(a shot from an unseasonably warm day last week... just before the cold weather moved in!)

Things have been busy over the last couple weeks. Ada crawls at a remarkable pace and is growing more steady on her feet. She is echoing words and seems to pick up something new almost every day! We had our first snow (that stayed) and she loved to see the big flakes coming down. She looks adorable bundled up in her blue down jacket!

Cappy had her surgery and it went as well as could be expected. In addition to the large ruptured cyst, the vet also took off a second growth on her leg that was starting to increase in size. She has been a pretty good sport about wearing the neck cone... but some of the stitches in her leg came out. We took her back into the vet and she now has thee shiny staples holding the wound closed... we might as well be wrapping twenty dollar bills around her legs!

One week left before the school dismisses for Winter Break!

Some pictures from our Thanksgiving break!

Ada's taking her first steps! Enjoy the video!
(It is about 30 seconds long and loading time will vary based on your internet connection. Cheers!)

We have been through a bit of a rough spell here in the borough. In the last twenty fours hours we have been to the pediatrician, the family doctor, and the vet. Ada made it an entire year without getting sick and finally succumbed to a cold (notice the runny nose in the above picture). The cold lingered and now she has an ear infection in her right ear. We went to the doctor and she is on an antibiotic and should be back to normal (and sleeping) in a couple of days. K has come down with strep throat. She is still in the thick of it and has been in bed for the last couple of days fighting a fever and fatigue. It comes at an unfortunate time as it is the final week of the term and there is lots of grading, comment writing, and extra work to be done. Cappy's mysterious nub on her back is not longer a mystery. It ruptured and has been disgusting in all respects. Because this is a family blog,I will spare the details...

On a funnier note- Ada has her mind set on destroying our home. She will find folded laundry and throw it around, open the trash and dump it on the floor, unroll all of the tp, clear off every book from her shelf, and the list goes on. In the time it takes to clean up one of Ada's projects, she has completed two more. In an act of desperation, Yammy and Dede had to come over and hold down the fort while I struggled to dig out from the piles and chaos that Ada worked so hard to create. A few pictures of her handy work below... (you wouldn't believe how fast she does this!)

We had another great weekend up at the Mancoon. Ada loves being outside and especially enjoys when the wind blows her hair!

Enjoy this slide show with birthday pictures and few Halloween pics at the end! (Note that there are a few videos mixed in and you may want to double click on the slide show to view it full screen with captions)

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY !

Ada celebrated her first birthday yesterday. It was a wild occasion with much singing, ripping of paper and a close call when Ada grabbed for her birthday candle! We had some special baby birthday cake and opened presents in the evening and Ada appeared to have a great time. We will post a slide show and some videos early next week after some more birthday activities this weekend!

Just back from another working weekend at the Mancoon. The siding is all the way up and we were fortunate to enjoy a glorious fall weekend of blue skies, crisp days, and falling leaves. The temps dropped below freezing at night, but we were plenty warm (down right hot at times!) with the wood stove pumping out more heat than our little cabin needed. Ada desperately want to touch the wood stove and this requires lots of vigilance on our parts... but she got plenty of time to crawl around outside and develop a taset for white pine needles!

Ada is full steam ahead! She is super active, crawling fast, and getting into everything! We spent an awesome weekend up in Maine and Ada had a chance to don a new winter hat- pink tiger stripes! I celebrated a birthday with polish porkchops and home made whoopie pies for dessert. Ada's gift was to let me sleep until 7:20 am!

Since learning to crawl, Ada has proceeded to take our house apart! K and I are scrambling to plug all of the outlets, take up electric cords, and clear the lower shelves! She moves ever faster and has started pulling herself to standing in her crib… looks like we will be dropping the mattress to the lowest setting tomorrow!

She has also started ‘talking’ more. She now says versions of “all done”, “hi”, “baby”, “dada”, “maymay” (instead of mama!), and “uh oh” when she drops something. It is an exciting time and we have been outside enjoying the warm days of early fall.

She's crawling! Enjoy the video
(It is about 30 seconds long and loading time will vary based on your internet connection. Cheers!)

It's OFFICIAL!

We are now proud owners of our long awaited “Piece of land in Maine.” Over the last several months we have been negotiating and working through the paperwork of buying a parcel of land in Maine. The property is 17.6 acres and is located in Stetson, Maine (about 30 west of Bangor). It has a little cabin set next to a babbling stream and also has electricity and a well (though no indoor plumbing!).

The cabin and property had been uninhabited for the last several years and were in significant disrepair when we bought the property. During the month of August, we -along with *lots* of help from family- have cleaned out, cleaned up, and remodeled our little cabin. There is still a lot of work to do, but it is now totally “livable” and down right enjoyable to spend time at! A few more work weekends and we will be ready for guests!

Please enjoy the slide show of a few of our remodeling pictures… as always you can double click on the picture for a full screen version.

just back into town and faculty training starts tomorrow... just a quick pic but promise more later!

We have heard you! Thank you to all of you who have emailed us about not posting… we hope to get back on a more regular schedule once school begins but we have been busy loving the few weeks of summer vacation we have left. A run down of where we have been and what we have been doing: Extended family reunion in Bethlehem, PA, visits with the Banigans in the Poconos, Ada’s first full body dip in a swimming pool, Ada is almost crawling, several camping trips near Newport, Maine, Ada is eating Cheerios, and vacationing with friends in York, ME. We are getting ready to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary in September and will be spending a night on the town (sans Ada) complete with fine dining and a Bruce Springsteen concert!

Below is a slide show of some assorted pictures from the last few weeks of summer.



Below is a video of Ada cracking up. (Her laugh totally lights up our day!) Greg was splashing in a baby pool right next to her and she thought it was hilarious!

summer time and the livin's easy...

dad and ada striking a pose

meal time = fun time

The last few weeks have been all about enjoying summer. Ada made her first trip to Vermont over the Fourth of July when we visited Manchester for a friend’s wedding. Fortunately, she was asleep by the time the fireworks started!

During the week we were deluged by a severe storm that struck the local area. Over 8 inches of rain fell in less than 5 hours and much of the school sustained severe water damage. There were inches of hail on the ground and the roads were blocked with water. (link here to local news report.)

We just got back from the Maine coast where we spent time car camping with Kara’s parents. With the exception of one rainy night, the weather was picture perfect. Ada slept much better on this camping trip and seemed less afraid of the ocean.

All in all, the summer is going well and we, as well as Ada, are enjoying all of the time outside!

Enjoy some pictures below. As always, you can double click on the slide show for a full screen version.

Recent pictures from a few days spent on Lake Waukewan in New Hampshire! Enjoy!
(as always, you can double click on the slideshow for a larger version)

Happy Father's Day (to me!)

I had a great first Father's Day! The day started off on a great note with some extra sleep, coffee in bed, and then polishing off a box of girl scout cookies before I ever set foot on the ground! Kara helped Ada put together some very thoughtful gifts and she and I were lucky to be able to visit both of our father's as well.

Camping on the Cape

Enjoy a slide show from our overnight camping trip (Ada's first) to Cape Cod! It was rainy and cool but we had a good time and still managed to get to the beach in between rain showers. Ada falls asleep every night (and has since day 1) to a cd of ocean wave sounds... and one ironic part of the trip was that she was really frightened of the actual sound of the waves once we were standing by the waters edge! Overall, she was a trooper and we are encouraged for longer, future trips- like maybe a couple months across the back country!

(TRY THIS! We have tried a new feature and there should be several short videos incorporated into the slide show. If you view the slide show on our blog, the videos will not play... but if you double click on the slide show, you should be redirected to an online web album. Click on the 'Full Screen' button in the upper left part of the screen (below the text, "My Photos > Cape Cod"), then click the "Play" arrow in the lower part of the screen, and you can watch the slide show full size! It will take some time to buffer before the first video plays, but let us know if they are not working and we can post them as individual clips.)

School has wrapped up. The students graduated on Saturday and we have just concluded our final end-of-the- year teacher meetings. We are excited to have a break from all of the craziness of the last few weeks and we are looking forward to a fun first summer with Adalynne.

Greg will be working two days a week running the school’s rock gym and ropes course for the summer day camp and Kara will be tutoring a couple of days a week but it is shaping up to be a pretty relaxed summer. We have a number of weekend trips around New England planned and will be spending time on various lakes, rivers, and oceans throughout the summer.

As the amount of baby stuff we tote along with us has increased our car has started to feel small and we bought a roof top carrier to help alleviate some of the crunch. We will take its inaugural trip as we head down to the Cape this weekend to try our hand at camping (albeit car camping) with Ada. She loves being outside and gets to spend a couple hours a day enjoying the view from her stroller as she accompanies us on various walks and runs. We will be sure to post pictures of her first mouthful of sand!

Another note worthy event- Ada has spoken… sort of. We are calling it “Her First Words” though the evidence that she knows what she saying is a little thin! Kara came home from work the other day and Ada turned, looked at her Mom, and said, “Mamamamamama.” Since then she has looked at quite a few other things and said “mamamamama” but it is tough to deny the original event. So- for those of you who are keeping track or voted in the poll- Ada's first words are “mama.”

Happy summer and please let us know if you are in the area!

Ada uses a special blend of oatmeal and bananas to keep her hair styled

Spending a little family time at our plot at the local community garden

peek-a-boo!

I am hoping that Ada's expression is just one of innocent surprise
and not a look of horror as she realizes where half of her genetic material came from...

A few pictures from Mother's Day...

Happy Mother's Day!

This just in...

Ada was gnawing on our fingers last night and we felt two little sharp points that had not been there in the morning. We checked and sure enough she has the very tips of teeth coming in on the bottom!

We also went to the doctor today for a 6 month check-up. All is well- she weighs 15 pounds 1 ounce and is 25.5 inches long. We thought she was heavier but apparently all measurements are right in the middle of the percentiles.

pictures from the last few weeks!

We took advantage of the beautiful weather in the northeast to do some hiking in our favorite state!
It is about 30 seconds long and loading time will vary based on your internet connection. Cheers!

Spring is in the air… the weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer, the tree buds are coming out- and we are suffering from allergies!

Ada is doing well. It is hard to believe but she is just a week away from being sixth months! She heartily enjoys eating her cereals (oatmeal in the picture) and is no longer in the car seat adapter in the stroller. She enjoys being outside and gets to go on a long walk with me during the day and another after K comes home in the afternoon. She is grabbing at everything and has nearly ripped dangly earrings right out of her Mom’s ear!

Adalynne is getting better with new people and spends less time fussing. She still naps quite often, but is beginning to transition to longer morning and afternoon naps. She is also rolling over every now and then and we are breaking out the ‘baby backpack’ in anticipation of finally getting back out on some of the local trails.

Thanks for all of the emails and visits!

If you are interested, our friends are making their final push for the North Pole this week and are expected to reach their goal within the next few days. You can read daily updates of their history making trip at their website: http://www.forwardexpeditions.com/blog.html

Here is video of Ada excitedly taking her first bites of rice cereal!
It is about 60 seconds long and loading time will vary based on your internet connection. Cheers!

Enjoy this video of Ada having fun in the exersaucer!
It is about 45 seconds long and loading time will vary based on your internet connection. Cheers!

Our spring break has flown by! After visiting the Poconos last weekend, we headed up to Maine for a few days. We stopped by Bates and spent the afternoon looking at all the new construction on campus, visiting with a friend, and of course, indulging in some fine cooking from Luiggi’s! We headed over to the Bethel area to stay with a friend from school for two days and enjoyed near-50 degree temperatures as we snowshoed and relaxed amidst the beautiful surroundings.

Busy Last Two Weeks!

Over the past two weeks, we have been busy with the End-of-Term at school, moving, and settling in to our new place. On top of it all, Ada is doing so many new things it is hard to keep up! One of her newest tricks is putting her toes in her mouth every time she is on the changing table. Ada has also started to put all of her weight on her legs and stand (with our help for balance!) for long periods of time. She seems to becoming much more vocal each week and coos and “talks” to us especially in the morning when she first wakes up. We feel lucky that her sleep schedule is still great as she sleeps from 9-ish to 6-ish.

While moving is never easy, we had lots of support from Greg’s mother, Debbie and his brother, Pete on the big day which made everything happen smoothly. Both Cappy and Ada seem to recognize that we are in a new place, but seem to be fine with it! Cappy is getting used to the new layout and noises, and loves all the windows from which she spends lots of time gazing. We are almost completely unpacked and just need to continue working on finding the right spots for all the “little” stuff!

We are currently enjoying our spring break so we have some time to get settled. During our break we took a weekend trip to my grandmother’s house in the Poconos where we met up with some immediate family for a joint surprise 60th birthday party for my parents. Adalynne did quite well being in the car for 4 ½ hours each way and took great naps the whole weekend. As my grandmother said, it must have been the “mountain air”!

That’s about it for now. Now that our computer area is almost finished, we’ll hopefully be back on schedule with regular updates for you. Enjoy some recent pictures!

We are packing up and preparing to move to a new apartment within the boys dorm this upcoming weekend. Despite all of the packing and wrapping Ada is busy cooing and laughing up a storm. Enjoy some of the happy baby sounds!

It is about 60 seconds long and loading time will vary based on your internet connection. Cheers!

Cappy and Adalynne are getting along great. Ada has started holding her tail (see picture) and loves to touch Cappy's ears. Caps is calm around Ada and often comes over to give Ada a quick lick on the cheek when ever we put her on the ground.

Adalynne weighed in at 13 pounds 8 ounces and 24.5 inches long.
She is just over 4 months old now and has added six pounds and 4.75 inches since birth!
She is healthy and doing well!

Our friends, John Huston and Tyler Fish, are beginning an attempt at becoming the first American to reach the North Pole without the support of dogs, air drops, or other outside support. Kara and I worked with these guys during our years at Outward Bound they are both first rate people. We are truly excited for them and wish them well on this exciting trek. They are currently in Iqaluit, Baffin Island doing final preparations and their expedition begins on March 1, 2009, ends approximately April 26, 2009. Check out their website at http://www.forwardexpeditions.com/ for updates, maps, audio interviews and more.

Adalynne had a nice visit from her grandparents last weekend- just before turning 16 weeks old! She is due for a 4 month appointment at the doctors this week and we will update the blog with her stats!

Things have been cruising along… Ada celebrated her hundredth day alive on February 3 (note: In China, families celebrate this with a party that involves bringing fish and chicken to the child's home. When the chicken is cooked, the tongue is rubbed on the baby's lips to make the child a good talker.)… and though there was no rubbing of chicken tongues we are happy that Ada continues to grow and develop.

We made the jump and moved her into her crib at night and we are happy to report that she is almost sleeping through the night (knock on wood)! She continues to laugh and giggle (see previous post) and is holding her head up with much more control. She has started crying when she is in a new place or when she is held by other people. This bears ominous tones as we will be moving to a new apartment on campus in the middle of March!

I am not sure how much she weighs now but she keeps packing on the pounds. At her 3 month doctors appointment she was 12 pounds 8 ounces

like a pea in a pod...

Enjoy this video of Ada giggling!
It is about 30 seconds long and loading time will vary based on your internet connection. Cheers!

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Maybe I am just an over-proud papa, but I melt every time I watch this. Ada has been vocalizing more and more and this morning she woke us up by cooing and talking to herself. Early this afternoon, she started putting it all together and was laughing for about 15 minutes straight. We grabbed the camera and now you are watching it in your home... the glory of technology! Hope you find the sweet sound of a baby's first laugh as magical as we do!

k & g

enjoy this short video of Ada lifting her head during tummy time!
It is about 30 seconds long and loading time will vary based on your internet connection. Cheers!

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Kara’s mother, Gail (aka GG), was with us for the entire week and we loved having her help out and spend time with Adalynne. We know that Ada had a great time with GG and we too were spoiled with eggs and bacon for breakfast, not having to change diapers, and getting to go out for our first dinner date since Ada was born!

Adalynne has begun to recognize and focus on her own hands. It is fun to watch as she waves were little arms in the air and follow them with her eyes. She is grabbing everything now (books, necklaces, clothing, and beards) and is becoming more vocal with increased cooing. In addition to holding her head high during tummy time (see video) she is slowly falling into a more predictable pattern of eating, being awake and alert, and napping. She is even sleeping longer periods during the night!

“Sleeping longer periods during the night” means we are much happier people!

mouse mittens

Big Brother

Yep, we are “those kind of parents.” We have a video monitor and get a kick out of watching Ada nap in her crib. She has been sleeping in a small cradle next to our bed and we are going to begin transitioning her into her own room over the next few weeks. Plus, We figure that this sort of closed circuit monitoring system may come in handy once she becomes a teenager!

We have just finished cleaning out her dresser drawers and replaced all of the newborn clothes with the next size up. She is getting too big to bath in the sink and holding her for long periods leaves our arms tired!

Also- feel free to vote in our new poll. It is located in the side bar on the right hand side of the screen.

The doctor's appointment went well today- lots of crying and a few shots... but everything is "all cool." She now weighs 11 pounds 8 ounces (54th percentile) and is 22 1/4 inches long (30th percentile).

Friends and first words?

Ada is continuing to grow and develop at a rapid pace. Since we have returned home from traveling she has started to reach out and grab for things. Her favorite targets are the characters in the puffy books that we keep near her changing table. We have even been known to take a screaming Ada to her changing table so she “can play with her friends.” She loves these puffy books and the crinkly pages and 3D characters keep her entertained for …minutes. But what blissful minutes those are!

She has also become much more vocal and will often ‘coo’ when she is in a good mood. The other afternoon, I was convinced that she had spoken her first words. After several minutes of cooing there seemed to be clear words emerging from the otherwise meaningless babble. It came out as a “Oaww Cooh.” The more she worked on it the more it started sounding like “All Cool” to me. You can imagine my disappointment today when I read in a baby book that you can expect your 2 month old to make “ahh-goo” sounds.

Lastly, K returned to work on Tuesday. Things went smoothly! The Head of the Upper School called Kara down in front of the student body during morning meeting and welcomed her back. Ada is now taking a bottle reliably and the having mom work right across the quad is a benefit that we all enjoy! We head to Ada’s two month check up later this week and will report back on all the stats after the appointment!