Deer!

Griffin and I stumbled upon some deer this evening:




Griffin was a big fan, and the deer were totally fearless.

A Great Time in Maryland

The kids and I went to Maryland to visit Grandma this weekend, along with our indispensable entourage of Grammy, Uncle Henry and (official-next-spring) Aunt Tina. Lucy spent three hours in the pool with Aunt Pam, and was very sad when pool time finally ended.

Of course, there were some other pleasant-enough times:



Including a tasty pizza party:



Griffin and his second-cousin, Hannah, weren't too pleased when their moms ditched them on the porch:




"Griffin, if we stand here by the door and ignore the other grown-ups, do you think our mommies will come back sooner??"

"I dunno, Hannah, but let's not take any chances!"

All-in-all, we had a wonderful time:




Thanks to Tina and Henry for the photos, and to Tina for being so comfy.

Lounging Around

Griffin is all about doing what all the big people around him do:




I'll try to grab some video of his walking skills soon: he's a speed demon these days!

In other news, Lucy has started camp for the first time this summer. The long days are wiping her out, but she loves all the fun things they do, as well as getting to ride the bus. What a big kid she is!!

School's Out

Actually, school's been out for a week.  Lucy has two weeks between the end of pre-school and the beginning of camp, with a few free weeks sprinkled throughout the summer.  Our nanny, Lisa, took the kids to a friend's house today - with a trampoline!  Sure looks fun to me:

Big Boy Dining

Griffin has discovered that he can eat at a proper table, and refused to go into his high chair for breakfast this morning:




I suppose one of the perks of being a younger brother is seeing all the cool stuff your big sister does and insisting on it for yourself.

The Year So Far

Regular blogging has been tough for us these days - there's a lot going on!  But, here's a recap of what we've been up to the past few months...

We started the year with a trip to Florida to cheer Elliot on at his first Disney Half Marathon:

Were you hoping for a picture of Disney World?  But look how happy everyone was on the plane!  Ok, fine:

We knew Lucy was going to have a blast, but we didn't realize what a hit it would be with Griffin.  He napped well in our baby carrier and LOVED all the parades - there was lots of baby kicking and arm flailing to the beat.

Having gotten a little sun and warmth, we stuck around the Northeast and took Lucy skiing for the first season:

4-year-olds on skis are pretty adorable.  My favorite moment was when Lucy, having made a few good snow-plow turns, straightened our her skis, shouted "Here we go!" and started barreling down the mountain.  Fortunately, she's not big enough to outski us yet, so we were able to nip that in the bud pretty quickly.  (As an aside, I am sporting my new ski jacket in that picture, having finally retired my 1996 high school ski team parka this year.)

The kids both had their birthdays in February, so we now have a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old:

Griffin is really coming into his own, and it is incredible to get to know Lucy as her personality unfolds before our eyes.  We feel very fortunate to have such a rich life.

Literary Griffin

We're not belaboring details like right side up quite yet.

Griffin is One!

We can't believe it's been a whole year.  On the other hand, it's only been a year?  It feels like we've known Griffin for much longer than that.  We had a nice weekend celebrating his birthday with cake, family and friends.  Here's a video from his actual birthday on Friday with the Ruters:

Thanks to Sarah for shooting the video!

Fun with a Cardboard Box

No need for any fancy toys when you have a big box to play in:

Happy New Year

Last night turned out a bit differently than we'd planned. Elliot was sick and asleep by 9, and Griffin had a stomach bug with a few wardrobe changes (for both of us) as a result. Needless to say the dinner party Elliot and I were supposed to host was cancelled!

Lucy and I had similar experiences earlier in the week, but the family sickness gods smiled down on us and we weren't all sick at once. Aunt Mel-Mel came over to ring in the new year with me and lend a helping hand, which made a huge difference.

This morning, everyone is on the mend. Griffin is very hungry, Elliot is tired but rallying, and we're having a little breakfast on the floor:




Wishing everyone a wonderful (and healthy) 2012!