Wednesday, November 30, 2011

20 Favorite Photos from August 2011

August was a month of sun and laughter and ice cream. It also marked a few milestones, namely Thora's last day at her beloved preschool. She started there way back in February of 2010, when she was a wee little 2 year and 10 month old baby.






Because I'm suddenly feeling nostalgic, here she is on her first day of preschool.
















And here she is this past August, running up the hill in her favorite sundress and, yes, a blue cape, on her last day of school, a year and half later but somehow lifetimes older. Uggh, it's bittersweet, the feeling a parent has watching their child grow up.










Anyway, on to my favorite moments captured on camera (there are a couple videos below, too). For a look at the whole photo album, click here.




In early August, my friend Hilary and I took 5 kids (four of our own, plus one) down to her in-laws place on the Cape. We had a great time. And as luck would have it, Zach's family friend Hannah came down too. Hannah is 8 and yet she gets along really well with Thora and Zach who are both 4. Here they are hunting for minnows and crabs.









Here is Auric eating some raw corn, the only way he would eat it this summer. He loves to shuck it and dig right in. I can't blame him. The corn is so sweet, we barely warm ours through when we eat it.










This moment just breaks my heart. We had dinner at Zach's grandparents' house and then hit the road, around bedtime. Thora sacked out almost immediately, but Auric took a while to go to sleep. At one point I looked back and saw him holding his sister's hand while she slept. This kid! Just when I think he can't do anything sweeter than honey, he goes and proves me wrong.






This month also marked Auric's first trip to the movie theatre. We saw the recent Winnie the Pooh movie. It was great. The kids did pretty well. Although, at one point, Auric's slow progress down the aisle took a turn for the embarrassing when he wandered right in front of the front row and through the doorway marked EXIT. Sean caught him, before he could actually get to the exit door. These things happen when you try to get a toddler to sit still for over an hour. And the theatre was only about 1/3 full with families just like ours, with antsy kids who needed to wander around. However, it was slightly more embarrassing than normal since several other kids had decided to follow his lead. Oops. (Sorry, other parents.)






During one of my Tuesday afternoons with Thora and Zach, we went to Ricky's flower market down the street and picked out some summer annuals to spruce up our front steps prior to my birthday party that weekend. Here they are helping me re-pot the flowers.









One of Auric's favorite outdoor activities is STILL jumping in puddles. He comments on all the puddles he sees, no matter how small or random. (One time he identified a dime-sized "puddle" in the recessed bolt of a manhole cover.) Here he is, strutting his stuff in his much-loved fireman rain boots. (He also has an impressive strut these days.)








And surprisingly, this outfit of jammie top, diaper, and firefighter rain boots is not unique to this one moment. In fact, unbeknownst to me until just now, there's a very similar outfit in the below video, "Auric Loves to Race." Enjoy.



And while we're on Auric and his cuteness, here is another short video, "Auric's Budding Vocabulary Part 5." This footage was all taken during August, when he was 1 year and 11 months. I captured on camera one of our favorite Auric-ism: "Slop Shoe" for "flip flop." Also, at the end, he is asking Kitty if she's okay. This footage was taken during the infamous hurricane that swept through the northeast. We were very lucky and suffered no damage and only a 40-minute long power outage. However at one point, the wind blew a tree branch into a power line or transformer across the street and there were two, firecracker-loud pops that startled us all, but particularly Kitty. Auric was super sweet to her when he found her cuddled on the far side of our bed. Enjoy.







And now for something completely different, here are Thora and Zach, dressed to the nines, and probably right before, during, or after one of their weddings. They're too much.






Later in the month, we traveled out to Kimball Farm with Zach's family and River's family. Hilary and Summer took the three big kids on a fun, tethered hot air balloon ride. I have a significant fear of heights and so I was perfect for the job of babysitting the three little kids, Auric, Ellie and Lila down in the parking lot below. For a great post, some pictures, and a video of the trip 300 feet in the air, and the rest of the day, check out Summer's blog post here.

Here is my favorite shot of the big kids at one point in the day. I think this was after the balloon ride and after the most ridiculous game of mini-golf I've ever witnessed but before lunch and chasing away chickens, and incredible ice cream. Now back to that mini-golf game, if you can, imagine three 4 year-olds, and three 1 year-olds, and despite us getting extra balls for the the little kids, they keep trying to take the balls of the big kids. There were golf balls flying everywhere, and I had to jump into about 4 streams for missed shots. It was hilarious.




In mid-August, I had my second annual kid-friendly kegger celebrating my 35th birthday. The festivities ping ponged between our place, where the keg was, and the park across the street. It was loads of fun. I was happy to have so many friends with whom I could share the celebration. We began the festivities early with our friends Greg and Dana, and their daughter Etta.







And here are some of the infamous Cambridgeport Moms.













I don't think there's a story behind this one. I just love it.
















Here is what Thora and Zach's green thumbs created! And yes, Thora's classic red boots were reincarnated as planters. She wore them everyday through June and July, and at some point she wore holes in the soles. I wasn't willing to let go of them, so I was glad to give them a new lease on life. And in case you're wondering, she is currently wearing to death a new pair of red boots.









Back to Thora's big milestone, she finished up preschool in late August. It was only tearful for me and her teachers. Thora was blissfully unaware that she would never see these people again, friends and teachers who'd been such a large part of her life for the last year and a half. Instead of being sad, she was proud of her new big girl step of becoming a kindergartener. Her time in preschool was great for her and I'm glad she had this wonderful environment. Here she is getting a surprise hug by her favorite teacher, Stephanie. Actually, maybe she wasn't as blissfully unaware as I thought, since I couldn't get her to go give Stephanie a hug, hence Stephanie's surprise hug.





I made sure to have a fun playdate planned for after her last day of school, as much for Thora as for me. (I was realistic about the likelihood that it would be a tearful experience for me.) And this afternoon proved to be a great diversion. Here is Thora, Zach, River, and Aidan, enjoying treats from the ice cream truck, while taking a break from the playground near Harvard's campus.









And here's Auric and his friend Lila, being photogenic as usual.















August also saw Thora's first cognizant trip to Fenway. (We took her when she was about 17 or 18 months old.) Each summer, when the Sox are away, the minor league teams get to play a double-header in the legendary stadium against their league opponents. It's called Futures at Fenway. The tickets are cheap, the concessions are cheaper, and it's a great way for a family to see some baseball. Here's Thora eating her first-ever cotton candy.





I love this photo for two reasons. It shows one of Zach's many great qualities: he is happy-go-lucky! Here he is laughing about a single peanut (as opposed to the more common double peanut). And secondly, it shows what a major production it was for them to eat these peanuts, as is visible in Thora's expression as she navigates biting through the shell, with residue from a former peanut on her face. (If you click the above link and look through the album, you'll see that residue in several photos.) Their endeavor with the peanuts involved a 4 year-old's sense of wonder as they examined the strange shapes and contours of almost every peanut, the work of cracking them open, and the glee at finding peanuts at their feet that they previously thought were lost forever. Oh, to be 4 and at the ball park.




August brought us the annual Middlesex County 4-H Fair, which brings Thora and Auric, and this year their friends River, Lila, and Aidan, up close and personal with farm animals and their kid caretakers from all over the county. Our kids loved our day at the fairgrounds. And for the record, Thora was the only kid with pink hair there.



And I had to include this picture for Thora's expression as she gazes at River. Is that telling or what!?! Thora has known River since she was an infant. But it was this past April, when Hilary and I took Thora, River and Zach to the Big Apple Circus, that their relationship became more complex. Regularly, when telling a story about that night at the circus, Thora will say, "You remember that night, Mom? The night River and I fell in love?" Sometimes I forget that she's four, when she talks like a character from a Gene Kelly musical.


And on that note, stay tuned for my September photos!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Picture Books: Recent Faves

This is a post I've been meaning to write for a while. I picked up some great books this summer and another one on our trip to London. They've proven themselves as some of my favorite books to read to the kids--and they like them too. Here they are, in no particular order:





Blackout, by John Rocco

This book depicts, in graphic novel style, the night of a blackout in New York City. The illustrations are fun, and the words are limited, which, as parents know, is great because on nights when you miraculously have energy reserves, the illustrations become catalysts to snuggly conversations wherein you get to tap into your child's mind.










The story helps remind us to shed our busywork in favor of the often rushed quality time with our family. When the blackout removes all of their electronic distractions, the family reconnects with one another and their neighbors.











Cars Galore, by Peter Stein and illustrated by Bob Staake











The story has colorful pages and fun, snappy, rhymes. My vehicle-obsessed two year-old loves it for the motion and variety of all these cars. My four year-old daughter likes the silliness of these cars and spotting them on the road as I read their description.









A Sick Day for Amos McGee, written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead








The illustrations are what really do it for me in this story. The slightly worn-looking sketches done in subdued colors make this a very soothing book to read. And of course it has, what I'm beginning to sense is a trend in children's books about zoos, the balloon, that both kids love to spot on every page. Oh, yeah, and there are buses for Auric, like this one for example, which is helping him learn what the number 5 looks like.








This Plus That, Life's Little Equations by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace










I love this book! It's so simple--so silly at times, and other times poignant. The drawings are childlike but sophisticated at the same time. I have to admit, I sometimes get choked up at the end. (I have a ridiculous problem with this. So don't avoid this book because you think it's a tear-jerker. It's not. I'm absurd.)










Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld










Guess who I got this one for? But seriously, it's a winner, with both kids. The rhymes are smooth and fun. And to boot, the kids and I learned some of the terms for the trucks, (e.g.) the long arm of the crane truck is called a "boom." See, I would've just called it the long arm.












Cake Girl, by David Lucas






This is a fun story about how making friends is contingent on being a nice person. The witch makes a cake girl to entertain her on her birthday, "And then I'll eat you," she says. The matter-of-factness of her tone never fails to get a little chuckle out of me. So Cake Girl has to think fast. She realizes that the witch is just lonely because she doesn't have any friends. So the second half of the book shows Cake Girl teaching the witch how to be nice. It's got some great magical elements that are fun for the kids.


Thora loves this right now. In fact, this is her new favorite book to read aloud. She's memorized the entire text. Here's Thora in action. She misses a few key lines, like when Cake Girl asks the witch not to eat her, or a couple of the magic tricks the witch does at the end, transforming Cake Girl and the witch into whatever Cake Girl requests. But as usual, we're always amazed when she can memorize entire books just from the pictures, without ANY written cues. Enjoy!





And finally a book that I picked up at the awesome gift shop in the even more awesome Museum of London:

A Walk in London by Salvatore Rubbino









It's a sightseeing book of London and it was instrumental in helping the kids remember all that they'd seen on our jam-packed trip in September. The illustrations are clear and detailed, while still having a distinct style and whimsy. What I love about this book is that you can read the story of a girl and her mother seeing the sights, but you can also supplement it with all sorts of great details supplied in smaller font size all over the page. These pages at the right, for example, were Auric's favorite page because it gave him a close-up of the marching guards. So while I let Auric gaze to his heart's content, I could read to Thora all sorts of interesting trivia about Buckingham Palace. For anyone traveling to London with young kids, this is a must-have. He's also written and illustrated A Walk in New York, which I think we'll have to get, given how much time we've spent in NYC with the kids.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

26 Favorite Photos from July 2011

July was a fun-filled month. For a look at the whole album, click here. We started out with our almost-annual trip up to the Finger Lakes in New York to visit our dear old friends from our Tucson days, Leta, Chris, and their son, Brogan at the Sharp Family Lake House. In the summers, they travel cross country and spend some much-deserved lake time with Chris's family. Thanks to Liz and Bill who generously host us each year! This year, Chris's sister, Rue was there with her family too. It was a full house and we were thrilled to be included!






We had great weather and lots of time on the water.














In addition to a beautiful brand new baby girl, Rue and family also brought their new puppy with them. The kids could not get enough of her. (The grown ups were not immune to her charms either.)












Family Portrait: The Pococks on the Water. (Thora is asleep on Sean's lap, with a hat over her face.)












Here, Thora takes in the beautiful sunset over the lake, while we wait for the fireworks to start.
































Too loud! Auric was not a fan of the fireworks. (Look at that face!)













Here is Brogan, his dog Barley, Thora, and Tana the puppy walking in the farm field above the lake house. I love how this photo distills the idea of "Summer" for me down into a single frame.









The following weekend was the Fourth of July party at Zach's grandparents' house in CT. Here is Thora on the huge tree swing. The kids spend hours on this! And again, there is something so perfect about the creak of the tree branch and the long and fast swing out over the river on a hot afternoon that completely captures "Summer" for me.








On the Thursday, before Saturday's party, Hilary and I took the 5 kids down to the beach. I have a new camera that has a great new feature: super slow-motion. So play the video below to check out the inevitable homage video. Enjoy!










Here's Auric patrolling Oma and Harry's house.












Twirling in her blue sundress. (This is one my favorites of her dresses. I'll be sad when she outgrows it.)













I like this photo, because you kind of get a sense for how long the ropes are for this swing.












Swingin' in the Nude.

















Auric showing his dance moves at the party. (Actually, I don't know what he's doing here.)












On the following weekend, we traveled back down to NYC, this time to celebrate the marriage of our friends, Paul and Tracy. They had their party in a beautiful state park in CT. We drove down to NYC on Friday and on Saturday, Sean and I drove to CT while BaBa and NuNu watched the kids for the day.





Paul and Tracy, who lived in West Hartford, CT for the last few years, were on their way to Detroit, where Tracy has a faculty position at Wayne State University. So this was a going-away party as well as a wedding celebration. We had a great afternoon with them.











































BaBa, NuNu, Auric, and Qali pose for a picture.














Having traveled 5 out of the previous 6 weekends, it was nice to be home for awhile and try to re-establish our old routines. Here are Zach and Thora at the local pool. The water in this pool is a bit cold, and so we end up taking a lot of breaks to warm up in the sun.











Zach, Ally, and Thora refueling with some ice cream.








This summer, Auric really perfected his unique running form. He stabilizes with his right arm, while he uses his left arm to propel him forward. Given how hard this is to do (I've tried), he makes it look effortless. Play the video below to see what I mean.











This is why we drink fresh smoothies outside.


















I love this photo of the three of them, all happy, after an afternoon at the Lexington Old Reservoir.







After one of these trips to a swimming hole, Thora surprised us with a new song she'd learned at school. Play the video below to watch.












Here is Auric, sitting IN the water table in the sand pit area of the Cambridge Common playground.








And while we're on the topic of Auric, here are a couple cute videos of him. This first one is called "Auric's Early Attempts at Counting." We were walking home after dropping Thora off at school and he walked up and down the stairs to a church. He began counting each step and was doing really well. That's when I got out the camera, but of course I couldn't capture it quite as it had been. But you will notice that, after losing count, he says "six" at the second-from-the-top stair, probably because he remembers that being the sixth step. This video also captures his joy of jumping off of things, in this case, the bottom steps.



The next video is an adorable minute and a half of Auric taking care of a baby, something he doesn't do all that often. But boy oh boy, when he does, it's ridiculously cute. Enjoy.









Here we are, walking to a summer bbq party at Thora's friend, Ally's house. When Thora hears that it's a party, and not merely a playdate, she picks out a party outfit. And she's not kidding. Yes, she's wearing pink high heels and a feathery tiara from her dress-up closet.













On the other end of the spectrum, Auric likes to chill out at a party. Life's too short, Man.


Stay tuned for the long-overdue August update!