Visit from Mom

So, this picture has nothing to do with the following post. I just thought Allie looked pretty cute.


Mom took a red eye into town in May and we got started on all the local action right away. First stop was Fisherman's Beach in Swampscott. We met all our playgroup friends there for the afternoon.
A shark ate all of the children's legs. It was unfortunate.
The next day we ventured downtown determined to complete the entire Freedom Trail with two small children.

We had fun blowing all our money on street performers. Edie's still a little confused in this picture after watching the statue behind them move.

We almost quit after a tour of Old Ironsides. Although not pictured, Nate was in attendance and rallied us to persevere. I'm happy to say that we did, in fact, accomplish our goal.
Sunday we had a wonderful family reunion with Matt and Hannah, Andrew and Tina, and Chad and Mary (with accompanying children). Sorry no pictures!

Edie and Allie kept mom busy playing and reading.
Monday we walked the Minuteman Trail and discovered the last remaining Red Coat.

The kids were good sports.We ended the day at Walden Pond. I'm not sure what got into us, but we actually walked the entire perimeter and found the remains of Thoreau's cabin.


Mom and Edie made great cookies! Oatmeal Peanut Butter, my favorite!


Brave ol' Mom encouraged us to take MBTA downtown to the aquarium (so we wouldn't have to pay for parking). We had so much fun! Edie loved it! Not sure the other riders loved it as much as we did.
By the time we made it to the aquarium, the girls had fallen asleep.
What a fun trip! We all slept very well at night...even mom, who took the sloping couch. Edie and Allie miss their Grandma Ducky. It sure was a treat to have 2 mom's around. I'm pretty sure that's how family life is designed to be.

she's getting it!!!

Allison started taking off today! It's so fun to watch her excitement and pride in her new ability. She's just been walking all day...everywhere! She definitely wasn't doing this yesterday.

You'll notice in the beginning of the video that when she tries to start crawling, she starts shaking her finger, which is how she says, "No, no"...because she knows what her mom will say!

A Tribute to My Ball and Chain

Today is March 6th, the 4 year anniversary of my first date with Nate. Many of you were on that date. Let me call your minds to an evening of Tepanyaki, policemen, and rockets...in that order.

But, the real magic started about a month before when we were reunited at the Wash Hut.


A power from on High had messed with our means of cleaning our clothes, which led us both to the aforementioned laundromat for the first time in our lives at exactly the same time. It had been about 7 years since our last interaction, so it took us awhile before we recognized each other. When my roommate and I parted that evening, I remember telling her, "I think that was for a reason." I felt an Almighty hand in that experience.

So, I did what most people would do in that situation: I called on the powers of the stalker-net (and he did the same). He nearly joined the Robinson Family water polo team and we also met briefly at my apartment. And then, on a memorable birthday, I received a phone call from Nate inviting me on a date for that Saturday. I was taken aback by the official date because of a girlfriend that I seemed to recall him being committed to.

That Saturday, March 6, 2005, Nate and I went on our first date. No one else found much success that night, except for maybe Jason and Heather, as they were already married. But Nate and I hit it off. He was all I ever wanted. And...he later broke up with his girlfriend. Love you, Nate!

A Wash Hut proposal

A Toxic dance

Happy Birthday, Allison!

We love our Allison! Here are some pictures from her first year.

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

January

February

And, a Happy Birthday to our friends Eliza Hodnett and Melissa Dieter!

How we are surviving the winter...

Girls Day In

We were honored to have Tallie over last week, as her parents were busy with the delivery of their new son. We spent the day playing princess, much to my exhaustion.

Edie relishes the Belle gown; Tallie enjoys the beverage of choice: chocolate milk; Allison takes the cake, I think.

Belle, the Beast, and Tallie chat over Princess Milkshakes.

Manicure and pedicure enter their vocabulary.

Cookies (that should've taken 20 minutes to make) are completed in 2 hours.

Lunch
Yeah right...princesses don't eat cookie dough for lunch! They dine on "wet shrimp and nacaroni shells"!!

Thanks for playing, Tallie! We had so much fun! And I hope your brother will not put a damper on your princess play.

In other news, I started sleep training T-Rex today.

I've nursed/rocked her to sleep since she was born - a complete opposite of Edie's experience. And I think it's high time she learn how to put herself to sleep. It's not going well so far. I'm trying the Cry Yourself To Sleep Method. Let's just say it's about 5 pm and she hasn't napped yet.

Wish her luck!