Report: First Week of New School

Sadie is loving her new daycare, Mimo, which she calls "Mimo School". We are loving it as well. Mimo is walking distance from our house, or a very, very short drive, so it's easy for either Mommy or Daddy to do the drop offs and pick ups. Sadie has had happy departure from us each morning as she runs into the Big Room (a large room with climbing toys, little bikes and other physical toys) to meet her teacher Stefanie and see the other children.

(Sadie enjoying breakfast before a busy day at Mimo)

Every day, we get a Activity Report from her teacher. It's fun for us to read about what she did during the day. Here is an excerpt from yesterday's report: "Sadie had a good day. She played in the Big Room. She ate a yummy snack. She liked circle time. We read books and sang songs. She loved going for a walk and playing outside."

(Heading to the car on her first day at Mimo)

Sadie does love the regular walks her group takes in a big wagon. The playground is full of great equipment and lots of space to run around. Yesterday, when I picked her up, she was wearing one of her back-up outfits. She had had so much fun playing at the playground and had gotten so muddy and dirty they decided to change her when they came in. Muddy clothes=proof she's having a blast!

(Relaxing in Isaac's hammock over the weekend)

Welcome Samuel!

We are so happy that Beth and Jake's baby has arrived. It's a boy! Samuel Hiram arrived today around noon and weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces. Good job Beth, that's a big baby!

Welcome to parenthood, Beth and Jake. We're thrilled for the three of you.

21 months old

Does this mean Sadie is now legal to drink milk?

To celebrate Sadie's 21 month birthday, we hiked Mt. Kearsarge with Isaac "I-gat", Laura and Andy. This is an ideal hike with babies, as you drive up most of the mountain and then just hike half a mile to the summit. It was cold and windy at the top but the view was great, even though it was cloudy. Sadie said, "Windy! Hurting me!"
Sadie loved being in the backpack with Daddy during the hike.

Here, she looks pretty happy to be back at the car.

We needed a little snack after our hike, so we went to the Flying Goose Brewpub in New London. Sadie was very eager to read the menu to I-gat. She likes to be helpful.

Waiting for a new friend...

Last year on this very date, Sadie was waiting for the arrival of two new friends. Gilly was born on the 1st and Isaac arrived on 4th. Happy first birthdays, friends!
This year, we are eagerly awaiting another new friend. Beth and Jake's baby is due to arrive any day now. We can't wait to meet this little person. Sadie has decided she will sit in this box while she is waiting.

Yay!

Daddy passed his qual!
We're so proud of you, Daddy.

Spinning

Sadie has added a new dance move to her repertoire: spinning! Check out this video of her dancing to some MMW:

Looking like a "big-girl"!

Sadie loves to put one of her dolls in her stroller and give her a ride all over the house. She loops a little tote over the stroller handles and fills it up with all kinds of things; crayons, toy cell phone, camera, little toys, pieces of paper, whatever. Where might she have gotten the idea to stuff a ton of unnecessary things into her purse? It couldn't have been from watching Mommy!

Thanks to Auntie Kara for the chic '80s style dress. How did you manage to predict the fall trends, considering you got that dress last year? It rocks.

Happy Birthday, Grampy Bob-Bob!

Happy birthday to you, Grampy!
I love you so much!
Hugs and kisses,
Love,
Sadie
PS Can we go to "O Donalds" again soon? "I-like it!"
PPS Happy belated anniversaries to Grandpa and Grandma AND to Grampy and Nana


Other fun stuff...Auntie Lauren came to visit and we had a treat at King Arthur Flour before playgroup!

Vacation Albums

Ann uploaded an album of vacation pics - check it out! And if that wasn't enough, you can check out Aunt Jenny and Grandpa's pics here.

Can it really be time for "back to school"?

Last night, Sadie climbed up on this chair with her backpack and took out a book to read. Doesn't she look like she's doing homework?

A week from tomorrow, Sadie will start her new school. She'll be going to Mimo Daycare, which is a center based daycare that goes all the way through preschool. We're going to be very sad to leave "Kiya"'s daycare, but excited about all new things that Sadie will get to try at Mimo.

We're back!

We're back from Maine!
We had a great time and we're currently uploading pics for a new album so you can see all of Sadie's antics.

In other news, right before we left for Maine, Sadie's new cousin was born in Boston. Saul arrived weighing 8 pounds, 10 ounces, so he is a big boy, and very cute! He has nice, dark hair. Sadie can't wait to meet him. Congratulations to the whole family.

Don't worry!

I didn't shrink or get younger somehow!
This is a picture of me last year when I went on vacation to Maine with Mommy and Daddy and Grandpa and Grandma and Aunt Jenny. We are leaving today to do that same super fun vacation that we did last year and we're all very excited. There aren't any new pictures of me to post because Daddy packed the camera, but there will be lots of new pictures after vacation.

See you again soon!
Love,
Sadie

PS Happy 4 year anniversary Mommy and Daddy (well, it was yesterday)!

Happy Birthday Auntie Lolly!

Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday Auntie Lolly!
Happy birthday to you!

(And happy birthday, Kate...Mommy and Daddy are eagerly awaiting your wedding!)

20 months, 1 day old

Sadie is becoming more and more of a "little girl" each day. She still looks like our baby, but with all the chatter, we have to admit that she's a kid now.

Tonight, she had fun playing on the balance beam at the Lebanon Green play area while the farmer's market was going on. Sadie's been doing a lot of dining out this week, since it's too hot to cook. We had dinner Monday with Laura and Isaac and on Tuesday with Laurie, Aili and Ava. Tonight, it was just Sadie, Mommy and Daddy at Salt Hill.

Some recent Sadie-isms that made us smile:
"TankYouWelcome!"
"I like-it!"
"Sadie shoes frabrees" (pointing to her Tevas with strawberries on them)
"Sadie shoes fuh-blies" (pointing to Nike sandals patterned with butterflies)
"Frowahs Mommy, frowahs Sadie" (Mommy's dress had flowers on it, so did Sadie's)
"Daddy, paypah!" (asking Daddy to bring her out with him in the morning to get the paper)

Family at the Seashore

Here we are enjoying Wallis Sands Beach last Sunday. It was overcast, but warm and Sadie loved the water and the sand. The weather got better as the week went on.

We've got lots of photos up on Ofoto too, check them out here!

Beach Beauties

Sadie had a fabulous time at the beach with Nana and Grampy this weekend. When her cousins Anabel and Sophie arrived on Monday, she was so excited. Sadie loved playing with the big girls, going in the ocean and digging in the sand.

Sadie definitely inherited Mommy and Grandma's very fair skin...Daddy's side of the family all get tans! More pics will be posted soon.

Sand

This photo is from playgroup last week. Within the last couple of weeks, Sadie has started to enjoy the sandbox. She likes the trucks and using a "shubbel" to fill the "backits" with sand.

This Saturday, we'll be at the beach with Nana and Grampy. We can't wait to see how Sadie reacts to so much sand and such a huge expanse of water. She went to the beach last year, but was too little to remember. Last year, we couldn't stop her from shoving handfuls of sand in her mouth. Now she knows that sand is yucky.

Portrait in the Style of Rembrandt

Today, at the Hanover StreetFest, the Hood Museum was celebrating their new Rembrandt exhibit with lots of activities for kids. Most was really geared for older children, but Sadie was willing to wear a costume and be photographed for a polaroid portrait.

I love this picture so much. It reminds me of antique portraits and those Victorian pictures of children in elaborate costume.

First Fair

Last Friday, Sadie went to her first fair, the Norwich Fair, with rides, games and carnival food. She won a stuffed animal, ran around and had a pretty good time, although she was frustrated to be too short for all the rides except for one.
Sadie was interested in trying Daddy's sno-cone.

But she didn't like it.


This weekend is forecast to be very hot. We'll definitely be filling up the baby pool.

Sadie Loves America

Sadie loved the 4th of July! We did so many activities and had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa.
The day started with a parade in Hanover. This was a pretty understated parade, to put it mildly, but Sadie enjoyed seeing the kids on their decorated bikes and hearing the bagpipe band.

After the parade were activities on the Green, including a small petting zoo, some dogs who herded ducks, vintage cars, and more. Sadie especially loved watching the fabulous Foggy Mountain Cloggers. She danced along to the music.


Children were allowed to sit in the fire truck.

That night, we went over to Andy, Laura and Isaac's to see the fireworks. By the time we arrived, Isaac had gone to bed, but Sadie had a good time playing on their hammock and generally running around with a two year old boy who was among the guests.

The fireworks were a little loud and scary, but she was brave. Mommy and Daddy have to admit they like it when Sadie gets a bit nervous, because she becomes very cuddly with us. The next morning, as she and Daddy were driving, she remarked "boom boom" as they headed towards the area where the fireworks were.

Billings Farm

Today, we took Sadie to Billings Farm, which is an historical farm and museum in Woodstock, VT. It was beautiful and much nicer than we expected.

Lately, Sadie has been really interested in farms, farm animals, farm animal noises, and the song she refers to as "Old Donald", as in the frequently heard command, "Mommy, sing Old Donald!", so we thought she might like to visit a farm. All three of us really enjoyed seeing the animals, the exhibits and touring the 1890 house, restored with furniture, gas lighting, working kitchen, etc. as it was when the farm manager lived there.



Sadie loved seeing the baaa-baaas.



She liked the chickens, especially the dispenser of hand sanitizer for after you leave the chicken barn. Here, she is running back to the chicken barn for more.



Not only is Billings Farm a museum, it is also a working dairy farm. We saw the milking barn and the nursery for the new calves. There was a baby cow that had just been born overnight. The big cows made Sadie a little nervous, but she liked the calves a lot.

They sell some of their milk to Cabot Dairy for cheesemaking, etc. and also use it to make products for their dairy bar. Sadie and Mommy shared vanilla ice cream.



We had a great time. We'll go back again for sure.

One day of nice weather

So far this week, we have had one day of nice weather. Just one. All the others have been rainy, as has been the case for most of the spring and early summer. It was great that the nice day happened to be Tuesday, during Grandma's visit from NYC. We had such a good time with her.


Sadie tried a blueberry from the fruit cup. It doesn't look like she liked it very much.

These pictures were all taken outside Rosey Jekes cafe in Hanover. I got a couple of great shots of Sadie framed by this wrought iron railing. I think this one is my favorite.

New Friend in New York

I have a new friend! Welcome to Cordelia Saura, born June 23 in New York City. Cordelia is the daughter of Mommy's friend Yuli and her husband Edu. Mommy and Yuli have been friends since second grade! Maybe Cordelia and I will be friends for a long time too.

Daytrip to Waterbury and Stowe

Daddy's Father's Day request was to go on a family daytrip to Waterbury and Stowe and have dinner at the Alchemist brewpub in Waterbury. So that was our activity yesterday. Although it was overcast at home, we were very excited to have beautiful weather once we arrived.

Sadie loved this little house at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill.

She fell asleep in the car driving to dinner and woke up while we were eating. She was pretty confused and grumpy, but she regained her equilibrium enough to have ice cream at Ben and Jerry's.


Sadie says "doo doo" for the word stroller. We have no idea why, since she can pronounce the sounds correctly.

Funny conversation in the car:
Daddy: Sadie, can you say stroller?
Sadie: doo doo
Daddy: No, try to say stroller. Stro (pause) Ler.
Sadie: Doo (pause) doo.
Daddy: stroll
Sadie: doo!
Daddy: stroller
Sadie: (laughing) doo doo!

Dairy Day

A favorite annual event up here is Dairy Day at the Coop. Some scenes from last Saturday...


Look! A baby water buffalo!


Why is this balloon tied on to me?


Daddy, you're so funny looking with a sticker on your mouth!

More Montshire

Sadie and Mommy have been to the Montshire Museum water park a lot recently. We were there Friday and went back yesterday. You can't beat it for toddler fun on a hot day.

At this visit, Sadie was especially interested in this shallow pool where the water bubbles up in little spurts.

It was a fun surprise to run into one of Sadie's best friends, Natalie, at the Montshire with her mommy Amber and her grandma. This photo captures a classic toddler moment. Sadie and Natalie were hugging and kissing each other so sweetly that Amber and I both grabbed our cameras. By the time we had them in hand and snapped the picture, both girls were on to something else. There goes Sadie, heading back to the shallow pool.

I love my Daddy! And Grandpa and Grampy too!

Dear Daddy,
I hope you had a happy Father's Day yesterday. I love you so much! You are my special friend. We always have fun together because you think of games that make me laugh and you make great animal noises. I like to ride on your shoulders and hold your hand. I love it when you pick me up from daycare. It's so funny when you pretend to sleep and I wake you up. I like when you take me for a walk in the backpack or for a ride on my trike. You are the best Daddy in the world and I am lucky to have you!
Love and kisses,
Sadie


Dear Grampy and Grandpa,
A little girl couldn't ask for better grandfathers than you two! You love me so much, so I love you right back. You are the best! I love spending time with you.
Love and kisses,
Sadie

Hot Day, Cool Fun

Finally...a hot summer day! We went to outdoor playgroup and then to the Montshire to cool down with some friends.

Sadie and Nicholas explore a fountain. The mommies are in the background. Left to right, Karin with baby Israel, Maggie, Sarah.

More playing. Left to right, Gabe, Sadie, Lilly, girl in a blue hat who we don't know.


The fun ended when Sadie got some sunscreen in her eye. But Mommy rinsed it out, Sadie felt better and she fell asleep in her stroller as we headed back to the car. Upcoming this weekend: Dairy Day at the coop (free ice cream and other goodies, farm animals, music, etc.) and Father's Day! We'll be in Concord to visit Grampy and beat the heat by going to the pool.

Friends

Sadie greets her friend Isaac at the Lebanon Farmer's Market this evening.

These two are getting to be friends more and more as they get older. Sadie often announces his name when she arrives at daycare, "Keeya, I-gak, Mina!"* So, you know he's important to her.

*Translation, for those who don't speak Sadie, "Aquila, Isaac, Melinda!" Aquila is her daycare provider and Melinda is a toddler a little younger than Sadie.