Hot, Hot July

It's been wicked hot. Wicked.  But we braved the elements and went to a 4th of July parade. It was well worth it, and Creston has now developed a real obsession with motorcycles after seeing a youngish (12?) boy on a dirt bike in the parade. He's under the impression that when he's 4 he will be able to ride one. 

Some bakery ladies, from Wicked Good Bakery actually, came by and gave out tiny cupcakes. 

First sparkler experience was a hit. 

And then baby Brayden came to visit from the Cape. He's adorable and giant, just like cousin Braden in CA. Creston and Ivy were so happy to have him around. Can I hold him? Can I hang out with him? Can I pile a dozen toys in his lap?

After he left, there was an uptick in pretend baby action. 

And sometimes going to the grocery store is a nice, cool activity on a sweltering July morning. Thank god for these awesome carts. 

A few more cousin pictures

Cool people at the park. 

A completely unsuccessful napping session. 

Hammock sweetness

Cousin Reunion

Cousins, water launchers, Grand Leah's backyard, heat and humidity are a perfect mix. 

Rylee read everyone a story at the end of an exhausting day. 

And there were many good night hugs. 

One Strawberry and Four Tomatoes

We discovered one little ripe strawberry in our garden. 

Not from our garden yet, but cherry tomatoes are a hit, too. We are excited to grow our own. Look at these squirrels. 

Bike Week

Ivy had zero interest in biking last summer while Creston was zooming this way and that. Well, that's changed. 

Creston hasn't lost his enthusiasm though. Here he is on the bike we got for free at a yard sale across the street. It's a little big, but it's working out. 

It's Bike Week here in NH. Honk for Laconia! Many, many motorcycles thunder by our house every day and so our little bikes are, often as not, pretend motorcycles. No helmet law around these parts, Live Free or Die. But we always wear helmets. 

Chris took Creston and Ivy to Bike Week via train. Creston was going for the wild biker look, so no one fixed his hair (or something). 

Happy Father's Day!

A few recent pictures of our 3 year olds

Kale & Collards

Rock & Roll

Fierce Fashion

Grandma's Magnifying Glass

Cousin Pile-Up

Bathing Suit Joy

This is my first shot at using a mobile app to blog. Let's see if it boosts the frequency...

Almost 3 years old!

February escaped without a blog post. Sorry about that. It was a short month! But here's a peek before these kids turn 3 years old next weekend. There's a lot of dress up and make believe going on around here. Sometimes Superman wants to be a "soccer player" at the same time as being Superman, so he has to roll up his pants.

 

Grandma Carola is known for making hats out of newspaper. Here's a friendly pirate.

This is self explanatory.

Grandma kindly came over to babysit one Saturday night and then she got trapped here in a snowstorm. Lucky for us. A little morning yoga with Grandma.

It snowed quite a bit, and we all went out to play. Creston and Ivy played King and Queen of the mountain on top of a snowbank.

 

But then Queen Ivy fell off the back of the snowbank which was a little alarming.

 

Chris made a quick rescue.

 

The time that passes between when Ivy wakes up in the morning and when she actually calls out for someone to come get her is apparently a very active period. Usually I find her with her blanket, which she calls her "Joey," stuffed up under her shirt like a pregnant lady. She's very maternal. But this morning I found her with her legs in the opposite holes of her one piece pajamas. She said she didn't unzip to accomplish this feat. A bright future as a contortionist!