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Dancing Boy

2011-12-27T06:54:00.000-08:00

Teo has started to do the cutest thing: whenever he hears music, he starts dancing on his little bum. The other day, we were all having breakfast and relaxing to my classical music. I hadn't had coffee yet and was half asleep. Sapphie said "I'm going to put different music on..." and before I could protest, she had turned it to a station playing loud rock (not ideal for pre-coffee mornings). Teo imediately perked up and said "uhhh, uhhh!" and started kicking is little legs in the high chair, then started wiggling his bum back and forth, with a very serious face. It was so cute! Then yesterday, we were watching Holiday Inn, and everytime a dance number came on Teo would start dancing! He kind of looks like Liz when he dances. I took this video of him dancing to a musical birthday card that Sapphie got from Lukey. It's so cute! Oh and check out his outfit...it was Grandpi's when he was Teo's age...you do the math! We love it.

Hurray for the Holidays!!

2011-12-23T16:29:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite time of year. It brings me so much joy! Starting with Thanksgiving, I get a warm and cozy feeling. It is a time to hang out with our loved ones, eat wonderful harvest food, and just enjoy our lives. Then we get snow (well, usually we get snow), and the spirit of the Holidays fills us with love and happiness. Gratefulness that we live in a beautiful part of the world, close to people we love, and that our lives are truly blessed.

This year especially, I am so grateful that I live close to family. Sapphie and Teo now have a cousin; Amelia is just 3 days old! She's also just 3 blocks away, and I can't wait to watch them grow up together.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful Holiday season too, and find many things to be thankful for. Happy Holidays and lots of love to everyone!! xoxoxo

I'm an Auntie!!

2011-12-22T06:32:00.000-08:00

It's a girl! The waiting is over. Amelia Illingworth Alger has arrived, and she is such a sight. The fuzziest black hair you've ever seen, and jowls that would make Winston jealous. She's beautiful!! Colin and Penelope are totally relaxed, pros already at being new parents. I'm so proud of them. Here are some amazing pictures.

Welcome to the world Amelia!

Proud Papa

Got a new hat and ready to go home!

Look at those jowls!

I love my new niece.

She likes the carseat!

Relaxing at home with her daddy, by the tree.

Learning to Walk!

2011-12-22T06:27:00.000-08:00

I can't believe he'll be walking soon...crazy!!

Checking in from Paris...

2011-12-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hannah, Teo and I have been having a wonderful time in Paris. Here are some pictures we wanted to share! I'll write more later...but now we're enjoying our last night here with some wine and cheese.

Here are Teo and I being very impressed by the well-endowed horse statue.

Teo with Hannah, on their way to Le Louvre. Teo absolutely loves Paris. I know it sound crazy, but he does. Late to bed, late to rise, and he loves les croissants!!!

In our favorite little cafe (cafe du raspails), Teo was the big hit with all the waiters. Here they gave him deux bisquits, and he was very proud of himself. They spoke to him in French and he wowed them. The owner kept saying "il est trop!!" (he's too much!)

He loved the luxurious bathtub in our hotel room.

Cranberry sauce muffins

2011-12-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

These are delicious. I got part of the recipe from the internet and altered it. I can't remember what that's called...recipe make over? Anyway these are great and it's an awesome idea for leftover cranberry sauce!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or 1 cup of the flour plus 1/2 cup ground flax seed)
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups of leftover cranberry sauce
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
grated orange rind to taste

Directions

Heat oven to 400°F. Line muffin tin with paper baking cups or coat with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine flour and flax, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; mix well. In medium bowl, combine milk, oil, cranberry sauce, egg, and orange rind; blend well. Fold into dry ingredients all at once; stir until dry ingredients are moistened.
Fill muffin cups about three-quarters full.
Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.

Yummy!!

Mama notes

2011-11-21T10:24:00.001-08:00

I've been so busy with the Holidays and work that I have been terrible about posting pictures and videos. I have so many adorable ones that I've been wanting to put up. First, I've got to make some notes.
Teo just got his first tooth on Thursday, and it occurred to me that I've yet to document a comparison of milestones for Sapphie and Teo. I'm always talking about how much bigger he is than she was at this age, but there's lots more fun stuff to compare:

Rolling over Sapphie: 5 months (mother's day); Teo: 5 months (father's day!)

Crawling Sapphie: 10 months; Teo: 8.5 months

First tooth Sapphie: 10 months; Teo: 10 months

Stopped swaddling Sapphie: 3-4 months; Teo: 7-8 months

Falling asleep on their own Sapphie: 13 months; Teo: 3-4 months

Sleeping through the night for real Sapphie: 13 months; Teo: Ha! Yeah right!

Walking Sapphie: 1.5 years; Teo: TBD

Those are just a few things that come to mind. Sapphie continues to be an amazing and maternal big sister. We've been butting heads quite a bit lately, as she asserts her independence. We have a lot in common and that makes arguments pretty interesting sometimes. One of our most recent and difficult struggles has been the transition from a crib into a "big-girl bed." I was not ready to make this switch and was planning to do it once Teo was sleeping better at night. But of course as a parent, things never go as planned. Sapphie learned how to jump out of her crib and we quickly realized she was going to hurt herself if we didn't put her in a real bed. Sure we could have gotten one of those tents that keep her in the crib, but come on - she'll be 3 next month. So we went for it...
What a nightmare. 6 weeks of absolute pure hell. Multiple night-time wake ups (and before she was regularly sleeping 14 hours at a clip), then the most obscene early morning rising we've ever seen, including when she was a newborn! What's worse is that as luck would have it, every single time she came into our room to wake me up, Teo and I were sound asleep and she woke us both up. So then he was either up for good at 5am, or I had to try to get him back to sleep. When you're already waking up 3-6 times a night to snuggle your baby, extra wake-ups from an overtired toddler wanting to have a power struggle are NOT WELCOME. We were exhausted and desperate after two weeks, so we put a gate up in her room. Within an hour she had jumped over it. Then, I started to panic. This child is psychotic. She's trying to ruin my life. She wants me to know who's in charge and I'm telling you, I'm a strict mom but sometimes I wonder who's really calling the shots. So I did it. Something I never thought I would do. Something so cheesy, so not me, so...cliche...

I made a sticker chart.

I'm so embarrassed about this chart, you have no idea. But what was I going to do? I was totally desperate. I made the chart, then bought the most amazing scratch-n-sniff stickers for when she did really well; small stickers for when she did an OK job; and I planned to mark really really bad days with an X. I was pretty generous. For example, if she went through the whole night without waking us up, she got a big sticker. If she took a nap, she got a big sticker., etc. After 4 weeks, we were still feeling like things weren't changing. We were still tired, she was still climbing over the gate, waking up at 5:30(!), and sometimes not taking a nap. Oh and by the way on the days she skipped a nap, she usually used the time to tear her entire room apart so that when I went in, I couldn't see the floor. One time she even took her diaper off, put it in a bag, threw it out into the hallway and slammed the door. I was seeing no end in sight when I got my weekly Baby Center email (there are weekly emails to fill you in on your child's development; help you with any issues you might be having; etc...). Wouldn't you know the topic was transitioning out of a crib, and they said to allow a full 6 weeks! And, now that's it's been 6 weeks, I can say they were right. We are totally out of the nightmare. She goes to bed, doesn't get out, sleeps through the night, and doesn't wake up until 7. If she wakes up and sees our door shut, she knows she has to stay in her room and read, and that's generally what she's been doing. What a good girl! Oh! And how could I forget to mention that after all the effort with the stickers, what I really think did the trick was the T.V. We eliminated all television and told her she could watch nothing until she pulled herself together in the bedroom. Once she finally had a good night and slept until 7, I praised her like crazy and let her watch a show! Within a week she was doing great, and watching one show a day as a reward. Here's a look at the sticker chart all filled out. I think she covered some X's with stickers when I wasn't looking. Still, it doesn't look as bad as it sounds, does it?

Now for the more fun stuff. She's been full of funny sayings lately. Like:
"it's so hard to wait!" When I tell her she needs to be patient and wait for me to do something
"I'm learning him to do it!" When I ask her to leave Teo alone and stop dominating him
"see you in the morning when the sun comes up" When we put her to bed
"they shouldn't be out on their own" When she sees a picture of a child, but no parent

Now, on to Teo. Teo is still a little lover, and is moving all over the place exploring his world. He still adores Sapphie and follows her everywhere. I have to say though, he is nowhere near as docile as I thought. Actually, he has quite a temper and reminds me of myself at times. Here are the triggers I've discovered so far:
1. Biggest trigger: when I stop nursing, he throws a complete fit. He stops breathing, arches his back, and squeals like a pig. He won't take his nuk and gets even angrier when I try to give it to him. He carries on like this for a good minute, while I keep telling him he's all done, then he finally gives in and takes the nuk. He's also got a new thing he does while he's "preparing" to nurse: he smacks his lips together and looks so excited he can hardly contain himself. I don't remember Sapphie doing that.

2. When Sapphie takes a toy away from him, he gets PISSED. It has come on pretty suddenly because until now, he was so easy going. She could give and take, and he just rolled with the punches. But now, when she takes something he's playing with, he squeals with rage and starts flailing his hands all over the place until she gives it back. If she doesn't, he'll crawl over and follow her around everywhere, squealing all the time.

3. Food. This is a big one. Isaac thinks it's because he's such a tank...but when we eat, he wants to eat too and he wants it NOW. He wants everything we are eating, and he's no longer satisfied with me throwing it in the blender. He wants his own chunks to pick up and put in his mouth. He looks around the table during dinner and concentrates on what everyone else is eating. He wants to make sure he's not missing a thing. And when he's done with something, there go the flailing hands again and he makes a huge mess pushing my hand away.

At night, he sometimes loses his nuk and will start crying. If we go in and give it to him, he sticks it in his mouth and does a face plant into the mattress, falling asleep instantly. It's hilarious.

When I start singing and (or) clapping, his face lights up like a ray of sunshine - he loves music! It's so cute.

That's it for now! And here are a few pictures:

First sled ride together

Playing in the snow

At El Gato with Aven

Teo learning to crawl
Throwing the ball for Cabot

Little Man

2011-11-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

Teo and I are having a visit to Georgetown to see Rochelle. It's our first trip away from Sapphie and Kevin. We're having lots of fun. Today we did some walking, lots of eating and chilling out, and enjoying the fall weather. He's getting so big. xo

Mama's Boy

2011-10-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

Teo is so funny. Such a mama's boy, although he still never cries when I hand him off to his nanny. People (myself included) are always so in awe of how much he looks like Kevin. There are moments where the likeness is so striking, I just can't believe it! I am very proud to say, however, the although both my children look a lot like their daddy, they have both inherited the highly distinguished Illingworth chin (hurrah!!).
We recently had Teo's dedication ceremony. It was a beautiful day and Isaac took some amazing photos. I'll be sure to post more soon...but, looking through them last night, it occurred to me that Teo looked a lot like me in some of the shots. See for yourself...

Here's a picture of me on my Christening day when I was Teo's age

And here's Teo. Open mouth smile, just like his mama! I think the nose is similar too. In a gown to die for, made by LaLa of course.

xoxo

Little Burrito

2011-09-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

If you have a baby or are close to a family with a baby, you have probably heard about swaddling. As a new mom I had no idea what it was, except that Jesus was swaddled in a manger. Clearly this is a very old practice, but until I had a newborn baby it never really occurred to me what it was or why you would do it.
After having a rather fussy first baby, then being loaned the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD (this is an amazing tool for new parents!), I quickly realized the magic of the swaddle. There is a long scientific explanation for why babies like to be swaddled, but the short version is that it makes them feel like they're back in the womb again. For most newborn babies, this sense of security makes them feel safe and cozy, and they settle down very quickly. It also prevents them from whacking themselves in the face, which wakes them up. In fact, some babies (but not mine of course) will sleep through the night from the very beginning ONLY if they are swaddled. Some swaddle companies even guarantee longer bouts of sleep! Most babies only need to be swaddled as newborns, during the fourth trimester as some doctors call it (this is the first three months of life when all the baby really wants is to get back in the womb). There is also a very specific technique, which is easy to learn and they usually teach you in the hospital. You really only want to swaddle the upper body (arms/chest), and not the hips. Just thought I'd mention that in case anyone tries to swaddle their baby with no instruction after reading this.

As a newborn, Sapphie needed to be swaddled all the time to calm down, go to sleep, etc. When I figured out her cow's milk issue at 2 months of age, her fussiness almost completely stopped and we rarely needed to swaddle her anymore. By 3 months she was pretty much done with it and was sleeping very well on her back or her side. Once in a while if she was really wired or upset we'd have to swaddle her, but never after 4 months of age. Her brother is a totally different story. He is a HUGE fan of the swaddle and just doesn't seem to want to let it go.

From the beginning, Teo has been a total man if you know what I mean. When he is upset or not feeling well, he feels so sorry for himself that you just want to cry when you look at him. He cries the most pathetic cry and puts his mouth in a long O shape. Even when he was a few days old, his cry would sound like he was saying "Oh, oh, oh!" So sad. Then he would wind up and hold his breath until he was red as a beet...and we would wait for it...and then he would really start wailing! In the beginning, he had serious plumbing issues. We were lucky if he pooped once a week and the two days before the big event, he'd be so fussy he would cry the whole time he was awake. How did we stop the crying? By swaddling him of course! Teo was swaddled during every nap and every night for the first four months of his life. Sometimes, he'd be crying, and Kevin would decide he needed to be wrapped up. Then, Teo would fall asleep mid-swaddle! He's done that on more than one occasion. It's so funny.
When Teo was about four months old, Isaac came over. Teo was asleep and all wrapped up. Isaac came into my room and this look of horror swept over his face.
"What the hell is that??!!"
"What?"
"What are you doing to your kid? I'm calling child services."
"Seriously, you've never seen a swaddled baby? He likes it. It's the only way I can get him to sleep."
"That is totally sick to put your baby in a straightjacket. That's not right."

Fortunately Kim was with him, and she's got baby nieces. She came over and kissed Teo on the head and said "Isaac don't be silly. Babies love being wrapped up into little burritos."

So that made me feel better. Here's the funny part though: do you know any babies that still want to be swaddled at 7.5 months?? I do.

Apples!

2011-09-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went apple picking. It was somewhat impulsive; we just decided in the morning that it was a nice day so we'd go get some apples. We headed straight to Shelburne Orchards after church, and it was packed. There were cars and people everywhere, full of families enjoying the orchard and also runners who were participating in a little orchard race. Sapphie was so excited. We went up to the bag person and got a large bag for us and a small bag for Sapphie. She quickly made herself very busy bouncing from tree to tree, picking apples that she thought were "ready." When her bag got to heavy, she'd dump her apples out into my bag and start over again. We had 18 pounds in about 15 minutes! After picking, we went up to the grill and got our favorite butternut squash soup, grilled sausage, cider, and of course, cider donuts. We listened to the bluegrass band play a few tunes, then Sapphie went down the hay slide a few times. Happy, full, and excited for fall, we headed home for naps. It was the perfect fall day, and Kevin got some great shots:

Super Fun

2011-09-20T17:26:00.001-07:00

I can't believe the summer is over. It has flown by, so much faster than I had expected! I am so behind on posting photos and of course our camera is full of them. One of these cold days I'm going to sit down and put them on the computer. For now though, I've got some I took with my phone.

This summer has been full of "super fun" as Sapphie would call it. When she's in a good mood, she calls me "super mummy" or Kevin "super daddy." It's so funny and I'm not sure where she learned it. We've just come back from an amazing trip to Maine with the family, followed by a quick trip to Northampton for a wedding, then Teo's dedication last weekend. Isaac shot photos so I don't have any to share, but I'm sure he'll post some when he's gone through them. I'll be printing some out as well.

What has been my favorite part of summer? I'm not sure. There have been some big events for sure. I think my favorite has to be continuing to get to know Teo, who is now 7 months old, and watching him bond with Sapphie. I didn't realize how quickly and tightly they would bond. I have to admit I was pretty nervous about introducing a sibling into the picture, since Sapphie was such a strong personality. I was also given ample warnings about how she would probably not handle it well at all, would be jealous, etc. Contrary to my worries, she has been an absolutely amazing sister from the day she met Teo. She is ferociously protective of him, very concerned about what he is doing and what toys he should or shouldn't be playing with, and who is touching or holding him. She likes to yell at me that "he'll choke on that" if I give him something she considers to be "smaller than an apple", which is the rule I have tried to teach her about what toys he can and can't have. When she has a friend over who shows any interest in Teo, she runs over, pushes the friend away, and yells "my baby!!" She also talks to him quite sternly when he's crying or splashing her in the tub, or trying to do his "shark attack", which consists of a quick and strong yank of the hair on either side of the face, followed by a surprisingly strong and passionate bite on the chin which may or may not be accompanied by strong suckling.

The other day, in the car, Teo was being fussy and Sapphie was clearly not having it. She said:
"Teo, listen to me. I'm in charge. You see that sign over there? It says NO CRYING. You see? NO CRYING. You want me to take your nuk away? I will!"

So funny. I must admit I have threatened her on multiple occasions to take her nuk away when she isn't behaving in the car. It's really funny how she mimics everything we say. So far, she continues to show us what a firecraker she is, with her own (quite strong) opinions. On the other hand, she is so sweet sometimes it makes you melt. Teo becomes a bigger lover every day, although he appears to have rather a surprisingly hot temper when mama's tit is involved. Not only does he like to nurse all night, like his sister did, but he will not take his nuk when the nursing is done. He arches his back, screams blue murder like a little piglet and starts scratching at his face with desperation if I don't let him nurse again. He hovers around my chest with his eyes closed and his mouth wide open, like a baby bird. Then he gets back on with a wild wimpering sound (as if he's starving), then about 2 seconds later starts throwing his head back again, impatient because I'm not letting down. Sometimes in the wee hours, when he starts this behavior I just leave him with Kevin in the bed and go out to the pull-out. Cooper loves it when I do this because he gets to have a snuggle like old times.

As we did with Sapphie, we'll start some sleep training and negotiations once he's about a year and can understand what we want to do. For now though, I'll continue to be a zombie mom. I read the best quote the other day:

"The nights are long, but the years are short."

Made me cry. Okay here are the pictures from our Super Fun summer!!

Doing Teo's hair, which she loves to do. It's either mohawks or barrettes and headbands! He's very patient and let's her do anything she wants.

This is Sapphie skinny dipping up to Newport. Getting her redneck on.

Sapphie started preschool! Here she is on her first day. Liz, I swear I brushed her hair and it looked so pretty. Then she decided to remove the headband and put it around her waist. Oh well! So far she loves school, and has made lots of friends. Two boys asked me the other day if she could come over to their house. So cute!! And scary!! It's happening too fast.

This is from our Maine Vacation. Teo in the "command center", which was a very retro toy that our landlady brought over. We don't have anything like this at home and Teo's eyes popped out of his head with all the stimulation. He loved it though! He really looks like Kevin here.

Swimming!! Isaac took this shot.

Hanging with her best bud in the tent.

Morning snuggles and play in Sapphie's bed. She loves it when I put Teo in her bed, and he loves it too! He absolutely adores her, and she keeps herself so busy bossing him around. I love watching their relationship grow. XO

Coffia

2011-08-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

This poem goes out to all the nursing moms and major coffee lovers of the world. I dedicate it to my son Teo who likes to party at the tap all night long.

Coffee makes the world go round

Waking up feeling not quite you?
Drink some coffia!
Exhaustion got you a little blue?
Drink some coffia!

Coffee, I love it.
Coffee, can't get enough of it.
I like it dark, don't you?

Need an afternoon boost to brighten your day?
Drink some coffia!
Need a kick in the pants in a major way?
Drink some coffia!

Coffee, I love it.
Coffee, can't get enough of it.
I like it dark, don't you?

Feeling totally desperate, and you can't go on?
Drink some coffia!
So tired you just can't face the dawn?
Drink some coffia!

Coffee, I love it.
Coffee, can't get enough of it.
I like it dark, don't you?

Too tired to make your own?
Send your husband out for some coffia!
Sit on the couch and wait
For your coffia!

Coffee, I love it.
Coffee, can't get enough of it.
I like it dark, don't you?

Beauty Queen

2011-08-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

No darling, I'm not blushing. It's Dior.

Emma's Birthday Blog

2011-07-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

Today is Emma Hull Wall's Birthday 7/6/1978 she was born by Sally Wall and her husband Larry Wall. Emma is the middle "Wall Sisters" as they are sometimes referred to.

You can also call Emma: Emi, Emi-Lou, M, Dr. Wall, Mrs. Kouri or even Allestine (her cabaret name).

I call her sweetie or love or Emi. She is very special to me in so many ways. My list of reasons why are endless.

How do you honor someone on their birthday? You can give them a gift, a cake, flowers, chocolates, dinner, breakfast in bed. Tell them you love them. We all have our special ways.

I wanted to post my feelings online so everyone could see who and what she means to me day to day.

This is not a David Letterman "Top Ten List" but more of a baring of my soul of what comes to mind when I see Emma and think about who she is to me.

My Beautiful Wife which I adore
The same woman I saw walk through the door at class when I was a junior at UVM and told myself I am going to marry that woman some day.
My Best Friend which has been through thick and thin with me
The mother to Sapphire and Teo, the best mother they could ask for
Smart, intelligent with inner and outer beauty.
Multi-talented woman: Wife, Mother, Researcher (PhD), singer and dancer (Allestine), Chef and solver of all problems.
Fun
Exciting
Caring
Strong beliefs and high standards
Religious and spiritual
Athletic
A great sister and daughter
Embodies everything I want to be and strive to be in my life
Trustworthy and honest
She makes me feel loved, secured and wanted
Want to grow old with this person
Want to do right by her
A guiding light when I have lost my course

I have had recent doubts personally where I am heading in my life and if I am doing the right things for Emma, Sapphire and Teo. Do I make enough money, do I love my kids the right way, do I provide the needed love and support to Emma. Why do I feel that there are days or weeks that I can not do any right personally and professionally.

I ponder my exist on this plant and ask myself and ask God for help to give me clues and signs of what to do now, tomorrow and next week. During these times I can look to a few pictures, memories and events in my life and realize that I am a good person I do care I do love and I am doing this in service to Emma. I have faltered and as humans we will falter and it is a judge of character when that person falters and picks up the pieces and moves forward with their head high as true judge of character.

So look at your soul mate and tell them "I love you", "you are everything to me", "I can't do this without you" and set out everyday to put your best foot forward and don't look back at the things you would have done differently because they are in the past and there is no changing those now.

What you can change is how you walk through life with your partner. One of my gifts to "us" for Emma's Birthday is to make that change in my life and to take a different path.

Emma Happy 33rd Birthday. You are the true love of my life. I can't wait to celebrate more birthdays together, to see our family grow up and experience more things together.

Love Kevin

Some of my favorite pictures below

More guess who!

2011-07-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

The last game of guess who was too easy. Can you guess who each of these are?

Answers: 1 - Sapphie; 2- Sapphie; 3 - Sapphie!

Don't they look like Teo? Crazy!

Sister Love

2011-06-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

Rolling

2011-06-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Teo rolled over on Father's Day! And it wasn't just a fluke - he's been rolling all over the place since. When he first did it, I realized that Sapphie's first roll was on Mother's Day, when we were visiting Ree and Dick. Pretty cool!
I don't have a video of him rolling yet, but I did get one of him giggling when I talked to him in a very low voice. He loves it when you make low, deep-voiced noises

Papa

2011-06-18T19:23:00.001-07:00

I don't know about you, but as long as I can remember, I was always a papa's girl. Well, not during my teen years of course, when I hated both my parents and everyone in my family, but when I was little. I loved my papa. Maybe it's because we're so much alike? I don't know. Of course, now that I'm a mummy, I have a whole new appreciation for my mummy. I now have strong relationships with both!

Recently, Papa has really started to bond with Sapphie. I don't know what it is about men and babies, but in my experience it seems like the man-baby bond doesn't really start - or doesn't become visibile - until the baby can talk. Now, Papa and Sapphie have a blast together. He brings her cookies from the truckstop. Model airplanes. They sing together, and horse around. She loves him so much. Now, she's learning to count in Spanish and she is so excited to show him! I recently witnessed a play date, and it was the coolest thing ever.

I'm gonna get you!

The bumble bee goes around the tree goes around the tree...

Fly like an airplane!

Again!!!!

I think she's a Papa's girl...although she does love her LaLa!! xo

I did it. I went for a run

2011-06-18T19:12:00.001-07:00

For the first time in a year, I went running today. It was a huge ice breaker for me. I have always loved to run, but running with a jogging stroller is just not all it's cracked up to be. It's fine, and can sometimes be fun, but I'm constantly stopping to give Sapphie some more crackers, some water, to give Teo his nuk, etc....so I haven't even tried going running with the double jogger. We go walking every day, and that's been fine with me.
Before having kids, like Soe, my favorite thing to do was go running in the rain. Now, my favorite thing to do is go running without my jogger. But shortly after I got pregnant with Teo, my back was too sore to run at all and since he was born, I've been sticking to yoga and walking for exercise.
Today, I had a haircut at 5pm. I was SO tired (didn't sleep well last night), but I thought "you know, I should jog to my appointment." Then I kept thinking about how tired I was, and I used Soe's strategy! I decided to put my running gear on, and I would start walking. If I felt like running, I would! I ran all the way to the salon (not far! probably only 1.5miles), and felt amazing.

You've never felt freedom until you go running, by yourself, without your jogger and without your phone, after you've had a baby. I wanted to yell "I'm free!!!" to every person I passed! I refrained of course, and focused on keeping my abs tight and my shoulders back. It was fantastic and I feel great.

I can't wait to go again.

Reading all together

2011-06-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

My babies love to read. I started reading to Sapphie when she was just a few weeks old, because I loved lounging on the bed with her and showing her colorful pictures. Now, she's a huge reader and books are her favorite toys. I have a friend who says her daughter isn't interested in books, and I just can't relate. It seems like if you start them early, it just becomes part of the day. Teo too, from day one, has been entranced when I would hold a book over his head. We often read all together, but we have to lay down so Teo can see the pictures and I don't have to slouch and kill my back.

Reading "The Very Busy Spider"

Meow...wanna take a nap? That's in the book

Hello, Teo!

My Jlellies

2011-06-17T17:13:00.001-07:00

I just got Sapphie a new pair of shoes since Cabot ate her slip-flops. She loves her new "jlellies" and is so proud of them! Here she is today at the playground with Ruby and Lauren. She's so cute.

That's my hand

2011-06-17T13:35:00.001-07:00

Teo has found his hands and is memorized with them. He'll slowly lift his arm into the air and stare at his little fist, trying to move it with all his might. It's so funny! If he is able to get it to move, his fist will smack him in the face and then he'll stick the whole thing in his mouth and start sucking on it like crazy.

When I hold him up to look at me, he slowly reaches out to touch my face. He's getting better at it! It's so amazing how quickly their coordination develops.

Willing the hand to move...

Hello!!

He got it!!

Special moments

2011-06-17T09:17:00.001-07:00

I'm always telling Kevin about the cool things he misses out on since he doesn't get to breastfeed the babies. Teo is in such a funny stage so I've got to document some of the adorable things he does.
One of my favorite moments is in the mornings, around 8. If Teo is fussy (which he often is), Kevin will take him when he gets up at 6. They'll play for a couple hours while I sleep, and Kevin will bring him back to me at 8 for a snack and a nap. Teo's feet will be freezing (because daddies don't notice these things), and you can see him go into ecstasy as I snuggle him in with his cold toes against my belly. We'll lay down together and huddle under the covers, and he'll start nursing. His eyes start rolling back in his head because he is SO tired, but he fights it so hard so he can stay up and eat some more. Then his eyebrows do these amazing waggles (Sapphie used to do this too). You can see him savoring every single sip, and you know he would stay down there forever if he could.

Other times, when I pull him up for air to burp him or switch sides, he get so upset! His little lip curls and and he starts up with the most pathetic cry you've ever heard as if he hasn't eaten in days. When I let him nurse for too long, even if he isn't hungry he stays there playing around and having fun. Then when I pull him up he's got milk all over his face and he looks half drunk he's so full.

Babies are so funny. At least for mine, they have both been so passionate and serious about nursing. It's like as long as they have the boob, all is right in the world.

In ecstasy after filling up...

Favorite spot to sleep

Hilarious phrases by Sapphie

2011-06-16T12:45:00.001-07:00

I'm so scared I'm going to forget the latest and funniest of Sapphie's vocabulary. Here are my favorites:

When she's feeling sorry for Teo - "poor guy"

When Kevin is talking too loud while Teo is sleeping - "No daddy stop that! That's not nice per Teo! He needs a good nap!"...or "no daddy that's not true!"

When she's been whining and I am visibly tired of it, she'll suddenly start talking in the sweetest little voice and say "Mummy, I'm talking like a normal person per you!"

When Cabot chews her shoes - "Babot, you're a bad boy up there!"

"No teeth at-all!"
"Mummy, I want some gunk (gum)"

Sapphie: "This goes in here."
Me: "No Sapphie, it doesn't."
Sapphie: "It dooze mummy, it dooze!" "I think so!"

When she first wakes up in the morning - "Wanna go for a walk or somefing?"

When we're hanging out doing nothing - "Can we go for a walk so I can enjoy my day?"

When she loves what I'm wearing, or likes the bag I'm carrying - "I love that mummy"

Often, she says "I want all them all"

When we are wearing the same shoes - "We all both have slip-flops!"

Almost daily now, when she gets the tofuti cuties out of the freezer by herself and it's not time for dessert so I take it away...she says "Gimme my ice cweam samich!!!!"

"Mummy, can we watch a show? I'm in charge!"

And she's always walking around like she is in charge. It's so funny. Here she is visiting a farm with Kevin, walking to give the goats some water, as if she owns the place!

Sapphie takes Sadie for a walk

2011-06-12T19:17:00.001-07:00

This is the cutest video of Sapphie taking Sadie for a walk:

Cheese

2011-06-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

My kids have the best cheese faces...

Isaacus

2011-06-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

We grew up with Isaac, and so he's like our brother. My dad calls him "Isaccus" - he loves Isaac. And for Sapphie, Isaac is quickly becoming her best friend. She loves him so much and he loves her, except when she calls him "miss Isaac".
As many of you know, Isaac is a professional photographer. He's shot some great photos of Sapphie, and the thing I just love about the pictures he takes is that in addition to being beautiful, they totally capture her spirit and her love for life. Here she is in our back yard on Memorial Day, playing with the airplane Papa got for her.

I keep telling him...you've got a gift for shooting kids...see for yourself:

Two little characters

2011-06-01T12:04:00.001-07:00

I am so behind on posting photos and updates. It's so funny how life is a roller coaster. Sometimes I'm feeling so on top of things, organized, and in charge of my life, and other times I feel like I'm drowning in things to do and my life is spiraling out of control.
Behind on work.
Behind on Life.
Not enough time in the day to finish my to-do lists.

I guess that's what happens when you're working from home. There's no refrain for catching up! Don't get me wrong - I am so grateful to have such a flexible job - but working from home is twice as much work as being a stay-at-home mom. You've got two big jobs to do, and half the time to do it!

Today, I decided to post an update while the babies are napping. My two little ones are truly so amazing to watch. While Sapphie is developing into a sassy little know-it-all, Teo is clearly a little man who doesn't want any trouble, just a long snuggle...all day long. These pictures totally depict what I've got on my hands:

Lil' Missy

Liz calls Sapphie "little missy". I used to think it was kind of funny, but now I realize it totally suits her. To say that Sapphie is a firecracker is an understatement. She knows what she wants, when she wants it, and watch out if you get in her way. She wants to play, learn, and laugh, all the time. Her spirit is absolutely the sweetest and most life-loving one I've ever met. Her passion comes out playing dress up, playing catch-the-marshmallow-in-your-mouth with Isaac, and, of course, when she needs to put her parents in their place.

If you say her name with a tone, she snaps her head around and says "Don't talka me dat way!"

She is also obsessed with learning, and she is constantly saying "I'm gonna do it all by myself! I'm a big girl!" She loves to talk about which animals make milk and which ones don't. She's almost fully potty trained, since she refused to wear her diaper the day after she turned two. A friend came over recently and said she didn't need the baby seat, so now Sapphie refuses to use it. She thinks is so funny when things move. She goes "wow that's really moving!!"
The other thing that I find so interesting is how much Sapphie likes to imitate me. She loves to have her "coffee" in the morning (I make her chamomile tea and she thinks it's coffee). She also loves the wine (pear juice) that I've started letting her drink out of a little port glass during dinner. She puts on make-up and lotion every day, especially right before we go somewhere or a friend comes over.

...and, Lil' Lover

One of Sapphie's biggest obsessions, I'm happy to say, is her baby brother. She loves to read to him, feed him from a bottle, tickle him, and sing him songs. If he's crying, she yells at me to give him mama's milk. She will be bossing him around in no time, I'm sure. This picture totally shows what a sweet little man Teo is! I think he was just crying in this picture because I had put him down. Almost every time I put him down, his bottom lip curls up and he starts to cry. He loves to be held and snuggled. He puts his arms straight down like that when you look at him, and his legs go stiff. He's so funny. Recently, he's noticed his hands and will stare at them, trying to get them to move with all his might. I think he's going to be the sweetest and most sensitive little boy - who will be constantly bossed around by his sister...just like Max and Ruby!

"Say smile Teo!!!"

Guess who?!

2011-04-07T17:52:00.001-07:00

When people have asked me if Teo looks like Sapphie, I have been saying no. I really don't think they look alike very much, and I remember that Sapphie's features were more delicate and defined than his. Well last weekend, I looked back at some old photos. Boy was I wrong!! There were some that Kevin couldn't tell me which baby it was. Let's see how good you are! Can you guess which baby is which??

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

Photo 8

Photo 9

Photo 10

Key: Odd numbers are Sapphie; even numbers are Teo. Wasn't that fun??!

Cheese!!

2011-03-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Just when we thought that heinous cheese face was gone forever, it comes out again! What will Sapphie do when she's a teenager and has to look at these?!

Playing with Zoe in the princess tent. Cheese!!!
First bikeride on her new bike. Cheese!!

"No Babot, that's my kitchen! Go way down. Cheese!!!"

Four is Fun!

2011-03-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Cheesy title I know, but it's true! We're having a blast. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

Daddy napping with Teo
Sapphie making gnocchi with Hannah. It was AMAZING. So yummy!!

"Playing with little my brother"

First outing with her new seat attachment on the stroller!

Teo loves to sleep

Sapphie loves getting her face painted at the Farmers' Market

At Taft's Milk and Maple for their open house

Sleeping, sitting up, on top of her baby

When we go into her bedroom in the morning, she says "we're having a book party!!!"

She loves it when I put Teo in her bed for snuggles in the morning

Another book party

Watching Sesame Street when we were snowed in!

Showing him how to grab the rings

Cooking soup with Auntie Hannah's earrings on

We got a ton of snow during the storm 2 weeks ago.

Hello!

Big sister. Yay!!!

Bathtime for...three!

2011-03-26T19:48:00.001-07:00

Remember how I was so worried about bathtime, and what I was going to do? Well, I figured out quickly that bathtime for two is no longer. We now have bathtime for three!! It's a blast. The few times I've tried to have a bath with Sapphie alone, she's had a meltdown and demanded that Teo take a bath with us. A few times she even suggested that Daddy join us, and I had to explain that the bathtub isn't big enough. I don't know if she'll remember the days when it was just us, but I will always cherish them...as well as the many more baths ahead, even if it is three of us stuffed in there!
I can't believe how easily she has adjusted to the new addition. Here are some pics.

Watching "Peter Rabbit going in McGregor's Garden" as she calls it

Sapphie loves reading to Teo, and he adores her already!

Peek-a-boo

Not even 6 weeks and already at the ER

2011-03-26T19:05:00.001-07:00

Sapphie didn't get her first cold until she was well over 6 months old. I knew that Teo would be different though - Christina has prepared me for all the sicknesses that come through the house when you have more than one child. So, I wasn't surprised when Teo got a runny nose a couple of days ago. Sapphie has had one since Christmas it seems, and even though she washes her hands a lot and we are always wiping her nose, she is all over Teo. She loves him so much and likes to snuggle him very closely.
Tonight, I decided to take his temperature because he felt a little warm to me. He's also been really fussy since yesterday. Sure enough, he had a fever of 101. Not a huge deal for a toddler, but for a baby under 2 months a fever can be life threatening. You're not even allowed to give them medicine without seeing the doctor, because the fever could indicate a serious bacterial infection that needs to be treated. So, I called the doctor and she sent me to the ER. Kevin was getting Sapphie ready for dinner, and I had to call Soe and cancel our hot date for Brasil night. I felt bad but I was so worried about Teo. Lukey had RSV (that's respiratory syncytial virus) when he was Teo's age, and he was hospitalized. I know that was really scary for Christina.
Anyway, I packed us up and headed over to the ER. As usual for a Saturday night, the waiting room was totally packed. Most of the people didn't look sick, they looked drunk. It made me sad. There was another mom there, alone with her two young toddlers. Both in PJ's and very cute. One was sick and looked really scared to be at the hospital. Teo and I got called in pretty quickly, and they took his vitals.

Look at this cool thing: it just attaches to his foot and, without puncturing the skin, it measures the levels of oxygen levels in his blood! It tells some other things too because 3 different numbers come up. The nurse told me but I don't remember what they were.

Then, we waited for the doctor. And waited and waited. Teo got sick of waiting and decided to go to sleep.

The doctor finally came in, took a look, and said she needed to have some tests run. Urine, blood, nose swab, and maybe a spinal tap and a chest xray. I thought she was crazy! She explained they need to be sure the fever isn't caused by a bacterial infection. But, she thought Teo looked pretty good so maybe they wouldn't need to do a spinal tap. She left, and about 5 minutes later a very charming doctor swept in. Hey grabbed the stool and sat on it, then rolled really close to me. He said:
"hey. sorry you've been in here forever. Has the resident been in yet?"
I said "yes, and she said she wants to run some tests."
He said "well I run the place, so I want to have a look too."
I said "sure"
This doctor was pretty hot I have to say. He was arrogant and pompous, yes, and clearly the boss around, but in a way that is attractive and not annoying. He grabbed Teo and said
"wow, he's going to be a big boy. You and your husband will have to buy an extra fridge. I have two kids close in age too. It's fun."
Then he told me he wanted to send us home with some Tylenol and call it a night. I liked that idea. But, he said since my pediatrician had sent me in, he needed to call her. She wanted a urine test and nose swab...but no spinal tap thank goodness.

Then the nurses came in and used a catheter to get a urine sample. He was so good!!! They absolutely loved him.

Then we sat and waited for the results. For 40 minutes!

The nurse came back, and said we were free to go! We'll get more results back tomorrow, but they did confirm it isn't bacterial. So, we got a dose of Tylenol and hit the road to home. We ran into 2 drunk people on the way out, both walking aimlessly around and hiccuping.

We didn't waste any time getting back to our cozy house. Now Teo is sound asleep and I'm thinking about going to sleep myself! I'm so glad he's okay. What a relief. We are very lucky to have two healthy babies. I can handle a cold here and there, and a 3-hour trip to the ER once a year, no problem. I guess this is only the beginning...they'll always be keeping us on our toes...

5 week old smiles

2011-03-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy and I haven't posted any pictures! But here's a cute video of Teo smiling this morning.

Welcome Baby Teo!!

2011-02-17T17:15:00.000-08:00

It's a boy! We welcomed baby Teo on Sunday, February 13th at 7:37pm. Here are some pictures from around the big day.

Sapphie getting ready to be a big sister

Playing in the snow

On my due date, we went for a mummy-auntie snowshoe

Cabot waiting for the baby to arrive

Friday evening, drinking a virgin spice bloody mary.

Sunday morning, timing contractions...Just like with Sapphie, the dogs laid on the bed while I was in labor

At the hospital, in the tub. Just a few minutes away from meeting our baby!It's a boy!!!!! I still can't believe it.

Unlike Sapphie who was sleeping, Teo cried when he came out. He was pretty cozy in my belly.

He's a total mama's boy already

With auntie Hannah, about 1 hour old

Hello!

He had his first bath on Monday, February 14th and got a Valentine's Day hat.

Late on Monday, we went home!

So good to be out of the hospital and into my RL cashmere.

Sapphie's first meeting with Teo was amazing. She was so good!

She was so excited and climbed all over him

Squeezing "little my brother". You could tell she's been waiting for this baby to get here.

Exchanging gifts with the baby

Sapphie really thinks it's funny that Teo has "no teeth at all" (a line from Beatrix Potter)

She always says "I wanna hold that"

With LaLa

Sapphie now comes up to me and says "hold us both". It's so cute.

Snuggling "all together" as Sapphie saysHaving a morning snooze

My Sister is Engaged to a Chef

2011-02-09T17:55:00.001-08:00

Yes, that's the name of my new hit reality t.v. series. Jealous? You should be. Forget the fact that we totally love Richard and everything about him, not to mention the fact that he is an amazing chef. How has this affected me? Well, for one, my life has changed so that every now and then, when I least expect it, a magical chef fairy (actually, Richard hates fairies. Let's call him a wizard instead) swoops into my house and in hours, puts an absolutely gorgeous (as cousin Phil would say) meal on my table. It's unbelievable! Just the other night, I was going through my normal Sunday routine, minding my own business, when, all of a sudden, Hannah and Richard barged in for family night and whipped up this fantastic Ethiopian spread. No joke, it was amazing. Kevin loved it, and Sapphie too. And, they wouldn't take any leftovers so we enjoyed it for lunch the next day! Then, a few days later, they showed up with Mexican and blew our minds with black bean soup and outrageous tacos (get this - Richard fills the tacos with meat and cheese, then puts them in the oven so the cheese melts and stays hot even when you put the cold fillings on - genius!). It's almost like a fantasy. It gives me an idea of what it would be like to have my own personal chef. Pretty amazing.
The second way this has influenced my life is that if I want to make something from scratch, Richard encourages me and gives me the confidence to do it. My most recent task: to make my own yogurt. Sound scary? Well I'm telling you I was scared. I kept putting it off. Then, when I finally went for it, I realized it's so easy it's laughable! How much money I've spent on yogurt, oh God I don't even want to think about it! And, my yogurt came out so yummy!! Here I will share with you Richard's tried and true method for making your own yogurt:
Ingredients
-1 gallon whole milk (Hood milk seems to make better yogurt than Monument. Richard isn't sure why but I'm going to figure it out somehow).
-1/2 cup dry milk powder (you can get this in bulk at City Market, very cheap)
-2 packets of yogurt starter OR, 1/4 cup live plain yogurt (I used Butterworks. You just want to get plain, and a good brand that you know is fresh so the cultures are good).

Directions
1. Pour the milk into a large pot that has been freshly rinsed with water (to remove soap residue), add the powdered milk, and put the pot on the stove. Cook on medium high until a nice froth forms at the top, or the temperature reaches 180 degrees. Don't let the milk boil or burn!
2. Remove from heat and let it slowly cool to 116 degrees, or when it's cool enough that you can put your pinky in and count to ten without burning yourself.
3. Add the yogurt or starter culture, stir
4. Keep it at 116 degrees, covered, for at least 6 hours.
5. After at least 6 hours, the yogurt will be ready! It should be a nice thick consistency, like yogurt. If it's still too runny for you, you can strain it (I did because I love Greek yogurt). Simply pour the yogurt over a colander lined with a clean white dishtowel, place on top of a mixing bowl so the fluid can drip down into the bowl, and let it sit for 1-2 hours.

Depending on how thick you like it, this recipe will make you 3-4 quarts of yogurt. I used yogurt as my starter culture, instead of spending money on the packets.

What I did is cook the yogurt in the late morning, then put the pot on the warming burner of my stove for the rest of the day, then bottled it up before I went to bed. If you don't have a warming burner, you can either put it in your oven on warm (although my "warm" is 170 degrees), or put it in a sunny spot, or next to a heater.

That's it! If you are a fan of yogurt, you must try this. It's so easy and inexpensive, and you'll be so proud to serve your own homemade yogurt to friends and family. We've been eating ours with lemon curd mixed in, or maple syrup depending on our mood. Sapphie likes hers plain too. Thank you uncle Richard! I can't wait to try and make more of my favorite foods from scratch. xo

With Love from NYC

2011-02-04T17:41:00.001-08:00

Sapphie doesn't get to see auntie Kiki and Uncle Ryan very often, but she loves them very much and talks about them all the time. Every time Kevin goes skiing, Sapphie says "going skiing with Ryan daddy?" And if we say no, she says "going skiing with Ryan!!" So we usually say yes to appease her. A few weeks ago, Sapphie got a big package in the mail...full of presents from NYC!

First we opened the card. She loved it!!

The first gift was a photo from the wedding...it's a great photo of Kristen and Kevin

She has gotten really good at getting presents from under the tree!

Oooo...a Patagonia vest! She loved it and kept saying "thank you kiki!!"

Posing with Daddy in her new vest

We can't wait to see them in February!! xoxo

Bathtime for two, part two

2011-02-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

This is weird. I just sat down to write an entry about bathtime. Then I remembered I had written one when Sapphie was really little. Would you believe I looked back, and the entry was on February 2nd, 2009, exactly two years ago today! Wow I just can't believe how weird that is. In case you never read it, click here.

Sapphie and I have had a water bond since she entered the world. She was born in the water and we have been bathing together since she was a newborn. Early on, I discovered that I am not into infant bath tubs. They are lame, cold, hard, and awkward. They make you bend over and strain your back, with your cold little baby looking up at you. It felt so much better for me to get in the tub with her, to snuggle her and help her to swim, to nurse her when she went through her fear of water phase, and to continue playing with her to this day. I look forward to our bathtime together.

Tonight, I took a bath alone because Sapphie had gone to bed. It felt so weird not to have my little buddy with me. Relaxing, yes, but also a little lonely. And too quiet. No songs, or splashing each other. I've been having some feelings of sadness to think that very soon, I won't be able to give Sapphie 100% of me all the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm fully excited for the baby and I know that Sapphie will be too. But, it's a big change coming up. No longer just us three, and never just us three again. I really hope the baby waits until Sunday or later so that we can take her on the sleigh ride we've been talking about. Anyway, back to the bath. I've been wondering when the new baby comes, what will change about bathtime? I'll need to take one with the new baby, but I won't want to give up my tub time with Sapphie. I'm not sure what I'll do. Take 2 baths a day? Alternate baths each night? Will daddy give Sapphie a bath? Um, I don't think so. Not to provide too much information, but I don't want Sapphie to be traumatized by the gigantic hairy spider (think 1970's) that she refers to as "Daddy's Tweekies".
Of course when the baby gets bigger, Sapphie and the baby will take baths together and hopefully I'll join them. For now, though, I'm going to give Sapphie as many baths as I can, and I think I'll plan to continue our bath time, whatever it takes. It's just too much fun!!

Fish face!

Sledding

2011-01-31T13:23:00.000-08:00

Sapphie loves her little sled and since we haven't gotten much new snow, the golf course is perfect for sledding. It's all packed down and Kevin can pull her forever! Here we are after a long walk and a few little hills.

Yoga with Daddy

2011-01-31T13:16:00.001-08:00

Kevin started taking Sapphie to yoga on Friday mornings. It's great bonding time for them and they both have such a blast. Here are a few pictures that my co-worker took. His daughter Jill is in the same class, and she and Sapphie will be going to pre-school together in the fall!

Sapphie's in the gray and black dress with the knee high socks (yes, she dressed herself).

Sapphie Turns 2!

2011-01-13T12:12:00.001-08:00

I'm sure you've noticed my blogs are a little out of order, but it's all a function of how much time I have to make a post. I've been dying to put up some pictures from December and of course Sapphie's 2nd birthday! We've had such a wonderful month and it's really flown by.

First, we went to visit Great Grandma Ree and Great Grandpa Dick in Leeds. We had such a relaxing visit, I forgot to take any pictures so I've only got a few. We just hung out, played and talked, and of course enjoyed the new kitchen and took naps every day. Sapphie took to calling Ree "Grandma Ree", which is what we all call her, and she called Grandpa Dick just plain old "Dick". It was pretty funny. Here she is trying on my earmuffs:

Kevin was so excited to take Sapphie to Look Park, where he used to go as a little boy. It's a HUGE park and every winter they do a winter wonderland and cover the entire park with figures made of lights. Sapphie had a blast! Here we are in a sleigh...

On the bridge

And, my favorite, the hayride! No it wasn't pulled by horses, so I had gotten her all excited to see some and it turned out to be a tractor. She didn't mind though, she was so excited. The ride was about 15 minutes and took us all around the park to see the lights.

At the Gleason's, flirting with "Dick"

The next big event was Christmas, which we had in Burlington this year!! I must say we were pretty torn about our decision not to travel, but both sets of parents were so supportive that we went for it - and LOVED it!! It was so nice to have Sapphie wake up in her own bed and enjoy the tree during this special time of year. Penelope and Colin put on an amazing feast, and we partied at their house. Here's Sapphie reading the new book that Auntie Lucy and Uncle John gave her:

Opening more presents...this is the first of many!!

Figgy pudding shot. It was, as always, amazing.

Hannah and Richard.

And, the next day we celebrated Sapphie's birthday! It was so fun, just family (and Isaac, but we consider him family). Sapphie got a new bike from Nonna and Grandpi. She's so excited!!!

This is the cake I made for her. It's a carrot cake and came out so yummy. No coconut on the head since Nonna hates it...Sapphie's really been into snowmen lately so I was really excited to get her reaction.

She loved it!! She still asks for some snowman cake. What she doesn't know is I have an entire section in the freezer for us to eat when the baby comes home.

Another gift from Nonna - a new kitchen!! This has been a big hit.

To go with her new kitchen, Christina sent Sapphie a new apron and oven mitt. And, Papa LaLa gave her a new stool! She's been using both every day to help me cook.

And a few other random shots. Colin (Onkie as Sapphie calls him) has taught Sapphie Awkward Pose. This is not the true yoga pose, but a very awkward stance that Colin made up and we named when we were in England. Sapphie's good at it.

Reading, her favorite thing to do.

Reading to her babies

Dancing video

2011-01-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

Sapphie loves dancing, and she's got the most terrible cheese face I've ever seen. See both in this video below.

Belly shots

2011-01-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

Last week I had my belly cast done and Isaac came and took photos. Here's they are on his blog. This is my favorite one:

Soe said it reminds her of Goldfinger, which happens to be my favorite James Bond movie of all time. Isaac is a really good photographer. I'm going to frame this one and put it up on my wall. After BK2 comes, Isaac's coming over for a shoot so we should have lots of good photos! I'm excited.

The belly cast looked smaller to me than the one I had done with Sapphie. It will be fun to compare the two (the one I just had done is still being finished. Once it's done, I'll take a picture of the two side by side). Soe is going to paint the new one...it's going to be awesome!

Mummy notes

2010-12-29T14:17:00.000-08:00

When I'm in my 60's, and bragging about how my daughter ALWAYS slept through the night, let this be a record that since 13 months of age, she has. I'm so in awe of it sometimes that I'm afraid I'll forget whether or not it was really true. Here are a few notes I need, as an official record of fact:

the first 13 months were almost completely sleepless for me. Sapphie liked to nurse all night long, and the longest stretch she ever had was about 8pm to midnight, in her crib. After that she would come in the bed and most nights would nurse every hour.
putting her on rice cereal didn't change her sleeping habits a bit (thanks to all you who advised me to put a little rice cereal in a bottle with my breast milk - I never tried it, but did find out that it wouldn't have made a difference at all!).
When Sapphie turned 13 months old, Kevin and I had a talk with her about going to bed. As soon as we said it, she threw herself down on the couch to demonstrate sleeping. It was really cute but it also showed us that she understood what it meant to go to bed (and that she could understand what we were saying). We felt like she was ready for a new stage of independence. That night, we put her in her crib awake and told her we loved her and that it was time for bed. She cried for 5 minutes. We went back in, didn't pick her up and told her we loved her and that it was time for bed. She cried for 10 minutes. We went back in again, told her we loved her and that she needed to go to sleep. She cried for 30 seconds and went to sleep. That first night, she was up every few hours and we did the same thing - told her we loved her and to go to bed. Since that night, she has regularly slept 12 hours or more every night - uninterrupted.
During the last few months, she has been regularly sleeping from 7pm until about 9am (and sometimes 10!). She also naps 2 to 3 hours a day.
We have found that when she's overtired, she sleeps less, wakes up earlier in the morning, and doesn't nap as well.

A few weeks ago, she started a new habit (actually I didn't realize what was going on until a few days ago). She would wake up about once a night crying for me and I would go to her (we don't really let her cry because she usually needs something). She would point to the rocker and say "sing a song in the chair". It was so cute that I obliged happily. During the last week before Christmas she was doing it twice a night! I realized what was going on and on Sunday, as I was putting her to bed, I said "I need to talk to you about something." She said "yeah." I said "you know, you've been waking up at night and asking me to sing a song in the chair." She said "yeah."
"Well I don't want you to do that anymore. Mummy is sleeping when you do that and I need my rest too. If you wake up, I want you to snuggle with your lamby and go back to sleep." She said "okay."
And she hasn't done it since! It's so cool that I can communicate with her! How fun. I can't believe in a few weeks I'll be back to being up all night with number 2!

I'm sure that this was pretty boring for you, but since my blog serves as my journal I must sometimes do a factual entry for my records. More to come! I've already got some notes going on how my two pregnancies have been different...xo

Snow fun

2010-12-29T14:05:00.000-08:00

Sapphie and I had some fun playing in the snow today. We took the dogs for a long walk at the golf course, and then of course she wanted to go over to the sledding hill to watch the kids. As we got close, she said she wanted to walk (yes, I brought her boots this time. And, thanks to Auntie Lucy for getting her a fleece with hand mitts!! We now have no mitten drama and have very warm hands). So I let her out of the backpack, and she walked. Then she decided to throw herself down and play with the dogs in the snow. Here she is saying cheese and trying to avoid a stick in the face (Cabot was dancing around her with a huge stick).

Here she was yelling "swimming!". She was trying to copy Cooper, who likes to "swim" and rub his entire face and body in the snow.

Watching the sledders. We did that for about half an hour.

Cheese!!!!

Geeking out with Uncle Ollie

2010-12-28T11:47:00.001-08:00

Sapphie loves computers. It's a little unnerving, but she knows how to use an iPhone, iPad and an iTouch better than I do. And, we hardly ever let her play with them! Certain relatives, though, like to geek out and she knows exactly who they are and that they're a sucker for her requests (yes Uncle Ryan and Uncle Ollie, I'm talking to you).
She got Uncle Ollie on her birthday this Sunday. She said "come" in her soft voice and pointed to the bedroom, where she knows Colin keeps his computer. They had a blast taking computer pictures while I was enjoying Richard's amazing eggs Benedict and grilled venison steak for brunch. Here's some evidence:

Sapphie's famous "cheese!" face

Double trouble!

Ha! I caught them.

Then Auntie Hannah came and took Sapphie to Paris.

First real sledding day

2010-12-27T17:34:00.000-08:00

This Christmas Eve, Sapphie had her first real sledding day. Of course we took her out last year, but only on the golf course (no hills, just flat). She loved it but was still too little to go on any hills. Here she is being towed by Kevin last year:

She had a blast and loved wearing her sunglasses!

This year, on Friday (Christmas Eve), I put her in the backpack and we went over to the golf course to walk the dogs. Honestly, it hadn't even occurred to me to bring the sled since there's no way I can pull it (34 weeks pregnant and a sore back), and I like having her in the backpack so she can see everything that I see. She still insists on wearing her sunglasses. And refuses to wear mittens.

As soon as we got there, I hear the shrieks of joy coming from the gigantic sledding hill and point out to Sapphie all of the kids sledding down the hill. "See kids!" She yelled. I told her we would go later, after our walk. So we did a loop on the course, then turned around and the whole way back, she asked if we could go watch the kids. We went over to the hill and she wanted to get out, but I hadn't put her boots on (she was wearing her slippers)! What was I thinking? I'm going through a huge learning curve during this switch from baby to toddler. I forget that she wants to do everything we do, not just sit there with her cute booties on! So Kev ran home and got her boots, but while he was gone she said she wanted to go sledding. So she and I headed home to get her sled, and met daddy in the driveway. He took her in our back yard on the ledge which is pretty steep! She LOVED it. Here's the video:

Bathroom Rehab

2010-11-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

I've recently decided that I need to go into each room in the house, identify the things I absolutely hate about the room or what's in it, and write it down so that I can have a goal to fix it. I don't know why it is, but I have a bad habbit of getting used to things the way they are, and not realizing how simple it is to make a few adjustments that will make me really happy with my house. Do you do that? I don't think it's laziness, it's just hard to identify what needs to change in your own house unless you really make an effort. Anyway, the first room I tackled our guest bathroom, and, this weekend, I re-did it! I was inspired by a mirror that Kevin's parents just gave us. This gave me the perfect vision, and now it's come to life! The greatest part is that we didn't have to do new floors or a new vanity (which we'd love to do but it's not in the budget). Just some paint, some new hardware, and a beautiful mirror, and it looks amazing.

Here are the "before" pictures

And now, look! I love the guest loo!

Fall Frenzy

2010-11-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. What can I say about the absolute deliquency of my blogging? Uh...we've been...busy. Yeah, that's it. Here, I'll show you what we've been up to the last few months!

Here's Sapphie playing chef at Ruby's house. She has really gotten into helping in the kitchen, and being the mummy to her dollies and stuffed toys.

Snuggling with Sylvester, Kevin's doll from when he was little!

Reading with Uncle Ollie

Helping Daddy walk the dogs

Oh yeah, and Kristen got married!! I love this picture of her

Kissing a monkey in Newport, RI

Walking down the aisle with mummy

A visit to Shelburne Farms

And we had a visit from the Manguals! It was such a great time. We went apple picking at Shelburne Orchards. Julia kept Sapphie in line.

Walking with Lukey

Sleeping with her new doggie that John gave her. She loves him!

And, last weekend, we carved our first Halloween pumpkins! Sapphie was scared of them when the lights were off, but when it was light she would run up to them and say "hello!"

There is so much new with Sapphie. I don't even know where to start! She loves to count. She says "one, two, three, four, NINE!! Two." It's hilarious. She is also totally obsessed with babies, both real ones and dollies. She hugs and kisses them, sleeps with them, eats with them sitting next to her (and yes, she tries to feed them), and takes them everywhere she goes. It's really funny. She also likes to bathe them and change their diapers. Her second favorite thing? The dogs. They are her best buddies and it is so cute to watch her play. If she's drawing, she puts out paper and crayons for the dogs too. She cleans their ears, rides them like horsies, and feeds them any food she doesn't want to eat. She's also talking all the time. Some really cute things she says: every night, when I put her to bed, I tell her I love her. Then she says "daddy love you? Babot (that's Cabot) love you? Coopy love you?" And I say "yes, we all love you." And she says "otay". Then she goes to sleep. If there's someone else on her mind, she'll ask me if they love her too.
She says her own name: Sassie. It's so cute! And she's starting to understand ownership with toys. She says "mine", and if another child tries to take it away she yells "no!"
For some reason, she's always asking if strange things have a nuk (that's a pacifier). She'll say "moon nuk?" "doggie nuk?"...she wants to know if they suck their thumb or have a nuk. I tell her they suck their thumb, then she puts her thumb in her mouth.
She loves to go to church because she gets to play with the babies in the nursery. She loves to go to Yoga so she can play with all the babies while the moms do yoga.
Whenever she wakes up in the morning, she plays in her bed for at least an hour. She makes such a racket in there playing with all her dolls and stuffed toys. She talks to them and often throws them overboard. When we walk in, she yells "all done night-night!"
When Kevin tells her no, she comes yelling "mummy mummy!" as if I'm going to save her. It's so funny. She loves the itouch and plays lots of baby games (spelling, animal sounds, etc) on it. I think she actually knows how to use it better than I do...
I think that's it for an update! Lots to tell. I'll try to post more frequently from now on. Happy fall!!

Maine Vacation

2010-08-30T16:25:00.001-07:00

We've just had an amazing long weekend in Maine. We had planned this family vacation - Kevin, Sapphie and I, plus Penelope and Colin, and Hannah and Isaac - about 3 months ago. Brian was going to be in town so he came too! We had so much fun. We Wall sisters used to live in Maine, and we hadn't been back to Boothbay Harbor in over 20 years! It was just as beautiful as we remembered it, and some of our favorite places were still in business. Number one, the taffy shop, Downeast Candies, where they make homemade taffy the old fashion way and it just melts in your mouth. And number two, the popcorn place that makes so many flavors of popcorn!! Everything looked, smelled, and tasted exactly the same. Especially the ocean.It was so wonderful to be there with my sisters, and with Sapphie who really loves the ocean. It was really special to share the memories with our favorite boys, and watch them fall in love with the place. We've already planned to go next year, and will rent exactly the same house! It was such an amazing weekend and we left feeling sad to leave, but fully refreshed. Isaac has posted some of his fantastic photos on his blog. Here are some of my favorites that I took:

The ocean from our back yard

Walking to the beach

Sapphie playing in the sand
The guys taking in the ocean
Sapphie reading with Penelope
Walking with daddy to go on kayak!
First kayak ride
Playing at the beach, half naked
Saying goodbye to our wonderful spot

And, as usual, here are some more:

Marblehead

2010-08-20T10:11:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we went to Marblehead to visit the Manguals at their new house. We had such a blast!! Their house is absolutely beautiful, and I must admit we were a little jealous of how much space they have. One day, we'll buy a house and be able to renovate it just the way we want. For now, we'll have to go visit them more often. We've already invited ourselves for a week next summer!
Sapphie had so much fun at the beach, and with the kids. She really bonded with Julia and loved the ocean! We spent most of our time at the beach, and hanging out cooking. It was such a relaxing long weekend. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

With Daddy at the beach
Huge smile after she took a face plant in the sand

Bath time!! The three youngest took baths together every night.

On a walk with Julia

On her very first bikeride. She loved it and was so serious! We need to get her a bike.

And here are the rest!

My Office (by Kevin)

2010-08-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those days that you wonder why you are doing what you are doing? Maybe there is a better place to work? Maybe I should change careers completely?

And then there is something that brings you back to why you are doing what you are doing? Why you really do love your job, the people in the office or that commute for some?

I had one of those moments last week. Work has been crazy lately. The nights seems too late and the mornings come too early. Can't complain because I am gaining new business but that sometimes just brings that extra added stress. I sometimes daydream about Emma and I selling everything we got and packing up the family and move overseas and basically check out. Those daydreams are short lived and then something brings me back to Earth and I remember why I truly love my job.

The reality is regardless of the time of year I have one of the best offices in the State of Vermont from my windshield of my truck.

A couple pictures with my clients last week at Shelburne Farms. They seemed happy grazing and enjoying the view. Not a bad place to work or be a cow I must say.

Blog neglect

2010-08-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, we've been neglecting our blog. The summer has been SO busy, and lots of fun. We went to New York for the 4th of July, we went to Colorado for a week, spent time at LaLa's and played with the baby chickens, and visited Nona and Grandpi in Walpole. We also picked a TON of blueberries, which Sapphie loves and still calls "bee-bees". Here are some pictures for you, but I haven't had time to write captions so you'll just have to guess where we were! We promise to write more soon!

Bee-Bee's!

2010-06-20T06:06:00.000-07:00

Sapphie is crazy about strawberries. Our neighbor Becky has been bring us a quart everytime she goes to Pennsylvania, since April. Sapphie goes nuts when they get here. She starts yelling "bee-bee's" and then stuffs them in her face, green leaves and all. And, for the next 2 days, that's all she wants to eat. She comes in the kitchen yelling "bee-bee's", reaching up to the counter. It's so funny. Kevin and I couldn't wait to take her strawberry picking so she could see where these yummy berries come from. We did take her last year, but she was so little. I remember it was such a hot day and I didn't really think she knew what was going on. I was so hot. We lasted maybe 30 minutes. Well this Saturday, we had our chance to take her again. The forecast was 90 degrees, full sun. We decided to go to the Charlotte Berry Farm first thing in the morning, to beat the heat and the crowds.
What an excellent idea! We will make it a tradition. The weather was perfect. Low 80's, sunny, with a nice breeze. And, since we were there at 8am, we were practically the only ones there! It was a blast.

Sapphie picking berries with daddy

She went nuts. She stuffed her face.

Crouching down...what's in there?

Bee-bee's!

When she got tired, daddy put her in the back pack.

Look how many we got!!!

It was so fun. We can't wait to take her blueberry picking!!

Late Spring Pics

2010-06-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a post with some sort of old photos. In April, Sapphie had a big month. She learned to walk!! And, she started becoming more independent. She really likes to feed herself, and not have any help from mummy! Also, she's been talking a lot and adding new words every day. She loves to organize the cupboard in the kitchen...it's so funny!

Enjoy the pictures, and the walking videos!

World Hunger (by Kevin)

2010-06-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

It has been interesting to see the recent out pouring of support for agriculture in our society. Maybe the message is finally getting through to the public. I see more and more bumper stickers that tote pro-agriculture messages: "Buy Locally", "No Farms, No Food", "Got Milk", "Got Cheese", etc, etc.

We need to take a deeper look into what is going to happen in the coming years as our global population grows and where US agriculture fits into that picture. Here is a short video off of "You Tube" that I received today that is worth watching. Pay close attention to the facts and in a couple of days I will have a follow up post that gives you a closer perspective of agriculture in Vermont and the economic machine that the industry is in the great Green Mountain State.

One Hunger Planet

Let's educate ourselves about these practices before we criticize something we may not know anything about. You may find a great steward of the land he works and a sheppard to his livestock the next time you take a minute to talk to a farmer.

Being a steward and a sheppard sounds pretty nice.

Hug A Farmer Campaign (by Kevin)

2010-06-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

As I think more and more about my work and my current role and position that I am filling at this very moment in time it is just not dairy nutritionist/sales person for Poulin Grain. Sure that is what my business card says but I do more then that. If you read the previous post Farm Report you would have grasped some sense of what these guys are currently facing for dairy economics.

Well I am adding a title to my business card: Farmer Support Person or Farm Therapist. There are days that when I am on farm we do not talk cows or crops. We talk family, stress and how they are going to pull themselves out of this hole. How are we going to grade the ruts out of the road and get back up on an even playing surface? By the time you leave you want to give them a hug, pat them on their back, high five, knuckles or a general thank you. But something to show them you appreciate what they are doing and you respect their determination.

I came across this piece that was produced by Right Side Production. They generated a campaign for Cabot entilted Hug A Farmer. In this short video you will see David Conant, the farmer, who farms the land next to the Kitchen Table in Richmond. If you head down 89 South towards Waterbury his farm is the big red barns off to the left hand side as you come down the hill and approach the Richmond exit.

Watch the video and realize and understand the message it is trying to convene to the general public.

Hug A Farmer Video Farm Cabot Creamery

We need to protect this vital industry in the State of Vermont and the rest of New England

Grace Potter and Sapphire Kouri (by Kevin)

2010-06-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

Now that the three aunt retrospect has been completed I feel I can jump back into the proverbial waters of the blog world. I did not want to disrupt Emma's chronicle.

I saw a couple of pictures from Grace Potter's performance on Church St this week and I immediately thought of Sapphire. She has this thing about her. She loves to move her body, loves all types of music, has a fashion sense about her. We believe, as all parents do, that Sapphire is blessed and will do great things in life.

I had a vision of Sapphire being up on the stage one day performing in front of millions. Backed by Hannah Wall as her vocal coach, Kristen Kouri helping with her outfits and Soe Wall Alger with dance moves along with being assistant art director. Emma would be her touring manager coordinating the next move for the next up and coming Super Star Sapphire Elizabeth Kouri.

The other day I caught her practicing in her room by herself. She was sitting in her closest strumming the guitar that Hannah gave her.

Aspirations and dreams are good things to have for your children but the important thing is to not push them into something they have no passion for but to support them in what they truly want to do.

Like Auntie Like Niece, part Three

2010-06-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

My sister Penelope has always loved to dress up. It always used to bug me so much when we were little! I am very much like my grandfather - no nonsense. Who has time to dress up and play 'tend?? Well that was Penelope's favorite activity and I had no time for it at all.
Now that we're older, I like dressing up too! It feels good. Still, both Hannah and Penelope are more creative at dressing than I am. I usually feel like a total square when they're around. Kevin has helped me to branch out though, and he always encourages me to buy fun pieces to spice up my wardrobe.
Sapphie seems to have inherited her auntie's passion for fun clothes! She loves to dress up. Seriously, she already does it with abosultely no prompting from me. She'll pull out her basket of shoes, and choose the Frye boots that Zoe let her borrow. Or, she'll through on her wellies with a tutu! I just can't wait until she starts school and tries to leave the house in one of her get-ups. Daddy will be wild....

Here is auntie Penelope. I think she's about 4 years old here. She was so proud of the outfit she put together!

And here is Sapphie, playing dress-up with Cooper.

She loves putting those boots on!

As you can see, Cooper was not thrilled. He's very no-nonsense, just like his mummy! xoxo

Like Auntie Like Niece, part Two

2010-06-09T04:05:00.000-07:00

I've always been jealous of Kristen's hands. They are long, delicate, and so feminine. Everything that my hands are not. Of course I've grown to love my hands; they are perfect for working in the garden and they are quite small for my height. But growing up I was always so aware of how short and stubby my fingers were.
As you know, I'm posting a series to show how Sapphie is like each of her aunties. Luckily for her, Sapphie inherited her auntie Kristen's hands! I knew it as soon as she was born, and I was so excited. Maybe she'll play the piano with those long and beautiful hands!!!

Here is a picture of auntie Kiki's hand. Yes, she thought it was a little weird when I asked her to send it:

And here is Sapphie at 6 weeks old. Look at those fingers!!!I think she also has Kristen's toes but I won't bug her for a picture of those...

Like Auntie Like Niece, part One

2010-06-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

Sapphie is small for her age. Her little feet are so tiny and she's still in size 6-9 months shoes! She's also very lean and petite. People call her a peanut, but Nonna Liz always says "she's not a peanut, she's just petite like her auntie Hannah." That got me to thinking how similar they are. See for yourself!

Here is a picture of Hannah as a newborn. I'm not sure of her age, but I'm guessing about 2 months.

And here is Sapphie at 2 months old. Don't they look like they could be sisters???

I think I'll do a 3-part installment, comparing Sapphie to each of her aunties. Sort of like Penelope's retrospect series. It's going to be so neat to see these family likenesses as she grows up. I can't wait to see whose eyes, nose, mouth she inherits. We are already quite certain that she has inherited my temper!!!

Easter Weekend

2010-06-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

I am SOOOOO behind on posting photos. Over the weekend, our camera stopped taking pictures because the memory was full! So this week, I am going to make a post every day and update everybody with what we've been up to the last 2 months. Starting with Easter!! We had a very special Easter weekend in Newport, with everybody there! Soe, Hannah, Colin, Mummy, Papa, and the dogs. The only thing missing was the cats, but I'm sure they were happier at home.

The Easter bunny went crazy this year and really showered us with presents!

I love these eggs and Soe and I will fight over them when Mummy kicks the bucket.

Here's Sapphie opening her Easter basket
On our way to Church

What else did we do? We had a hike, spent lots of time outside because it was SO nice out, and we ate lots of yummy food! Papa made the most amazing coffee. It was so good, even Kevin had some!!

It was so warm out, we ate our meals outside.

Sapphie had a blast and got into a few naughty things. It really put Daddy on edge, but then he realized she was having so much fun, so he let her be.

She had a ton of fun with her aunties, as usual
And of course, she found mischief with auntie Hannah and Cabot...

She had so much fun in the bucket of water!!

When we got home, Sapphie continued the mischievous behavior and decided she likes to play in the cupboard now. In the slideshow of pictures, you'll see that this became her favorite activity for several weeks!! It was so funny.

Busted in the cupboard, organizing jars.

I'm working in here! Go away!
And her are some more pictures, and video from that special weekend:

Farm Report (by Kevin)

2010-05-29T05:09:00.000-07:00

This great weather that we have been enjoying and unseasonable high temps has been a blessing to my clients. Corn seed has been in the ground for about two weeks now, this is ahead of schedule due to a dry Spring and warm weather. If you drive by a corn field slow down and you will see tiny rows of corn running down the field about every couple inches apart. Do you know that on most fields there will be 30,000-32,000 plants per acre. 1st cutting began about 2 weeks ago with high quality feed being put away everywhere. This is a welcome relief to Vermont dairy producers. They may not be able to control the price they are paid for their product but they certainitly can control their cost of production. A good corn crop and high quality haylage can reduce feed cost drastically. Corn provides energy to cows and grass haylage provides a good source of protein.

It has been a struggle over the last year and half for dairy producers across the US and here in Vermont. They have been running operations at loses based on a cost of production that is not currently covered by their pay price.

We are forging ahead looking for solutions for the excess milk in this country and there is talk of a supply management system similar to Canada that typically experiences the highest milk price paid back to the producer in the World.

Here are a few pictures on the recent on goings across the County as the haylage comes in off the fields into the bunkers for fermentation and storage.

Big Equipment is a must when you want to cover a lot of acres in short time

These tractors are used to push the grass haylage into the bunks as it comes off the field

This picture gives you a perspective of big equipment. The tractor on the left is considered a big tractor but the one on the right is at least double it's size in horse power.

Next time you reach for a glass of milk, at $3 a gallon, realize that the farmer is not getting paid right now. A cheap food policy in the United States will move local production out of the State let alone the Country.

What price are you willing to pay???????

Dancing girl

2010-05-24T08:55:00.001-07:00

Sapphie dancing this weekend...in her Ella Moss dress I might add!!

And, here's a picture from the same day of her playing outside.

Sunday Fun (by Kevin)

2010-05-21T19:11:00.001-07:00

Since January Sapphire and I shared most of the day on Sunday's together doing all sorts of things. Emma had restarted Cabaret practice so that meant I had Sapphire all to myself. Some Sunday's were great and others were so so. I tried to fill the days with activities around the house and run errands. We generally had a lot of fun. I recently snapped a couple of pictures from a couple of the Sunday outings. Now that Emma is in her performance during the whole month of May it will not be long and the whole family will be back together on Sunday's doing fun family activities.

Out back with the dogs (dogs not pictured)

Sapphire loves her back pack carrier We recently made a trip to Lowe's one Sunday to pick up some items

We had a lunch date in my truck before we hit Lowe's to do some shopping Sapphire drove that day

Out and About

2010-05-21T09:26:00.001-07:00

Check out these great pictures that Uncle Ollie took of Sapphie hanging out downtown. She loves to walk everywhere and loves Church Street.

May 1st (by Kevin)

2010-05-20T03:51:00.001-07:00

Well I thought the last day of the year was going to be with Soe and Colin over Easter Weekend but it was not the true last day of the season. We ended up getting a surprise May Storm this year. It has been awhile since I have skied in the month of May. All of the mountains in Vermont had closed the week after Easter due to very unseasonal warm temps during April. So it looked dismal that the season was officially over with no chance of another storm.

BUT Mother Nature prevailed and dumped almost 24 inches of white stuff on the higher elevation areas of Vermont. This meant that the mountain ski resorts were recharged with a dose of white stuff. There was the possibility that the golf clubs would have to stay in the garage for one more weekend.

Word on the street was as the snow started to accumulate that Jay Peak Resort was going to open for one more last time after being closed to cash in on the snow, sun and fun for 4 days. So Colin, Issac and I decided to head up and take in the chance to ski or ride on May 1st. They were offering a special rate for $40 you got a lift ticket to paradise and a BBQ lunch over on the patio at their new lodge.

So we loaded up Saturday morning and headed up 89 North to 105 to 242 which brought us to a packed parking lot at the base of the mountain. The atmosphere was electric with swarms of people trying to get that last dose of snow to carry them over until next year.

It was a great day to be with Issac and Colin and enjoy the snow and the scenery. The ski season has officially signed off for the year so I can now honestly say "See you next year"

K Dogg enjoying all the snow Some random guy I captured on film catching some air A snow field awaits on May 1st Issac telling me to check out Colin on his iPhone Colin checking in with some other guys on the mountain from BTV

Here comes Superwoman!

2010-05-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

Sapphie's been walking for a few weeks now, but hasn't really committed to it until Sunday. Here are some great videos I took yesterday when I got home from work. Look at how she sticks her right arm straight out - isn't it funny? She's very serious about her walking and uses her arm to point to where she wants to go. She looks just like superwoman!

And here's another, even better one:

Doggies enjoying the water

2010-04-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Look at this cute video of Copper and Cabot catching sticks in the water. See how Cooper glides in, so gracefully? And then look at Cabot - he always jumps in like a clumsy ox because he is so excited that he can't control himself. Sapphie loves watching them swim.

Pucker up

2010-04-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

Sapphie loves lemons.

And beer!

Uh-Oh!

2010-04-27T17:31:00.000-07:00

Sapphie loves to say "uh-oh!", especially when we go into her room in the morning or after a nap, and she's decided to throw all of her snugglies out of the crib. As soon as you walk in, she says "uh-oh!" and points to the pile of things on the floor. It is so cute. She also does it with food - drops it on the floor for the dogs and says "uh-oh!" as they lap it up.
Well this week, Sapphie had a big uh-oh. She was playing ride the lamb with Uncle Isaac, and got a little caught up in the excitement. Before he could say "calm down!", Sapphie was rocking like a wild woman, threw her hands in the air, and went tumbling backwards off the little lamb. She twisted on the way down, landed smack on her right shoulder, and broke her collarbone. Poor thing!

Here she is a few months ago, enjoying the rocking lamb. Go horsey!!

And today, here she is being very sad for an xray at the hospital.
We felt terrible for her, but she was a good girl.And here is the xray. See the White dot on her collarbone, below and to the right of her jawbone? That's the break.

Isaac says the rocking lamb is evil. I say, better to hurt yourself having a blast than being tortured or stranded somewhere! Yes, that's me, always thinking the worst. Sapphie though, although a little sore, was giving her lamb some loving squeals today. I think she'll be riding again by the end of the week!

The End of A Season - Spring Skiing (by Kevin)

2010-04-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend in New England brought record temperatures to the area. Saturday and Sunday brought temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's. Emma, Sapphire, Colin, Soe, Hannah and I all went to Newport for Easter. It had been a long time since everyone was in Newport together and everyone was looking forward to the weekend away from Burlington. Soe, Colin and I planned a day at Jay Peak on Saturday. What a day it was. The sun was high and temperatures were in the 80's and we took advantage of the day and spent it skiing and riding at Jay Peak. It was an amazing time and everyone was in short sleeves and sun screen. It seems that last year Soe and Colin found ourselves with a similar day in Southern Vermont at Stratton and this year we ended up at Jay. Maybe this will become an end of season tradition for us. It was such an amazing day to end the season in. Check out the pictures below of the day.

Rollin up on Jay Peak

A beautiful day on Jay, Colin and Soe soaking up the sun

K Dogg ready for a killer day on the slopes

A couple more rides before the end of the season on the Jay Tram

Soe riding the rollers

Soe Making Turns

Burton's New Woman's Model - Penelope Wall Alger

Colin Riding the Rails

Best in Show - Mr. Jay Peak 2010 - Colin Alger

Best in Show - Miss Jay Peak 2010 - Unknown Woman

Hope to see you next year on the mountain.

K Dogg

Sweet Spring

2010-04-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

The month of March was just beautiful. We had amazing sunny weather, and did lots of fun activities. Early in the month, we went down to the condo and had the Manguals come to visit. It was SO much fun, and I think the kids really had a blast. Gabe and Julia were so cute with Sapphie! They each brought her a toy to play with, and Sapphie especially loved the little motorized monster truck that Gabe brought. She played with it every morning. They both call her "Sapphie-phire", which made me laugh. The weather was really nice, so we were able to do lots of walking and hanging out on the deck. On Saturday, Gabe took a ski lesson and Christina and I enjoyed the Spring Festival and Lincoln Peak with the babies and Julia. Julia got her face painted with a beautiful butterfly. Sapphie and Luke were really funny together! They are almost the same height, and they just stared at each other. Sapphie tried to kiss Luke a few times, but she was a little too aggressive for his taste! It's really neat watching the babies grow up together, and watch them take on their own personalities. We missed them as soon as they left, and I can't wait for our next visit.

Here are Kevin and Sapphie, walking around at Lincoln Peak after a day of skiing

And here are the kids in the antique ski chair. Julia was supervising the babies

The next big spring activity was the Annual Vermont Sugar Houses Open House weekend. We only went to one sugar house - to Taft's Milk and Maple. They are in Huntington and are one of Kevin's customers. They've got a herd of Jersey cows, so we thought it would be fun for Sapphie to see the sugar house and to pet the cows. She had a BLAST, and definitely got her fill of sugar!

With Daddy in front of the sugar house

Looking at cows with Mummy

Yummy, homemade maple doughnuts!

Sapphie has also been exploring all sort of new foods. I try to make her foods from her heritage - Puerto Rican, Italian, English, and Lebanese. So far, she's loved everything, especially Puerto Rican food. I really haven't given her enough Lebanese though, so I busted out my Arabic cookbook and she's been loving it! Tonight we're making meat pies, taboolee, and hoomus (hummus!). They spell it funny.

She goes crazy for hummus!

And here are some more photos and LOTS of video for you to enjoy:

Pure Livin'

2010-03-30T19:24:00.001-07:00

Often, the simplest recipes with only a few fresh ingredients are sometimes so unbelievably good. Well tonight, I re-discovered a simple food that I've always loved, but had recently forgotten. Roasted Beets. If you want to experience the most rich and decadent flavor, and some "Pure Livin'", as my dad would say, follow this ridiculously easy recipe.
Ingredients:
4 large beets, washed, NOT PEELED, ends trimmed. I get mine from Lewis Creek Farm.
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

**note: the reason I don't peel them is because I'm lazy. However, in my laziness, I discovered that the peels actually caramelize during the roasting process, adding an amazing crunch!

Instructions:
preheat the oven to 400 degrees. While it's heating, cut the beets into large chunks (about 1*2", or whatever size you like). Put in a bowl and toss with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread out on a cookie sheet and cook for 1 hour.

Prepare to be shocked at the flavor, and enjoy!! I find them perfect alone (and Sapphie does too). But, if you want to round it out and make a meal of it, throw it on top of some fresh spinach and sprinkle goat cheese on top. In case you need some inspiration, I stole this picture from the internet.

Yummy.....

Dowwwwn Dog!

2010-03-26T19:13:00.001-07:00

It's amazing to me how fast time flies these days. Would you believe I have been meaning to write about baby yoga since May of last year? Finally, I'm sitting down to tell you about it.
When Sapphie was 2 months old, I signed her up for baby yoga. Evolution is such an amazing yoga studio - I had discovered it when I got pregnant and I did prenatal yoga there right up until Sapphie was born. I was so excited that they not only offer baby yoga, but post-natal yoga for new moms where you can come early, have tea with other new moms, and you can even bring your baby with you during class! Those first few months were wonderful - to go and practice yoga with other new moms, with our tiny babies laying in front of our mats. Of course, I had plans to bring Sapphie to baby yoga.

When I signed up for the class, they informed me that it was full but that they would put me on a waiting list. I was so disappointed! Then, the day before the first class, they called to say that Susan, the studio director and the baby yoga teacher, had decided to let us all in! I was SO excited. Of course the first few months of baby yoga class mainly consisted of gentle massage, singing, and putting our little ones in yoga poses like tree, happy baby, half moon, and down dog. Whenever we would put them in poses, we would softly sing the name of the pose: dowwwwn dog, or haaaalf moooon.
Here are some pictures of baby yoga class when Sapphie was about 3 months old:

That's Susan with her back facing the camera, and to her left is Sapphie! To the right is the little yoga bear that would greet each baby as he or she arrived.

Sapphie loved to lay on her belly and look at all the other babies.

Now, over a year later, Sapphie still goes to yoga although she has graduated from the baby class and is now in "New Explorers". Hannah takes her every Monday while I'm at work, but in the next few months I'll be able to start taking her again. I can't wait!
Sapphie loves yoga class and really enjoys playing with the other kids. I didn't realize, however, that her yoga lessons would actually be sinking in yet. I figured that until she was at least 6, these classes would just be a feel-good thing for me and a fun chance for Sapphie to socialize. Guess what? I was wrong.
Sapphie is totally obsessed with downward facing dog she is doing it all the time, whenever she gets the chance. It is so cute! And, to make it even cuter, she yells out "dowwwwn dog!" every time she does it:

In the kitchen

A little morning stretch

She can't get enough!

She even does down dog on the dogs!

I'm so happy to see her developing a passion for yoga. It has done so much for me, and I hope that it will continue to enrich her life as she grows.

Namaste xoxoxo

On the move

2010-03-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

That's Sapphie now, always moving. People warn you, but there's really no way to prepare for this new stage. There are so many things happening! First of all, Sapphie is going crazy with new words. If you remember, she started shaking her head about 10 months ago, when I tried to feed her something she didn't like. Well, about a week ago, she finally started saying NO! It seems to be one of her favorite words, right behind Mummy and Daddy. She points to off-limit objects and shouts "no!". She cries and yells no when I put her in her highchair or car seat. She says no when I pick her up if she'd rather walk (she's not fully walking yet, but walks when you hold her hand). She wants to walk EVERYWHERE. She comes over to my leg and yells "mummy? Go? Go?!" And if I'm not quick to my feet, she promptly throws herself to the ground and starts writhing around like a worm. And screams. She has NO patience.
She wants it now, her way. And, when we're walking, I'd better not get too far ahead! She likes to lead the way, and if I start to get in front, she does the worm.

Sapphie loves to talk it seems! She does a lot of verbal "spewage", a lot of times nonsense but if I ask her to say a word, she tries! Some of her new words are turtle, bubbles, pizza, oh and apple! She loves apple and says "bapple!". She still loves to dance and shakes her bum or shimmees her shoulders every chance she gets. It's so cute.

I think the thing that has amazed us the most, aside from her strong will, is her love for books. If we are doing the dishes or getting dinner ready, and we can't hear Sapphie making any noise, it's a safe bet that she's in front of the bookcase, with a book in her lap. She never gets sick of flipping through books, and she does it all the time! One of her favorites is my American Kennel Club dog book. She loves looking through the pictures and making little high-pitch squeaking noises as she points to each dog. She also likes my bird book.

The dogs are still so good with her, even though she's started getting quite a little attitude with them! When Cabot begs, she yells no to him and pushes him away. Most of the time she hugs and kisses them, but she also likes to pull their tails and poke them in their ears. She loves to help me clean Cooper's ears.

My favorite picture this month? Probably this one of her with the dogs. I love how much she loves them.

I LOVE this picture of Sapphie and Auntie P, on Penelope's wedding day

And here are a few more! Not as overwhelming as usual. I'm going to be better about blogging more frequently!

2nd Best Day of Season (by Kevin)

2010-03-01T18:26:00.001-08:00

The Snow Gods have been very favorable for sure these last couple of days. A melt down in the Valley region did not cause any problems with higher elevation snow. The mountains have been getting an inch or two of fresh snow every night since last Wednesday's big storm. It has kept the mountain fresh and the woods very deep.

Saturday I headed back off to Sugarbush to try to find some more powder stashes three days after the big storm. I was skeptical that I was going to find anything being so many days removed from the Powda Day. None the less I was off; determined to find something. On my way down I made plans to hook up with Mike Weston, or Westy as his friends call him. He happened to be in the lodge when I arrived sitting with his friend Tom and John Egan. John Egan is an old school extreme skier and probably one of the best skiers I have every skied with before. I have had the chance a couple of times to ski with him on First Track days but this was going to be a totally different experience to say the least. By the time I arrived at the mountain Mike and Tom had hooked up with Egan and made arrangements to ski / take a lesson with him for about 3 to 4 hours.

We saddled up and headed up the mountain. I have not taken a ski lesson since I was little but after a day with John it was way over due. Just the initial ride up the chair I learned something new and I knew this was going to be a great day learning new techniques for the steeps, deeps and bumps. We started off on some moderate steeps learning some new step turning techniques and attacking the down hill slope. We then ventured into the deep woods and I skied areas of the mountain that I did not know existed. I have been skiing Sugarbush since I was 4 yrs old and he took us into some terrain that was amazing.

I found new hot spots for steep and deep skiing and John lead us to untracked 52" deep snow three days after the storm. It was fabulous. I had not skied that hard in a long time and it was great to get a refresher on some things that needed tweaking and fine tuning. I feel as if I regained an edge that I had lost in my skiing. I found a new sense of control and aggressiveness that maybe was put away in the closet since Sapphire was born.

So I would recommend spending some time and brushing up on areas of your life that may need a tune up. You are never too old to learn.

John Egan and I in the backcountry off of Castlerock, First Tracks await ahead of us. Don't ask me how to get there because I wont tell you. Yes that is a shit eating grin on my face. There were open tracks of runway between these covered pines that allowed for great deep turns in the snow. It was amazing. Not another person around for miles.
Beautiful Flora and Fauna covered under 52 inches of fresh snow

Way Over Due (by Kevin)

2010-02-24T18:26:00.000-08:00

The Snow Gods have answered the prayers of many. The snow dances have finally paid off. I or we got the day a lot have been dreaming about. Blower Powda that was knee deep in most spots and if you hunted like I did today thigh deep in other spots. The ski season has been pretty dismal until today. It was almost March and I still did not have that true powder day yet marked on the calendar and then it arrived. You know how there are things in life that with one change of events everything is better in the world and you forget about how things were looking so bad. Well today was the day that turned my ski season around. It went from bad to excellent in a few turns.

I awoke to reports of 16 plus inches on the mountain and more to come. I just had to play "hooky" and hit the mountains and verify the 16 plus inches. Well it was verified for sure and I made sure of that. I scrambled all over the mountain hitting my favorite spots and yep trust me there was at least 16 inches but more realistic estimate would be well over 20 inches. With the snow still falling.

So the ski season has been saved. I got the day I have been desiring since the beginning of the season. More to come over the next couple of days as I steal away from work some more.

I need to thank my wife, who encouraged me to go. My original plans were to stay home and tend to her and watch Sapphire. Emma is currently battling the stomach bug and I figured she would need my help today with Sapphie. BUT instead she turned to me this morning and told me to go "You have not had any days like this, this year" that was all I needed to hear and I was off in the truck headed to the mountain for a day of powda turns. By the way my new skis I bought just for a day like today, ROCK. Thanks Bobby. MidWest Represent.

I will post some pictures of the day but the pictures were on my phone which I accidentally dropped in the bath tub when I was giving Sapphire her bath tonight. Lets pray that it is okay.

Get out and enjoy the SNOW. Because soon the Sap will be running in the hills and Spring Tulips are just around the corner. Mother Nature decided we needed a couple of more days to play in the Snow. Good Bless Her, I certainly do.

Winter Fun

2010-02-18T18:05:00.000-08:00

This winter has been a blast. January was spent enjoying time with family, relaxing, and of course enjoying Penelope and Colin's wedding! It has been busy, hence the stale blog, but we have plenty of pictures to show for it. What's new with us?.....well, biggest news is that Sapphie is sleeping through the night! It started about 3 weeks ago, and she's been doing SO well. She usually sleeps from about 6:30pm until 6:30am, and I am really enjoying the rest. She's got lots of new words! Doggie, bye, daddy, Ruby, Nannah (Hannah), Ryan, LaLa, the list goes on. Pretty much any word you ask her to say, she tries to say. She growls like a lion, moos like a cow, oinks like a pig, and woofs like a dog. She loves her LLBean sled and we take her on the golf course as much as we can.
When we turn music on, she dances! Sways her hips from side to side and has a huge smile on her face. It's so cute! Oh and she now has 5 teeth! 3 on the bottom and 2 on top. She also has a very strange habit: chewing on her crib. It looks like we've got a beaver living in her room! We always know when she's quiet in the morning, she's probably busy chewing away on her crib. When she wants us to come get her, she starts yelling "Mummy!!!!"
Here are some of my favorite pictures from January:

Kissing John. They bonded so much over the Holidays! She loves him

Mummy and Sapphie at the Aquadro Christmas party

Helping Mummy vacuum...yes, she's her grandmother's granddaughter!

Helping Daddy do the dishes.

Pushing her girlfriend Daisy in her Radio Flyer wagon!

Daisy and Sapphie love each other. She's only 6 months old, and weighs more than Sapphie!

And here are a bunch more:

And, here are some pictures from Cousin Phil, including some from the Trapp Wedding:

The True Giving Tree (by Kevin)

2010-01-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

Emma and I have been brought back to our youth with Sapphire in the family. We are remembering our favorite books and songs. One book that I loved as a little kid was "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. It was about a tree that grow up with a little boy into his adulthood and ultimately gave itself up to provide for the boy.

I ran across this story in the Burlington Free Press the other day. Check it out. It is an amazing story about a tree called Herbie and a man. The tree is a Dutch Elm that resides in Yarmouth, ME. It is a moving story about the relationship between Man and Tree and ultimately a tree in the town of Yarmouth, ME.

The link below will bring you to the story. I hope you enjoy.

240 Year Old Dutch Elm

29 years at Sugarbush (by Kevin)

2010-01-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

I had the chance recently to see my sister at 6 o'clock in the morning. That is a rarity in our family. Imagine seeing a brown bear rise from its den in the Spring Time after a long hibernation, only my sister. Okay got the picture in your head. If not let me help you out.

Grumpy Bear

Happy Bear

Kristen flew in from NYC for Christmas at Sugarbush, the first Christmas at Sugarbush by the Kouri Clan. I must say it went off wonderfully with a tree and all the trimmings, good job mom and dad you always impress. She was not to depart until the Tuesday after Christmas which allowed her quality Auntie time with Sapphire. Monday an unexpected snow storm blew threw the region and deposited 6 to 8 inches of freshies on the mountain. Kristen wanted to hit the mountain before her 12:55 pm flight back to the Big Apple. We opted for the Lincoln Limo aka First Tracks Cat Skiing at Sugarbush or check out the blog from last year called First Tracks to score some POW before she headed back.

Loading Up: "I hope this thing is making a stop at Dunkin Donuts"

Kristen went to bed super early Monday night because she said she was nervous for the First Tracks Tuesday morning. I was excited because I was going to be able to get 2 hours of skiing in before work and spend some time with Kristen. Tuesday morning rolled around we got ready to met up with the 12 other people that would be going out along with Win Smith, President and Owner of Sugarbush and John Egan, Sugarbush Ambassador and extreme skier.

I was a little skeptical we were going to find some POW Tuesday morning but we headed for some sheltered runs on the mountain and soon found what we had been looking for. The white fluffy stuff that sprays over your knees as your feet do a dance in the POW and your favorite songs plays through your head. Unconsciously you have a smile ear to ear as you make turns and once and awhile a yelp comes out of your mouth from nowhere.

Four runs top to bottom is the usual number you get in before they pull you off the mountain so Mountain OPS and Ski Patrol can do their morning sweep to get the mountain cleared for opening at 9 am. At the end of the last run Win Smith, president and owner, personally thanks everyone for coming out and wishes you a farewell. I was waiting at the bottom for Kristen and when she arrived Win went over and thanked Kristen. Kristen's response back was "my brother and I have been skiing here since we were little kids, this is where we learned to ski and the only place we ski." As she told Win, how long we had been skiing on these slopes it dawned upon me, I/we have been returning to this very same mountain year after year as if it was a winter migration. It was also fitting that our last run down for the morning was on our favorite trail growing up "Sleeper". I have great memories riding the Gate House lift as a family and taking runs down "Sleeper". There we were 32 and 28, respectively, skiing down the same trail we used to ski down as 3 and 4 years old screaming and playing like we were 3 and 4 year old again. Somethings do not change. My memories of Sugarbush are great this morning just added to those memories and I know that whatever happens in the future the Kouri's will always have history at Sugarbush and I hope to share those same experiences with Sapphire some day.

Sleeper 28 years later.

First Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Birthday - All in One!

2010-01-04T13:18:00.001-08:00

I am SO behind on sharing photos, so this is an all-inclusive update. The months of November and December have been very eventful! We enjoyed a wonderful fall with beautiful folliage, as you'll see in the November photos. Our family photo shoot in the leaves was so much fun, and Sapphie posed like a little queen. Now that she's on the move, I'm having a hard time getting some really good head shots. The dogs continue to be amazing with Sapphie, and play with her all the time. She crawls on them, gives them kisses, tugs their ears, pokes them in the eye (see videos!) and pulls their collars off. They are both so patient and we're very fortunate to have had no problems at all.
So far, Sapphie has 4 teeth. Two front top, and 2 bottom. The bottom ones have one tooth between them that hasn't come up yet, so she looks like a little troll when she opens her mouth! Check out the December photos that Hannah took of her in her sled. You can totally see her bottom troll teeth.
Sapphie isn't walking, but she scales the furniture and loves to climb on (and off of) everything! She's an expert at going up and down stairs, and she slides right off our bed without hesitating. We have a gate at the top of the stairs, and she loves to stand there and wait for Daddy to come home. She also loves to pull all of my books off of the bookshelf, them flip through them and say "oooh"..."huhhhh"... she makes these funny little squeek noises that Nona says sound like a little robot.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both families at the condo. Liz and Kevin had the house all prepared, as usual, and we really were able to relax and enjoy each other. Kristen's bear Felicia got surgery (a fill and a tummy tuck, plus her bow was ironed), and she's looking like a new lady! Needless to say, there was plenty of eating, playing, and resting.

Here are our November photos:

December was another big month, with Sapphie's first birthday and first Christmas! Auntie P and Uncle Ollie got their huge tree right after Thanksgiving, so Sapphie was able to enjoy that one right away. We had some great family nights at their place, and got into the Christmas spirit. Sapphie got to watch her first movie, The Snowman, and I think she liked it! There's no talking in the movie, only music and she watched it for quite a while. I also got her the board book, so she can continue to enjoy the story throughout the year. She had tons of fun opening Christmas presents! It was all very exciting and I think her favorite part was ripping (then eating) the paper. Cabot joined in the fun too.
The Sunday before Christmas, we had a wine and cheese party to celebrate Sapphie's first birthday. Just a few friends, dress-up party, wine and good cheese. It was really low-key and special. I made Sapphie caramel cupcakes and she loved them! Sapphie and Auntie P didn't plan it, but they totally matched. She got her first Burton hat, and it looks adorable on her.
Our first Christmas was on Monday night, the 21st. We went to Penelope and Colin's to do gifts with them, because they were going to Katonah for Christmas. Sapphie enjoyed her 2nd Puerto Rican meal made by Papa LaLa (asopao; the first was Puerto Rican lasagna), and she LOVED it. 3 helpings in one sitting if you please! Colin got 2 more Wii sticks plus Super Mario, so we played after Sapphie went to bed. It was AWESOME. You may not know this about me, but I used to be a video game junkie, and champion. I beat all the Marios, Zelda, Mike Tyson's punch out, just to name a few. I was talking a big game and threatening lives before we started up the Wii. Much to my surprise, my fingers are much slower than they were 20 years ago! I've got to practice a bunch to get my game back.
Next celebration: we spent the week in Newport. It was SO relaxing and enjoyable. Hannah joined us for Christmas Eve, and we enjoyed another amazing figgy pudding. On Christmas Day, we headed to the condo for more fun and presents. Sapphie and I went for an afternoon snowshoe with the dogs, and I told her the story of how this time last year, I had a very spicy virgin bloody mary (thanks Uncle Ollie), and labor started 2 hours later! I told her all about the labor, the delivery, etc. I don't think she was listening, because she was busy watching the dogs wrestle, but it was so fun to tell her the story.
The next day, we celebrated Sapphie's first birthday for real. We had a cake, balloons, family, dogs, oh and a 32-year old wax candle that was used for Kevin's first birthday. Yes, even though she likes to organize and throw things away, it turns out Nona does save some things!! Nona also saved and gave Sapphie Kevin's original copy of Mr. Willoughby's Christmas Tree. We love it!!
Sapphie had her first sled ride in a baby sled that was given to us by the Westons. I think she had fun! She laughed and squealed a lot.
Winston had a photo shoot. Would you look at that face? He should have been named Face. Or Beggar. He's getting better with Sapphie, only humps on the rare occasion. He's also getting better about begging thanks to some boot camp and some training that Nona has been doing on Grandpi.

And here are our December photos:

Happy New Year to All!!!

Pudding 2009

2010-01-04T01:52:00.000-08:00

Amazing figgy pudding, Christmas Eve 2009. Well done mummy!!

Cookie Smack Down

2010-01-04T00:19:00.000-08:00

Uncle Ollie (that's Colin) makes the yummiest chocolate chip cookies. He likes them very flat, so he smacks them down when they come out of the oven. Sapphie recently enjoyed some of his cookies (just before bedtime!), and did a little song and dance, with our help, to show her approval!

HUGE Snowman

2009-12-23T15:37:00.000-08:00

Look at this HUGE snowman I found in Newport today!

Soon to be One (by Kevin)

2009-12-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

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)

2009-12-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

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)

2009-12-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

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

From New lamb rocker

Enjoying the fall

2009-11-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2009-10-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-25T07:08:00.001-07:00

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