Canoeing in Concord!

The post got started awhile ago, but has been awaiting pictures!!
At the end of July, we had a great summer weekend in Boston - it was a busy and fun one!
Dave had the brilliant idea we should take Sophia canoeing in Concord and do some exploring around the Old North bridge. We invited our friend Mark, Morgan and Frances to come with and it was an awesome day!


We rented 1 big canoe for the 6 of us and the boys did all the paddling at the front and back end while Morgan, the girls & I sat in the middle. We qualified the day as a success, being that no one fell out of the canoe!
The girls loved seeing all the birds (herring, geese, and the scariest looking turkey ducks I've ever seen!), turtles and of course, fish (most of which were being caught by fisherman, but it was still cool!)Despite her dubious look, she really was enjoying herself!!

We paddled (a collective we!) up to the Old North Bridge, parked the canoe on the shore and went exploring up to the Old Manse which was very cool to walk around. The girls were mostly excited by the stones and pebbles in the lane, but it was all good.
Of course, there was snacking and running too!
Then we all walked across the Old North Bridge. On the other side were some beautiful gardens where we stopped for snacks and diaper changes (hey, when you gotta go...)

After all the excitement, we headed back to the canoe to round up some lunch. Sophia decided she had kind of had it with sitting in mommy's lap, so she and Frances got to sit on the edge of the boat (yes, they were wearing their life preservers) and dangle their feet into the water. No pictures were taken as both Morgan and I were holding on rather tightly so they didn't fall in!

Lunch in town afterwards was a great free for all of french fries, sandwiches and Mac and Cheese. Great discussions were had and a lovely car ride nap home.
All in all - quite the success!

July and visit to CT!

It's been a busy month - despite the fact we weren't trucking to Newport every weekend, we still did plenty of traveling. Down to CT to visit Mom & Dad (where Sophia got spoiled rotten :) ) and Dave & I got some much needed downtime, including a trip to see the latest Harry Potter on opening weekend! We showed up about 90 minutes early for the film and it was well worth it. What a treat for us...I think we last saw "The Town" in February on the last day it was at the Capitol Theater in Arlington...

Sophia got lots of beach time, including playing with Grandpa
Playing at the water table Nana made sure to bring over...


And of course, stopping for some hydration! :)

One of my favorite parts was her getting to ride my old tricycle. My mom has been amazing about saving old toys of mine and we pulled this out for Sophia to ride. The horn even still worked, 30 something years later!!


Fun times for all. Thanks Nana and Pop Pop!

It's July!

...and I'm averaging barely a post a month - things have been quite busy here at the Ahouse house. I've just finished a certificate class at BU (it met two nights each week for 6 weeks - quite happy that is done!) so it finally feels like I can relax and enjoy summer.

We made it down to Newport every weekend in June and well, truly enjoyed being homeowners. Exciting things like wet basements (we're at sea level at low tide, forget high tide and rain storms!) loose wires 20 feet up the side of the house and odoriforious ants (don't ask. harmless but yucky).

But the good news is, we get outside a lot and Sophia had her first beach experience of the year. Sadly, I didn't have the camera with me, but she did enjoy watching the water move in and out over her feet. You could literally hear her brain working trying to figure it out.

Running is her new most favorite thing to do. This is a favorite shot of mine:

And here she is at the playground checking out the ship - Ahoy matey!
We managed to have a BBQ with some friends - Sophia thoroughly enjoyed the fixings!

More to come on Sophia shortly! Lots going on in the world of an almost 20 month old.

Learning and doing more every day

It's been about a month since I've blogged and we've had a lot going on!

I'm back to work full time, which is an adjustment for all of us, but one that we seem to be navigating successfully. I am still working from home 2 days a week, which allows me to use that time I would be commuting to spend with Sophia.

We've also been traveling a lot, between our new place in Newport (more on that later) and a wedding in Buffalo on Memorial Day Weekend.

Sophia got to have a vacation at Nana and Pop Pop's (two new words she's acquired in an ever-growing vocabulary!) for the weekend, receiving more attention and spoiling than one could even imagine!

Playing with Nana in the sand:

Hanging with Grandpa:

Fun at the beach:
Unfortunately, all this working and such has really minimized the amount of pictures I take of Sophia these days, but here's a fun one from the park today:

Peak a Boo

As I mentioned earlier, her vocabulary is growing so much every week. New words and phrases include: "No No Dada" "Yes Dada" "Bus" and my personal favorite "Uh-Oh" (which, happily, is not always used when something is an Uh-Oh!) .

We missed out on the touch-a-truck this past weekend, but the other day we spent about 30 minutes outside of Porter Square watching all the "Buses" or "Toot-Toots" (as she often refers to them as) drive by. She climbed up and down the black and white stairs constantly, but would stop every 3 or 4 minutes when a "toot-toot" went by. It was classic.

Tomorrow is her 19 month birthday - Time really does fly!

Mother's Day 2011

I had a truly wonderful Mother's Day. I count myself very lucky that I have a husband who pitches in daily to all the house and child duties, so I never feel like I get to be "on" or "off". But Dave definitely made sure my day started out right with an extra hour of sleep while he and Sophia read books.

Then, we headed off to the MOM's Run down the street from us. It's a 5k run that goes right through our neighborhood.

Dave decided that he wanted to run with both Sophia and our friend Morgan's daughter Frances (who he pushed in a St. Patrick's day race while I was in London) so we borrowed a double stroller and off we went. It was a total win win because he got a great workout and I got to race and enjoy a little "Michele" time.

Here's a shot of the 3 of them post-race:



Before kicking off the race, though, Sophia participated in the 1k Kids race. She made it the whole way, although the allure of flashing police car lights and cute "woofs" did a good job at distracting her.

Here she is flying solo in the street: (don't worry, it was closed to traffic)


Here she is finishing up:

And finally, after some errands and a visit to Grandma Ahouse, a little snuggle time for Sophia & I:

What a great day. I'm so very lucky.

18 Months of Sophia

My Mother's Day weekend has been truly wonderful. It coincided with Sophia turning 1.5 years old!
It's hard to believe that she is well-ensconsed in toddler hood, but spend about 5 minutes with her and you'll quickly realize that is the case. She is starting to work on two word phrases (currently we have "No Way" as the leading contender.

She also has started to dip food (I never knew this was a milestone, until I saw her doing it and someone commented on it!) Yesterday it was chips and guacamole. We definitely have to teach her about the no-no's of double dipping.

She's definitely prefers salty foods to sweet. If given her way, she'd compete with her parents for the entire bag of salt and vinegar potato chips. It's hysterical, but she enjoys them so much!

We finally got her a rain coat, courtesy of my mom. This was actually my rain coat as a kid that my mom had preserved in her hope chest. It fits her perfectly and clearly, she's all about the home team!She's perfected her downward dog pose:


And, glory upon glories, 3 of the 4 molars are through and the last one is making a big push. Hooray! That makes all the teeth except for the two bottom incisors.

She really enjoys giving hugs and kisses. Her kiss is a combination "zerbert" and lip smack all in one. She will also blow kisses to people when we're leaving places (the bank tellers get a big kick out of it!) She also has taken to emphatically pointing and screeching when there is something she wants (many of my friends have been going through this since about 8 months, so all I can say is thank god for the late blooming in this department!) What's funnier is when she uses her periscope like hand to grab for that "something" on the counter.

Finally, she'll spend a good part of each morning checking out the neighborhood (with a running commentary on all the "woofs" that go by.


Not bad for 18 months. Happy, healthy and funny - that's our Sophia.

Easter

It was Sophia's first mobile Easter, and while she didn't quite grasp the concept completely, we had a few special moments. We look at it as more of a Spring celebration rather than a religious holiday, but either way, nothing is cuter than dressing up an almost-18 month old in a dress and tights! And it was a gorgeous day in Newport to boot.
Enjoy...

Practicing at Gramma and Grandpa's House..
Not sure about this fluffy thing with ears...(the bunny, not Dave!)

I think I can reach it...

Now what do I do with it?
Maybe if I shake it?
Up close with my egg...
Walking with my daddy...