Peachy's First Camping Trip

Peachy had his first camping experience this weekend, and Blueberry had her 6th or so. Stanley and I had our 60-somethingth. It consisted of (but was not limited to):

• high winds
• lots of rain
• oppressive heat
• abundant sunshine
• mosquitoes
• dangling inchworms
• butterflies
• a ladybug
• bumblebees
• a hammock or two
• the biggest tarp ever
• good friends
• good food
• wine in the shower
• general fun
• periodic laughter

Now the kids are in bed, the camping stuff is unpacked, the laundry is going, and I should be showering but instead I am blogging. Dumb dumb dumbity dumb.

The hammocks were a hit with the kids, as always, and featured prominently in photo shoots.

Blueberry enjoyed swinging with her friends, whose pseudonyms escape me.

(That white pebbly thing is a yogurt-covered cranberry.)

Peachy spent a lot of time as a joey this weekend. He enjoeyed it. Ho ho ho. Here he is with our friend Kate*.

Our friend Lucy* with another of Blueberry's friends.

Enjoey your week! I.e., put your week in a skin pocket on your belly.

Who needs a good night's sleep? I do!

*Names changed.

An Inadequate Update, or Perhaps I Do Dare That

A lot has happened since my Halloween post. Peachy* was born January 13th.

He is happier than he looks. And so am I, for that matter. Also relieved. Thanks to Stanley, there is a 2 min 30 sec video of the birth which I could share with you if you are interested. In the video I look like I'm in a lot of pain but really I am.

I would write 750 blog posts about how awesome he is and how blessed I am to have Stanley, Blueberry and Peachy and how our lives have changed since Peachy was born and our daily ups and downs but I do not have the time. This is frustrating for me.

Blueberry enjoyed this:

and looks forward to more carousels in her future. Stanley enjoyed it as well, and speaking of Stanley, he is doing fine but works too hard. Back to the carousel: There happens to be one within walking distance of our house but it is closed in the winter and last year the Blueb was too little to really experience it, so this summer will be The Summer of Blueberry and the Carousel. I can't wait to tell her she's going to ride it. I'll wait until the day before or maybe even the morning of. Or maybe...hmmm...dare I surprise her by taking her to it on a seemingly routine walk? Perhaps I do dare that.

Blueberry likes to draw and I enjoy this immensely.

I covered one of her bedroom walls with her artwork, and one day she took it all down (what she could reach). That's her prerogative.

Peachy does a lot of this:

He's also a champion nurser. I wish you could see him in action. I could say that Blueberry is also a champion nurser, but really she's moved on in her career and is more of a professional nurser.

Here they are together. In this photo, Blueberry is waiting for me to take a picture so she can look at it, and I haven't asked her to smile yet. Peachy is thinking about taking a nap.

 

Ending it here seems ridiculous because I have so much else I want to write but whatever.

*Names changed.

Blueberry's 2nd Halloween

I wasn't going to do a costume this year, yet Blueberry ended up with not one, but THREE costumes.

Costume #1

I just recently organized her clothes and fortuitously found this at the back of a drawer just in time for Halloween. Our friend Sally* gave it to her last year, after Halloween, for use during this Halloween, and now it fits her, so this was her first costume of the day. It's a cute costume. How do I know it's a cute costume?  Because it says "cute costume".

Costume #2

I knew from trying the cape on her as I was making it that she was not going to want to be dressed up in a costume, and I was right. It helped a lot that Daddy was enthusiastic about it when he got home from work, and there was just enough light left outside to get some pictures. She tolerated the cape just fine, but did not want to hold the basket of food for Grandma.

Here she is trying to get Daddy to take it off her hands.

Finally rid of that stinking basket:

She was fine with pushing it in the sled, so that's how the basket got on its way to Grandma's house.

In a strange plot twist, she stopped to do some digging. Totally off task. No basket in sight. Never send a 21-month-old to give food to Grandma.

Costume #3

Blueberry came up with this one on her own:

It's quite obviously the asylum doctor from the Eifman ballet "Don Quixote or The Fantasies of a Madman".

I hope your Halloween was terrific!