21 months and 2009 baby roundup

Little A is 21 months old today! So depending on the situation, she can either be "one and a half" or "almost two" . . . wow! These pictures got lost in the shuffle from a couple of weeks ago, but never fear, this remains one of Abby's favorite activities. Getting bear all ready for breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Regardless of the meal or time of day, this usually means bear is dining on soup and mac-n-cheese, two of Abigail's faves.

Pleased with her efforts.

Some will remember last year around this time when we made a list of all of the 2008 babies we knew. Last year was dominated by girls, this year the boys win by far. Here they are, in order of arrival: Madeline, Anna, Adam, Patrick, Kea, Alistair, Kai, Thomas, Callan, Jamie, Matthew, Michael, Grace. That's 13 total, 9 boys and 4 girls. With 3 January babies expected among friends and family, it looks like 2010 will get off to a good start!

weekend fun

We've had a fun weekend with Auntie Ella visiting from Vermont! We've also gotten to spend lots of time with Auntie Clare! Here are some Friday dinnertime grins...

Hi there.

Abigail got a super exciting package in the mail on Saturday! 4 beautiful bows, made by Annabelle's mama!

Abigail LOVES them.

Wait, where's Abigail? Is she under all of the clean laundry???

reading

Abigail takes such good care of all of her toy friends. Her parents may have helped position some of her dolls and stuffed animals for this reading session, but each action was performed following very specific guidance from Miz Abigail. Once things were just so, she read some old favorites to her pals.

Making sure everyone is still listening....

snowy saturday

It snowed!

Abigail's first reaction was to eat the snow, and called it "icy water" . . . how appropriate.

Not sure what this face is saying, but she kept going for more snow snacks so it would seem that she enjoyed it.

A's backyard house, with a fresh layer of flakes.

It felt so winter-y we were inspired to put up our Christmas tree while Abigail was napping!

Mantle with crystal candle holders from Dee Dee and Pop Pop...

After a good long nap Abigail awoke to a transformation downstairs.... she's enjoying the new decorations.

thanksgiving in maine

We sure had a fun time in Portland with lots of relatives! Abigail particularly enjoyed spending time with her cousin Katie who - along with her parents and brother - was a super kid-entertainer and hostess.

Cozy book time by the fire.

And an early morning toenail clip with Papa . . . an activity that Abigail actually enjoys. (She also loves putting Little Noses saline drops in her nose. But other activities that you think she'd be crazy about she stays away from with a ten foot pole....ah our unpredictable Abigail)

Nearby playground with cousin Eva!

A checking out her newest cousin, Patrick . . . (Eva's little brother) . . . "Does this mean I'm no longer the baby???"

We had a great tour of a lighthouse on a very lighthouse-worthy day....

There's Uncle Ben & Aunt Elizabeth!

And Papa and Abby with the lighthouse in the background...

Almost the full gang....

Hanging out with the big girls for pancake breakfast...

We also were treated to a private tour of Winslow Homer's studio.... it was beautiful. Though Abigail was not in the mood to listen quietly to interesting information about Homer, so Mommy and Abby joined cousin Scott for a stroll down to the rocks overlooking the ocean.

The studio, with sunset in background. (Also if you look verrrrry carefully you might be able to see Abigail's green sippy cup with a bit of water in it that was left behind in this lovely location.)

Cousin Emily jumping on the rocks....it's like she's in a Homer painting!

Thanks again to Ben & Shari for a wonderful Thanksgiving.... it was fun to see everyone!

PS - Abigail's mama wants to thank Shari for the lattes, and wants to let Jacqui know that she's still got this song stuck in her head!

abby ride train up a mountain

Beautiful November day in New Hampshire. On the way to the Mt Washington railway we passed through Bretton Woods and saw the famous resort with the lovely White Mountains in the background.

Here's the choo choo train that we rode to the top of Mt Washington! Hard to imagine anything much cuter.

Up up we go.

Beautiful views - it was unusual that they didn't have snow - in a more typical year the train would have stopped running to the top by now.

With only a few other passengers we had a lot of room to spread out.

Approaching the summit, you can see the shadow of our train far below.

Abigail had a blast. She loved it. And continues to talk about "Abby ride choo choo train to top of mountain" a lot.

Abby and Mommy at the summit. It was a little chilly and breezy up there, but nothing like it is just a week later ... the Mt Washington Observatory tells us that it is very snowy and very cold there now.

Hanging out at the top....

Getting ready to head back down.

And just a few hours after we were on the top of Mt Washington a little weather system moved in and the hills got a dusting of snow. This made for a pretty drive for A's parents while Abigail snoozed for over 2 hours in her carseat. Train rides are tiring business.

And a beautiful river scene from later that day..... We only scratched the surface of things to explore in one little corner of New Hampshire....we'll be back!

first hike

Oh sure, Abigail has been on hikes before. But she's never actually done the hiking....

This time was different - the hike to the waterfall was 0.6 miles on a nice smooth, mellow path, and Abigail marched probably 0.5 of those all by herself. We all enjoyed the beautiful woods as we made our way to the waterfall, with Abby narrating and telling us "Abby walk see waterfall. Abby walk woods. Hold hands Papa."

And then we arrived at our destination and had to distract Abigail from the water which she wanted desperately to dip her hands in or fling her whole self into.

Abigail celebrates her accomplishments at the end of the hike. Yay!

outdoor adventures

First. .. . many many thanks to Ben, Shari, Scott and Katie for being such wonderful Thanksgiving hosts! We arrived a few days early and got to explore some of lovely Portland, Maine. Here we are taking a walk around an island with Uncle Ben (and sweet dog Sasha who did not show up in the pictures but whom Abigail loved playing with very much).

Cousin Katie was there too! Abigail reallllly loved spending time with her cousin.

Sun starting to set around 4:15pm...

Sunset view a few minutes later, beautiful moon that night too.

The next day we hopped in the car for a little adventure in the White Mountains before the rest of the family was due to arrive for Thanksgiving. Katie was very kind and let Abigail bring her old baby doll along on our trip. Abigail took good care of baby. Here they are cuddling in the carseat.

A little later in our drive A's seat-companion Baby is replaced by Monkey (napping under a blanket). Abigail is speaking in full sentences these days and gives us a running commentary about everything that's going on, so we know what Monkey, Baby, Abby and a whole assortment of other characters are up to at all times.

The view from our cabin in Jackson, NH. You can see Papa and Abby down by the river if you look closely....

Abigail dips her hand in the chilly water.

Refreshing!

Post-nap we went on a short hike to a waterfall. Abigail is still talking about "Abby see pretty waterfall."

Back at the cabin, it was time for Baby's dinner. Serious business.

"Abby feed Baby soup. Mmmmmm"