Quick update but I have no pics because the camera's batteries are dead. :(

We've spent the weekend looking for a new couch. Which I am super excited about, but discouraged by how hard it is to find what I want. The one I've had in mind all this time from Crate & Barrel is not carried there anymore, and the closest Room & Board store (where there are quite a few sofas I like) is in New York City. Hmpf. But I'm determined to not make a quick, convenient decision - I've waited so long for a new couch, I want to be very happy with what I choose.

Hannah has taken to calling us "Mom" and "Dad" this week instead of "Momma" and "Daddy" which sounds incredible old coming from her little voice. She's grown so much this summer that I've had to buy all new clothes and shoes for preschool next week. She is sprouting like a weed, and every dress we bought at the beginning of the summer is well above her knees now. She's SUPER into princesses these days - princess EVERYTHING. And boy does this girl have the gift of gab. I mean she puts me to shame. I have to periodically institute "no talking times" so I can think clearly for a few minutes each day. But Trapp & I are just so pleased with just how darn happy she is. She's a positive kid and that can take you far in this world.

Lucy is becoming more and more the toddler. It's very clear that she understands a lot of what we say now and she LOVES running little errands for us: "Throw this in the garbage." "Put the oatmeal box in the cabinet." "Put the shoes in the shoe box." She claps for herself when she accomplishes these small tasks and looks so proud.

One more week before the rush of school for me and Hannah. It will shake up our schedule quite a bit, but I'm excited to be a bit more busy. I'm at my best when I have a full plate!

I found this tonight when introducing my friend to MXC - the most hilarious MXC I've ever seen.

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Serious lack of updating on the girls lately, sorry about that. Our summer has finally simmered down to a lazy, event-less pace which is so nice after the craziness of moving-traveling that was June and July. Our days are spent running errands and taking advantage of the nice weather. Lots of trips to the park, farmers' market,  and library. We also spend a good hour most nights playing outside with the kids in the neighborhood - riding bikes and filling the dumptruck with dirt from the driveway. (baths are not optional these days)

Lucy is becoming more of a toddler every day - with the walking skills and attitude to prove it. She's pretty nimble - when she does fall, she hops onto her feet and gets back at it. No talking yet, but lots of babbling which she is sure means something. She does make the "H" sound for Hannah and hot (when touching my coffee cup in the morning). Her favorite things these days are books - flipping through the pages, looking at the pictures. She loves that there is a framed print of the "great green room" from "Goodnight Moon" hanging in the library and she pulls me over to it every time we are there to point out the red balloon and the kittens. She sure is a momma's girl - and that can get a little difficult at times. She is happy as a clam, as long as I am in view and ready to give her my full attention. But if I have to do something (i.e. use the bathroom, make dinner) she is crying at the door or at my feet. And not just a whining cry. It's a dear-god-take-a-breath-lucy kind of cry. We're trying to break her in to accepting babysitters, but we've worn out our welcome at the gym. Hopefully the neighbor who is going to watch her while I'm at class won't ditch us when she sees how tricky Lucy can be.

Class? Oh yeah! I'm enrolled at Lesley University to begin taking classes this fall towards a Reading Specialist license. I've been seriously missing teaching, but not able yet to go back full time. And there aren't many part-time education jobs that are worth their while. So I'll be a part-time student for the next 2 years which I am really looking forward to. It'll give me a chance to meet other people in teaching here in Boston and keep up to date on education issues while I take a little more time off.

Another one getting ready for school is Hannah - she starts preschool in September. She'll be going two days a week in the morning. It's a much bigger preschool than the Montessori school we were going to in Flossmoor, but it looks really welcoming and exciting. They appear to have a lot of family activities so it should be a good way to meet other playmates and parents. She will also be going to ballet class once a week which she is really excited about. Hannah's hilarious these days with her princess-obsession. This afternoon, she danced around the kitchen in a tutu with two wands in her hands while she dramatically acted out each song on our princess cd.  She also is learning to write letters and can count to 20. She loves painting and drawing with chalk on our front sidewalk. Her biggest struggle is dealing with her sister when Lucy wants to knock down her Lego tower or take part in what she's doing. Sibling rivalry is definitely upon us!

If you've made it this far into the entry, you are either a) a grandparent, or b) really bored. But I have to write these things down because I have no other record of their development! I had to record when Hannah first sat, walked, spoke, etc. in her preschool application, and I had to furiously search through my blog archives to remember. So while the entries are mundane, they are saving me from having to fill in a baby book!

Favorite thing this morning: listening to Hannah sing the theme song to Cinderella:

"So this is wuv, mmmmm, So this is wuv........"



Also, I had a dream last night that Kim had her baby - am I psychic, Kim?

Last weekend we packed up to go to Marblehead, Massachusetts - another sleepy ocean-side town with cute attractions, expensive houses to gawk at, and beautiful beaches to visit. This time we got caught in a big rainstorm, which hampered the adventure a little bit. But soon the skies cleared and we were able to run around the beach and stick our toes in the very cold Atlantic. Hannah loves the water and exploring the rocks on the beach. Lucy likes eating sand, so she's a bit restricted.

Coming up this weekend is Kennebunkport, Maine. We have a weekend-long company party to attend there, which looks like it will be really fun. The girls will be staying with a nanny one night, so we'll see how that goes. Lucy definitely doesn't warm up to strangers too quickly. The town looks like a beautiful little place, though. Should be fun to explore. Who knows, maybe we can hitch a ride in a golf cart with Bush '41! :)

Our 4^th of July has been the perfect kind of weekend so far – a good mix of family, vegging-out, sight-seeing, and eating. Friday, Katie & Benjamin came down from Vermont to visit with us and celebrate the 4^th. After watching an episode of Tyler’s Ultimate, I decided to try to make fried chicken for the first time and it came out really well! It was a little tricky to maintain the optimal temperature of the oil, but I got the hang of it after the first few batches. We were all too tired from too much food & Rock Band to go see fireworks – not to mention the 10pm launchtime is WAY past the girls’ bedtimes – so we all passed out in the living room watching baseball. Not a bad end to a nice day.

Saturday we had a nice lazy morning on the deck drinking watered-down coffee and watching the girls play. After Katie & Benjamin headed off to their next destination, we decided to do a little roadtrip ourselves and took off for Gloucester, Massachusetts. (pronounced - GLAWSTAH) It only took about 45 minutes to get there. We parked at Fort Point Beach, played at the playground for a while, and then walked the boardwalk up the shore. Hannah loved throwing rocks into the water and looking through the telescopes at the lighthouse. Lucy liked watching all the dogs go by and being carried along the beach. After another stop at the park, we drove to the Gull Restaurant and had a really nice meal overlooking the harbor. This place reminded both of us a lot of the Spit in Homer, Alaska. We then headed to Essex, to a toy shop called The Silly Goose (perfect for our Goose) that was filled to the brim with all kinds of little notions. Hannah picked out a new magic wand and Lucy found a maracas that was especially tasty. On our way out of town, we happened upon Woodman’s which we were told had an ice cream shop in the back. Little did we know that the front is a world-famous seafood shop that had a line out the door and down the street. We’ll definitely need to go back there! Luckily, the ice cream shop wasn’t nearly as crowded, so we enjoyed some cones while Lucy practiced her new walking skills amongst the picnic tables.

Both girls were pretty tired by the time we got home. Mom & Dad are too. An early turn-in sounds like the perfect ending to this day!

I'm sitting here on our deck with the fans cooling me from above, the wireless laptop and a cup of coffee, while Lucy sleeps upstairs (baby monitor humming right here) and Hannah colors the brick with colored chalk.

Tough life, I tell ya.

The Goose's birthday has come to an end, and I think it's safe to say she had a grand time. We had a little early birthday celebration in Chicago with the McNulty clan on Saturday. Then we had a few friends over here in Boston on her actual birthday as well. She tackled both cakes with might, but seemed pretty oblivious to the whole gift-opening deal. She sure likes the toys once they are opened, though.

She's THIS CLOSE to walking - can walk when you are holding only one hand, and makes attempts to go solo throughout the day. Her favorite things to do are tackling people - mainly her sister, singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and dancing feverishly to the theme song of any TV show that comes on. (Her favorites being the opening tracks to "The Little Einsteins" and "Go Diego Go". All around, she's just SO HAPPY which makes her wonderful to be around every day.

Hannah is a riot these days. Her language skills are going through the roof, and she surprises us with phrases that do not sound like they come from a three year old. Yesterday, when I cut her peanut butter sandwich in a manner that was unsatisfactory, she said, "Look, mama. This is open, and this is folded. I don't want it folded. So you just think about that." I'm not even kidding. But with the reprimands come moments of over-the-top cuteness - like reminding me frequently that we are "best friends". And tonight, when I told her to go to sleep, she said she was just going to lie there and "think about growing up." Okay there, Hannah. But not too fast.

We're here! Posting's been pretty light since we started the move to Boston. We are getting ourselves settled in to our new surroundings and took some time off to do a Father's Day tourist activity - the Museum of Science. It's a great museum - very kid friendly and interactive. My favorite was definitely the Archimedean Excogitation by George Rhoads. You could sit for hours watching the chain reactions as the pool balls travel through the ramps. Hannah  loved the weather exhibit where she could create rainstorms by pressing buttons and "feel" a  simulated tornado. Lucy liked pressing all the buttons - and chewing on her shoe.

Hannah's doing pretty well with her adjustment to Arlington. We've been taking little walks each day to explore the bike path that runs along the back of our yard. She's constantly reassuring herself. "It's fun to go exploring, mama. Mama, is it fun to go exploring?" She has made friends with the neighbor's grandsons who are close in age. They ride bikes up and down the street and play tag. And she starts dancecamp tomorrow morning - a short 3-day minicamp for 3-year olds. While still in Chicago, we told Hannah that she could take ballet lessons and this is all that's available in the summer. She's a little worried about it, I can tell, but I think she'll be fine. We talked tonight about how it's okay to be a little scared when something's new, and that seemed to reassure her greatly. You can almost literally see the little workings of her mind as she makes sense of all of the change around us. She asks if people from Chicago can come visit and protests that they have a car when we say that it's too far. Before, far meant non-walkable. Now, far means non-drive-able. So that's taking a little time to sink in.

Lucy, on the other hand, seems to be oblivious to the change and happy as a clam. She is so close to walking - she takes about 3 steps and then drops to her knees and claps for herself. She loves tackling us and giving kisses. And boy does this kid eat like a champ. It doesn't matter what it is - salmon, swordfish, lasagna, cheese - it all goes in fast and she's looking for more. About the only thing Lucy definitely does not like is driving in the car. Which is troublesome when mommy misses her turn in the traffic circle and gets us lost for the third time that day. Luckily we just got a GPS. Hannah has named the lady's voice who gives us directions on the GPS Sally.

All and all, Trapper and I just can't help but feel like we've hit the jackpot here. The house is absolutely perfect, and made all the better by the nice neighbors and awesome neighborhood. Literally within walking distance, I have a gym, post office, ice cream parlor, old-school diner, Italian deli, Panera, and Trader Joe's. The path leads to the Reservoir, which has a little filtered kiddie-beach that will open this week. If we had to move from all of our friends and family in Chicago, we couldn't have found a luckier place.