Watch her go!

Helena Walks!
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Here's a video of Nellie taking some steps. She is very pleased with herself. The squeaky sound in the background is Sadie "playing" her recorder to give Nellie some music for her walk.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Happy birthday...we love you a lot!
Hugs and kisses,
Sadie and Helena

Fun Friday

This morning, we went to visit Sadie's new school. In September, she will go to Pre-K at the local Montessori school. We went there this morning so she could see it. Dan and I had visited already. Sadie had a great time looking at all the new materials. She really loved how everything was accessible to the children to take out and use and then put back. She also joined in at circle time doing a phonics activity and listening to a story. We think she will love this school!
We then played on the Dartmouth Green for a little while, went back home, had a playdate with Katie and Gracie and their mom, and spent the afternoon relaxing.

Scrunched Nose Face

Goofy Nell
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

This is one of my favorite of Helena's funny expressions...it has been hard to get a picture of it. She scrunches up her nose and tilts her face up. It's really cute in real life.

Planting

Flowers
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

We've been doing a lot of planting work lately. Last Friday, we planted a big garden at Sadie and Nellie's daycare, which looks great. We're also planting around our house.

We took the smaller raised bed that has been fairly neglected in past years and planted some flowers in it. Sadie picked out the flowers, phlox and salvia. It looks so much better with nice neat planting and fresh mulch.

Grandpa brought Sadie a small planter and she picked a marigold to plant in it. We used the extra marigolds from the flat to start the whiskey barrels at the end of the driveway.

This weekend, we need to get more plants for the whiskey barrels and for a new pot that will go near the mail box. We are also going to do the veggie garden this weekend with tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, one row of beans, bell peppers and hot peppers. We'll also do some herbs in pots on the deck.

Visit from Grandpa and Grandma

Visit from Grandpa and Grandma
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

We had a great visit from Grandpa and Grandma last weekend. It was so nice to see them and spend time together. We went to the Farmer's Market, to an antique car show and swam at the hotel pool.
Thanks for coming to see us, Grandpa and Grandma!

In other news, Helena is walking. Her record so far is 6 steps in a row. We tried to get a video of it, but no luck so far. We'll keep trying.

Spring!

First Farmer's Market '09
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Last weekend, we hit the Norwich Farmer's Market for the first time of the season. We'll probably be there again tomorrow with Grandma and Grandpa. This year, we decided not to do the CSA because we missed being able to shop from many different farms at the market.

Today is planting day at daycare. Sadie and her classmates will be planting a flower garden.

Dan Zanes and Local Friends

On Mother's Day, we went to see Dan Zanes and Local Friends at a benefit concert for the Friendly Kitchen in Concord. We all had a great time, followed by a big cook-out at Nana and Bob-bob's house.

Helena, 10 months old

Wave
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Happy 10 month birthday, Helena!

Time is flying by and you are growing up so quickly. You are crawling, standing and taking one or two steps independently. You are walking all over with your push toys. You love to climb into things and over things. You are waving, pointing and clapping. You say Dada (this seems to mean Daddy, Mommy and Sadie) and nuh-nuh (that definitely means "nurse" or "milk") and make lots of other sounds as well. You are eating lots of things...it's fun to see you eat the same dinner as the rest of us.

We love you a lot and can't wait to keep watching you grow!

Good times at the playground

Climber
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

On Sunday, Sadie's friend Mila had her birthday party. We all met at a playground, ran in the field, played on the play equipment, did a few games, ate some snacks and had some cake. It was an ideal party for a spring morning.