Spring!

Chandler, Lydia Garnet and I had a great winter, which I hope to publish more of at a later date. In an attempt to get control of the things I really want to KEEP control of, I have to start from scratch.

It's been a thaw of new beginnings sad and happy. We're at Grandma and Grandpa's just playing around... With Uncle Thor...

I have to say, Lydia is a racecar. She is lightning fast. And seems athletic.


Come on...

And COME on...

Derby day, derby hats...


Garnet really loves sitting with Grandpa in his comfy chair. They relax well together.

Sometimes pouting is more precious.



Our neighbor friend Shawn's birthday came along so we marched a gift down our driveway. Garnet took this very seriously, was all business. And then they all played for a bit.





The good news is, we have a POND on our property. The bad news is you could walk across it in the Spring there are so many baby who knows what they are and tadpoles. I mean, it is a little disturbing, but natural at the same time. Once these babies grew up, they produced the LOUDEST peeping symphony 24 hours a day for a couple months. I mean, the neighbors were asking how we could manage to sleep with all the noise and they're not quite within earshot.

Old fence.

We are so lucky to have made friends with this family. Nothing like friend of a friend connections. Lydia and Garnet just adore Adelaide and Felix and I adore their parents. Works out.

Our beautiful apple tree in need of some love, but going strong.

Lydia, Garnet and I went on a tour of a local dairy farm (who sends all her milk to Stonyfield, yay!). We learned a lot about cows, bulls, steers, milking. It was a fun day.


Yes, they even bottle fed a two week old. Can you believe that?

HEY... See that... Behind Lydia... That's our house. I know people who haven't had the chance to visit have been asking to see pictures and I never have any on me... There it is in its glory. Yikes.

Grandma and Grandpa gave Lydia a Skut (a balance bike) for her birthday last year and as soon as she mastered the balancing part, she headed straight for stunts and tricks.

Lydia's Surprises

Lydia and Garnet spent a long winter in Vermont. AND, there are lots of nooks and crannies around the house. So, through the course of any day, the kids may have covered every square inch of floor, closet, everywhere space during their incredibly imaginative game sagas.

Just about once a day Chandler or I will find something out of place. Like there's a Barbie in Chandler's boot, snugly wrapped in a blanket as if put to bed so tenderly. Or a baby stuffed animal hanging in a hammock Lydia has somehow fashioned, stretched from a wardrobe handle to a doorknob. She's everywhere and she's busy.

Garnet's Feet in My Hands

Another just adorable something. Garnet is the most sweet, cuddly child. He enjoys bedtime and cuddliness so much that even if (when) he wakes up EARLY early, he won't mind just lying there cuddling with me for a while until I'm ready to join him in the awake world.

One beyond adorable bedtime habit of his is putting both of his feet into the palm of one of my hands as he falls asleep.

It was Frowning

Here's just a note about silly kid ideas.
Dinner is the most frustrating event of every day. Lydia and Garnet are either not hungry or don't like what I made or are too tired. Who knows. It ends up being a mental tug of war ending in a lot of wasted food and energy. However, it does seem to inspire some creativity, problem solving in the kids.


Lydia's latest excuse for why she won't eat a certain bite of chicken, "It was frowning.".

Spin Girl

We went to a super laid back harvest festival this September. I think the reason WE thought it was so super laid back was that we forgot to check the stats of the festival and showed up an hour before it opened. But they let us hang out and wait. 

There will be other posts regarding this event as it turned out to be the most beautiful day so we took a thousand pictures as we enjoyed the place, the weather, the corn maze...

Slide

So we're here... And we're at the playground... Got it?

Looking for a House

Going Back to the Spring of 2010. 

Before we found our perfect spot, we made a few trips to the area. One wonderful trip we were joined by friends which made it a fun vacation as well. 

The house we rented had a huge pond, so Chandler spent a lot of time teaching Lydia, Garnet, Violet how to catch "stuff" and eels and tadpoles, etc. 

Wise guy.

Off looking at one of the potential houses, Lydia and the kids found this perfect-for-posing rock.

I can just see Lydia and Violet as teenagers and beyond. It breaks my heart in both good and sad ways. Just look at them now and imagine...

This picture, and some that follow, makes me think of their album cover. If only Garnet would have dropped the binky...

The property we were looking at had 7 acres along the river. So we explored. It was very cool and was one of three finalists in our search.

The proud friends (Chandler and Mike) along the river, imagining fishing and bird hunting! Yes, even this close to other homes, the current owner swears he just steps out and shoots at will.?

Garnet loves Kate, Kate loves Garnet, Mama loves both.


Lydia and Violet had some independent fun by the pond, "fishing".



If you have children, you know how truly miraculous it is that all four of these youngins sat for us.











More for the album sleeve.

The "lost weekend" phase.

Yes, Garnet, your head IS bigger than that satellite dish.

The whole crew (as we always try to capture).Thanks for joining us, friends.xxx