Mother's Day Dinner

Here are some shots from Mother's Day Dinner at Uncle Ben, Aunt Lia and Cousin Aya's house.  Sylvie was very excited to see everyone, especially the "bay-bee!"

Some more in the May Gallery.

Beautiful Mother's Day

Mid sixties and bright sunshine.  After some driveway puddle-splashing, Syl, Pax and I gave Mom some time off and went for a loooooong walk (time-wise, not distance-wise).  Of course I got some photos.  A few here and many more in the May Gallery.

Sylvie wanted to "drive" part of the way, but we soon abandoned her car by the side of the road.  It is tough to pick up rocks and dandelions from behind the wheel, after all.  Sylvie made good use of her dress pockets, the utility of which she's only just discovered, filling them with rocks she wanted to bring home.

Off to Uncle Ben and Aunt Lia's this evening for Mother's Day dinner.  Sylvie is excited to see Grandma Lynne and Grandpa Steve, who arrived today to meet their new granddaughter.  We're all excited to see little Aya again, of course.

Escape Hatch

First of all, Happy Mother's Day!

Melissa and I went out to dinner last night. Patty, Sylvie's former teacher (from the baby room) came over to watch her.

When we got home, Patty admitted that she'd "lost" Sylvie for a brief moment during the evening.  "She was in the sun porch, I turned my back for a second and... no Sylvie.  

Turns out Sylvie has discovered Pax's doggie door.  Today she played coy with me, and pretended to "discover" it all over again, while I watched with the video camera.  

Calling the police, escaping the house... this kid is becoming a handful!  

Daddy's not-so-little monkey

Syl had her 18 month check-up on Thursday.  Her vital stats:  25th percentile for weight, 75th for height, and (this one cracks me up) 25th for "head."

"Long and lean," said the doc.  Most importantly, of course, she's healthy as can be.  And apparently all four of her molars are in, which probably explains why she's been something of a little bear over the last couple of weeks.  

Unplanned day of fun!

This morning we woke up to an overcast day, without much in the way of plans.  Then Trystan called to remind us of an intriguing sign that has been posted all week downtown: "Pony rides, Sat. 11-1"!

We ended up on the lawn of the Congregational Church with a whole lot of other Hollistonians.  There, we saw not only the O'Learys, but the Cocchiarellas too!

Sylvie had a blast until it started to rain.  Then, on a whim we made the best of it by going to Eagle Brook Saloon for lunch with Jake and Madeline.  A great day, and it's only just nap time!

911 Emergency! I'd like a pretzel, officer.

Melissa tells me that two police officers just arrived at our front door, responding to a 911 hang-up.

We're not pointing any fingers, but a certain grouchy toddler was seen playing with the telephone only moments earlier.

You hear about such incidents all the time, of course, but it is easy to rationalize acceding to a squawking little one's demands for the phone. What are the odds that she'll hit those three numbers, in sequence?

Apparently the odds are not so high as we'd imagined...

Cruisin'

Some video of Syl taking her new car for a test drive... and a test push.

Blending in with the flowers

With Sylvie's new flower outfit and all of the flowers blooming in the yard, it's hard to keep track of her.

Out for a "walk"

Taking Pax for a walk has a whole new meaning, now that Sylvie has decided she HATES her stroller and wants to, literally, walk.  

She sets a surprisingly brisk pace (as you can kind of discern in the second photo in particular)... when she's actually walking.  Mostly, though, she wants to pick up every pebble, dandelion and stick she comes across.  

Pax finds it all quite maddening.  We do not cover nearly the distance he's accustomed to.  Sylvie has a great time though.  

Today, the three of us took a "walk" while Mommy went to visit cousin Aya.  Syl has a bit of a runny nose and has been a little out of sorts this weekend, so we stayed home.  

New Car!

Whenever she sees one of these plastic toddler cars, at day care or the O'Learys' house or the supermarket (they have them mounted to the front of the carriages - brilliant!), Sylvie goes ape.  So of course I spent a good part of yesterday putting one together.  I'm not the handiest guy in the world.

Anyhow, it was worth it to see her reaction today.  Of course she had basically the same reaction to a rock she found in the driveway, but never mind...

Thanks for the new outfit, Grammy!

I took a lot of photos today, and started a May 2009 Gallery (of course).