Where Sylvie is "exploring" with her pal Kay Taylor Winthrop. They visited the Museum of Natural History and, apparently, the National Mall. Melissa will have to log on to fill everyone in on the rest. I'm told they are on the plane and on their way home right now, and that Melissa has more pictures in her camera. Thanks for these photos, Dudley!
Sylvie's Dad is a helpless pawn in the hands of his expert skier friend, Matt. That's the only possible explanation for how he ended up on double-black diamond terrain toward the end of today's ski day. Absolutely beautiful, by the way.
Syl and her mom continue to have a great time in DC. They had lunch with Lara today, then dinner with the family. Sounds like they are having a lot of fun, despite having missed the wedding due to a Sylvie melt-down...
By the way, the terrain in the video is called a "headwall" - it's quite a bit steeper than it looks, which is why I'm so pleased with myself for getting down it on my feet.
Turns out not skiing for 15 years is no big deal. I'll feel it in the legs tonight, I can already tell, but for now skiing in 50 degree weather in the most beautiful place you can imagine is a pretty good way to spend a Friday in April. Looking forward to doing this with BOTH my girls some day. Quick Blackberry video below.
Speaking of both my girls, Melissa reports that Syl and Aya were great on the plane, and all are having a good time in DC.
First thing's first: Here's another fun photo of my girls from this past weekend in Connecticut, courtesy our friend Tom, who is a professional photog.
Now to the meaning of the title of this post. Tomorrow morning, I head to Logan airport bright and early, and from there fly to Aspen, CO for a guys' long weekend with my friends Matt and Chris. Not to be outdone, on Friday the girls head to DC with Uncle Ben, Aunt Lia and Baby Aya to celebrate Melissa's cousin's wedding. Grandma Lynne and Grandpa Steve are meeting them there. Sylvie is also excited to meet Kay Taylor and Serafina Winthrop, and also Lara - mom's best friend from law school - who she's heard so much about. They'll have a great time, while I try and re-learn how to ski (the last time I clicked into a pair was 15 years ago (sheesh!) at college. Here's hoping it's like riding a bike.
Anyhow, I'm looking forward to a fun weekend, but not to being away from my girls for so long. Take care of them down there, family!
... in my obsessive attempt to chronicle every waking moment of Sylvie's life, that is. Grandma Lynne emailed this morning to point out something I'd missed. We've just passed 20,000 hits here at Sylvie's Place. That means on 20,000 separate occasions, someone who cares about our little one has taken a moment to check in on here blog and, through it, her life. Ain't technology something?
Boy oh boy did Sylvie and her folks have a great time this weekend in Connecticut with the Liggetts!
We arrived yesterday, just in time for a little back yard play before the noon Easter Egg hunt on the green in the Liggetts' home town of Chester, Connecticut. Sylvie, Alex and Sydney did a great job collecting eggs... sort of. Sylvie and Sydney pretty quickly discovered that the eggs could be opened. And that inside they held candy. That slowed collection considerably.
We could not possibly have gotten a better day, weather-wise. It was bright, sunny, and in the mid-seventies.
We were also joined by our old friend Tom, who always adds some fun to the mix.
After the egg hunt, Jeff, Daddy and Tom kept an eye on the kids, while Mommy and Allison went to a local spa for a manicure. In addition to Easter, we were also there to celebrate Allison's birthday - our arrival and the spa thing were just the first part of a multi-pronged surprise that Jeff cooked up for her. After much outdoor play, the adults went out to dinner and drinks (excellent Mexican), while the kids ate and were put to bed by the Liggetts' babysitter.
This morning all the kids were excited to find that during the night the Easter Bunny had in fact visited and delivered baskets and a bunch of eggs hidden around the house and the yard. Sylvie in particular was excited to learn the concept of "candy for breakfast," after which we all headed outside for yet another egg hunt. Again, Alex carried the day while Sydney and Sylvie concentrated on quality over quantity.
It was a huge amount of fun watching the kids play together all weekend. They got along great, with the exception of an occasional attempt by Sylvie to take advantage of the Liggett kids' hospitality by attempting to permanently appropriate a toy or two ("MINE!!").
Alex continues to astound with his intelligence. Shortly after we arrived, Jeff asked him, "What's five cubed?" Alex pondered for just a moment, then responded "125." A little later, thinking I'd catch him off guard, I asked, "Alex, what's four cubed?" "Sixty-four." Didn't hesitate for a second. He's five years old.
We're thinking we may have to make this Easter trip a tradition - the Liggetts really do the day right! I took a total of 729 photos, which I've whittled down to just over two hundred in the Easter 2010 gallery at this link. Here's a further distillation in a slide show.
Many thanks to the Liggetts for a great time. We're looking forward to seeing you again soon.
It occurred to me as I edited this one that this past Sunday was the first time that Syl and her cousin Aya really played together. Sure it was limited play, and sure Sylvie got a little... assertive a couple of times. We've noticed that she's becoming something of a pusher. She can really throw a shove when she applies herself. We're trying to break her of that, while reminding ourselves that at least she's not a biter or a hitter (knock wood).
Anyhow, I'm sure the cousins have much fun play ahead of them; it's kind of cool to catch the first time.
As a side note, Aya is not at all impressed with Elmo (yet)...
I still need to pull together the video from the same day of Sylvie going hog wild with her Uncle Ben.
