I Scream, You Scream. . .

This year, Caroline attended "playschool" on Monday and Thursday mornings. It has been such a wonderful year for Caroline; she has really flourished socially, making a bunch of strong friendships, and her confidence and independence have just blossomed. She absolutely loved school and her teacher Miss Judy. We've loved decorating our home with her art projects, listening to the new songs and poems she has learned, and watching the joy on her face when she sees her teacher and her school friends. Steve and I could not have been more pleased with her first school experience.

Caroline attended school with a completely different group of children on the two mornings, and almost right away Monday became her favorite day. The kids on Monday became a very close-knit group, and the moms really bonded as well. We decided that we should celebrate the outstanding year we've all had with an ice cream party in the backyard!

Jack and his mom:

Brianna:

"The boys" (and a little sister!) enjoying their treats:

This little man could have eaten sweets all day long:

Teddy (Jack's twin!):

Danny:

I know this picture is out of focus, but it so totally captures the essence of Caroline and Brianna:

"The girls" - Caroline, Cate, and Brianna. Both girls live within 2 blocks of us!

Watching Daddy weed the garden:

Now if the weather will just cooperate, we are all headed to Jack and Teddy's beach house tomorrow! Hooray for summer!

The End

First day of school. . .

And the last. . .

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow. . . .

Tomorrow is Caroline's last day of preschool. Twice a week for the last ten months, I've raced home from dropping her off, put William down for his nap, thrown a load of laundry in the wash, made myself a cup of tea, flipped on Ellen, and enjoyed an hour or two of blissful "me time." I've used the time to cook meals for friends with new babies, blog, edit pictures, make giant pots of soup, and catch up on my volunteering obligations. Some days I've just chatted on the phone with a friend or read a good book. It's been a small slice of heaven in my busy weeks, and I'm mourning it's passing.

Next year, Caroline will go to her new preschool three days a week, but it won't be the same for me since William won't be taking a morning nap any longer. I'm looking forward to having all that time with my best boy - we're going to take some classes together, have lots of play dates, and just enjoy one-on-one time. And the year after that, I already have William signed up for the "playschool" that Caroline attends now, so I'll have two mornings a week truly to myself (unless, of course, we decide to have another baby and throw a giant wrench in that plan :) ). So the "end" is in sight. But oh, how I will miss my quiet mornings.

PS - We have two fun activities scheduled with Caroline's school buddies, so I'll be posting lots of pictures about those soon, and writing about her experience at school this year. Since it's not, you know, all about me. :)

Pizza in the Park

Why do I love our town? Because when one mom sends out an email asking if anybody wants to meet in the park to play and order pizza for dinner, nine moms and a huge gang of kids all show up. How would we survive Steve's travel schedule without such an incredible group of friends?

One small step for Mini-kind...

Thought everyone would like to see the latest William trick!

Quack Quack!

We celebrated Father's Day a week early yesterday with a family outing to the Boston Duck Tours! The ducks have been something of a joke between Steve and me for awhile now, so we thought it would be a nice way to spend some family time in the city. Since the weather was perfect yesterday, we decided not to wait until next week. It was a great trip!

William practiced his walking skills while we waited to get on our vehicle:



Here's our WWII amphibious landing vehicle, "Molly Molasses:"




My snuggle-bug for the trip:

My favorite guys:

A rare family shot:

While we were out on the Charles River, our driver let all the children drive the boat. Caroline stepped right up!

The city skyline as we cruised down the river:

The P-Lope

My sweet niece Penny came for the big ballet recital, and I had a blast taking pictures of her in her adorable outfits. Here are a few of my favorites: