Archive for the “Holidays” Category
Father’s Day 2010
As I’ve mentioned before, Chris is the best dad ever! For Father’s Day breakfast this year I made the traditional Father’s Day dutch baby. Then we spend most of the day at Howell Living History Farm, per Chris’ wishes. We pretty much had the place to ourselves! Apparently not a lot of dads want to spend Father’s Day with their kids at the farm.
We joined a volunteer-led tour of the farm with one other family and literally we were the only ones there. Felicia, the volunteer farmer, told us that Mother’s Day is always packed and Father’s Day is always deserted at Howell. Weird. Although we are regulars at the farm, we’ve never actually gone on a tour before. The tour was amazing! I think the volunteer was happy to have some company and took Natalie around to do all sorts of cool farm chores that we don’t normally have access to. The girls were troopers at the farm, despite the 90 degree heat and being hungry. Unfortunately, when we got home they were both pretty worn out and cranky. I wonder how old they will be when they are able to accomplish not giving Chris any grief on Father’s Day?
Natalie and Daddy model their crowns Natalie decorated a crown for Chris for Father’s Day. Off course then she wanted one, too!
Natalie with her crown
Miranda jumping Our friend Joanne was kind enough to hand down this jumper to Miranda!
Visiting the horses
Pigs in mud
Natalie with Felicia the farmer
Collecting farm fresh eggs
Volunteer farmer shows Natalie how it’s done
Natalie and Daddy scrape feed corn off the cob
Natalie helps grind corn
Natalie turns the crank
Natalie looks at the ground corn
Natalie feeds her corn to the chicks
Pumping water
Natalie gives water to Blaze the 30 year old horse And he spits it right back at her!
Funny faces Most times this is the only way that Natalie will "pose" for pictures these days.
Miranda’s First Father’s Day III
Family Portrait Kids not smiling, of course!
Smily baby Miranda getting her diaper AND outfit changed outside yet again.
Lamb Grazing
Miranda’s First Father’s Day II
Miranda’s First Father’s Day I
Mother’s Day 2010
Mother of Two
Happy Mother’s Day! Today was Miranda’s first Mother’s Day and my first as a mother of two. We learned our lesson from the last three years and went to Sayen Gardens for our annual photo shoot on Saturday. The azalea festival on Mother’s Day is nice, but it was wonderful to have the gardens to ourselves this year! Sadly, with all the wacky hot weather this spring, the azaleas had already bloomed and gone by by the time we got there. Nonetheless, we had a good time exploring and spending quality time as a family.
On Sunday, Chris made delicious waffles and Natalie was excited to give me her “project” that she made at Melissa’s: a glittery gold handprint and homemade card. We had a relaxing day, half lounging around and half working in the garden. It was brisk at 55 degrees and windy—Natalie was a little scared of the wind, even asking if our house would blow down. We assured her it wouldn’t!
That’s not a dandelion, silly!
Miranda’s First Mother’s Day
Easter 2010
Easter morning
We had a wonderful visit to Connecticut for Easter! Natalie is so loved by so many that she got two Easter baskets this year—one from Jodi and Jay and one from us—and had egg hunts at Jodi & Jay’s and at Bonnie & Ray’s. Natalie seemed to have more fun dying eggs this year, as opposed to last year when she got bored after a couple of eggs were done. Miranda got an outfit from Jodi and Jay, but is too young to enjoy any other Easter festivities or treats.
The drive up was a test to see if switching Miranda from her bucket car seat (which she hated) to the convertible car seat improved her fussiness in the car. Meema drove up with us on Friday, which was a good thing because we had to stop so much that the 3-hour drive took practically all day. I was glad to have her company and extra set of hands—I’m sure I would have arrived in a much more frazzled state had I been by myself. Miranda slept for some of the trip, but didn’t tolerate driving for more than an hour at a time. That said, the convertible car seat seems to be much more comfortable for her than the bucket. Other than crying in the car, Miranda handled her first weekend away from home like a champ! We brought the bouncy seat and she was able to nap there or in the mei tai and enjoyed being held by various family members and friends.
In addition to Easter, we also got to be in CT for Bonnie’s birthday, which was celebrated with a homemade (by Uncle Ray) pizza party. And we visited Elaine’s house, where Natalie had fun feeding the chickens, collecting eggs, and running around by the pond. We told Natalie about how we got married at Aunt Elaine’s house, but I’m sure that she doesn’t really understand what being married means.
Happy Birthday Bonnie!!
High Five! Natalie and Ray making "Pizza Natalie"
Such concentration!
Coloring crew
Easter eggs! \
Sleepy girl I Natalie conked out while Jodi read to her….a rare occurance and a sure sign of a VERY tired girl.
Sleepy girl II Jodi also got Miranda to sleep that night!
Natalie with Jodi and Jay Natalie got quite spoiled by Jodi and Jay, who made her a fantastic Easter basket and egg hunt.
Natalie’s first cadbury cream egg
Miranda’s First Easter! 
Bunny ears and magic wands Natalie checks out her loot.
Reading with Meema Natalie found a new book in her easter basket
Egg hunt Cousin Margaret helped Natalie find all the eggs that she and Aunt Bonnie hid for Natalie.
Thanks for an awesome weekend, Connecticut folks!! And thanks to Meema for photoshopping together such a lovely family portrait!