Mimi and Papa Jack's visit: Part II

Here we are again, with the second "catch-up" post from my parents' visit. Once of Lucy's favorite places is the site of Thoreau's house at Walden Pond. Over the years visitors have stacked up rocks; a dream come true for ambitious toddlers!

One of the highlights of our time with Mimi and Papa Jack was our visit to the swan boats and the Boston Gardens. Here is a view of another boat.

And a very creative shot from my mom of our own boat.

Lucy enjoyed looking at the ducks and the other boats.

On the common afterwards, Lucy discovered the joys of chasing pigeons.

And we had a lovely picnic.In the afternoon Papa Jack and Matt took Lucy home, and mom and I went to the Isabella Stuart Gardner museum, one of my favorite museums. Visiting it with my mom is becoming a special tradition.

Another day we went on an adventure to Harvard Sq. Lucy loves going "wheee" (as she calls it) with her Mama and Papa.

Papa and Lucy bouncing on the trampoline.

On a hike in woods near us. Papa Jack and Lucy kept hiding and then jumping out and surprising us. And Lucy learned a lot about the woods from her Papa Jack.

Lucy loves playing the piano at my grandparents' house, and has started to play with one finger at a time.

Grandma, me and Lucy, Grandpa, and Mimi!

Intermission: He Came With the Couch

More pictures of our visit with Mimi and Papa Jack to come. As an interlude, I wanted to share about some fun new members of our family (don't worry, they're stuffed).

We recently got some new couches (thanks to the generousity of Grandma Judy- thank you, thank you!). We also got two boxes in the mail from Grandma Judy, each arrived at the same time as a couch, and they each contained a new friend for Lucy- we've been calling them monsters, and they're amazing replicas of the creatures from this book, "He Came With the Couch" (http://www.davidslonim.com/page145.html).

Here are some pictures of Lucy enjoying her monster friends- and our new couch!

Looking back at the summer: Part I

Well, long time, no see, blog-friends. We were waylaid by a series of 2-week colds in October (me, Lucy, then Matt). And then Lucy and I just were out in San Diego last week for a work conference.

I have a lot of catching-up to do here. The summer seems like ages ago (snow is predicted for tonight), but here are pictures from late August/early September, when my parents visited.

Here they are, with one of our delicious pasta primavera creations. We had a wonderful, full visit with Mimi and Papa Jack, replete with a few swims in Walden Pond, a visit to the Boston Gardens and swan boats, a great family dinner at Grandma & Grandpas, and lots of fun hanging out time in between.

Papa Jack and Mimi brought some fun presents too. Here, Lucy is trying on a scarf and shoes from Morocco.

Papa Jack brought a real tea set for Lucy, with cups and plates and spoons and a tea pot, of course. She loves serving tea to us and her dolls.

And here is Mimi with Lucy as she explores her new castle. Her favorite thing is to take the different people and have them say "hi" to each other. I've noticed that Lucy has very social play-imaginings- her dolls are always giving each other kisses or saying hi. And she gets really excited when we're in big groups of people (like the family gathering). I'm wondering if she might be an extrovert...we'll see!

Lucy and I at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Our chirpy bird.

Four generations of Himmelberger/Wald/Frank women!

Papa Jack and Lucy at one of our Walden outings.

Lucy really loved swimming this summer- I can't wait until it gets warm again!

Fall harvest and daily life

I've been a neglectful blogger of late, alas. But having lots of fun on the home front! I'm still going through the hundreds of pictures (I'm not exaggerating) my mom took when they visited, and will post on that soon. We had a blast with them, and have many wonderful memories of their visit. In the meantime, below are some recent pictures of our fall and life around the house.

Salads! Every part is from Grandma's garden, except the tomatos which are from mine.


We went apple picking with our friends recently. The trees were dwarf apple trees, so Lucy could pick too.


She loves wandering off (though I always keep a close watch, of course).


Lucy's getting to be quite the big girl. She's given up the high chair for a booster seat for meals. And at other times, she loves sitting in the stool at the kitchen counter.

Lucy shows an organizational streak, putting the blue cars next to each other.

Lucy usually has milk and cheerios for breakfast. She likes to drink all her milk, straight from the bowl if necessary.

Baby Annie is increasingly a favorite, and goes most everywhere with us. Here she is sitting in Lucy's booster seat.

And one from today. Lucy often hugs as many stuffed animals at once as possible. She had brought baby, dog and bear from her room to the living room this time.

Fun in the sun

We've been having a really fun time with my parents. Lucy took to Mimi and Papa Jack right away. Highlights so far include: a tea party with my dad, giggle-fests with my mom (she can just look at Lucy and make her laugh), swimming at Walden Pond (Lucy loves going in up to her neck, as well as walking on her hands in the shallows) riding Swan Boats and bird chasing at Boston Gardens, my mom and I visiting the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, and more. We've also had some nice dinners and movie-watching after Lucy's in bed.

At long last, here are our pictures from our visit with Matt's mom.

Lucy and me on the flight. She did great both ways, making friends with everyone in the aisles and sitting relatively still, for an 18-month old.


Judy was so excited to have her grand-baby there. "Grandma" is a bit tough for Lucy at this point, so she called her "ee-oh" (apparently the vowels in Judy reversed).

Judy had a bunch of fun toys for Lucy, including a little beach chair!

Lucy putting her doll to sleep in her new doll bed.

Lucy loved playing play-dough with Grandma.

Lucy also enjoyed the wading pool. She has become quite the water-scientist, pouring water back and forth between cups.

Lucy also loved the big pool. She was a bit skeptical about it at first, but after a day or two loved jumping into our arms and swimming around with us.

Mr. Octapus (Lucy called him "tapuss").

Lucy in her floatie.
Judy and Matt enjoying the water.

Judy helped Lucy start the practice of saving (you can also see her pigtails in the picture).

Lucy enjoying a horse-ride at Chuck E Cheese.

We had brunch with some of my dad's cousins and their sons who live in the area at Mimi's Cafe. It was so nice to connect with family. And we loved the name of the cafe, of course!

Judy and Lucy enjoying an afternoon at the splash park.

Matt's brother, Todd, and his girlfriend Terri. We had a few fun dinners with them- they were so sweet with Lucy.

Lucy learned "cheers" and wanted to do it over and over.
Ready for a safari.Hiking at a state park.

Back at home, with our swimming buddy Skyler.

And riding high on Papa's shoulders.