Tuesday, June 29, 2004

Looking forward to this weekend...

...to meet the new baby in the family. Dylan is super cute. We are going to a family reunion this weekend in CT and it will be my first time seeing little Dylan in person.

Jenny & I had a nice time in Amherst on Saturday celebrating our anniversary. It was nice to have a few minutes to ourselves after a stressful week. It has been wonderful so far, life with Jenny is always great!

Here's a shot I took of my nephew, Dylan James. Posted by Hello

Esme and I met Dylan yesterday!

Charles brought my new nephew over to Lisa's house yesterday so that I could meet him. He is such a cutie! He has those big baby cheeks that I love! He seemed so light compared to all the other babies I know, and I loved all the little baby sounds he made while I was holding him. He definitely knew his Daddy's voice - he turned his head toward Charles every time Charles spoke. He's a real sweetheart!

Saturday, June 26, 2004


our cutie baby Posted by Hello

Our 5 Year Anniversary

We've been married for 5 years today! It's hard to believe that our wedding was that long ago. I am so lucky to have Ethan as my husband, and I love him so very much.

Amherst was having a special street art show tonight so Ethan and I went and walked around downtown for a while. Then we ate dinner on the patio at Amherst Brewing Company. It was a nice, relaxing evening.

Friday, June 25, 2004

stephanie's birthday

Just a note to say happy birthday to our friend Stephanie! She is the best. Jenny & Esme had a nice time with her today while I rested up from a restless night with a sick baby. It looks like we are all on the mend now.

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

whoo-hoo! School is out!

I have been teaching Middle School for the last week and a half and have found that to be the most difficult age group for me. I am soooo happy school is out for the summer!

Monday, June 21, 2004

Happy Retirement, Mom!

Today was my mom's very last day of school ever! She's been a teacher for a long time and has had a rough year, so she definitely deserves to retire and start this next phase of her life! She has so many plans that I don't know when she'll fit them all in, but I hope she schedules in some times for us!

Sunday, June 20, 2004

Father's Day and We're Sick

Yesterday morning I woke up with a cold and since then I've been feeling pretty grumpy and miserable. Last night Esme threw up 3 times within 1 hour. She was in good spirits, and continues to be today, but she still seems a bit under the weather.

I'm disappointed because I really wanted to be able to make today a special day for Ethan.

In case anyone didn't know it, Ethan is the best husband and father in the world. All day he's been taking care of us, and he even ran errands because we were almost out of a few essentials. This is nothing new - Ethan takes great care of us each and every day of the year. We're so lucky!

Friday, June 18, 2004

woke up on the wrong side of the crib

Esme woke up early today and is already very tired (9:15). I am trying put her down for a nap. She is alternating between playing with her toys in the crib and plopping down on the mattress with her thumb in her mouth. More lousy weather today although it is cooler, not sure if we will venture out or not yet.

Thursday, June 17, 2004

the well-read baby

I'm off work today taking care of little Esme. We have been reading a lot of books while I copy records. We have read many of them several times. She also had a refreshing bath to cool off. Now she is settling down for a nap (I hope). We may go to the park this afternoon depending on the weather, there is a thunderstorm warning. Esme is great company and a voracious reader.

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

there IS one good thing about having to be at work at 7:15 / Clare's birthday

When I woke up today at 8, I felt like I had slept in! It was sooo nice to have a day off today, especially after two unpleasant days in a row teaching gifted middle school kids. Esme and I had a nice day together. We stopped in for a visit at the bookstore and then got to visit the Bertrand family this afternoon.

Tomorrow is my friend Clare's 40th birthday. Most of my other friends probably know her as a scrapbooker or Liam & Grace's mom. But I really find her to be an amazing person. I love talking to her because I often find myself thinking about things she said days later. She has some interesting and deeply meaningful parenting philosophies and I feel she has helped to shape my own ideas about being a parent and how I want to raise Esme. She was sooo nice to me and helpful when Esme was born and through my PPD. There was a very significant moment of recovering for me when I called Clare and she said, "You sound like someone I know!" I just wanted to add this to the blog so I can publicly declare how much I appreciate her friendship! Happy Birthday Clare! I hope the next 40 years of your life are the HAPPIEST!

Monday, June 14, 2004


Donna got Esme this little truck to practice walking with. She loves it and once she gets going she doesn't want to stop! Posted by Hello

Esme is on the Go Go Go!!

There have been some big changes in Esme the past few days. She is getting less and less like a baby and more and more like a little girl. Suddenly she can walk while holding hands or pushing something, she can climb off our bed or any other high furniture, and even climb up the stairs! She also is becoming more independent. For instance if one of us were to walk away she would follow us. Now she is crawling away from us instead! She's less interested in being held and will do her best to climb off our laps so she can explore on her own. We'll miss all her baby behavior but it is amazing to watch her grow and learn new things! Every new thing she does reminds me what a miracle a child is!

Thursday, June 10, 2004

I'm scrapping!

Ahhh...the most relaxing day of the week - Thursday! I have been scrapping and just finished a page of Esme on Memorial Day. If you haven't seen my layouts lately check out Esme's album at http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/album_display.asp?album_id=11453. The newer layouts are towards the bottom.

Esme has been into EVERYTHING the last few days. She has learned how to climb off furniture and up stairs. I got a recommendation from Wolfgang a while ago and finally got the hardware to properly install our gate. Whew!

I am really looking forward to scrapping with my brother, Charles, this weekend.

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

a freshy baby already!

I let Esme play in the bathtub for a while tonight due to the heat. She splashed around in the water with her toys and was having a grand ol' time. Unfortunately she seems to enjoy standing up in the tub. Obviously that is not allowed. About the fourth time she did it I said for the fourth time, "Esme, no standing in the tub! Sit down!" She just looked at me so I said again, "Sit down!" She looked right at me and said, "No." I couldn't believe my ears! She said no to me 2 times tonight!

it's a scorcher!

We practically melted today! Esme and I ran some errands so that we could enjoy the air conditioning in the car and in stores. I let her go out without shoes (something I never do) because I figured the less on her the better. When I picked her up from her nap even her sheet was sweaty. The poor baby!

Esme spent Tuesday at Nonna's house - one of her favorite places. This photo is of her in one of Donna's cabinets, with everything else out on the floor.  Posted by Hello

Monday, June 07, 2004

a somewhat stressful day

Because our green car almost broke down in CT yesterday, I had to take it to the garage today. On the way in Esme threw up in her carseat and not only covered herself, but also the carseat and the car. I got everything cleaned up, took apart the carseat, and threw it and her clothes in the washer. When I went to get Esme ready to go back to pick up Ethan at work I could hardly figure out how to put the carseat back together! It was very complicated! Ethan had an offsite and had to run but Stephanie was kind enough to drive me to the garage. Esme is feeling fine now thank goodness, and Ethan is home.

Saturday, June 05, 2004

another busy but wonderful day

This morning Stephanie and I left for the big annual stamp show in West Springfield. We spent the morning there and then Edwina arrived. Stephanie had seen the whole show so then Edwina and I walked around. I took a class in binding stamped books!

After the stamp show Edwina and Wolfgang took me out for my gradutation dinner! We went to Mulino's in Northampton. They had a guitar player who was sitting right near us, and Esme loved him. After dinner I thanked him for entertaining her and he said, "No, she entertained me." It was such a nice time for all of us.

Friday, June 04, 2004

A great spring day

Today Esme and I went to some yard sales in the morning. Nothing good for sale today but it was nice to get some fresh air. This afternoon we had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Esme spent more time playing with hers than eating it but it's a start.

Tonight Jenny is going out on the town to see "Harry Potter" with her friend so I will be putting Esme to bed. Then the party really starts!

This is the card I am sending to anchor Hannah Storm to enter the Making Memories shopping spree contest. Posted by Hello