Happy birthday, Daddy!

This weekend was David's birthday, which was made even more special by the fact that it was his star birthday (27 on the 27th). His birthday almost corresponds to when Will will be three months old. At two days shy of three months, Will is so much bigger than he was at birth. We're not sure how much he weighs right now, but we would estimate at around ten pounds. (Avonlea Jane had a lot of well baby visits when she was tiny, but our family practitioner doesn't see the babies of "veteran" parents as often.)

Wide awake, naked boy

Before Will was born, we got the kids corresponding owl shirts that read "Big Sister Avonlea Jane" and "Little Brother Will." Will finally fits into his onesie, so we tried to get a photo of both of them in their matching shirts. Trying to get two little ones to sit still, look at you, and appear pleasant was no easy feat. We might have had better luck photographing both cats together. It turned into what was nearly an entire series of out-takes.

To celebrate David's birthday, we had a game night on Saturday, our second big one since Will was born. It's definitely getting more difficult to play while Avonlea Jane is awake, especially because of how much she loves games. (She has a few matching games, and we occasionally struggle through Go Fish or Guess Who with her.)

On David's actual birthday, we started the day by going to a birthday party for Avonlea Jane's friend Abby. Toddler birthday parties are quite the occasion. Again, it reminds us of the phrase "herding cats" but with cake involved.

Sharing snacks with Alma and Henry

David and Will cooling off by the window

Coloring an owl

Chilling out

Saying goodbye to Abby

After the party, we went downtown to Boston to eat lunch at McCormick and Schmick's.

On the walk to the restaurant, Avonlea Jane enjoyed the Quincy Market vendors and a street musician who allowed her to press the keys of his tenor sax for one of his songs.

When we got to McCormick and Schmick's, they were having kitchen issues and were no longer seating. We were really disappointed to have to change our plans, but we walked to The Bell in Hand, America's oldest continually run tavern (est. 1795), where we ran into Ben Franklin outside.

When we came home, Avonlea Jane decided to make Daddy's birthday more festive by getting out all of the tulle we use in place of tissue paper in gift bags. She wanted Will to play in it.

The tail end of a smile

Avonlea Jane is dedicated to her art. Instead of simply drawing in a birthday card for Daddy, she decided to use her legs as a canvas.



Avonlea Jane has been very interested in nursery rhymes lately, and her favorite is "Wee Willie Winkie," which we occasionally call Will. She also enjoys singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb," though she sang it so many times in the car today, she clearly only had the energy to sing the first line over and over and over again in this video.

New words

Will being cute:


Avonlea Jane's vocabulary is still expanding by the hour it seems. In the last two days, shes added two words that have really tickled us.

Yesterday, she had some fabric around her neck and said, "Mama, I'm wearing a scarf. It's Will's shirt actually."

Today, we had the following conversation when I told her we were going to take a walk:

A: "Can I walk?"

L: "You need to ride in the stroller until we get downtown, and then you can walk while holding my hand."

A: "No! I don't want to hold your hand."

L: "Then you can stay in the stroller the whole time."

A: "No! Mommy, I don't like those options."

Staring contest

A sleeping baby on St. Patrick's Day

On Saturday, we went to our friends Megan and Geoff's for a staring contest. Avonlea Jane did not make it further than the first round, but she had a great time anyway.

Liv made it into the semi-finals only to lose to Megan, but David was the champion.

Distractions were encouraged.

Will is gearing up for the baby round.

Avonlea Jane testing out Mommy's wig

Megan losing it in the final round

David's first place trophy

Will and Jack in the baby round

Appleton Farms

Today was chilly but sunny, so when Avonlea Jane asked to go walking, I decided to take her to Appleton Farms in Hamilton/Ipswich.

She enjoyed finding where we were on the map and walking through the woods and fields to get to the barns. She got to see plenty of Canadian Geese and blue birds and was able to hunt for horseshoe tracks in the mud.

It was definitely brisk out, and Will wasn't too sure how he felt about that.

When we got up to the farm buildings, we were lucky enough to tag along on the second half of a "Meet the Cows" tour. We got to tour the milking building and see the cows being milked, the milk being processed, and some cows ready to have their babies. While in the milk shed, Avonlea Jane proclaimed, "E-I-E-I-O! I loooove manure!" (We'd had a talk on the way to the barns about why the farm smelled the way it did and why farm poop can be useful. Clearly, it made an impression.)

The best part of the day was getting to see a new baby cow.

Avonlea Jane had a wonderful time, and when the weather is a little warmer, we'll go back to see the chickens, horses, and sheep. I was excited to find out that Appleton Farms and the Trustees of the Reservation have a weekly day camp for toddlers, but it unfortunately starts when we'll be on vacation this spring. Perhaps they'll have another session in the summer. Avonlea Jane would just love to do something like that.

In addition to seeing all of the cows, she was pleased to have the opportunity to go for a long walk without her stroller, though she was lamenting the distance on the way back to the car. Regardless, my sweet girl ended our trip by declaring, "We have fun, you and me."

Will's first bath

While taking a bath, Avonlea Jane asked if she could bathe Will. The house had been so cold that up until that point that we had been bathing him with a washcloth. However, the temperature was much warmer, so we agreed to give him his first real bath.

With her hair so short and wet, we imagine this is what Will will look like in two years.

So far, so good.

At first, he wasn't sure what to make of being submerged in water, but he didn't cry.

Avonlea Jane is explaining what happens in the bathtub.

Will was content even during his sister's somewhat vigorous scrubbing. Her response was, "Will's having a good time."

All clean

This is what all of Avonlea Jane's pictures look like at this age.

Hop on Pop

We had a game night that evening, and David happily did double duty with Will and Jack, the son of our friends Geoff and Megan. Baby Dack, as Avonlea Jane calls him, was not so thrilled.

Visitors

For a few days this week, Brandy came up from New York City to visit.

Visiting Crane Estate on a chilly day

Avonlea Jane was thrilled to find remains of the last snow.

There's no such thing as being too cold to run around.

Can you find Avonlea Jane?

While it was nice to be the only people here, it will be more fun to run around on the lawn in warmer weather.

Brandy's last day with us saw the arrival of three of David's friends from college: Matt, Dave, and Justin.

Our smiling cat is very happy to have a house full of guests.

Will is paying attention to Daddy's turn in a board game.

At ten weeks old, he looks so much like Daddy.

Maxwell is also enjoying the company.

Mabel helps Matt play Settlers of Catan.

Will and Mommy are getting ready for the Drop & Shop this week.