I'm a braiding machine who cannot be stopped

Cousins!

We headed into Somerville this afternoon for lunch with Alex, Grandma Lynne, Uncle Pat and Aunt Kem at our new favorite pizza spot! As before, Syl and Alex between them put down as much pizza as any adult!

After lunch it was off to the playground to burn a few calories. 

Safe travels and good luck with your knee surgery Grandma Lynne!

So they have something in common....

Sylvie this morning to Melissa, out of nowhere: "President Obama doesn't want to be president any more. He just wants to play mini golf."

Not unreasonably, Melissa immediately expected paternal indoctrination. But I am innocent. Sylvie claims she heard it "on the news." Is it a coincidence that her Grammy and Grampy just left on Monday? I think not!

Pink braids

Sylvie is getting annoyed with my braid-bragging. I keep telling her I'm just making objective observations about the increasing quality and tightness of my braids, but she remains irritated. Today as a compromise I allowed her to hair chalk the finished products.

Little does she know I was pleased with the augmentation...

The best big cousin in Boston

No school today so Mom and Sylvie spent the afternoon with Alex and grandma Lynne . She shared her panera Mac and cheese ( he ate most of it), helped push the stroller thru doors and on ramps and played with Alex in the courtyard. Grandma Lynne said she really appreciated the help.

First Grader!!!

Well, today was our little first grader's first day of school! Hard to believe.

Anyone else get the sense that Uncle Ben gave her fake photo smile lessons in Seattle...?

Now this is what I call a first day of school braid.

After the posed shots at home we proceeded to HCCC for some poses with her cronies while they waited for the bus.

For the second year in a row I missed the iconic 'getting on the bus' shot because Syl found a reason to burst into tears at the crucial moment: in this case a lost water bottle. Ah well. There's always second grade--and if last year is any indication it will be here before we know it!

Back to School BBQ!!!

Our sort-of-annual Saturday Before the 4th BBQ never happened this year, so we decided to throw a back to school version instead. We think we may have settled on a new tradition! The weather cooperated, turnout was great, and the slightly cooler temps were a huge bonus. PLUS Grammy and Grampy and Grandma Lynne were all able to join, along with Pat, Kem, and Alex, a bunch of cousins and second cousins from Connecticut, and about 100 other friends and family!

The dunk tank added a certain FROZEN element to this year's festivities. Brrrrrr!

Sylvie really enjoyed playing with her second cousins from CT!

Clean up was done by Sunday afternoon... ready for next year!

Many more photos in the August 2014 gallery, and here.