Walden

I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born.

~Thoreau, in Walden~

We decided to get out and get some fresh air this morning, so we headed to Walden Pond. It is only about 10 minutes from our new home and it was the perfect destination. It was a cold day -- in the 30s -- but we were dressed properly and the sun was shining so the chill didn't get to us. Lucy rode around in the backpack and really like seeing the trees and the water. She must have been relaxed by the setting because she eventually fell asleep, giving Jeff and I the chance to sit down for a while and just enjoy the scenery and the quiet. After we left the pond, we went to Concord Village for some lunch and a visit to the toy store. On our way home, we stopped at Codman Farm to see the animals for a little while. A very nice "nature" day...and all before nap time!

Oh and as for the quote above, well, first, it is from Walden, which Thoreau wrote about his "experiment" living in a one-room cabin on Walden Pond for two years in the 1800s. It seemed appropriate because Lucy just seems so smart to us lately -- smarter than we are, really. She shows an early inclination to be a go-getter I think, because she now orders her daddy to "Get out of bed!" in the morning, and today after I took a shower and was still in my robe she pointed a little finger at me and said "Get dressed, Mommy!" Does she learn this stuff from us? I thought we were more relaxed than that!

In case there was any doubt about what is happening in a few short months...me and my other baby at Walden Pond

Lucy and Daddy at Walden Pond

Another one of Lucy and Daddy

Out cold!

Arriving at the farm

Tractor girl

"I see chickens!"

Thanksgiving 2007

We had a fairly low-key and relaxing Thanksgiving this year. We decided it would be easiest for everyone if we went out for dinner rather than cooking, cleaning, etc. We made our reservations at the Colonial Inn in Concord at bit late in the game, so the only time we could get was 5pm. It actually worked out perfectly as it gave Lucy a chance to take a good nap before heading to dinner.

In the morning, we took some photos of Lucy outside to use for our holiday card (see one of them, above). Unfortunately, she got dirt on her white dress and tights that I had bought special for Thanksgiving. I put them in the wash, but forgot to put them in the dryer in time for her to wear them to dinner (pregnant brain!). Fortunately, I remembered that we had bought her a very special kilt outfit when we were in Scotland last summer, so she wore that and it was perfect. Here are some photos:

Lucy in her fancy shirt

The kilt outfit, complete with matching socks -- you can't really see it in the pictures, but the pattern is a classic black watch.
Another view of the outfit

She did so well at the meal and had a ton of fun being entertained by her uncle Kevin, or "Kebin" as she calls him. And, of course, she loved spending time with her grandparents -- especially because they brought her special toys to play with during dinner!

Wearing Nonni's glasses to "read" the menu
Goofing around with Uncle Kevin
She actually took this napkin thing fairly seriously!

Two years ago...

I have no new pictures to post, so I thought I'd post a photo of me from just about 2 years ago. Hard to believe that this was also two homes ago and that the bump in my belly was Lucy. This was taken right before we left the house for our first childbirth class.

Hanging out

We haven't really had much of a chance to just hang out at our new place, but we've had a little bit. Lucy is very happy and comfortable here, as these photos show!

In the tub

Getting comfy on the sofa

Even cozier with Daddy!

Playing "peek-a-doo" in her new kitchen

She loves her new kitchen! She especially loves to put her toy cat, Di Da, in the microwave. How do we get her to stop doing that??

Washing hands "by mi selse" (by herself)

A little casualty on the chin from playing with the kitchen...it is much improved since this photo was taken.

Eggplant head

I picked up my knitting needles this week after a long absence. The cold weather inspired me to try a hat pattern for Lucy that I have had for a while. I actually knit this pattern last year only to find that the finished product was way too small. And it's too bad, because the hat last year was really adorable -- it was orange with a green top and looked like a pumpkin. This year, I knit it in some leftover purple yarn and thought it would look like a grape. The end result is more like an eggplant but I still think it's cute. It was also too small when I first tried it on her, so I modified it a bit by adding the green band along the bottom and viola, a perfect fit (for those knitters out there, the original bottom was in stockinette stitch so it rolled -- I added a few rows of garter stitch and it fits much more snugly). Mommy can be so clever sometimes!

Halloween pictures...finally!

We've been busy getting settled into our new home. It is no easy task, with tons of baby stuff, kitchen stuff, you name it. We just have too much stuff! Makes me want to throw everything out and live out of a backpack. But I digress. Anyway we finally got the computer set up, so I was able to upload photos today.

The Friday before Halloween, we went to the party at Jeff's office. Lucy had fun getting a balloon animal...well, actually, it was a balloon airplane. Unfortunately, she tried to eat it and so it needed to be confiscated. At one point, Jeff had to go back to his office to finish up some work, so I gave her a "severed hand" from the party and had her walk back to his office and present it to him. Ever since the party, whenever Daddy's office is mentioned, Lucy says either "airpane boon" (airplane balloon) or "hand."

At Daddy's desk

At the party

Outside Daddy's office after the party, before taking our "annual" trip to eat at the Rainforest Cafe. You can see where she gets her eye color...

On Halloween, we first went to the little parade at Lucy's daycare. It wasn't a regular daycare day for her, so she was a bit upset when we arrived at 4:30 and thought we were dropping her off. She did ok, though, and looked so cute walking through Brookline Village in her costume.

You can see here that she was still a bit fussy. But I like this photo because her friend Renny (the fireman) looks so cute, and also because it is a decent shot of my growing mummy tummy.

Getting a hand from Daddy. Her leg position makes her look like a little Rockette...that, and the shoes :)

Another good "dancer pose"

The three (er, four) of us outside her daycare. I think I have major "pregnant face"going on in this photo, but oh well. It's for a good cause.

After the daycare party, we headed to Beacon Hill for a celebration with some friends. It was a blast to walk around there. I think that in so many places, Halloween has really died out...people are too scared of allowing their kids to trick-or-treat, etc. (personally, I don't think the world is any more dangerous than it was in the 70's). But on Beacon Hill, the holiday is still a big deal. Almost everyone was out on the stoops of their amazing brownstones, handing out candy and showing off some pretty cool decorations. Lucy loved looking at all the pumpkins. And once she figured out what chocolate was, well, "trick-or-treat" quickly became part of her vocabulary! It was a treat for me as well, getting to see all those amazing houses. I think this is a fun new tradition and one that we can continue for years to come (so Rachel, you'd better keep inviting us!!!) Thanks to our hosts Rachel, Michael and Gabriel for a great time.

Lucy and Gabriel...do these two look like they are cooking up some trouble or what?

Love at first bite (of chocolate)

Trick-or-treat!

This cracked me up. These men standing at the door were not dressed up as Boston Brahmins for Halloween. They just were Boston Brahmins. And this is just a taste of what we saw that night!

Lucy's friend Max, whom we all agree looks so much like Lucy that they could be brother and sister.

Lucy and Max held hands a lot that night!

Max and Lucy, along with me and Max's Mommy, Ellenor

Max shows Lucy how to look inside a pumpkin to discover what makes it glow

Sorry for the absence!

We moved last weekend and our home computer is not set up yet, thus my absence from blogging. I can write things, but it's just no fun without pictures and I can't load my pictures without my own computer. I hope to have things up and running within a few days and will post all about our Halloween festivities. Let's just say that we've gotten a lot of mileage out of the Dorothy costume. Oh and Lucy's favorite new words are "candy" and "chocolate." Great.