It’s not always a love fest…

Happier with Mama

“I’m so lovable!”

Clapping for love!

Our 4-year-old Valentine

Finally, some sisterly love!

Trick-or-treating in Brooklyn is a lot different than in the suburbs. In a lot of ways, it’s easier, because people sit out on their stoops to hand out candy. There is no walking up to the door, no ringing of doorbells, and no waiting for people to come to the door. In some ways, walking down the street and collecting candy from people already sitting outside feels like cheating. But the nice thing about trick-or-treating city-style is that walking down the block feels like being at one huge Halloween party! And Natalie still got to proudly say “trick-or-treat!” and “thank you!” to many, many neighbors this Halloween. By the end of two blocks, she was very excited and proud of her full bag of loot.

Miranda rode in the mei tai so everyone could see her wings. It turned out to be a very good decision because the sidewalks were so crowded that maneuvering a stroller would have been very difficult. After a little nap, she seemed to enjoy watching all the activity and colorful costumes. She’ll get to fully participate in Halloween soon enough—I’m betting that we won’t be able to keep her from eating candy for as long as we held Natalie off.

Here are the pictures of our Halloween festivities, from carving pumpkins with Aunt Kary and Uncle David, to trick-or-treating with Natalie’s good buddy Josie.
Miranda wants to help, too! Look in the lower left-hand corner!
Natalie helping scoop out the pumpkin
Scary faces!
Meta Pumpkin
Post-carving bedtime story
Halloween in Brooklyn!
“Let’s go!” Off and ready for trick-or-treating
Mei tai bug
Trick-or-treator
Waiting their turn in the crowd
Trick-or-treating!
Lady Liberty and Flower Fairy So proud of all their loot!

As luck would have it, our good buddy Jenn of Shutterstarr Photography was offering Halloween mini-sessions to take photos of kids in their Halloween costumes. I was excited to take advantage, because the past couple of years we’ve waited until it’s too dark out on Halloween to get any really good shots. Natalie, of course, was thrilled to have her picture taken in her fairy costume. We had a great time and all the photos came out beautifully. Can’t wait to order prints and hang them on the wall!

Although it was hard to choose, here are a few that we liked best:

Dragonfly Miranda I

Dragonfly Miranda II

Fairy Natalie I

Fairy Natalie II

Autumn Sisters

I heard a rumor that Jenn is going to be offering holiday mini-sessions. If you are interested in taking advantage or booking a full session photo shoot, you should contact her…you won’t be disappointed!

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 of Two

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 morning

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! I had spares, but Miranda actually wore her Easter outfit all day with incident!

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!

Natalie and I had a nice morning at Terhune’s listening to stories about pumpkins and picking our own at their “Read and Pick” Program:

Natalie had a great time painting pumpkins with Aunt Kary:

We took a trip with grandpa to Howell Living History Farm for their Wheat Harvest Festival:

On the one sunny weekend day we went to Terhune’s, along with everyone else in central NJ! Here is Natalie driving the big red tractor:

Baaa:

Roaring like a bear (a big stuffed one was on display in the “Adventure Barn”):

Almost lost in a sea of pumpkins:

Natalie’s little sister dressed up as a jack-o-lantern (which we neglected to take a real picture of):

We went on a hayride with Aunt Kary:

Natalie’s first portrait of her parents (not bad!!):

After changing her mind several times with regard to her costume, Natalie finally settled on dressing as a bumble bee:

She had a great time handing out candy to trick-or-treaters with Clara the butterfly: