Around town

Just some fun around town. Yesterday we went to the library; Brian was a little monkey, and Eli was a good little reader. Bagels for lunch! Then today we went to the zoo to visit Brian's old pals, the polar bears.

Mendon Ponds

It was beautiful here today so we went to Mendon Ponds to go fishing. Brian asked if it was the ocean. Clearly it's been too long since he's seen the ocean! He had a great time "fishing" with sticks. Dad caught some seaweed (pondweed?), then both boys tried to lure the fish out from under the dock (no luck!). They are smart, that's why they still live there.

First Solids

Eli recently started eating solid foods. Bib on, eagerly anticipating:

All messy!

Just for fun, here is a picture of Brian when he started solids.

Matching Pajamas

Calvin bravely tried to get a picture of the boys in their matching pajamas. Surprisingly (or maybe not), Eli was the more cooperative one.

At the wedding

We went to my friend Marie's wedding this weekend in Pittsburgh. I was worried but the boys did surprisingly well, and the wedding was just beautiful! Brian played cars quietly on the floor:

Eli was tired, but was kept entertained by Calvin:

Brian made a new best friend, and they played cars outside after the ceremony (they are launching them off the handrail):

Marie tried to talk to Brian, but he was busy running around:

At the reception

We had a great time at the reception! I had told Brian that we were going to a party, and he was so excited; on the way, he was saying"Oh, boy, my party! We're going to my party!" So I had to explain that it was NOT his party. He had a blast anyway. The location was lovely, the food was great, the company was a lot of fun, and the music had everyone dancing, especially the kids! When we left, I asked Brian if he had fun and he said "Yeah. Abigail is my best...friend...EVER!"

Sightseeing in Pittsburgh

We went to see the Dusquense Incline this morning before heading home. It's a funicular that gives a nice view of the city. We got hopelessly lost trying to find it and must have crossed all three rivers half a dozen times. We really got to see a lot of the city--first at ground level and then from above!

Fun with Picasa

I am doing a 52 week challenge to take pictures of myself with the kids every week for a year. It has also made me more interested in trying out photo effects in Picasa. What do you think?

Photo shoot

I felt inspired to take some pictures of the boys. It's hard to get them to look at the camera at the same time, or even at all!

A taste of summer

Yesterday it was just beautiful, over 80 degrees and sunny, so we packed a lunch and went to Tinker Nature Park. Brian has been wanting to go for ages, so it was nice to be able to say yes finally. Here are the boys eating lunch:

And the littlest boy, too small to sit at the table but not too small to have a good time!

After lunch we went for a hike, but it was a little too close to naptime, and one of us fell apart...

Still, it was a nice day to be out and about enjoying nature.

The things they say

Instead of pictures, I thought I would share briefly some of the funny things we hear around here. Enjoy!

• Eli has a Baby Einstein Octopus that talks in English, French and Spanish. Right now it's set to Spanish, because I think that's the most useful. Brian gave it to Eli, and asked him, "Do you want it in fries?" Ummmmm.... you mean french?
• Right now we are coloring a card for our neighbor who is ill. He dictates to me as he scribbles on the page, "Dear Mr. Horton. Please don't be sick. Attack of the Eraser from Super Why."
• We have a picture book of the great wall of China that Brian likes to read. One day, we were driving to the Strong Museum and we got onto I-490, which has a tall concrete barrier on the side and he says, "Look, look, mama! The great wall of China!"

I'm sure there are more, but I don't have time now!