HUGE Snowman

Look at this HUGE snowman I found in Newport today!

Soon to be One (by Kevin)

We are in the final days until Sapphire Elizabeth Kouri's first birthday, the Big One Year. It was at 10:10 am on December 26th 2008 that she graced us with her presences at Fletcher Allen Hospital in Burlington, VT. Emma labored over Christmas dinner and into the night before she told me it was go time to get her to the hospital at 6 am in the morning. I remember the drive down South Prospect like it was yesterday. It was so calm and peaceful in the city, the day after Christmas, as we drove to the hospital. Emma had been meditating and relaxing in the spirit of hypnobirthing. We were confident that the birth was going to be pain free and without troubles for the mother and child. Sapphire was a day late for Santa Claus but this was the best gift we could have asked for in 2008. Less then 1 month old

WOW a year has gone by so fast. It is truly amazing. I find myself reminiscing more then I usually do this time of year because of the events of the last year. Emma and I find ourselves saying to one another the last month or so "remember this time last year......" We are truly blessed with a roof over our heads, we both have jobs and even though it seems like there is never enough loot in the bank account we manage to do what we need to do. We have become more conscious then ever before about the mighty dollar now that we are parents but this is a good thing. Being fiscally responsible when corporate America and the US government was not in 2008-2009 is now the cool hip thing to do in 2009-2010.

There is one thing money can not buy as we search for what Sapphire will need to grow up to be a well rounded member of society and that one thing is love. Emma and I are blessed to both have loving parents that are actively involved in what we are doing. We also have siblings that are excited about Sapphire and want to share the love as well. There are soon to be two uncle's on both sides of the family. As the family grows with marriages and little feet running about this love will sustain families through all the hard times whatever they are. So Emma and I can not go out and buy love, but we can make sure that she is surrounded with the people and things that we believe will give her the tools to grow and prosper.

I think about her three aunt's: Kristen, Hannah and Penelope. Great woman in each of their own way and Sapphire is going to learn so much from each of them. Hannah will contribute the artistic/musical side, Penelope her huge heart and smarts and Kristen her NYC chic and sophistication. Sapphire will not be lacking the things that make a woman smart, sophisticated, beautiful and elegant. Just look at her mother she embodies it all. She carried Sapphire during the final months of her PhD right into the defense a month before giving birth, she's months away from rejoining the cabaret group again and she has to put up with my BS. That is one strong woman.

The other day I received a text message from Hannah. The message was entitled "Future's so bright she's gotta wear shades". As a parent you hope the way you raise your child that you are leading them down the right path so that their future is bright and filled with many opportunities. We think that everyone in this family has something to share and offer us and Sapphire. It is these things that we look for, bits of wisdom to take and pass on. Will her future be bright, without a doubt it will be. Family and friends will help along the way but Emma and I ultimately need to find it for ourselves and our family.

I hope Sapphire realizes that one day wearing sunglasses during the glooming days, night time and anytime is a sign of being upbeat, optimistic and lets not forget cool.

So the first year/chapter in her life book is coming to a close and it has been a BLAST. If you are having a bad day remember there is always tomorrow and put a pair of shade's on because like Sapphire's future yours can be bright too.

"Man it is bright out today" Almost One Year Old (taken 12/21/09)

Has Winter Arrived??? (by Kevin)

I think Old Man Winter has come roaring back into Vermont this week. We finally got some winter weather a week before Christmas. It has not felt like winter in these parts at all. A general lack of snow and temps that rarely broke the 32 degree mark. I think everyone was wondering when Old Man Winter was going to show up. Well a week before Sapphire Elizabeth's Birthday he did.

Temperatures the last couple of days have fallen below the 0 degree mark without the windchill factor. The windchill put us well below -10 degree's the last couple of days. Work has been unbearable with these temps. Barns are frozen, people are in a general bad mood because equipment will not start and I had to pull out my fleece lined work pants on Thursday morning. When the truck gauge reads -2 degrees when parked in the hills of Enosburg Falls, VT you might as well leave the rig on and throw the concept of global warming out the f....ing window.

Wednesday I decided to take the day off and spend it with Emma and Sapphire. I have not taken a day off since December 26th 2008 starting at 10:10 am, nor has Emma. I had 120 hours of vacation time to take and I had not taken one single day. So I have decided to take some time off before and after Christmas. We went for a walk in the morning, before Sapphire's nap, at the Burlington Country Club. We did our loop which is the loop we used to do when Emma had a watermelon inside of her. It was great to get out on a Wednesday morning with the dogs and the family and not be rushed. It was all about slowing down. Sapphire did not make the whole loop, she passed out near the end but that was our intentions. The walk was followed by Christmas shopping and lunch downtown. It went by very fast but we had a great day spending that day together.

The reason why we live in Vermont other then jobs and family is the natural beauty it can show any time of year. Sap flowing pre Springtime, cows on pasture in the Summer, the Autumn colors painted across the hillside to the blanket of white across fields, frozen rivers and mountains. Every season brings it own special beauty you just have to look for it.


The Frozen Missisqoui along RT 105, facing East towards Jay Peak, in Enosburg Falls, VT. The far snow covered peak under the clouds is Jay.

The final countdown is on. Can you believe it Sapphire is almost 1 years old. She has 8 days until her First Birthday. Emma and I have had a blast this first year. It has been tough and we are sleep deprived but we love her so much and she is a great child. She has a smile that lights up the world and we always get comments from complete strangers how great her smile is. She is very special and we are blessed.

"What you looking at? Can't you see I am busy reading, so buzz off."

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Moo Devil or Merry Christmas (by Kevin)

My lack of posts are very inexcusable and I have to make a better effort to get my thoughts on the blog. I have a lot of ideas that go through my head during the course of the day that would be good for the blog but I can not find the time to sit down and write about my day. I have the dogs to deal with, Sapphire to play with and put to bed, then dinner and work after that. I am not on Facebook, I am not going to Tweet and I do not have Myspace so this is the only place I can express myself.

I am going to make a goal to blog about some things I deal with day in day out once or twice a week. So you might be reading a lot about cows, farms and idiot drivers on the interstate.

Last week I came across a cow at Conant's Riverside Farm in Richmond, VT. Conant's is home to 370 mature Holstein's and approximately 300 or so head of young stock run by the father and son team David and Ransom Conant. Of course I must mention that Conant's is the home to the best sweet corn in the state.

I stumbled upon Cow # 4, who resides in Group 3, and was taken by surprise to find that she had decorated herself for the Holiday's. Or, she might be a cousin of "Loco Vaca" and was making sure everyone knew to keep their distance from her. I opted not to rustle her from her roost to find out if she was the cousin to "Loco Vaca", or was just in the Holiday spirit and decorated her horns to make the other girls jealous. She quitely posed for me so I could take her picture, but she kept a watchful eye on my actions. I realized if she was not in the Holiday spirit then maybe she is "Moo Devil": a defender of all cows against humans. Humans that touch and pull on their teats to harvest the bountiful white stuff we call milk. Her mission is to rid the practice of touching teat ends with cold rough hands early in wee hours of the morning. When you are not looking "Moo Devil" swoops in and horns the offender in the ass.So watch out if you are not gentle in mammary gland teat stimulation "Moo Devil" has something to say about that.

Big Girl

Check out this video I took tonight. Sapphie is getting so big!

From New lamb rocker

Enjoying the fall

Sapphie turned 10 months last week. Her major new things this month are: a tooth coming through at the beginning of October; pulling up (on everything); an all-nighter with Daddy, her first visit to Cabot Creamery; and, her first Halloween. We've had a great month!

I've been doing sign language with Sapphie since she was about 4 months old. Today, she signed "more" to her nanny during lunch! I'm so bummed to have missed it, but I'm really excited that my work has paid off. Hopefully, she'll start signing more and not get so frustrated when she's hungry.

Several months ago, Brett nick-named Sapphie "savage beast". She's really living up to this nickname, believe me. She screams, growls, and grunts, especially at her mummy and daddy. She kicks her grammy Liz in the arm, and pulls her mummy's hair. When strangers come along, however, she's all smiles. EVERYONE comments on how happy she is, and does she ever cry? Is she ever upset? We smile and say "of course not!". Enjoy the photos xoxo

p.s. Yesterday was the 1-year anniversary of my PhD, and I forgot. Our tree out front is so beautiful though, and I'm enjoying it just as much this year! Sapphie has already sat on the thick branches. I wonder if we'll still live here when she can climb it...

And by the way, I did get a copy of the Giving Tree. We read it all the time :)

Apples!!!

Last weekend, we did our first apple picking of the season at Shelburne Orchards. For Sapphie, it was her first apple picking ever! We had such a blast. Sapphie ate almost an entire apple (except the skin), and I ate 4. Afterward, we had sausages and Apple Betty with ginger cider. It was such a fun trip!! Here are some of my favorite shots:

Waiting to go to Shelburne. LaLa made her sweater.

Picking apples with Daddy!


And here are some more great photos:

Another Vote for Nurturing Mummies

I'm so tired of hearing "you need to let your baby cry at night"..."she needs to learn to comfort herself"..."she should be in her own bed now"..."you need to get her onto a regular schedule!". Here's my problem with all that: first, my little baby is so tiny, just 9 months old. Why should I let her cry, when my instincts say to comfort her when she cries? Why should I ignore my instincts, follow your advice, and make myself and my baby feel terrible? Why do I need to get her into a routine? To make life more convenient for me? Screw that. I'm a new mom, and nothing is supposed to be convenient. In my opinion, this period of my life is crazy. Insane. Exhausting. Rewarding. And very, very short. Before I know it, she'll be in college. Instead of analyzing all of the different phases that my baby goes through, I am enjoying every single minute. Even when she's up every 2 hours with sore gums, I just want to snuggle her and love her. I have no desire to trouble shoot and try to force her to be in her own cold bed when all she wants is to cuddle and be reassured. But as moms, we get bombarded with the advice of others. Sometimes other moms, who so easily forget that all babies are different (yes, I'm guilty of this. So is Kevin, but we try to remind ourselves all the time). What works for one will rarely work for the other, so kindly keep your advice to yourself (we try to do this too!).

And just when you start to feel that maybe everybody else knows more than you do about how to raise your baby, science boosts your confidence!! New research in rodents has shown, in short, that maternal instincts maybe more important than we've realized. Mice who are good, nurturing mothers - who nurse their young, lick them and comfort them - raise babies who are more healthy and less susceptible to disease than mice who are poor mothers. Specifically, neglected mice were more likely to develop diabetes and some forms of cancer than the nurtured mice. Even crazier, if you take the pups away from the bad mothers and let them live with the good mothers, they become less susceptible to those diseases! What this means is that genes don't tell the full story...the quality of mothering can have huge implications for disease susceptibility and life-long health. If you really want to know the term, it's called epigenetics. It's totally hot right now, and scientists are making amazing discoveries about how epigenetics influences heredity - without changing DNA.
What does this mean for us, as mothers? It means that we need to believe our instincts, cuddle our babies as much as we please, love them, hug them, comfort them, and trust your own motherly intuition, no matter what it is! Ignore everybody's advice. Only you know what to do - it's programmed in your physiology - and if you follow it, you'll have a better chance of raising happy and healthy babies.

On the Move

For almost 3 weeks now, Sapphie has been crawling. Check out the video I took shortly after she started. It's in the slideshow (if you double click on the slideshow, it will take you to a new window and the pictures & video will be big). Doesn't she look like a wounded caterpillar?! Now, she's gotten much better at it. She's really fast and looks more like a wounded soldier. As you can see from the photos, she is having so much fun with the dogs. She crawls onto their beds and plays with them, and she loves to feed them her biscuits!! Winston is going to be in heaven next time we visit the Kouri's.
We went to Northampton to celebrate Danny's marriage to Julie. It was so much fun!! We met Julie (who we love!!), and her family, and it was a fabulous party. Alison and Dan have done some amazing things with their home, and we love it. The best part is their patio. It's so party!! Huge, and beautiful, with an outdoor fireplace. We had a really fun dance party at the end of the night, and Sapphie slept through the whole thing in the Ergo.
At her 9-month check-up, Sapphie got her stats. She's a beanpole! 20th percentile for weight, and 80th for height. That was about the extent of the check-up...everything else looks great.
Her first word ("ba!"), has become the word for everything. She points at the dogs and yells "ba!"...at her book, at her babies, "ba!" "ba!". It's so cute. The only other word she says is "mama!" a lot. When she cries, mostly, or when I leave the room, and it's heartbreaking!! She'll be talking more in no time, according to the pediatrician...
My favorite new thing is how she feeds the dogs - deliberately - whenever she gets the chance. It can be frustrating, but also really cute. She leans over and dangles her biscuit for them to grab. Of course Cooper behaves himself, but Cabot falls for it every time. He takes the food from her little fingers, and is ever so gentle. It's very sweet. She's really got quite a personality. Enjoy the photos and video xoxoxo

End-of-Summer Fun

Wow, Sapphie is 8 months old. I can't believe it! She's got lots of new tricks, and we've been very busy!! August was full of some wonderful weather, visits from friends, and a celebration of our bride-to-be sister Penelope. I feel so terrible when it takes me a month to write a new post...but I guess I'll just have to get used to it, because it's only going to keep getting busier!
First, let me tell you Sapphie's new tricks: in addition to clapping her feet, she has finally mastered the skill of clapping her hands! Sorry, no video. I'm pretty sure her new nanny Lauren taught her how to clap (Sapphie loves Lauren, who sings "if you're happy and you know it clap your hands" to help to teach her to clap). Sapphie also plays the foot drums, and there's a video in the slideshow below. What else?...She sits! Very well, and on her own if you please!! She also shakes her head no, especially when I'm trying to feed her spinach. And her latest trick - which is very advanced for an 8-month old and I think she learned it from Luke - is that she can drink through a straw.
We started out the month of August with a visit from the Manguals. It was so fun! Liz and Kevin let us all stay at the condo, which is so generous of them and really wonderful for us. This way, we can have lots of space and also have some adult time after the babies have gone to bed. Luke is huge. Look how his legs don't even fit in the bumbo!! He and Sapphie interacted a lot that weekend, and it was a wonderful visit. Later in the month, we celebrated Penelope and Colin's upcoming wedding by giving Penelope a bridal shower. Just a few photos, but you can see it was a beautiful day with wonderful people and yummy food. I'm really excited for January!
If I hadn't had enough fun in August, Christina was very brave and decided to take me up on an invitation to come to visit Sapphie and I - in Burlington, with the kids and no Brian. She loaded them all up, drove here and stayed in Soe's basement! We had SO MUCH FUN. It was probably my favorite visit ever, not because Brian wasn't there but because it was during the week and I took time off. I got a little taste of what it would be like if we lived closer to each other...maybe dangerous? But so much fun. I love how our kids play, even though she has 3 and I only have 1. Her children are so loving and caring, and interested in everything they see. Hopefully they'll come up next month so we can all go apple picking!
Other fun events? Sapphie met her first cow, had lots of fun with Zoe at Kevin and Brett's softball games, got a mohawk, did a ton of swimming, and started with a nanny. So far, it's going really well. She's with her friend Ruby, which I think is really fun for her. Enough of my babbling, enjoy these awesome photos!!!

Monkey Feet

Sapphie is a monkey. For almost 2 weeks now, she has been clapping her feet - not her hands, and she does it on command! This video isn't great because I took it on my phone, but check it out:

We have a bunch of other exciting things going on too! She said her first word, which was book. It comes out "ba!" and she says it almost every time you give her a book. And I was so sure her first word would be dog...

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks. I can't believe she'll be 8 months tomorrow! I'll post a big slideshow later in the week.

Here she is, lounging in Zoe's floatie. She loves it.
Auntie Hannah gave her a mohawk!!

In the garden with mummy and Cabot

At Flatbread in Waitsfield with the Manguals

How do you MOOOO?!

Cheesy title I know, but Sapphie met her first cow this weekend! One of Kevin's customers had us over for a dinner party to celebrate the opening of their new barn. Thankfully we had the perfect shirt for Sapphie to wear, thanks to Aunti Kiki. We arrived around 7pm, and Sapphie was sleeping. We toured the farm, ate a buffet meal and she woke up just in time to go see the heifers! She went berserk!!! See for yourself :)

And here's a video!

Sapphire at work

Sapphie is so funny lately. She rolls around the room to get wherever she wants, and it's amazing how fast she moves! I turn my head for a second, and when I turn back around I can't find her. Sometimes, she ends up in really funny places...

Here, at my office, under my desk

And here, at home, under my chest of drawers!

Peekaboo!!!

Cute Clips

I've just posted a ton of pictures for you, but also wanted to show you these cute videos of Sapphie doing her favorite 2 things: eating avocado and making lip-smacking noises, and drinking water. She's got a new noise to show us every day!

Catch Up

How long has it been? Too long!! Sapphie is 7 months already and I've only posted 2 blogs this month. As you can see, we've had a very busy month. Check out the photos to see what we've been up to!

Bedtime (By Kevin)

Sapphire and I have become the team that summons the Bedtime Fairy for her magical fairy eye dust. Sapphire has her own special way, usually some form of screaming, and I shoosh my mouth dry. I must give credit due where it is due before continuing with this post, Emma does all the heavy lifting before I come onto the scene. She tops Sapphie off with some milk to fill up her stomach before handing her over to me for the nightly ritual. It has become so much of a ritual that around 8-8:30 pm Sapphire knows that when she sees me it is go time for bed. She is usually not too excited about that prospect. Sapphire is going to be like her mom when it comes to socializing. She wants to be right in the thick of things and hang out with people. So when we have guest over around her bedtime she tends to fight harder from going down to sleep.

I have some tools in my tool box that I use to call the Bedtime Fairy.

A list of the essentials:

• Ipod player with "Relaxing Harp Music"
  
• Nooks on a chain
  
• Her Blanket
• Glass of water for my dry mouth
• Aunt Kristen's stuff doll
  

Give me these 5 items and we are ready for bedtime regardless what Sapphire thinks and wants to do. I play a little game with myself every night. I see how fast I can get her to go to sleep trying to beat my best time.

The most important item out of the five things is her doll followed by the nook. Every night Sapphire brings a piece of her Aunt Kristen to the bed. I tell Sapphire as we get ready to go to sleep to say goodnight to her Sleep Sheep and give Kristen hugs and kisses. She loves to mush the doll into her face or squeezes it arms with her hands. She loves the feel of it against her skin and it comforts her to hold on to something as she summons the Bedtime Fairy. Her Aunt Kristen resides in NYC but to Sapphire her Aunt Kristen is there with her every night as she falls asleep.

Good Night Mom, Good Night Dad, Good Night Cooper and Cabot, Good Night World, Good Night Kristen I miss you and love you.......................

Six Months!!

Sapphie turned six months on Friday. It's been a busy month! She started solids, got dedicated, started rolling around the floor like a steam roller, has increased her vocabulary with "da da da", "na na na", and laughs when I wash her armpits. Time with her gets more and more fun every day.
At her 6 month check-up, Sapphie was off the charts for height (95th percentile)! Her weight is now average, so she looks like a long bean pole!
Sapphie loves to eat. So far, I've been pretty liberal with what I let her try (no bad reactions yet!). She still has a pretty strong gag reflex, so I have to give her very tiny pieces or moosh the food up before giving it to her. She's tried sweet potato, pear, banana, mango, hummus, grilled salmon, squash & apple soup, berry crisp, and some veggie samosa from Samosaman. Oh yes, and Isaac also rubbed a salt and vinegar chip on her tongue. She liked it! Actually, she loves everything! If she could fit a create her own meal though, this is the sort of menu I think she'd request:

Appetizer ~ goat milk yogurt with rice cereal and pureed pears
Main Meal ~ pureed sweet potato and grilled salmon
Dessert ~ banana and breast milk puree

Luckily, we haven't seen any type of stranger anxiety yet. Sapphie loves everyone she meets and pretty much lets anybody hold her. We're taking the summer off from baby yoga, but she comes running with me and we're reading a lot. She also likes to play peak-a-boo and she loves it when I sing to her.
Kevin now puts her to bed at least 3 nights a week. Of course she prefers mummy at bedtime, but she's slowly learning to love the way daddy coos her to sleep with his shooshes.
Sapphie still comes to work with me and is such a good girl. Only 2 more months and I'll be done with this job...but I think she'll be crawling before then! We'll figure it out...

That's about it for our six-month update. Enjoy the photos!

First Father's Day (by Kevin)

Father's Day was last Sunday the 21st. I was treated to a day out of the ordinary in terms of routine. My days are very regimented from start to finish. Wake up at 5 am to start work and take care of the dogs, hope to hit the pavement by 8:30-9 am making farm calls and then home around 5:30 or so to see the family followed by maybe a run, dinner, more work, the dishes, and then TV before a 11 pm bedtime.

Well last Sunday Emi and Sapphire were up before me and had already exercised the dogs and had a pancake breakfast cooking. That is definitely not part of the usually routine. Having someone else wake up to feed the dogs and take them out is a blessing sent from God. Fresh Pancakes is like getting extra icing on your piece of cake. The day could not start any better.

A lazying morning with the family, Hannah, Colin and Soe found us down at the lake with the dogs so they could enjoy the water and the nice weather that had graced this day. Some errands around town was followed by a 3:30 tee time with Mr. Brett Smith, a dad as well, at Kwinaska. Brett and I had not played at all this summer together and it was nice to get out on the links just him and I and catch up on stuff and play.

Since it was my day I was allowed to pick the menu for the evening feast. Those that know me don't need me to tell you what we had. For those that really do not know what type of meal I truly enjoy feast your eyes on these bad boys.

That's right the Pride of the Midwest: US Grade A Beef Aged NY Strip Steaks.

Did I mention "Where's the Beef".

Emma knows the way into my heart is always 2 inches of beef or that magical word "LongHorn". So we prepared these steaks with of course a Caesar Salad, My mothers recipe, Lebanese Potato Salad, Snap Peas and red wine (a new collection designed around Edgar Allen Poe from the owner of Owen Roe). Colin, Soe and Hannah joined us on the deck for a great evening of food, laughs and family.

It was truly a great day from start to finish: breakfast, time with the dogs, golf with a great friend and then capped off with steak and wine and a great sunset. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

A picture from Pottery Barn Catalog or our Deck???

Sapphire showing off her new big girl chair for Daddy.

Lemon Drops anyone? Soe and Hannah enjoying their lemon drops before the meal.

Colin is ready for his steak. He knows he will not be disputed when he comes here for dinner.

Cotton candy pink clouds

First Swim

Yesterday, Sapphie went for her very first swim. She loved it!!

Looking good in her British suit

Toes first!

Then we dunk...

Poolside fun with auntie Hannah!

Happy girl

We went again today...

Dedication

Last weekend, Sapphie was dedicated. Do you know what that means? It means that Kevin and I promised, in front of our family and closest friends, that we would raise Sapphie to be spiritual, to love God, and to live her life according to the teachings of the Bible. We chose our very best friends, Brian and Christina, to help us fulfill our promise. They are Sapphie's Godparents.

God and spirituality have always been a big part of my life. Well, not always, but at least for as long as I can remember. I used to be embarrassed to have to go to church. There were so many religious freaks out there that gave Christians a bad name. Now that I'm older, however, I really do cherish the lifelong lessons that I've learned from the Bible. Here are some of the most important things that I use every day:
Forgiveness
Understanding and compassion
Love
Faith
Hope

I hope that Sapphie acquires all of these wonderful gifts, because I know that they are key to a happy life. I also hope that she uses them on me when she is a terrible teenager and thinks I'm a big loser.

Faith is a big one, and I've been sharing my gift of faith with Kevin a lot these days. The financial situation is scary for everyone, especially us young people with very few assets. Poor Kevin gets sucked into the media frenzy that has everybody in a panic, then he comes home all furrow-browed and scared for us. I tell him not to worry, everything will be just fine. We will always be safe and happy, because we are blessed. It sounds cheesy doesn't it? But it's true!

Just to prove it, I'll tell you a little bit about the dedication. It was beautiful, and perfect. Kevin's aunt Jen and uncle Jim let us use their amazing home for the ceremony and party. They have the most green and luscious back yard with a slate patio, a coy pond, an arbor with a pebble aisle, and a gorgeous private yard with hedges all around. Liz helped me a lot with organizing the party. Actually, Kevin's parents and my parents shared the cost of the party with us. If it weren't for them, we would have had a very small gathering in the sticks of Vermont. Thanks to them, we were able to invite all of our extended family and have an intimate celebration with all of our loved ones. The weather was sunny and warm, with just the slightest breeze blowing. Not everybody was able to attend, but it was really the perfect mix of people. Almost half my family and half Kevin's, for the first time ever (his family always outnumbers mine)!
My dad performed the ceremony. It was beautiful and a few of us cried. Sapphie slept through the whole thing, until he anointed her with oil. Then she woke up and was ready to party! After the ceremony, we ate yummy food, had cake, and opened some very generous gifts for our little girl.

That night, while the Giovino's were entertaining a whole bunch of us, I sat watching everybody and thinking how much I love our family. It is so special to come together, to celebrate each other, and show our love for one another. To support us in our efforts to raise our children; to teach them to be grateful for their life and their family; to help them develop a relationship with God. We truly are blessed, and as long as we have one another, we will always be ok.

Here are a ton of pictures from that beautiful day

Self Soothing

Thought you had to let babies cry to learn self soothing techniques? Think again! Sapphie is becoming a pro at calming herself when she's a little fussy. She's chosen my method of choice from when I was little: thumb sucking!

Sisters Reunite

Airport pick up with lots of tears. Excitement with Sapphie, Mister, and the dogs. Lunch and Leunig's with wine and live jazz. Pedi's at Tootsies with Pineapple juice and love. Dinner at the Kouri's with family and good food. Yesterday was a big day.

Beer League Softball - Team Fuse (by Kevin)

Summer has begun when the parks are filled with children playing in the afternoon warming sun and the cracks of baseball bats can be heard as it strikes the ball. The crack of the bat, the ball screaming into the outfield and a great catch followed by cheers are the echos in the dreams of playing for a major league ball team. If I had my pick it would be playing outfield for the Boston Red Sox.

This is my second season with Team Fuse in the Burlington Summer Softball League. We play from June into September and even October if you make the playoffs which we did last year. Fuse is a marketing firm in BTV owned by my friend Brett Smith. The team is comprised of Fuse employees, some people from Burton and a couple of other ringers.

Team Fuse will have to fill that dream of playing professional ball for a big league team because at the age of 32 and the general lack of skill to hit a 100 mph plus fast ball I will have to settle watching the highlights on ESPN Sportcenter dreaming that I made that catch or hit that home run. Additionally traveling around the country and having a multimillion dollar $$$$ contract would be dreadfully boring because I would be away from my friends and family.

Last night was our second game of the season. We had just came off of a crushing loss the week before and we were all determined to play better for game 2 of the 14 game season. We were playing Magic Hat Brewing Company which generally is a perennial power house. We tend to play extremely well against them.

We started the game strong and actually lead the game into the 6 inning. I was playing well in the outfield, fielding two deep balls and batting better then I had in the previous game. Things were looking up and up for me. Reason why I say that is because the pre-season I had a lot of cob webs to dust off and game 1 was miserable.

The 7th inning was one of those innings you do not forget in Beer League. Yes it is called beer league because you tend to have a beer or two while playing. I must make the following disclaimer that I tend not to partake in heavy drinking during the course of the game. I have a hard enough time hitting and fielding the ball I do not need to further handicap myself.

I was asked to move from my traditional righ center spot over to left field. Left field tends to be a hot bed of action because most power hitters are right handed and push the ball to left field.

I heard the crack of the bat and the ball sailing into left field. It was a tight roper up the third base line and I was playing more towards left center. I started my run towards the direction of the ball realizing that I can run this ball down and probably make a great catch. A difficult play for two reasons. I throw right and catch left and the sun was setting in the direction I was running in. I have a good track on the ball and then WHAM POW.

I am down and out and on my ass looking for the ball as the batter starts to round 2nd. I feel warm blood start to run down my face. Like a prize title fighter I get back to my feet and make the throw to third hoping to stop the runner from advancing anymore. I shake myself off and decide to finish the inning on the field before coming in to assess the damage.

A cold beer for the eye and one for the mind and soul I take the next inning off and I am back in the game. Jason Bay, left outfielder for the BoSox, would have made that catch with out a problem. On the other hand this wannabe gets a ball to the eye and a good black eye to show for my 2nd softball outing of the year. I was told by fellow team mates the ball hit my glove and deflected into my eye.

Why do we go out there and play? Feel sore the next day and sometimes get banged up. A simple answer for a simple question. We all still want to feel young again. We want to forget about the days troubles and for 2 hours a week feel like a kid again fantasizing about the big leagues and enjoying the time with our friends and enjoy the best of Vermont, the late afternoon Western Sun. It gives me a break from the job, the depressing news that we are flooded with, the economy, the newest threat to America, politics and general bull shit. Beer League is about fun, family, dogs, respect for each other as teammates and opponents and to realize at the end of the game there is no real winners or losers on the field regardless of the score. So if you want to have a good time come on out and bring a blanket, your favorite snack and drink and watch the "Boys and Girls of Summer".

2008 Fuse Team, pictured, at the end of the season last year. All back together for 2009 season.

PS: Final score Magic Hat 15 Fuse 10 Fuse 0-2.

Puppy play

Sapphie and Cabot have really bonded lately. She's mesmerized by both of the dogs, and of course Cabot gives her lots of attention and kisses. Here they are playing in her room on the blanket that Hannah made her.

Hello!

Cabot gently prodding Sapphie for some love

And she gives him some!