luxor Obelisk is also here.

Wednesday. In the morning we headed to the Centre Pompidou. The goal of the museum was "to create an original cultural institution in the heart of Paris completely focused on modern and contemporary creation, where the visual arts would rub shoulders with theatre, music, cinema, literature and the spoken word. Housed in the centre of Paris in a building designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, whose architecture symbolises the spirit of the 20th century, the Centre Pompidou first opened its doors to the public in 1977. After renovation work from 1997 to December 1999, it opened to the public again on 1 January 2000, with expanded museum space and enhanced reception areas. Since then it has once again become one of the most visited attractions in France. Some 6 million people pass through the Centre Pompidou's doors each year, a total of over 190 million visitors in its 30 years of existence." (website) This was a cool museum, but also home to some disturbing pieces of art... I already mentioned the main ones in my first Paris post, so I'll spare you any more graphic images.

After lunch we all met back up and we began the hop on/off tour, which was pretty solid. The bus turned out to be a great way to see the city, the major attractions, and pretty good mode of transportation.

Wednesday evening was also the night that Karen was selected to cook dinner. As most of you know, Karen is a phenomenal cook... She is continually coming up with new dishes and never disappoints. This will be a separate post that I'm hoping she will write...

Thusday afternoon and we were all dragging a bit, so we decided to take the entire tour... Which would have been a fine idea, except this was at about 3 pm. Two hiccups. One, there was some police action going on at the Palais Garnier, so we got diverted and stuck in traffic. Then we headed up the Champs-Élysées, which was completely clogged with traffic. At the top we reached the Arc de Triomphe, where we then proceeded to drive around the rotary, a la National Lampoon's European Vacation style only to then go down the other direction of the congested Champs-Elysees... I think it took more than an hour to do that... Which was painful.

Thursday evening. Woa. This was the night in Paris. And I have one word for it: Taillevent. I was going to include this within the post, but on second thought I'm making it a separate posting...

Friday. Our last day... Everyone did their own thing. We did some shopping, walked around some more, and then spent the afternoon sitting outside drinking wine, savoring our last afternoon in Paris.

Saturday. Airport... Home. I've got a few more Paris-related posts on deck to close out our trip, in the meantime, here are our Paris photos.

Apple Picking!

This post has become what some may call a "dump." It took me a while to get it going, and then we went on vacation, and now it just seems pretty out of date. Needless to say, we had a great time apple picking when we went. Annie loved picking apples, and ate about 20 of them. Although, I don't know if taking a few bites and then pitching the apple actually counts as eating them, but we did our best to restrain her... Nichol was along for the fun, and was very well behaved. He did not try and eat any apples, but his mom made some applesauce that is waiting for him when appropriate.

Oh yeah, they also had a bouncy house at the farm. The exact same bouncy house we got for Annie's second birthday. Only this time when Annie was in there, the fan/blower became unplugged and collapsed on all the kids inside... A bit hairy for a little while, but luckily Annie was by a window and so we were able to hold up the structure before she was fully engulfed. I guess that's what happens when these things are run by 12 year olds... She also rode a horse for the first time, and liked it!

More Paris posts to come...

Olives

Last Saturday we got back from one of the best vacations... Paris! Karen and I went for the week with four of our good friends, and we had the best time. Although the trip wasn't without some hiccups. Leading up to our departure it seemed like the city of Paris was a powder keg filled with rioters, protesters, terrorist threats and strikes, waiting to be ignited at any minute... The State Department issued a travel alert... And then about a week before we were all leaving the airlines had been asked to cut flights into Paris airports by 30-50%. I'll say it, I was a bit nervous before we left. But then we got there...

We dropped off the kids with my parents Friday and departed Boston Saturday evening. Early Sunday morning we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport where we were meeting Bekah & Kyle. An hour later they arrived, our car arrived and we were off! While in Paris we were staying at this fantastic apartment on Ile Saint Louis. Ile Saint Louis is an island in the middle of the Seine, which is the river that runs through the middle of Paris. Here's how it's described:

This small island is like an oasis from the rush of the city. It's almost as if someone dropped a small French village into the center of Paris, as it features markets, bakeries, fromageries and cafés. While much of Paris has modernized over the years, the ile remains romantically frozen in the 17th century. It is remarkably the same as it was centuries ago. It is lined with adorable boutiques, is home to its own unique ice cream, features historic attractions, and boasts one of Paris' best hotels.

And that is exactly how we found it. There's so much to try and cover-- I'll do my best. This post is going to be more of an introduction and thoughts about the whole week, with more specific posts to follow.

You're probably wondering why if this post is about our overall trip-- why is it titled "Olives". Well that's simple: that was the family password. You see, since we were a little on edge, and we were in a busy foreign city-- we needed a word that one of us could say to indicate we needed help or felt scared -- immediately alerting others to our plight. Mostly it was used as a joke or to signal something very serious -- someone needed another drink.

Language. Before leaving I had read that in Paris English was not as widely spoken as in other European cities. Luckily for me, Karen had studied French and as soon as we arrived and she started dusting off her skills, it came back pretty easily. I also made sure to master some basics like: hello, please, thank you, where is the toilet, coffee, wine, etc. While I have yet to travel somewhere that I can use my awesome Spanish skills (I guess you could argue there are plenty of opportunities in Boston), my french was ok. And you would be amazed at how much you can communicate through hand gestures...

People. Also I had been led to believe that may be French people weren't the friendliest sort. I could not disagree more. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and courteous, and if anyone was rude they at least had the decency to do it behind our backs... which I appreciate. And many people spoke English or at least understood what we were saying. And again, Karen and Bekah were both pretty good at laying down some French talk when needed. Later on I've got a good story of some people we met, but that's for another post...

Overall impressions. The people are awesome. Paris is awesome. There's way too much to see. The Louvre is a cluster %#@*, so be prepared to have people all up in your grill the entire time. Buy a "Paris Pass" before you go so you can skip the lines at pretty much any museum (or better yet, get someone else's even if it has expired because no one checks). Taking a bus tour around the city is a blast, unless you're doing it close to rush hour, duh. If you go to the Modern Art museum be prepared to be appalled -- unless seeing naked people hula-hooping barbed wire on the beach is your thing (sorry for the image but I still can't shake it, and you're welcome). Or a naked woman holding a dead chicken that's bleeding all over (sorry, couldn't resist one more). It's pretty hard to find a bad meal. The Metro is one of the most efficient public transit systems around, take it everywhere. Unless you take it to a sketchy neighborhood... Try lots of new foods. Wine is cheaper than Coca-Cola. Drink as much Cafe Au Lait ("Cafe O-lay") as possible (it's basically espresso with steamed milk). There is nothing like a long meal, outside under a heater, with a group of friends, people watching in a foreign city.

What's been going on?

What's been going on this fall... you might be wondering? Since Karen and the kids got back Labor Day weekend, we've all been settling back into our routine. I continue to go to work each morning and Karen wrangles the kids all day... I'm unsure which one of us has it worse... Although from the stories I hear I think people may be slightly better behaved at my office versus the playground. Although it was touch and go for a while as people were stealing yogurts out of the fridge and then other people left anonymous notes on the fridge... Long story short, eventually the stolen yogurt was replaced and the yogurt bandit has been dormant for some time.

As Annie enters her 28th month, she continues to assert herself. She is very independent. And by independent I mean she will do what she wants to do independent of how you feel. For instance, you might say, "Annie, please put down Nichol's pacifier." And then she would put it right in her mouth and run away. Or you might say, "Annie, you cannot grab snacks from other people's strollers." And then she would reach right in someone else's diaper bag and pull out some snacks.

For the most part she still takes an afternoon nap, but probably once a week she protests and refuses to sleep at all. Her new technique is to take all of her clothes off, including her diaper, and just hang out naked in her crib for two hours. You can imagine the scene you walk in on if she's doing this quietly and the full two hours have passed... Usually she starts screaming or singing at some point to alert you to the fact that you should definitely go in there to make sure she's not jumping around naked in her own feces.

Nichol continues to grow and grow and grow. He has the biggest head and sometimes I wonder how his neck can support that melon! But he has the biggest smile that goes perfect with a big dome. And I shouldn't really be talking, as I have one heck of a big head too. He's been doing much better sleeping through the night. I'd say he gets up maybe one-ish times, but he definitely will go through some 'loud sleeping' bursts where he's murmuring, or babbling, or breathing heavy. Nichol is still sleeping in our room. We're very close to putting the two kids together, but at this point we're waiting for Nichol to consistently sleep through the night before we double those kiddos up. What else? He's super wriggly and I think he'll be crawling sooner rather than later. He has a big appetite... And likes his rice cereal.

Annie and Nicholas are so cute together. Every morning when Annie wakes up the first thing out of her mouth is "Nicky wake? Where's Nicky?" She varies between calling him "Nichol, Nickodee or Nicky". She loves to give him hugs, although whenever she gets too close to him, Nichol instinctively reaches for her hair and gives it a good tug. At which point she starts crying, saying "No No Nicky! Nicky pull hair." It's pretty funny, especially since at that point she's usually been on top of him or giving him a bear hug by the time he finally grabs some hair.

Weekends have been lots of fun. Usually we try to hit up a farmers' market on Saturday mornings, then we head to the park or some other fun activity. Annie likes to be on the move and Nicholas just goes with the flow!

Next post... Apple picking!

A return to blogging...

This weekend I promise to get serious and get back to business. The business of blogging I mean. Starting next week there will be lots of original content coming this way!

Oh, and if you happen to see my beautiful wife today make sure you wish her a happy birthday!

Annie's 2nd new trick! This is what happens when Annie has already baked cookies & has been to the park...

Children's dance @ PAB

These pictures are from the children's dance we attended a few weeks ago. It also happened to be the hottest day at the cottage. I could only use pictures from early in the evening, since after about 15 minutes at the dance everyone was covered in sweat. It must have been in the 90s and very humid. It was one of those days when you get out of the shower and just start sweating. I don't think I've ever been so uncomfortable in pants.

Annie & Bea had a ton of fun. There was a great band playing classics like the "Hokey Pokey" and the "Chicken Dance," which Annie became quite good at by the way. Annie seems to have an endless amount of energy, and despite the heat she literally never stopped moving the entire time. I do think that doing the hokey pokey managed to keep her in one place, for a somewhat extended period of time. So we may have to try incorporating that into our daily routine!

I think in total we all lasted about 45 minutes before we were all too tired/hot/ to stay any longer. After we left we went on a very long golf cart ride to cool off before dinner, and then managed to have a very pleasant, mostly sweat free evening!

Summer so far

I can't believe our summer has been flying by so fast!

Here are a few pics of what's been going on. We've been doing some boating, Annie got a new tricycle, we've spent time at the cottage, and Karen and the kids have been having a great time in Grosse Pointe!

Annie's fly new whip

Annie recently got a new ride! Karen and the kids have been spending August in Michigan, splitting their time between Grosse Pointe and Pointe Aux Barques. We figured this would be a great time for Annie to get her first tricycle, since there is so much more room for her to roam. And up at the cottage you don't have to worry as much about cars and all the other fun stuff that comes with living in the city.

The pedals are still a bit far for her to reach, which is probably good at this point... Since she's a bit of terror on her own, I can't imagine the havoc she will wreak when she's got full use of her wheels!

Getting more and more adventorous!

Here is Annie at the park. We found this new (to us) park in Charlestown that has lots of great toys; like cars to ride around in, fun things to climb on, and a sprinkler! The fun thing about this park is that it's a good size, fenced in, there's usually a decent amount of kids Annie's age, and Annie loves it. The one drawback is the climbing structures are a bit advanced for Annie. And while she loves to climb, certain parts of it give me a mild heart attack watching her navigate around. I would say she's usually pretty good about knowing her limits and actually responds when you ask her to come back from the edge of something, usually...

The other interesting thing about the park, and all the other city playgrounds are the dynamics/politics among the parents. We try to be the laid back type, not hovering over Annie's every move in the park. Because we believe that Annie will best learn how to play with other kids and resolve differences on her own if we aren't constantly intervening. The problem arises with other parents who like to follow their child around, and happen to be right there when Annie decides to go up to their kid and take a toy he/she was playing with and take her turn with it. I think most times everyone gets that the kids are young and are still figuring things out. With those kids and those parents there usually aren't any issues. You feel bad because your kid just took a toy from another kid and apologize, and the other parent gets that it's no big deal and that's that. After a few park visits you become pretty good at spotting who will and who won't be a problem should Annie have a run in with their kid.

I think the other interesting aspect is the parks on the weekends. On Saturdays it's dad central, which is fun. It can also be complete bedlam. Let's run with the assumption that the moms are usually more organized and have everything (spare clothing, snacks, etc) needed, while most of the dads have a cup of coffee and that's about it. One of the last times we were there these two kids wanted to go through the sprinklers. Their dad didn't have swim suits, so the kids just stripped down and ran around naked. It was hilarious, and you could see some of the other moms who were there just look aghast at the situation. I was glad Annie kept her diaper on at least...

Cousins!

Over the 4th of July weekend Annie got see to all of her cousins!

And the exciting news was that Annie and Liv actually started playing together! Everyone was home for a combination of the holiday and Annie's 2nd birthday party.

I must say, growing up there was always plenty of room in our house, but now when everyone's home space is becoming quite the commodity! But it is a lot of fun to have the house packed with everyone and all the kids get to play together.

All about Nicholas

Nicholas is 9 weeks old today! Time really does fly and it hardly seems like it's been 9 weeks. Actually it seems like he's been around for a lot longer. The trepidation you feel when you're adding to your family seems like a lot during the build-up, but after it happens, you quickly adjust and wonder how you ever got by without him.

In 9 wks Nichol has gone from a big baby weighing in at 8.5 lbs to clocking in at around 13 lbs. He is very good natured, and frequently gets a smile on his face when Annie is around. Of course, it may just be a precursor to wincing because usually Annie likes to get on top of him to give him hugs and kisses... He is a good sleeper, at night he usually makes it in at least 4 hr intervals, which is pretty handy. He has a crabby period in the evening around 7pm, but never gets inconsolable. He also has some pretty big eyes and frequently gives us a suspicious, big eyed look -- almost like he's about to say "whach you talkin' 'bout Willis."

He's already really strong, standing for bursts of time and has great head control. And probably the most surprising thing to people is that he's only 9 wks old... I think someone even remarked that we must be feeding him cream instead of milk.

Annie's 2nd Birthday Party Throw Down!

Annie's 2nd birthday was a few weeks ago. We had her party in NY over 4th of July weekend when all of her cousins would be in town. For her party Annie did not have too many requests. She's pretty easy going, for the most part, but she did have one request. When we asked her what kind of food she wanted, she said 'peppo-wroni pizzah.' Recently pepperoni pizza is her favorite food. She requests it at every meal and in every restaurant.

So the menu was pretty simply. Lots of pepperoni pizza... Instead of birthday cake Karen made these awesome banana cupcakes. Bananas are still pretty high on Annie's list, and she loved these cupcakes. Throw in some sides and sodas and you're all set!

For the big party my parents had the idea of renting a bouncy house. And man was that a great idea! Everyone loved it, it kept the kids in an enclosed area and they never got tired of it! We had the bouncy house for the whole weekend, it got a lot of use. We also had a double slip-n-slide, which was awesome. There's not too much better than a slip-n-slide on a hot day! Overall the party was a blast. We were so glad to have it at my parents where all of Annie's cousins could attend, and we could not have asked for better weather! Thanks again to everyone who came and made Annie's second birthday party a ton of fun!

Story time

Now that Nichol has entered the fray we've adjusted our routine accordingly. Some things we've tweaked, and some things we've been able to keep the same. Story time has remained pretty much the same. In the evenings Annie gets a bath, and then after her bath we read a book. Annie loves being a big sister so she likes having Nicholas next to her during story time.

Annie's favorite book used to be "I want a Dog" which we must have read every night for about 3 months. In the past few weeks that has changed and now her favorite book is "The Three Little Pigs" which probably gets read to her at least twice a day. Many days I'll read that to her in the morning, Karen will read it during the day and then it will get read again that night before bed! We're starting to get pigged out!

Hamming it up

Here are some recent pics of Annie and Nichol. Annie continues to show a very outgoing and playful personality, and Nichol is beginning to stay awake more and request attention.

Tuesday, the 29th is Annie's 2nd birthday! Hard to believe in two years time we went from no kids to two kids! My have things changed for the Fergusons, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Tomorrow we will be celebrating Annie's birthday at home, with her favorite dinner - Pepporini Pizza. Or as she says it, "peppowroooni pizzha." We can't figure out when this became her favorite meal, and we're fairly certain she was referring to something else at first, because she would call everything pepperoni pizza. But now it's official, when she says peppowroooni pizzha she means pepperoni pizza. This weekend we'll be in upstate NY for the holiday, so we're having her formal party at Magga & Pappa's and all of her cousins will be able to share in her big day!

New kitchen / early birthday present

Some of you loyal readers may know that our condo has been on the market. And as I'm sure anyone who has sold a home knows, having your place on the markets stinks. The market in Boston has been a little soft so it's taken longer than we thought it would. But we figured that if we're going to be staying in our current place, we should get the most out of our space. For the entire time we've lived in our apt the 2nd bedroom has always had an extra full sized bed for guests. And then when Annie arrived the room was big enough for the bed and her crib. All of this was fine, until Nichol came along and Karen was able to stay home full time with both kids.

The unintended consequence was Annie needed more room to play in since she was home all day. So we unloaded the double bed from her room and made a new play space for her. We also bought her a play kitchen set and some new pots and pans! She loves this kitchen, and she loves her new play area in her room. It's one of those things where after we did it, we both asked ourselves what took us so long. And since that space where the bed was is still open, whenever guests come we'll have an air mattress they can use. Win win.

Pimp my ride

With the arrival of another Ferguson, Karen and I were faced with the age old question, "to double stroller or not to double stroller." One of the reasons we purchased our stroller originally was because in addition to all the souped up accessories it came with -- you could also expand it into a double stroller when needed.

We purchased the UppaBaby Vista because it was so flexible. When you have a baby, there's an attachment to let you clip the car seat into the stroller (eliminating the need for a snap n go frame), or there is a bassinet that you can lay the baby in. When the baby can sit up, there's a child seat that snaps in. And you can you also change the direction the seat is facing so the child faces you, or faces forward. Which comes in pretty handy on sunny days.

And I think the coolest attachment is the Rumble Seat, which you can see Annie in. At first we were a bit hesitant because we didn't know if she'd like facing rear and not much of a view. So the first time we put her in there we gave her snacks, toys and books and it was like her own little space. She loves it and it's so cute to see her stick her head slightly out of the side to watch what's going on. And the other great thing about the Rumble Seat is that it didn't increase the width of the stroller at all. That's a good thing because a lot of the streets in town can be narrow, not to mention trying to navigate the subway and in and out of stores and restaurants... you get the point.

The other option was a stand that would attach to the front of the stroller where Annie could stand and hang onto the stroller while it was being pushed. We toyed with that option, but worried that Annie might get tired on longer walks and we also questioned how well she would hang on and for how long... We figured at least with the rumble seat we could strap her in, so even if she wasn't to keen on the idea she'd be forced to stay in one place! And you can probably tell from the photos above that Annie wasn't too keen on having her photo taken at that moment.

Nichol's first bath!

Nichol's first bath! And even though I'm about a month late posting this, I promise that it did not take us a month to give him a bath! The first bath at home is always a bit tricky. I remember when we brought Annie home that was the one thing we were so nervous about, and we were definitely nervous giving Nichol his first bath.

Luckily Grandma Drummy was in town that week, so we had someone to take photos while Karen and I concentrated on not dropping Nichol down the drain! As you can see from most of the photos, it actually looks like he is having a not so bad time. I'm happy to report we all got through the first bath relatively unscathed and most importantly, no one got peed on.

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down...

Here is Annie modeling some of the latest in inclement weather attire. The frog wellies she is wearing we actually bought last summer when we were in Seattle. At the time, we were not very good at estimating her size by looking at items... The boots are still pretty big and when you pick her up most times they go flying. But she loves wearing them around! She also likes going out in the rain, the minute she gets outside she says "rain" over and over and has the biggest smile on her face.