The Manly Stroller

This past week one family in our ward sent around an announcement that they were clearing out some stuff in preparation to move this summer and giving things away. We had a free morning, so went over to scavenge. They gave us some great new toys to grow into. And the hit of the day was of course the doll stroller. We don't have any dolls, but this manly, block-and-stick carrying stroller is the best hand-me-down we have ever received. Davy has spent hours pushing that thing around the house and in the back driveway. He never looks like he is enjoying himself, but always has this expression of intense concentration on his face.

Davy picking flowers to add to his stroller collection. I'm so grateful God created dandelions for children to pick. There is something magical seeing those drab little yellow weeds through the eyes of a toddler. Makes me remember the time not so long ago when dandelions and acorns were candles and fairy hats for me, too.

Sheep Shearing Festival

A few weeks ago when the weather first started turning nice, we went to the Gore Mansion in Waltham, to check it out and see the chickens. Saturday the Gore Place held their 23 annual sheep shearing festival. Davy wore his sheep shirt in honor. It was pretty cool, actually. There were lots of artisans and crafters with booths selling stuff. I (Rachel) loved seeing all the gorgeous skeins of yarn in all the pretty colors. Davy ate up the petting area where he got to see little baby "ba ba" (sheep) and cute kid goats, and big "mamas" (llamas). I think the holding onto the fence rails was the coolest part from Davy's perspective, but the animals seemed to catch his attention, too. And Collin mostly looked forward to the carnival food concessions. So at the end of the activity we were all happy!



I actually did comb Davy's hair that morning (for once). It's the wind giving that effect, I promise. Anyway, we got to watch a farmer give a sheep a hair cut with big, lethal looking shears. Man, that sheep held still! Every now and then she would bleat rather mournfully but other than that she was perfectly well behaved. I tried to hint to Davy that following that sheep's example would make hair cuts so much faster and easier. We'll see if he got the message soon--that boy needs a trim!


That's the best and only belly shot you're going to get for a while. So say hi to the baby!

Collin, for some reason, is embarrassed by Davy's fascination with flowers--thinks it's too girly. But I think it is sweet. And guess to whom Davy gives the "flowers"?

That's Davy giggling in the background. He wasn't watching the cool sheep herding demonstration at that point, though. He got bored pretty fast--guess the dogs weren't close enough to really see. I think he was making himself fall backward onto the tall grass, which was highly entertaining for whatever reason.

And the baby is . . .

. . . a boy! We had an ultrasound on Thursday for our new baby. Collin got off work early to join us--and hold Davy. Good thing, too, because Davy threw a full-on fit at me being on the exam table, just like at the midwife appointment two weeks ago. Hopefully he'll get used to it soon, because it will just become more frequent in the next few months!

We are thrilled to be having another son. I had a twinge of disappointment at guessing wrong (again) and not being able to use our "for sure" first girl's name. So back to the drawing board for boys names. For some reason boys names are so much harder for me to adore. I guess at least Collin and I will have something to talk about for the next six months. Poor man--I'm sure I'll bring it up far oftener than he would prefer! Anyway, here's a scary skeletal ultrasound snapshot of our sweet baby (this was the best one--there were others much freakier).

Manchester and the Fisher Cats

I know -- sounds like a band name, but it's actually just the title of our blog entry. We had a wonderful weekend with friends. We called the weatherman's bluff of three straight days of rain for the weekend and headed up to Manchester, NH to watch the Fisher Cats -- the local minor league baseball team (actually below minor league, but if it's not college and it's not the pros, who really cares?). The weatherman was actually right for the most part, but we were fortunate enough to get a 2-hour break for the game to take place. We stayed at a hotel that abuts the baseball field and actually provides a suite-like view of the game. We probably could have watched the game from our rooms, but decided the $8 a pop was worth it to join the crowd . . .

. . . only there was no crowd. As you can tell from the pic below, we could have sat right behind home plate if we wanted to. Instead we chose the perfect spot (next to the food stands, of course) right where a foul ball landed! Hooray for Steve and his quick hands!



Here's Davy enjoying the hotel amenities.

The next morning, we got up for a delicious country-style breakfast at the Cracker Barrel (blackberry pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fried apples . . . . yum!) and then took a few hours to enjoy the fine art at the Currier Museum in downtown Manchester. Thanks to all our wonderful friends who made it such a fun time!

A few random shots from home. Every morning, "mama" will get up with Davy to feed him his usual ba-"nana" and cereal while Collin showers and gets ready for work. Then, when "dah" comes out to eat breakfast, Rachel goes back to rest, and Davy gets a second round of cereal. He'll often claim that he's "all duh" with his bowl and then proceed to climb on to Daddy's lap for a few bites from his bowl.

When Daddy's all ready to leave for the day, Davy will climb up onto the comfy chair by the window and wave goodbye as Collin walks down to the bus.

He then stays for a while to watch for any cars, people, or other interesting things that pass by the window. His favorite are fire trucks, big rigs, and anything else that makes loud noises as it passes.

Then, it's time to get dressed for the day. If he's tired of his own clothes, he goes into Daddy's closet and tries on a few of his things. The find for this shot was Collin's black Sunday shoes.

Rachel, editor-in-chief, wishes to add a note that the pictures are even less than their normal quality due to the fact that we left our camera at home during the Manchester trip and had to resort to our 2.0 megapixel phone camera.

The Real Boston Garden

And it came to pass that we did plant a garden, eastward in Belmont. And there was much vegetation growing therein. Now behold, the people of Lambourne were not accustomed to planting a garden. Yea, they did lack sufficient knowledge in the ways of germination and photosynthesis; insomuch that the garden did wither and die, bearing no fruit. And thus ended the garden of Lambourne.

Okay, so that's not how the story ends (we hope). But we did figure it's high time we start learning to eat by the sweat of our brow. Along with our upstairs neighbors, the Pandeys, we dug up a small area in our backyard, bought some fertilizer, a few garden tools (Davy loved the trowel), and planted some tomatoes, romaine lettuce, spinach, carrots, basil, snap peas, summer squash and pumpkins. We see it more as an investment in entertainment and learning rather than an actual supply of food. We'll be happy if we get one decent tomato out of it, so here's hoping!

It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!

I've decided that it really isn't a holiday if there isn't a correlating Charlie Brown movie about it. Sorry Labor Day, you're out. You too, St. Patty.

So there're too many pictures, and I'd rather not take the time to arrange them all with the commentary. Besides, I have a Reese's peanut butter egg waiting for me. So here's the gist: Fun Easter weekend. Went out for donuts. Took Davy to the Belmont Easter Egg hunt (more like free-for-all) where they put out thousands of eggs on an open field and let the kids go wild. Davy picked up three and was done. They have some cool prizes in a select few of the eggs every year (we heard last year, someone got a certificate for a free bike). I saw one mom send her kids out to fill up their basket (read "bucket") and she took them and ripped through to see if they got the big prize. It was like something out of Willy Wonka.

Rachel was sweet and thoughtful in surprising Davy and me with an Easter basket. Davy got some new church toys so he stops stealing them from the other toddlers at church. I got a book that lays out thoughts from John Adams on the road to the revolution, along with a Time magazine special edition on the earthquake in Haiti. Thanks Mama!


Showing off his texting skills.


Sharing a donut with Daddy, and probably some of his cold.









Snagging an egg before the other kid could get it. Poor kid.


Davy and friend Austin in a high-noon shootout.

Sunny Days are Here Again

My mom called this week to make sure we weren't under water. Our part of the world has been having a lot of rain and therefore flooding the past few weeks. Several members of our ward had pumps going to clear out wading-level water from their basements. One neighbor down the road from us had 8 ft of water in their basement that damaged their electrical system and destroyed everything they had stored. We didn't get 8 ft of rain, of course (only like 10 inches each raining period, I think), but I guess they must have had runoff from everyone else' yards--their next door neighbors' basement floor wasn't even wet. Anyway, we're safe and dry. I love the occasional stormy/rainy/overcast day. But too many in a row--especially with toddlers in the mix--can make a person crazy! I truly felt like Noah's wife must have felt when the rain finally ceased. The sun is absolutely magical. Even our often grumpy neighbor responded to my hello yesterday and said that the weather was an Easter miracle. Couldn't agree more.

We really ran out of fun things to do inside after a while. Finally broke down and pulled out a movie. Bad mom. But here is Davy with Tara's princess doll stroller. We really need one of these for our house (Collin, we can get a manly one, I promise) as next to the sunglasses a few weeks ago--now they both have their own pairs, thank goodness--sharing this toy was the hardest. The weird way Davy is holding his head in the picture below is him checking around the corner of the table to see if he should quickly run the other way because Tara is headed in his direction.


Yay for the sun!


Davy is all boy (despite playing with princess doll strollers and brushing Tara's doll's hair, much to Collin's chagrin) pointing excitedly to trucks and throwing and chasing a tennis ball around the house for hours. Thank you, whoever invented tennis balls.



Davy finally figured out how to go down stairs safely this week. The process obviously still requires a lot of concentration. But I am so relieved at this new skill.

Yesterday I was doing a ton of cooking in the kitchen, so I opened up both back doors (there's a small walkway in between our back door and the storm/screen door to the porch) to let in some fresh air. Davy loves doors and saying "hi" and "bye" as he opens and closes the door.

Bring out the sidewalk chalk! Davy just likes taking the sticks in and out of the bucket, but I had fun drawing pictures.

All this sun and good playing tuckers out a baby (and a mommy). What a sweetie.

P.S. We haven't officially announced this on our blog yet, so here it is: baby number 2 is on the way! We're due September 23 and will probably find out whether it's a boy or girl in about a month.