Blogging with JIngram

More from Mississippi

2012-01-03T21:57:00.003-05:00

A few more pictures from our road trip over Christmas. We enjoyed New Orleans especially the Aquarium and feeding the parakeets. Elise doesn't like this last picture with Connor because she says "it looks like we are marrying." I think it is adorable and they could be siblings. We really enjoyed getting to know the boys after not having seen them in more than 3 years. We will definitely see them more often. I can't believe Kaelin turns 16 next week - it is really shocking how fast time goes by as an adult.

Merry Christmas

2012-01-03T21:38:00.003-05:00

Well, I figured I had better upload something soon, as I haven't updated our blog since October! December was a great month - Kurt and I went to Miami and Palm Beach for my birthday (and for me to get some work done, which we did). It was awesome and warm! We met up with some great people who are going to help make our German trip to Miami and Palm Beach great. Then a week later we loaded up the car and drove down to Mississippi to visit Julie, Kaelin, Connor, and Scott. We really couldn't have had a nicer visit - thank you Julie! My sister's home(s) is/are amazing. She and Scott are working to get into one full time, but are currently splitting time between three. We had such a good time and even got to day trip down to New Orleans, which was really perfect - I can't wait to go back and stay over. The two day drive down and back was fine with the exception of the first night on our drive back when Elise started to melt down and then I started to melt down, but we got her some dinner and headed to the motel and all was well. Elise LOVED playing fairy princess with Aunt Julie and as you can see LOVES make up and nail polish and she loved playing with Connor, or at least having Connor explain the video game he was playing at the time. We actually got to play a lot of games with the boys and had so much fun.

2011-10-23T22:10:00.001-04:00

It is a bit dark, but here is Elise having a great time dancing at Jenny's wedding.

Another Amazing Wedding

2011-10-23T22:04:00.002-04:00

Last year we were lucky enough to be invited to Jennifer and Mark's wedding, where Elise was a flower girl and this year our good friend (and also former colleague of mine) Jenny married Jens (also from the Harvard Art Museums) and we got to go to another amazing wedding. We were in North Creek, NY for the festivities - what a perfect weekend in the Adirondacks. As you can see Jenny looked amazing and her family was incredibly gracious. The weather couldn't have been better and Elise even had a chance to hang out with Dave's kids, who I had heard so much about when we worked together. We rented a house with my other former museum family, which couldn't have been nicer. Elise did great going to sleep in a new place each night. We had so much fun with Nika, Annie, Jessica, and Drew. I could really get used to an annual reunion with all of these amazing friends. Elise had a super fun time dancing with some of the other little girls. Leaving to come home was difficult for all of us.

Kindergarten

2011-10-23T21:49:00.000-04:00

Mom made Elise this adorable dress and jacket so she wore it on the first day of her new Kindergarten, Su Escuela. Elise has to take in a "unique" family portrait for her first day of Kindergarten on Monday. As the cats take up much of our time and energy (especially at 5am trying to keep them from waking us up) I thought they should be included. We had orientation this morning and while Kurt and I are THRILLED with this program, Elise got upset and ended up in tears. She definately takes after Kurt in social anxiety so the first couple of weeks are going to be a bit tough, hopefully she isn't too distruptive and can begin to get comfortable quickly. She definatley had tears at Johnson School and Summer Camp but we never heard it was too problematic, more a matter of just getting comfortable with her surroundings and getting to know new kids - she really did great at Day Camp so I was hoping this transition wouldn't be so difficult for her. However, if this keeps up I think we will need to take her to see someone to help figure out how she can better cope when feeling so anxious and nervous. The school is going to make it hard for Kurt and I as we just learned they have plans to run a first and second grade program next year (and full primary academy after that) - the idea is thrilling for us as we look ahead, but paying for it won't help our finances so there will be some tough decision making for us next spring.

Back in action...

2011-10-23T21:39:00.005-04:00

Well it has taken weeks for me to get around to posting. Partially because we have had busy weekends, partially because I have been lazy, and partially because I had to download Google Chrome in order to get into our blog. Oh well - happy fall everyone! My favorite season and Kurt's least favorite season. Right now Elise is on Kurt's team with this one. I must say it has been nice not having a work travel program to arrange for the fall - we moved our trip to March this year which has been a treat for me, though I do enjoy taking the Germans to fun cities around the country. These pictures are actually from last weekend when we managed some fun pumpkin patch activities and the annual photo with the apple measure. Today we had the joy of taking Elise to get her flu shot - you would think we were taking her to have her arm lobbed off the way she reacted. It was all I could do to carry her flailing around - she grabbed her booster seat and wouldn't let go so we carried it into the doctors office. The tears were amazing, especially as it took the technician less than a second and it was all over. Hopefully by next year she will be less anxious, and I won't make the mistake of mentioning our destination beforehand.

Visiting with the Cousins

2011-08-17T21:51:00.000-04:00

Well Elise and I certainly had a busy week last week as the day after we got back from our NC road trip with Linda, Kurt came to pick us up in CT to drive straight to the Cape to visit with Sue, Staffan, Julia, and Jakob who were up from Maryland for a visit. I forgot to mention that we are down a card due to a car accident Kurt had on his way home the Wednesday that we drove up to New Hampshire for our mini-vacation. It was the begining of a totally bad luck night with two major accidents on the way up to NH prolonging our road time by at least 2 hours. The car ended up being totaled so until we get the insurance check we are down a car, which means Elise and I are back to busing it in the morning. Anyway, it was nice to spend the afternoon with the cousins and Elise was so excited about the prospect of seeing her favorite cousin, Julia that she couldn't stop talking about it for days!

NC Road Trip 2011

2011-08-17T21:43:00.000-04:00

Well Linda and I managed a second extremely successful road trip with Elise and Ethan this year. It is amazing how two years made such a difference in their ability to tolerate the long drive. The kids were great on our 14 hour car rides and hanging out at Linda's parents house. We managed to get to the Zoo twice and the Greensboro Children's Museum, which was a lot of fun too. I still haven't managed to send our Thank You notes yet, but hopefully I will get them in the mail soon. Linda's folks are so kind to let us crash their valuable time with Linda and Ethan and her dad was amazingly sweet with Elise. It is also nice that at least right now Ethan and Elise get on very well so there weren't any issues. Linda is truly amazing when it comes to preparing for road trips and the kids loved getting to unwrap a small item whenever we reached a new state. It was great how this little trick managed to keep them occupied and interested without much whining or any tears. Can't wait until the next trip!

New Hampshire Vacation

2011-08-17T21:34:00.000-04:00

Ed and Carole (and Emma) were kind enough to invite us up to NH again this summer. If they aren't careful we are going to assume we can do this every year! It is always so much fun to hang out with them and this year we had the added bonus of having Ed and Carole join us at StoryLand, Elise's favorite place (at least until we take her to Disney, if that ever happens). The face painter at StoryLand was amazing and Elise came away as a beautiful butterfly. We got the usual photo op photos and had a great time just hanging out at the homestead. The time at the river was wonderful, but I was a little dissapointed not to get up to Diana's Bath this year (a hike with waterfalls at the end). Elise had a great time at the river too. I got a little school shopping done at the outlet malls and Kurt and I managed a dinner away to celebrate our anniversary.

Movie Time

2011-07-17T22:27:00.000-04:00

After our sleepover at Bob and Erika's we took Elise to her first movie in the theater. We weren't intentionally waiting until she was five, there just haven't been too many movies we wanted to take her to. We chose the new Winnie the Pooh movie, which just opened on Friday, so the timing was perfect. It was short and sweet and she enjoyed it. It was great to have Aidan and Zane along especially since I think they would have probably enjoyed Cars2 more.

The Party

2011-07-17T22:23:00.000-04:00

We had perfect weather for Elise's party at Webb Memorial State Park here in Weymouth. If it looks somewhat familiar that's because this is the park where we had her first birthday party. Of course it is always nice to have the Eichner's and Clarke's join us but it was also nice that the Harwards were able to come too as well as Katelyn, Natalie, and Andrew and their parents. Elise got lots of great gifts including new books she hasn't read, some great Playmobile sets from Aidan and Zane. Nany and Grandpa spoiled her with clothes, books, games, and puzzles. Ed and Carole gave her a great pink soccer ball and net with shin guards. We finished the day with dinner and a sleepover at Bob and Erika's, which made Aidan and Elise quite happy.
Our theme this year was a garden party, so I set up a couple of craft stations where kids could decorate foam flowers with stickers, plant seeds in paper containers, make tissue paper flowers and then we had veggies and seeds for a snack with flower cupcakes. It turned out pretty cute, and the kids seemed happy. At one point Bob took the kids down along the shore for a nature walk and that was apparently the highlight for Andrew. All in all it was a great day.

High Five!

2011-07-17T22:02:00.001-04:00

Every year it becomes more and more difficult to believe how quickly Elise is growing up. Thursday marked her fifth birthday. She had a busy day at Wey Fun Day Camp and then got to open a few presents. For months she has been asking for a microscope, though Kurt and I have no idea why. We had a great time looking at some of the prepared slides that we bought to go with it. We also bought her a recorder and harmonica, so she has been taking them along with her everywhere. I didn't feel like making two cakes since her party is on Saturday, so I just brought her home a cupcake.

And then there was one...

2011-07-06T21:03:00.000-04:00

So this post goes out to all my very favorite former colleagues from H/AM. Missing from this picture are Jessica and Annie who are both enjoying life on the West Coast (soon to be joined by Nika). We toast a shot of Wild Turkey in Susan Ray's honor with fond memories of this second wave of IA staff losses under "brilliant" leadership. I said goodbye to the first wave of amazing colleagues with the departure of Jennifer, Melanie, and Meagan over three years ago, who I am lucky enough to see for lunch and drinks whenever I can, thankfully they are still nearby (as are Jenny, Dave and Sonja) and can help me keep my sanity as I venture through another staff reshuffle (heaven forbid you actually have a staffing plan and replace departing staff in a logical manner). The good news is that Nika's departure means a promotion for me, but I remain frustrated that it takes a valued collegue and friend to leave before I am considered for a promotion, regardless of what responsibilities I continue to take on. Oh well, I am looking forward to getting more management on my resume and some quantifiables, now that I am overseeing membership and working on the Fellows program. Now if I can only figure out what I want my next step to be.

June Celebrations

2011-07-01T21:50:00.000-04:00

June was also a busy month for celebrations - at home and at work. Not sure how it is possible, but Kurt turned 47 on the 9th and of course Elise was right there waiting for a piece of his Swedish Fish/Blueberry cake. Lest you are disgusted by this combination it was inspired by a game that Elise likes to play on-line, where she gets to decorate cakes with different ingredients and one of them is fish, at least with our version the fish were candy. While June has been a great month for celebrations at work it means that July onward is going to be difficult as the celebrations were part of bidding goodbye to two of my very favorite people, Jenny and Nika. At least Jenny is staying put and working on her writing while Nika is leaving me for San Francisco. I anticipate many, many coffee/sanity breaks with Jenny as I take on most of Nika's work and contend with a new person who has already demonstrated her psychotic tendancies (as Jenny found out the hard way). While Jenny left several weeks ago we still managed to surprise her and Jens with a wedding shower, which was a lot of fun and I am really looking forward to their wedding this October in the Adirondacks.

June is Busting Out All Over

2011-07-01T21:38:00.000-04:00

As always, here I am playing catch-up at the end of the month. We have had a busy June with Johnson School Field Day and Promotion Ceremony, a day at the beach and a fantastic visit with Linda and Ethan at Old Sturbridge Village. It is very sad to say goodbye to Elise's friends and the staff at Johnson School. Principal Silberstein, Miss Bradley, and Mrs. Travers will be missed not to mention wonderful Weycare staff, especially Mrs. Cady and Miss Kelly. It was so cute to get Elise to pose with Kassandra, Katelyn, and Natalie. I can't explain, but always really liked Elise playing with Kassandra, she is the adorable one who looks like Dora.

Allsorts

2011-06-08T15:25:00.002-04:00

I am sure I have said it before, but I LOVE licorice Allsorts (Bassett's brand is THE best!) - Nika was kind enough to bring me back a couple of small bags from London last week and every time I take a bite into the yummy, sugary, chewy little candies I am in heaven. I know they are not everyone's cup of tea but I love them! I think I can thank my Dad for this as I fondly remember them at my Dad and Grandma's house (these and those pink pepermint hard candies). The best part is that I know so few people who like them I can keep what I get (I am so happy that at least Jennifer is on the Allsorts team with me).

Garden Party 2011

2011-06-08T15:19:00.002-04:00

We were extremely lucky that the weather was so nice on Sunday for our annual Members Spring Garden Party at work. Elise and Kurt joined the fun and enjoyed drawing in the garden and eating lots of cookies. Our members had a great time too. It was only kind of intentional that Elise and I were so well coordinated. Our photographer took some great shots, here are a couple.

May Days

2011-05-31T22:06:00.000-04:00

May Days

2011-05-31T21:38:00.002-04:00

We had a great Memorial Day Weekend, except for the part where Kurt got really, really sick while we were at the movies on Sunday and ended up missing half of Bridesmaids and then being sick at Bob and Erika's for the rest of the night, fortunately Elise wanted a sleep over anyway. But before the turn for the worse we started out at swimming lessons. Elise finally advanced to level 2, which is great. She actually really likes jumping off of the low platform. We have discovered that the lessons at Weymouth Club are pretty hit or miss, fortunately we like her current teacher, Amara. After swimming and our weekly outing to the Hingham library, we met up with Bob and Erika and the boys at Plymouth Plantation. We have been meaning to go for ages so it was nice to finally get there. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had a great time. The Native peoples village was neat as was the English village. In the English Village the interpreters portray actual settlers. We headed into Plymouth for a walk about and dinner and did a photo shoot at one of those "old tyme" photo places. I will scan those pictures and post too - the boys thought it was so cool and Elise has already picked out her next costume.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T22:31:00.000-04:00

Well after a not-so-pleasant Saturday, the weather here on Sunday was perfect! Elise enjoyed an indoor easter egg hunt and the easter baskets that the Easter bunny brought. Of course she was talking non-stop about wanting candy all day and I am sure she ate more than she should have. I must say I was very proud of myself for finishing her Easter dress and having it turn out as nice as it did. I couldn't believe I managed to get the collar piece to fit and the sleeves to look normal. It is a little too big, but I made a size 5 since I wanted her to be able to wear it for a while. I am my worst critic when it comes to my projects (e.g. the wild rice dish I took for Easter dinner, which was pretty terrible), but I love it when I surprise myself and make something really well. While it looks like Lilly Pulitzer it is really a Michael Miller fabric and I have to say it was a really nice fabric to work with.
Elise is really funny these days and continues to think that potty words are hilarious, and we are trying to discourage. She recently adopted one of the stuffed animal bunnies my Mom made me and is calling her Mrs. Comoso. I have no idea where that came from but it is adorable to hear her say it. She currently loves Disney Princesses (much to my chagrin, as those of you who know me well know how much I dislike most things Disney) cats, dogs, and books - lots and lots of books!

April Vacation

2011-04-25T22:12:00.000-04:00

Elise's school vacation week was fun-filled at least for her. Kurt took some time off and his mom came over a couple of days and I stayed home on Good Friday. Kurt and Bob took the kids to the Roger Williams Zoo on Monday and had a great time and brought home lot's of plants since the zoo was doing a plant give away. Then on Friday we took Elise to the Weymouth Bank to open her savings account - clearing out all three of her piggy banks. Given how far behind in finiancial planning Kurt and I are, it felt great to get Elise started early and saving often. Of course after doing something great like opening a savings account we did the exact opposite and went over to town carnival. Elise enjoyed riding the convoy cars and winning a little orange dog to go with the green doggie she won two years ago. Of course I wouldn't noramally pay $5 for a cheap stuffed toy, but I guess it is all part of the experience.

Spring Outings

2011-04-25T22:02:00.000-04:00

As you can see we have had a busy spring, at least when the weather cooperates. In addition to Saturday morning swimming lessons and weekly visits to the Hingham Library, we have been out and about. Back in March the South Shore Model Railroad Club had their semi-annual open house and it was interesting to see the trains and track work. The space is surprisingly nice, although crowded. The circus train was really long and it was cool to watch multiple trains running along the tracks. Next time we will have to get Elise's cousins Aidan and Zane to come over.
We made our annual spring pilgrimage to Drumlin Farm and watched the adorable new lambs prance around the field. The other activity that we are going to be doing a lot of this summer is Questing. We bought the South Shore Quests booklet, which contains about 20 quests to c0mplete mostly in the state parks in the area. We did our first one in Wompatuck State Park and then headed over to Abigail Adams Park off of Route 3A in Weymouth. The quests are a series of directions that you use to find the questbox at the end where you can put your name in the quest book and put that quest's stamp in your quest book. Kurt took Elise on a third quest so we are well on our way to filling our book. So far Elise is really enjoying it and it gets us outside really looking around nature. Of course there is a down side and that is the ticks that both Elise and I found when we got home - yuck! So far no signs of Lyme disease but we are watching to make sure Elise doesn't display any symptoms.

March Weekends

2011-03-13T22:35:00.000-04:00

Well it looks like Spring is FINALLY here. Last Sunday we drove over to Nantasket and played at the beach for a while. We weren't the only ones with the idea so the playground was packed. The tide was coming in, but we managed to get some rocks and shells for Elise's collection and of course there were many great dogs to stop and pet. This past Saturday was busy with swimming and a birthday party, Happy Birthday Natalie! Today we went into Harvard so Elise could participate in another study in the Early Childhood Development Lab, the time change caused some confusion, but the student finally arrived and it was fine. The study was about how children access information and how they process how the information is delivered to them. It was her fourth study and she is already looking forward to the next one (she gets a little toy for participating). We got back early enough to take her bike over to Bear Cove Park and get some riding in. We love seeing all the dogs, the cutest of the day a St. Bernard-Collie mix, he was huge and adorable. Also saw a beautiful brown Huskie and tons of Goldens and Labs as always with a good measure of small dogs mixed in. Days like these I can't wait to get a dog!

More Winter-break fun

2011-02-25T22:23:00.000-05:00

We continued our winter break activities visiting with our favorite twins, Arden and Sydney and their big sis, Emerson and their amazing mom, Meredith. It is always great to get a chance to catch up with them. Meredith's wonderful decorating taste compelled me (or shamed me) into doing something about Elise's room so I took her with me to the paint store, picked out a great color (Larkspur Purple by Martin Seymour) and got to work. Elise helped out in a few spots and certainly wanted to do more, but as you can imainge a four-year-old's command of the paintbrush, or roller leaves much to be desired in terms of clean-up. In the end I was very happy with the paint, especially as I only did one coat. The curtains are not as inspired as I had hoped, but they work and we are going to get some canvases and get some art on the walls soon.

Winter Vacation Week

2011-02-25T22:10:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to get to hang out with Linda, James, and Ethan at Sturbridge Village on President's Day. We had planned a longer weekend visit, but the weather had other ideas. It was my first visit and a great one. Elise got a heart-shaped cookie cutter from the tin smith and we saw a terrific shadow puppet show. It was a beautiful day, if a little cold. A great start to the winter break from school.

Bright Tights Day 2011

2011-02-18T15:55:00.004-05:00

Mark next year's calendar for International Bright Tights Day, Feburary 17. In an attempt to chase away the winter blues, a coworker of mine decided to host a bright tights day and get our museum collegues and our friends accross the country to participate. Here is a sampling of the day (my blue leg is on the left). Yeah bright tights!

Artist in Residence - Age 4

2011-01-16T19:23:00.000-05:00

While at IKEA this afternoon we decided to get Elise an easel as she is enjoying creating pictures right now. These are some of the portraits she drew on the white board side. I love this since it means we can take a picture and then erase and then I don't have to go through the agony of deciding what art papers of hers I should save and which ones can I recycle. I think she comes home with between 8 and 10 sheets of paper everyday from pre-school and Weycare and I have to toss them into the recycling when she isn't looking or she decides she still needs them. Our bedroom has also become her art gallery, as I have started hanging some of her better stuff on the wall above our bed. I'm hoping to teach her the art of curating (e.g. editing out) at a very early age.

Faces

2011-01-16T18:58:00.000-05:00

Given the weather last week and our unexpected snowday on Wednesday we have been inside a lot lately, although Elise has really enjoyed her snow pants and boots and the snow in our "front yard." We resorted to face painting the other day and of course her eyes stayed blue for days. I keep thinking there must be better face paints out there or my technique is just faulty, either way Elise doesn't seem to mind the outcome. Elise also took this great picture of Little Kitty (a.k.a. Choo Choo Kitty). So far we are off to a great 2011 and I don't actually mind the snow.

The Second Week of Christmas

2011-01-16T18:42:00.000-05:00

Our post-Christmas activities were filled with family and friends and enjoying the wonderful presents that Elise received from everyone. The Eichner/Clarke/Sandberg family party was fun and Elise was thrilled to get to spend time with Julia, in particular, and all of her other cousins. Elise and I had a fantastic trip over to Litchfield to visit with Charlene and her family, have lunch with Virginia and stay over with Linda, James, and Ethan. It was great for me to get to catch up with my Litchfield friends who I really miss.

Merry Christmas - 2010

2010-12-27T17:06:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve down on the Cape with Ed, Carole, Drew, Emma, and Carole's mom, June. It was nice to hang out with them, play some games, decorate Christmas cookies, and go to Carole's church for their Christmas service. This is the second year in a row we have crashed their Christmas eve, if they aren't careful it is likely to turn into a tradition for us. June was kind enough to have a puzzle for Elise and Ed and Carole gave her a fun Cranium activity with funny masks and voice modulator, a game called Chicky Boom, glowing magic wand and Drew gave her a santa toy. She was delighted to have presents to open on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning was nice. Elise slept in past 8am, which was nice and was super exited, but took her time opening her presents. She was also very excited for Kurt and I to open our presents. Santa came through again with great wrapping. He found this great German ribbon that makes bows look like fireworks and it looked great on the white paper, which is his signature wrapping at our house.

Bill and Louise came over for dinner at about 1:30pm. We had crudites with a buttermilk dip (which was more like a dressing) and a signature cocktail (Christmas punch) to start and then a roasted beet salad with spinach and arugula and then the main course of braised short ribs, herbed mashed potatoes, and carmalized carrots and parsnips (which were unfortunately over carmelized, bordering on charred). I made the short ribs in the slow cooker on Friday and just had to re-heat them, I thought they turned out pretty well for it being my first time. They could have had a bit more flavor, next time I think I will marinate them in red wine over night as some of the recipes I read suggested. Rather than bake another thing, I decided to make a red currant gingersnap parfait, which turned out pretty good. Elise even ate some of the spare ribs, which was a surprise.

Elise got a set of 3 pairs of high heel shoes, some clothes, art supplies, some small Playmobile sets, an elefun playdoh game, Guess what I am game, Enchanted Forrest game, an I spy snap game, some fingernail polish and stickers from us and Santa. Nanny and Grandpa brought over for her a unicorn pillow pet (she has named Nika), a necklace set, skateboard and bicycle Playmobile set. The nice ladies from afternoon Weycare gave her a cute little Winnie the Pooh puzzle. Nika was kind enough get her a necklace set and Ann at work got her a very cool cat that you can color and then wash off and re-color. She will be taking tennis and swimming starting in January so we are also considering that as part of her Christmas. All in all she was very happy and we are grateful that she was not dissapointed partially because there wasn't anything too specific that she was asking for that was too big. She has however already been reminding us that she would really like a microscope for Christmas next year if she doesn't get one for her birthday in July.

Pre-Christmas Activity

2010-12-27T16:41:00.000-05:00

For my birthday Kurt was sweet enough to give me a daytrip down to Newport. We should have thought to leave Elise with Nanny and Grampa so as to have seen more than one of the mansions, but it was a beautiful day and Elise did pretty well. We ended up just going to see Marble House, which has a really neat Chinese tea house on the grounds. Lunch wasn't great but it was close and quick. The next morning we decided to brave the lines and head over to Jordan's furniture in Avon for the Enchanted Village. We were lucky to have arrived about a half hour before it opened because the line was really growing. She enjoyed it when they turned on the snow and it was fun to see all the "automaticals." I decided that I could take some time off from work so I took all of the week before Christmas and I already get the week between Christmas and New Years off so it is a nice two week vacation for me. Since Elise was still in school through Wednesday I got some much cherised time to myself (mostly cleaning and window shopping). But Elise and I did manage to fit in some fun on Thursday by going bowling (both candlepin and 10-pin) and working on a project for Grandma and Nanny's birthdays, which are coming up at the end of January. Elise has had a hard time going to bed with all the excitment of Santa's visit coming up so soon.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

2010-12-27T16:29:00.000-05:00

Contrary to what you may think as I haven't posted anything in ages, November and December have been plenty busy for us. We had a great Thanksgiving down on the Cape courtesy of Ed and Carole and enjoyed seeing the Eichners/Clarkes/Sandbergs. We managed to get over to the Christmas Tree Farm in Canton and hang out with Bob and Erika as they picked their tree. Of course by Friday, most of the family was ill with a stomach bug, which hit Kurt and Elise, but fortunately I managed to avoid it, which didn't mean I didn't catch a terrible cold a few days later and stayed home from work. We were however, up and running for our Gingerbread House outing (or inning) with our good friend from work, Nika. I had grandoise ideas about making my own gingerbread and assembling two houses the day before, but that didn't happen and we managed with grahm crackers and left over Halloween candy (sadly we still have a huge bag full). We started the day going to pick up Nika at the Harvard ceramics program holiday sale, which was great and I managed to find nice mugs for Kurt and Elise. Then we hung out in the apartment making the gingerbread houses before heading back to Cambridge for the Holiday carol service at Memorial Church, our second year in a row. Elise still prefers the kids activities downstairs to the music upstairs, but we will try it again next year.

Halloween, Picture Day, and a visit from Sara Maud

2010-11-14T21:09:00.000-05:00

We did manage to get some trick-or-treating done on Halloween. We started early at the Derby Street Shops, where Elise managed to get a pretty big pile of candy. On the way home we stopped in a random neighborhood in Hingham and filled up her bag a little more. We missed hanging out with Aidan and Zane this year, but with a Patriots game in Foxboro, we weren't about to try to get to Bob and Erika's this year. Last week was a good one too, with Elise's picture day on Tuesday and a visit from Sara Maud and baby Max on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was great to see Sara and to meet her little guy, who is adorable and really good natured. Of course this doesn't mean that he didn't cry, much to Elise's chagrin. In fact Elise was a bit relieved that it was a short visit as she didn't care for the crying, I on the other hand would have loved to have them here longer. We had Thursday off and I wasn't at work on Wednesday so it was a short week. It is hard to believe that next week is already Thanksgiving, but I am thrilled to be getting a few more days off from work and planning to go read stories to Elise's class just prior to the break.

Fall Catch Up

2010-10-18T21:29:00.000-04:00

Recently, it feels like all I have been doing is trying to catch up. Being away for work at the end of September really set me back, but we have managed to squeeze in lots of fun this fall. We loved going to Ethan's to help him celebrate his birthday and it was fun to go hang out with Ed and Carole down on the Cape. We managed a nice walk out to World's End in Hingham and last weekend went with friends from work out to Keene, NH for the 20th annual Pumpkin Festival. It was a bit of a drive out there but with Nika in the car, Elise was an angel, and slept the entire way home. It was an amazing day with dramatic clouds and sun. I think the only thing Elise will remember from our outing is this funny little squash that someone made into a baby with a dirty diaper - she loved it - oh and the double rainbow set against a gray sky and green and orange hill.
Incidentally, I did have another great trip with the Germans, though there were certainly some challenges and hiccups. It was a big group, which also made it more complicated. I am hoping to put together a Fellows program to Germany sooner than later. We'll see how that goes once our new Busch-Reisinger Curator comes on board in January. Finger's crossed I would get to go.

Early Reader

2010-09-08T21:35:00.002-04:00

So here is Elise sharing her love of reading. Like I said in my last post, we are constantly amazed at what words she recognizes and how great she does reading her books. I guess this is what happens when your parents are completely over-educated and too poor to afford anything more than basic cable!

Elise at Four Years Old

2010-09-08T20:45:00.003-04:00

Elise's went for her annual check up a few weeks ago and I meant to report her latest stats. She did great at the doctor's office until it was time for the shots (3!) and who can blame her for not wanting 3 shots? Even the lollypop didn't help the crying this time. I have to remind the nurse next time NOT to use those sticky round band aids as I have as taking them off is as traumatic to Elise as getting the shot in the first place. Elise is weighing in 38.8 lbs at a height of 40 inches,which is 75% for height and 50% for weight at that height - so really good. No other problems to report thank goodness. She also went in for her dental check-up and everything looked good there too. They even took x-rays and she did great with that. She loves going since they have a box she can pick little toys out of. With the fear of sounding like a braggart, I do have to say that Elise is constantly surprising me and Kurt with her reading skills. She is actually reading words and can even get through a couple of her books. And yes, some of them she has definately memorized, but she is pointing to words in books that Kurt and I are reading us and telling us what they are. I will try to upload her showing off her reading skills here. We are super proud of her and know that she is going to be amazing by the time she enters Kindergarten next year.
She started back at Johnson School this week and is very happy to be in Miss Bradley and Mrs. Travers class again. Katelin from her Bright Horizons Summer program is also in her class and we will see how that works out. One day Elise talks about playing with her and the next says that Katelin says she won't play with her, which makes her feel bad. I guess we'll see how it shakes out over the next few months.

Late Summer Fun

2010-09-08T20:42:00.000-04:00

We had a great Labor Day Weekend. The weather couldn't have been better all weekend. We managed to get out and about and one day went to our favorite dog park - Bear Cove in Hingham. Elise did great walking all the way to the water and back, although getting her back into the car is always trouble since she never wants to leave. We saw tons of Labs and some super cute small dogs too. I am still dreaming of getting a husky, but after seeing the cutest 14 week old black Newfoundland, I may have to change my mind. I love that Elise is as much a dog person as a cat person, even though we haven't ever had a dog. It is so cute to watch her squat down and hold out her hand as a dog walks by. Finger's crossed we can get one before too long.

After the Wedding

2010-09-08T20:34:00.000-04:00

We had a great time at the dinner following Mark and Jennifer's wedding. The carriage house was lovely and the band was a lot of fun and as you can see once the music started after dinner, we couldn't get Elise off of the dance floor. Our good friend Nika even joined in on the fun and Elise loved it! Pretty much it was mostly the kids out on the dance floor although towards the end they did get a dance line going, which Elise really loved. I will try to get some video up too. Two late nights in a row, but I have to say we are SO lucky! Elise is really terrific at being out with our friends. We had been at the rehersal dinner at the Harvard Faculty Club the night before and I am so grateful that we can bring her out and she can have fun.

The Big Day

2010-09-08T20:27:00.000-04:00

Jennifer and Mark had perfect weather for their beautiful wedding on August 28th. Given how much rain we had earlier in the week they completely lucked out. The wedding was at the Codman Estate in Lincoln and the grounds were really beautiful. Elise and the other three flower girls were adorable, though nothing could compare to Jennifer in her amazing dress! Elise made a new friend Sophie who was adorable, though when the time came for them to walk together down the aisle, Elise wouldn't hold hands and raced down, while Sophie took her time. We were lucky Elise went down the aisle by herself as when it came time for me to go sit down, she wouldn't let me go and started really getting upset. We had had a great rehersal the day before so I was a little surprised (though not really) that she got so nervous. You can see the reflecting pool, which contained lilly pads, frogs, turtles and toads. Elise was delighted to see all the frogs and toads. Aside from getting nervous she really did do a great job and was so super cute.

Lookout, Here we Come

2010-09-08T20:19:00.000-04:00

Lookout Farm opened for the season in mid-August. We hadn't been in a couple of years and remembered the delicious late-summer plums, peaches and apples and decided it was time for a visit. It was a beautiful day, but a little dissapointing. The fruit was completely picked over, which was a little weird as they had only been open one week before, but it was almost impossible to find any peaches, let alone fill up a bag and the plums weren't much better. Elise enjoyed the playground, which they had changed a little since the last time we were there, but we didn't stay as long as I thought we might. Unfortunately, Kurt got really ill as we were going to the car. We didn't know if it was the (2) plums or a peach that he ate, or something else, but it took us almost an hour to get him in a state that we could get in the car. We then just drove to Bob and Erika's since it was much closer than our place. Kurt continued being sick for a few hours, but we managed to get home before too late. He later learned that one of his inmate workers was also sick with a stomach bug over the weekend so we suspect that was what it was.

Everyone Loves a Shower

2010-08-15T19:41:00.000-04:00

I am sure others got better pictures than me, but I did want to share some photos from Jennifer's bridal shower earlier this month. It was so lovely. Melanie is such a fantastic hostess and it was fun to spend the afternoon with both of them and Nika and meet some new people too. I stayed in town and hung out with Nika before going out for dinner with Melanie, her Mom, Jennifer, Nika, Clair, and Jennifer's friend Janet. Melanie arranged a wine tasting at Les Zygomats prior to dinner that was divine! I came away from the weekend once again appreciating how lucky I am to have such amazing, kind, smart, and beautiful friends both here in Boston and further afield. Mark and Jennifer are adorable and we can't wait for the wedding later this month. Elise is one of the flower girls so we will have some pictures to share from that.

Anniversary...

2010-08-15T19:22:00.000-04:00

So celebrating our annivesary hasn't exactly been a priority over the years, so it was super nice to get away for the afternoon we were in New Hampshire and make our way to the Mt. Washington Resort. We had a cocktail on the wrap-around veranda followed by afternoon tea in the tea room. It was perfect! The weather was amazing - there was a wedding on the roof we could watch from our seats on the veranda - and the tea room was just me and Kurt. It was a lovely room and being the only guests taking advantage of afternoon tea meant the service was great. The timing was great in that we were able to get back to Elise before bed time. I certainly wouldn't mind making this a tradition.

New Hampshire Rivers

2010-08-15T19:17:00.000-04:00

Again, we are so grateful to have been invited up to New Hampshire this summer - while it was only a short trip, it actually felt like a real vacation. We slept out in the tent two of the nights, which Elise actually really enjoyed. The water was great and here you can see us taking advantage of two different river areas. Going to Story Land on that Friday meant that we didn't have as much time in the river as we wanted, but what can you do. Kurt and I left Elise in Ed and Carole's care Saturday afternoon and headed up to Mount Washington for an anniversary outing - more on that in a minute...

Story Land

2010-08-15T19:12:00.000-04:00

Okay - so I should have got these images up ages ago. We were up in New Hampshire over July 31st, taking advantage of Ed and Carole's kind invitation to join them at the NH house and we are so glad we did. Story Land wasn't our original destination, but since it is like 15 minutes away, we couldn't resist. Elise had a great time. The weather was perfect and it wasn't too crowded first thing in the morning. We made it through lunch to about 2pm when Elise had had enough. When asked what her favorite part(s) was of course she responded by saying the candy (which we got one piece of 5 minutes before we left the park) and getting ice cream. We think she liked lots of things about our day out. She got her face painted to look like a princess and she got her picture taken with Cinderella so what more could we want. This being our first trip to Story Land I wasn't sure what to expect, but was very pleased to see it was totally family focused with no thrill rides (thus we avoided a teen scene) and it was CLEAN! Oh and it had lots of princess stuff - NONE of which was Disney (a major plus in my book). Four was the perfect age - we may try again next year (hopefully I can convince Linda and James that it would be fun with Ethan)!

Birthday Party!

2010-07-11T22:16:00.000-04:00

As much as the rain tried to defeat us, we had a great time at Elise's birthday party at Dalby Farm in Scituate. The rain wasn't scheduled to begin until the evening, but sure enough as we pull up the drive at the farm at 1:30 it decides to start pouring. Cheryl at the farm was terrific and by the time everyone got there, the rain stopped long enough for us to get a tour of the farm, eat cupcakes and open gifts before it started again. I think everyone had a good time. I am glad we chose to do the haystack hunt as it was certainly the kids favorite part of the party.

Summer Swimming

2010-07-11T22:07:00.000-04:00

We are really enjoying summer swimming lessons at the Weymouth Club, it is great having the bubble off of the pool and will be a difficult adjustment to go back to the bubble when September arrives. Fortunately we have a some time before then. Elise is doing great and would only be doing better if she stopped smiling so much and kept her mouth closed.

Happy Fourth of July

2010-07-11T22:01:00.000-04:00

We had a great long weekend with a day out at Borderland State Park in Sharon and the Hingham Parade with Bill and Louise on the Fourth. We spent most of Monday shopping for a new mattress set for Elise. We are hopeful that once Elise has a good bed she will be more eager to actually sleep in her own room.

Portraits

2010-06-30T21:59:00.001-04:00

I thought I would post this super cute picture of Elise with Little Kitty and a picture of our new 2008 Nissan Versa. After some road blocks last week, Elise and I picked up the car on Friday from Tom O'Brien Hyndai in Quincy. I am keeping my finger's crossed that it is in decent shape - it seems to be and I like driving it. We paid for the extended warrenty, so hopefully we won't have any problems. It's small but feels roomy inside, mostly because it has no trunk/cargo space to speak of.

Catching Up...

2010-06-30T21:54:00.000-04:00

I am just now catching up on our June activities. Most recently we attended our upstairs neighbor, Chloe's 3rd birthday party at her dad's house in Quincy. We had a great time with Chloe's cousin Charlie, who was a doll and even shared one of his Crazy Bandz with Elise. Elise spent last week with me at work and enjoyed sitting in on meetings and working in Nika and Laurie's office. It was pretty cute but commuting with her in tow is not something I would want to do anymore often.

"Promotion" Ceremony

2010-06-18T21:37:00.000-04:00

On the last day of school at Johnson they have a little promotion ceremony, where all the kids sing about going on to Kindergarten and turning 5. Of course, Elise is doing neither and will be back at Johnson in the fall but she had a great time participating anyway. There was a bit of a disturbance in the program as two different medical situations happened with guests attending the ceremony so at one point the kids went back to their classrooms until the people were taken care of. Elise's friend's mom was one of them and I think the more serious of the two, but we are glad to hear that she is doing well. Miss Bradley (upper right) thinks she will be teaching this class again and so Elise will probably have her in the fall. We will also be happy to see Principal Silberstein (upper left) again along with Nurse McCarthy (not pictured). Elise will join me at work for a week (half days) and then will spend July and August at the Hingham Bright Horizons.

Summer Fun at Starland

2010-06-17T21:25:00.000-04:00

We had a great day out with cousin's Aidan and Zane while Bob and Erika prepared for their big move. However, Aidan and Zane thought that lazer tag sounded like more fun than miniature golf so Kurt took them and Elise and I played golf. She lost interest after about the 9th hole so we should have played the other course. It looked like it was going to rain all afternoon, but it held off. They stayed over for dinner then Erika picked them up.

Happy Birthday to You

2010-06-12T21:19:00.000-04:00

While this photo was actually taken on the 10th, we did celebrate Kurt's birthday on his birthday, but since he and Elise were home late from Bob and Erika's we saved the cake for the next day. The tart was special for Elise since she doesn't like chocolate, but apparently she doesn't like tarts either. Kurt got a Netflix gift certificate so he can start catching up on all the movies he has missed over the past few years so that should make him happy!

Memorial Day

2010-06-03T14:31:00.000-04:00

After the parade we made our way over to Bob and Erika's to hang out with them during one of the last days they will be in their current house (with a pool). We took advantage of the continuing good weather to play in the pool and climb to the top of Blue Hill for a kit flying program at the observetory. We were impacted a little by the haze of smoke from the forest fires in Quebec if you can believe it so the visiability at the top of the observetory was only about 3 miles. Elise was having a great time with Aidan as you can see and the kite flying was pretty good. It will be strange when Bob and Erika move to their new house and we get to discover a whole new town, not far from where they are now. All this moving makes me anxious to move into a house, finger's crossed we can try to move next summer.

Parade Day!

2010-06-03T14:25:00.000-04:00

Another great parade in the town of Weymouth. It is so handy living right on the parade route. It was another beautiful day and much warmer than the last time we sat out here in November for Veteren's Day. The boy and girl scouts had plenty of candy to toss as you can see from Elise's stroll-o-candy being carefully guarded by purple bear. Lots of flag waiving and cheering. And as always ending with the corvette club rally.

Memorial Day BBQ!

2010-06-03T14:22:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Linda and James and Ethan we were able to get out and enjoy the amazing Memorial Day Weekend weather and see some great friends too - THANK YOU! We drove over to Litchfield to check out the LHS and see the new exhibition, which looks terrific. And then head down to Linda and James' to visit with them and their friends. It was a special bonus that Charlene and Franco were back from Italy as I haven't visited with them since last June. Elise had a great time playing with Ethan, who is a complete sweetie and very nice to play with. Although you won't be surprised to hear that the playing around in the empty plastic pool ended in tears after a couple of tip overs, but no harm done. It was so nice catching up with everyone, though we haven't been on too many road trips recently so I was a bit out of practice for night driving back to Boston.

Field Day Fun

2010-05-29T22:31:00.001-04:00

Field Day at Johnson School and I knew I didn't want to miss it. I had a great time hanging out with Elise and her classmates while they played at the duckpond, ring toss, tug-of-war, and sponge race. It was a complete ego boost for me when, before we went outside I got to read a story (Franklin Plays Ball) to them and afterwards several of them said I was the best and Andrew even gave me a big hug saying he liked me ten-a-million-fourteen times after several othes said similar things. I felt bad leaving Elise at lunch when she started to cry. I had planned to take the whole day, but we ended up having a program that night at work that I had to attend so I couldn't. I do feel very lucky that we live here and Elise can take advantage of this great pre-school program, I can't believe how well she is doing at keeping up with the five year olds. The kids in her class are all adorable and we'll miss them when most of them go off to Kindergarten.

Miniature Golf

2010-05-29T22:21:00.001-04:00

Elise's first time playing miniature golf. There are a couple of courses around here - we chose to go old school and stay in Weymouth for our first outing. The weather was perfect so we expected a crowd, but we were lucky that there wasn't much of a line at all, especially since she was taking her time and enjoying herself. I will try to get a movie up here too.

Spring Swimming Lessons

2010-05-29T22:16:00.000-04:00

More swimming lessons at they Weymouth Club. It has been terrific being able to keep her in for two consecutive sessions (which we hadn't been able to do in the past) and keep her progressing. This session has been terrific with a great teacher, Sophia who really gets the kids out there swimming. It has also helped that the other students in her class (usually 4 kids) are also happy to be there and the teacher doesn't have to spend a lot of time coaxing anyone. We should be able to continue for the next session, which will have some classes outside, now that they have removed the bubble on this pool for the summer. We are also hoping to try to enroll Elise in a session of dance classes and hopefully another round of Summer tennis. With all of that I guess we should really join the club to get member pricing.

Rest Time

2010-05-29T22:09:00.000-04:00

So here is a very sleepy Elise with Big Guy (a.k.a. Big Kitty/Fuzzfuzz/Hiro) sleeping on the bed next to her while Little Kitty sleeps in her favorite place on the kitchen table. They are all doing fine. Little Kitty has taken to making sure any contained water anywhere - like her water bowl - is tipped over at least twice a day and Big Kitty has taken to trying not to let us see him eating Little Kitty's food when we aren't looking, which is why looks about 5 lbs heavier than 9 months ago when Little Kitty joined our household.

Mommy's Shoes

2010-05-29T21:39:00.000-04:00

Elise really enjoys walking around in my heels. Not the most flatering ensemble, but you can certainly tell that she is excited to be wearing them.

Hingham Library Statue

2010-04-27T22:04:00.000-04:00

I think we have several versions of this photo from the past couple of years - this is the latest.

Sheep shearing time

2010-04-27T22:00:00.000-04:00

We had a great Saturday visiting Gore Place in Waltham where they celebrated their 23 annual sheep shearing festival. Elise enjoyed a snow cone and a little face painting - she was very excited about the sparkles on the face paint. The baby sheep were adorable and we enjoyed a brief hayride. There was also a sheep herding demonstration with several adorable border collies herding sheep and goats.

Catching up...

2010-04-27T21:49:00.000-04:00

Some spring weather where one moment it is sunny and the next it is pouring rain. We managed to get outside for a while before the rain started. Elise is still enjoying her tricycle though it is getting a bit small for her and she needs a new helmet.

Red Sox Pride

2010-04-06T22:02:00.000-04:00

Opening day at Fenway was Sunday and Elise had a Red Sox pride day at school on Monday. Thanks to cousin Zane, she had an appropriate shirt to wear. What was even better was that our neighbor, Judy, who rides the bus with us in the morning was also wearing her blue Red Sox shirt - I tried to get a picture of them from my phone camera, but I didn't manage to save it - oh well. Elise has been excited about going to morning Weycare at school as Kurt started his new job at Bridgewater State on Monday. She really likes riding the bus with Judy and her seeing eye dog, Orchid and sometimes Ryan too. Until we get a second car hopefully later this year, we will be bussing it in the mornings.

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T21:54:00.000-04:00

After weeks and weeks of asking how long before it's Easter, Elise was so excited when it finally got here. We colored eggs on Saturday and had a couple of easter egg hunts to go to on Sunday. She let me try out pin curls, which turned out pretty cute - I hope she will let me do it again. She has gotten great wear out of her adorable red heart dress and white jacket, courtesy of my Mom. It was fun to visit with Julia and Jakob and Aidan and Zane. She also made out by getting the $10 scratch off card from Uncle Bob - way to go Elise!

Springtime babies on the farm...

2010-03-21T21:47:00.000-04:00

We had a lovely day out at Drumlin Farm seeing all the new baby lambs - although Elise didn't like my taking their pictures. The weather was lovely after a rainy few days. I'm off to Utah on Tuesday to help my Mom clear out her house - should be interesting...

Magic Wings

2010-03-14T22:55:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful day in western Massachusetts at Magic Wings Butterfly Garden. The weather was terrible for driving, but not so bad once we got there and since it is indoors it was a perfect venue. It was great to visit with Linda, James and Ethan and see some really neat butterflies. Elise actually took the picture of Ethan - her camera skills are really improving. She did great in the car with only one minor meltdown on the way out and sleeping the entire way back.

Hanging out with Zane

2010-03-13T22:46:00.000-05:00

We had a great day out with Elise's cousin Zane. We managed to kill a couple of hours at the Museum of Natural History at Harvard and then some play time back at Zane's house. He has three great animal costumes - so when we go over Elise likes to dress up like the lion and Zane likes to be the dog. They are really adorable together. However, Elise had no interest in having her picture taken.

Swimming Lessons

2010-03-13T22:27:00.000-05:00

It's that time again, Spring swimming lessons. The heat had gone off in the covered pool, so it was a bit foggy. Elise did great as always. She always has such a great time in the pool and I appreciate that she is a good listener (unlike some of her classmates).

Year of the Tiger

2010-02-23T20:47:00.002-05:00

Of course the day there were endless opportunities for great photos, we forget to bring the camera. We took Elise to the New Years Celebration in China Town on Sunday morning - Kurt and I definately enjoyed the lion parade more than Elise, who became a little freaked out with the lions and the firecrackers. It was great fun to watch the lion performers go from store to store and eat the lettuce and oranges. Elise was not happy when the store we happened to be in was visited by one of the golden dragons - needless to say we didn't end up staying in China Town as long as Kurt and I had anticipated. The weather was terrific so we did hang around the Common, where Elise could play on the Frog Pond Playground and watch the ice skaters. It was nice to be out and about with everyone else enjoying the sunshine. I am hoping for a very happy and prosperous year of the Tiger!

School Vacation Week

2010-02-23T20:34:00.002-05:00

Elise and I had a great couple of days off last week during her February vacation. Wednesday we spent most the day at the MFA (Sergeant Mural to the right) doing fun kids activities in the galleries and then on Friday Elise did a study at Harvards Early Childhood Development Center and then we met up with some of the girls at work for lunch and stayed around to go ice skating with Nika at the Charles Hotel's ice rink. Elise really enjoyed the ice skating, though my back (and probably Nika's) is still recovering from trying to keep her up off of the ice. Bed time was tough both nights because of the naps on the train ride home.

Princess Party...the video

2010-02-15T18:31:00.001-05:00

This was just adorable and funny and a little overwhelming even for me - don't try to find Elise as she is attached to my leg, where she stayed for most of the two hours of this party.

Princess Party at Elise's School

2010-02-15T18:28:00.000-05:00

This party didn't exactly go as expected, we did manage to stay for the full two hours, but Elise was overwhelmed and not exactly in the right mood for a dance. In case you try to find her in the group shots below, you won't find her because she refused to interact with anyone but me (and Principal Silberstein - A.K.A the Queen). To be fair the only other girls from her class were Eileen, Megan, and Alex, so she doesn't really know many of the other girls and they are all five, or turning five soon. The dance music was also a little loud, which never helps with Elise in social situations. It was however, adorable to see all these cute little princesses dancing around and you should have seen them when Cinderella, Belle, and Arial showed up for photos - the little girls couldn't help but crowd around them. Well not Elise, who wouldn't go near them. I finally bribed her to get a picture with one, but she would only sit with Principal Silberstein so I decided that was good enough and she even smiled! You can see why next year we will just buy her a princess dress, even if I like homemade ones better. I am also not unhappy that Elise hasn't reached the Princesses craze yet, since as those of you who have known me for a while know I don't exactly care for Disney in general - I imagine I will eventually get over it.

Making my Mom proud...the dress

2010-02-15T18:17:00.000-05:00

Weeks ago we found out that Elise's school was having a Princess Party/Dance on Saturday so I decided I would have her pick out a pattern and some fabric and I would make her a dress. I made the mistake of suggesting going as a witch, which of course I regretted immediately as she thought that would be great, then two days after purchasing the fabric she changed her mind, which is why the dress is sort of a cross between the two. While it actually turned out just fine, next time we will just go to the store like everyone else and get a Disney Princess dress - you can see why in the next posting. I think my family would agree that Elise couldn't look more like me when I was little if she tried (at least in the cape picture).

Rock Star 3 Year Old

2010-02-15T18:11:00.000-05:00

Every day I ask Elise is she wants me to do something with her hair. Her hair hasn't exactly been quick to grow and still barely even reaches her shoulders and it is always a bit wild. On occassion she will actually let me put pony tails in, of course she isn't satisfied with one or two, but requires three and since her favorite movie right now is the (animated) Grinch Who Stole Christmas, she likes to look like Cindy Lou Who. The sunglasses are actually great, if a little over the top.

A Visit to the Cape

2010-01-24T20:42:00.000-05:00

We had a great time going down to the Cape to visit Ed and Carole. It was another lovely day so we went to the playground before stopping in at the candy store and then returning back to the house for lunch.

More Winter Fun..

2010-01-23T20:35:00.000-05:00

It was beautiful out, if cold, so we made our way over to Nantasket Beach to see the ocean and play at the playground. The Carousel is closed for the winter, much to Elise's dismay - but we had the playground to ourselves. She loves when Kurt plays Grackle with her - this entails Kurt chasing after her pretending to be a Grackle (a type of black bird) who wants to get her.

Bedtime Stories

2010-01-12T22:39:00.001-05:00

Elise is doing well, though adjusting to being back in school after the holiday vacation has been a little trying. We continue to work on getting to bed before 8pm, but some nights she just doesn't settle down. As you can see she still loves her binky - it is one of her favorite "toys" which is fine with us as long as it doesn't go in her mouth. She has taken to putting it, and about six small stuffed animals and dolls, under her pillow. Lately, this pillow is the one on our bed, since we only get her to sleep in her bed about once a week if we are lucky. Hopefully when we get her a real bed this will change. Kurt continues to make sure she is well stocked with library books with multiple trips to our area libraries each week.

Winter Flowers

2010-01-12T22:30:00.000-05:00

It's cold and snowy outside and we needed some springtime charm around the apartment so Elise and I made some paper flowers. They actually work well in one of our wedding gift vases and I don't have to wory about keeping them watered.

Monster New Year

2010-01-12T22:26:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful New Years Eve celebration at Bob and Erika's as we celebrated Erika's 40th birthday. Elise enjoyed staying over with the cousins and dressing up in Zane's monster costume as you can see here. Getting her to bed on New Years eve proved a major challenge.

Let's Play...

2009-12-27T21:23:00.000-05:00

As you can see Elise is having a great time with all of her fun new toys. She and Kurt came home from Bob and Erika's with some amazingly fun things - thanks to Bill and Louise, The Clarkes, and the Sandbergs. The playmobile house and vet's center are perfect and we have had several tea parties and played the Busytown game about 20 times in two days - thanks everyone!

More Christmas Morning

2009-12-27T21:11:00.000-05:00

More gift opening. Thanks to everyone - she had a great morning. Mom sent a great set of sing along cds and some retro puzzles and James sent a great set of Sesame Street books. She loved the train set from Julie, Scott and Kaelin and Connor. Thank you to Ethan and Linda for the adorable pins. Ann's gift of the doodle pad, pencils and sparkling butterfly tattoos are a huge hit. We had a great time down at the Cape on Christmas Eve and are so grateful for the wonderful gifts from Ed and Carole and Drew and Emma - she has been busy eating sprinkles, playing doctor, and building acrobats - thanks.

Santa gifts

2009-12-27T20:55:00.001-05:00

This year Santa wasn't so creative with the wrapping, but he did find some cute pictures for the gift tags. Elise liked her camera and keyboard, but a little dissapointed that she didn't find a Candy Land game under the tree - fortunately Bob and Erika came through by letting her borrow their copy later in the day.

Christmas Stocking

2009-12-27T20:49:00.000-05:00

While Elise bee-lined for the tree and presents under it, we did redirect her to her stocking and seemed to like the lollypops of course as well as the other little games Santa brought her.

Happy Birthday...to me...

2009-12-17T21:03:00.002-05:00

Tuesday was my birthday and for weeks Elise wanted to know if she could come to my party so after I got home from work and ate dinner we had cake and ice cream and played pin the tail on the donkey, apparently she enjoyed the party. Kurt and she got me a small headlamp from EMS so that I can read in bed without having to try to keep the flashlight on my shoulder and I will be all set for my next spelunking excursion.

Santa Claus has come to town...

2009-12-06T20:34:00.000-05:00

Weymouth had its holiday Christmas tree lighting ceremony this evening with a guest appearance by Santa Claus. Elise was excited to go and we took her list with us, however when we got up to Santa, she decided it wasn't such a good idea - on the bright side, this was a free visit so we didn't spend money to document a crying fit, the way we did in 2007 (and would have in 2008 if she didn't have her binky with her - and her cousins). Oh well, maybe next year.

All I want for Christmas...

2009-12-06T13:24:00.000-05:00

Before I get to the Christmas list conversation I had with Elise yesterday, I thought I would share her adorable pre-school picture. Mom made the dress while she was out visiting in September and I was delighted that it turned out so well - it looks great and Elise really likes it. And now to the crazy fun list that she sat with me and constructed yesterday. The grammar is her own (though it is my bad spelling)...
Me: Hey Elise, what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?
Elise: My own computer, candy canes, pink lights, candles, instruments, flags, a zoo with animals, camera, grocery store with shopping carts and people, books - I like scary books the best- for when I grow up (ps- this is NOT true, she does NOT like scary books), big plates, puzzles, sled to snow down big mountains..and um..my own star when I grow up ...and I want...a fire hydrants, smoke detector and sprinkler things, a glue stick when I grow up, tent - lots of tents to put inside, a new baby doll with a real bottle where the cap comes off and a heavy backpack when I grow up...and...um, a big broom when I grow up to sweep on the floor, and um, sandle shoes, a big watering can when I grow up...and I want um, I don't know, a silver pony with a silver sadle on it and I want...that's all.
I think there are two things on the list that I think Santa will manage, though I am not worried, I am pretty sure she will forget about what was on the list in the next day or two.

Thanksgiving Fun with the Cousins

2009-11-30T22:26:00.000-05:00

It was rainy and cold the day after Thanksgiving, but we decided to go with Bob and Erika and the boys to tag their Christmas tree - of course once we got there Elise decided she didn't want to walk to tag the tree and since we couldn't carry her there we just stayed by the car, until everyone got back. She was still recovering from her fever/cold so I couldn't blame her. She enjoyed Thanksgiving and had a hard time leaving Bob and Erika's each day.

Lego Kid's Fest with the Cousins

2009-11-19T22:19:00.000-05:00

We drove to Hartford to meet up with Sue, Staffan, Julia, and Jakob at the Lego Kid's Fest at the convention center. It was CRAZY crowded and a little bit overwhelming for Elise, but she did enjoy hanging out with her cousins. We lunched at a nearby Burger King that was pretty disgustingly dirty - but our options for food in downtown Hartford for the kids on a Sunday afternoon were pretty limited. While we were out and about a couple of weeks ago we got these neat holiday glasses that turn Christmas lights into different shapes like candy canes, snowflakes, snowmen, stars, santas. They worked pretty well on the headlights of oncoming traffic too - so they had a great ride home. Aidan and Zane drove with us, which was great fun for Elise.

Veteran's Day

2009-11-12T22:04:00.000-05:00

There are a few benefits to living where we do, one of them is being on the Weymouth parade route on Broad Street. So twice a year - Memorial Day and Veteren's Day - we get to go out and wave our flags and pick up the dum dum lollypops and tootsie rolls that the boy and girl scouts throw.

Early Christmas

2009-11-09T21:58:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the kind generosity of one the German's from the museum travel program I coordinated in October, we got to enjoy one of my favorite Christmas traditions in early November. Yummy authentic Chirstmas Stolen - all the way from GERMANY! How lucky am I? Elise enjoyed it too. I only wish my Mom were close so I could share with her as she loves Stolen as much as I do. My office got to enjoy some of the other yummy pastries that accompanied the Stolen.

November Sunshine

2009-11-04T21:52:00.000-05:00

The weather has been pretty nice for November. Kurt and Elise took a walk in Great Esker Park here in Weymouth.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

If you look at last year's post the pictures will look very familiar as Elise and I are wearing the same things we wore last year - no matter we had a great time. We went to Bob and Erika's to do our trick-or-treating and Elise held up pretty well. We got as far as the "spooky house" and then headed back, just in time as it started raining when we reached their yard. She doesn't really like chocolate so it wasn't too hard to keep the candy from her. The weather was great with a near full moon peeking out of the clouds adding a lovely touch of ambience. We are looking forward to a fun November starting with a visit to Connecticut for fake Thanksgiving at Linda's - we haven't seen Ethan since the road trip in June so it will be nice to catch up.

Pre-Halloween

2009-11-03T21:12:00.000-05:00

While I missed two October weekends with Kurt and Elise with travel for work - we made up for it the weekend before Halloween with an outing to C.N.Smith Farm in East Bridgewater and the Halloween Prowl at Moosehill in Sharon with Bob and Erika after a birthday dinner for Zane. If you are sensing Deja vu it isn't just you. Elise still fit into the pirate costume I made her last year, so we just used it again this year and she still looks adorable! Two years in a row where we have lucked out with some fantastic weather.

You're A Grand Old Flag...

2009-11-03T20:47:00.003-05:00

So the other night when we were giving Elise her bath she began to recite the Pledge of Alliegance and then proceeded to sing You're a Grand Old Flag - you can imagine how surprised I was that my little 3 year old knew the words better than I did. She even managed to let me record her later in the week. I am constantly amazed at how much she is picking up in pre-school, she has even started to write her name, and it really looks legible.

After Party...

2009-10-18T22:16:00.000-04:00

Fortunately, I was able to stay an extra day in Montreal to hang out with Sara Maud and Robert. What a fantastic way to end my very hectic week. Natalie and Valerie were kind enough to join us for breakfast on Sunday morning and Sara took me to the market, which was absolutely wonderful, if a little cold. I hated to leave, but was happy to get back to my own sweet family.

I'm Back..

2009-10-18T21:56:00.000-04:00

I just got home from my week away in Detroit and Montreal with the Friends of the Busch-Reisinger Museum at Harvard. All in all I have to say it was a great success, but being the personal conceirge for 22 Germans and 2 Art Museum staff members isn't exactly easy. We saw some great private collections in Detroit and ate some amazing food in Montreal. Should write more about the trip but am exhausted.

Final Days of Summer

2009-09-20T15:34:00.000-04:00

There are a couple of days left of summer and this weekend really showed us what we missed in June. The weather has been terrific so we took the opportunity to play outside at a couple of different parks in Hingham yesterday and today. We love Beal Cove Park and Elise did great riding her tricycle and running races down to the waters edge, where we threw some rocks. The other park is one that has a little playground and a riding area with old, mostly broken riding toys like the "motorcycle" pictured above. We are looking forward to a wonderful fall as the leaves outside Elise's window have already started turning orange.

Space Age PJs

2009-09-20T15:14:00.003-04:00

Courtesy of my mom. Elise LOVES her new silky-stretchy purple pajamas. I think the fabric is actually some that we purchased for me to make a swim suit when I was like 11 or 12. She added a little kitty cat so they look a little less like a Star Trek uniform. My mom also managed
to sew a pair of pjs for Elise's cousins' Aidan and Zane - that turned out great. I feel a little guilty that her vacation was mostly sewing and reading, but she claimed she enjoyed herself.

A Visit From Grandma

2009-09-08T13:38:00.001-04:00

We are super excited that my Mom was able to come visit with us for a few weeks. We aren't doing anything too exciting with her, but we did make it down to Newport on Friday. We went to The Breakers and the Green Animals Topiary Garden. The weather was perfect and while my Mom was having some trouble with her leg she did fine with the walking. Elise enjoyed herself too, though of course fell asleep in the car on the way home and stayed up late because of it. Next time I think I am going to head down to Newport on my own and spend as much time at the houses as I can - maybe I will apply for the Victorian Society in America Newport Summer School - it would be heavenly. Mom doesn't fly home again until the 16th so we have another weekend ahead and will have to find some fun stuff for her that doesn't require too much walking.