Birthday Buddies Party

Emmet and I held the annual "birthday buddies" dinner with our family friends from Keeley's original playgroup, the Levesques and Zupans this year. Maddie( October 3), Colten(October 2) and Keeley (October 7) were in their glory running around the house together, and as always, we had a lot of good food and a lot of laughs. Cora, Evie and Merritt, once walking and talking, will certainly all be buddies, as well.

Keeley turns 3

In talking about parenting little ones, an experienced Mom of 4 elementary aged kids once said "at 1, they turn a corner, at 2 they turn a corner, at 3 they turn THE corner." By this, she meant that by 3, her kids started to get easier, because they were learning to take care of themselves. Well, today our little girl turned 3. And I can't believe how fast that went. Now potty trained, able to dress herself and eat her own meals ( not that any of these are ever a guarantee depending on her mood), she really is a very independent little girl, and has become my constant helper and my babbling buddy.

On the actual day, we kept it simple and stayed home. Keeley asked for her favorite dinner, "mac n cheese" with a hot dog (very healthy), and a brownie with ice cream. The four of us had a little dinner, sang her the timeless song, and she blew out her three candles with ease. Afterward, we brought her out to the yard to give her a new scooter. "I've always wanted a scooter!!" That is exactly what she yelled.

The other joyous thing about Keeley's birthday this year is that it kicks off Emmet's 2 week vacation! There's never anything better than having your Daddy home to celebrate.

Afternoon trip to the winery

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it. And if I were a bird, I would fly about the earth seeking successive autumns." - George Eliot

And yet another beautiful Sunday fall afternoon in New England. A text from Abbey Heagney to come to Jones Farm in Monroe this morning was irresistible with weather this good and scenery this breathtaking. We tried the wine and cheese, but mostly just soaked up the sunshine and delighted in running up the trails, throughout the vineyards, and of course, meeting the new bundle of joy, little Finn Heagney.

Pumpkin PIcking and German Beer

The longer I live in Bethel and become more entrenched in the community, the more I love the rural feel of the area and the local traditions and cozy places in town. Here, I really do get the impression that people care about families. Two of the best Bethel fall events that we look forward to after being here is pumpkin picking/apple picking at Blue Jay Orchards and having a few beers at the Old Heidlburg's "Oktoberfest," (always held the last three weekends of September) which we have done with the kids three years in a row. This year, however, we had the bonus of doing both in one afternoon, with Emmet on a post call day during Indian summer that was just heavenly.

Oktoberfest at the Old Heidlburg is so popular because they make it very family friendly. They have a huge field behind their restaurant that they line with long picnic tables in typical German beer garden fashion, along with lots of little bikes, tricycles and push toys for kids. You can't beat it when a place provides entertainment for the little ones.

Relishing Summer's end

We can't resist a hike, an easy way for all of us to get some fresh air and use up all of our energy, especially in September when the shorts, T-shirts and sundresses have only this one last chance before going into the boxes until spring. Here are some of my favorites from Huntington Park and Saugatuck Falls.

Keeley's First Day of Preschool

Keeley first asked me if she could go to school when she was about 18 months old and the school bus drove by the front window: "School bus- Keeley school." Since then the requests have only become more advanced as her vocabulary increases. Last year, when we would walk by the Village Preschool in Bethel, I finally told Keeley that she could go to the preschool in one year. She has been counting down the days every since. Yesterday, it finally happened. And she was more excited than ever.

The parents stayed for a "Meet and Greet" sort of morning, so it wasn't a true "drop-off" day, but nonetheless Keeley took off to play as soon as we got there, never looking back to see where I was. She went straight to the dolls, to put them all to sleep, and then to the children, one by one, to introduce herself and make friends. It was a fun moment, as a parent, to watch her start a new chapter as a big school girl.

Cape Cod Trip for Labor Day!

When our Holy Cross friend, Molly, offered us a room in her family's Cape house for Labor Day Weekend, and Emmet miraculously had off for three consecutive days, we knew this trip was meant to be. You never turn down a trip to Cape Cod.

One of the few good things about getting up at 6 am is that when you are in Harwich, you can be the first ones at "Bonatt's Bakery," which we knew from last year, opens at 6:30 am. We spent two mornings there drinking lots of coffee and feeding the kids eggs, fruit and yummy bakery treats.

The other morning we went to the Chatham lighthouse, climbed down to the water with bagels and coffee, put out a blanket, and watched the kids run around on the shore, while two seals bounced their heads up in the channel. It was one of my favorite things we did.

Beach days were different for us than our friends at this stage: They drank beer and lounged on blankets and in chairs reading and chatting and playing lawn games- we endlessly told Cora to stop eating sand and entertained Keeley by going into the ocean and building sand castles. However, everyone had fun in their own way :)

The other life saver was that our friend Becca was there for the weekend with her sister and her nephews who are 4 and 1. We met them both mornings from 9-11 at Harwich beach and playground to tire the children out before naps. Keeley loved her new friend Seamus.

As the only couple with children in a house of ten Holy Cross buddies and significant others ready to party, we knew in advance it would be tiring, but worth it. And that's just what it was. With no will power to go to bed early when old college stories were being thrown around, and two children who get up at six, it was a full time job keeping us all going on our mini-vacation. But the girls loved the beaches and the attention from our friends, and we loved the family memories at one of our favorite places in the world.

Our friends witnessed feeding toddlers outside in summer, an adventure in and of itself.

 

PS-Our last day in Harwichport was made complete with some ice cream from "Sundae Shop" for the girls and two beers and oysters on the half shell for Mom and Dad at "The Port."