beach

 I took some senior photos for my cousin and we snuck in some family shots.  I think it turned out pretty cute even though Aiden had already been running in the waves ;)  While I do wear the wrap doing just about anything, taking pictures lying in the sand and tromping around the dunes wasn't going to work.  Lucky for me J was willing to rock the Moby for the very first time - and he liked it!

good list

Moby wrap

This wrap has been my saving grace.  Since KC doesn't care for the swing like Aiden did, we end up carrying him around a lot.  Do you know how hard it can be to pour a glass of milk from a gallon jug while holding a baby?  Well, not when he's cuddled up in his wrap.  He will even nap right against my chest in crowded places like my art opening.  My buddy took this photo of my mid semester and final projects.

Toyota Sienna

This is our new mom mobile and even after three months I still feel like I'm driving some strange rental car or something.  It's a smooth ride and J actually enjoys driving it.  We got a wicked trade in deal on it and it was definitely worth it (we earned it after six hours in the dealership with the three year old and three week old!).  The extra space and auto open doors almost seem like necessities now.  Aiden loves to tell us which direction we're headed off the compass on the rearview mirror and mention what he can see in the back up video.

Leo Lionni books

We randomly found Swimmy at the library a long time ago and Aiden was very interested in reading it over and over again.  Then his class had Lionni as the author of the month and he was even more excited.   I really like the way the books are illustrated.

Puzzle erasers

My sister visited MA a while back and we took our first visit to Cutie's.  It's a random little doll/bear shop we'd driven past a million times and never visited.  They had some cutie pie stuff (along with some really creepster stuff too).  I told Aiden he could pick something fun, and he decided he wanted one of this tiny little puzzle eraser guys.  Ty boxes these japanese made guys as Beanie Eraserz.  His very first guy was a pink unicorn named Mystic. Then this big batch came from Gran and Pop during a fun treasure hunt:

Aiden fell hard and fast in love with Tom and Jerry.  He is seriously obsessed, which I was at first a bit dismayed about because it's pretty crazy to see how much they like to whack, etc.  But I think it's good for him to realize the difference between how cartoon characters and people are expected to act.

Two games from Gran and Pop that make the hit list.  The sock monkey was the basis for one of the legendary treasure hunts.  The Mo Willems "Pigeony game" was especially popular right after KC was born in our house.  I have to admit in my foggy baby brain it seemed a bit complicated at first, but Aiden helped me keep up ;)

swim

We'll call this the Waldamere neighborhood pool since Aiden thinks it's a public pool.  We have had two fun dips in the pool already and plans for more.  Julie-bee is the best sport for getting in the cold water with him both times and Pop Pop braved it too.  Aiden discovered that he could jump and dip under the water with his floatie on and kick back up to the surface.  This is the first underwater dipping Aiden has intentionally done on his own.  This "puddle jumper" floatie works really well because he can lean forward and really stroke like he's swimming, but most importantly it's a good confidence builder.  To the left, you see the goofball trying to eat/slurp his floatie - Um, three year old are you thirsty?!

pie in july

From the five by seven at Whole Foods tonight thanks to Liz:

dairy

Wright's Dairy had advertisements on TV that we noticed when we were in the hospital with KC (since thanks to Tivo we hardly watch commercials normally).  We thought it would be right up Aiden's alley and we were right... and we didn't even know they had a wicked awesome bakery ;)  We all got our fair share plus some of the fresh chocolate milk.  We joked with Aiden that we better go find the chocolate cows and he promptly corrected us that there was no such thing ;)  KC just chilled out as we waited for the cows to be hooked up to their milk machines.  He did stick out his lip a bit looking like he was peeved he didn't get any chocolate milk.  We visited the calves and chased the rooster around the yard, but eventually we were driven back to the car by the farm stench and a sugared little boy ready for a car nap.

library programs

J's mentioned some of the free library programs we attended.  I was in the habit of going with just the boys to the day programs too.  I was convinced that this one with Ronald McDonald would guarantee a McDonald's coupon and an excuse to try their new smoothies, but no dice!  The guy has been doing this for over 15 years every year and he was actually quite good.  It was sort of a combo magic, music, theme show about the different kinds of books you can find on a "reading adventure!"

The best part was Aiden's little buddies from school were all there at the day camp. You can see them all in the green shirts and Aiden is in the bottom right corner.  His classmate Milo ran up to him and asked him how his new school was... Aiden had to explain to him that it is the summer and he hadn't moved yet... It's all very complicated/confusing for a three year old, but I think hearing him explain it to Milo I realized that he really understood what we were planning... although there was one part about Virginia "actually being IN Rhode Island" that missed the mark.  ;)

battle boats

While we're in transition to our new place, I'm back tracking into old schtuff:  A while back right after school ended, I had a Groupon to the Battleship Cove in Fall River.  The big boys sans KC took a trip over there to stomp around.  Aiden dubbed them the battle boats.  He was still into wearing his tie from his school concert ;)

There are a bunch of shots from the camera I gave Aiden.  He did a study in macro of the anti-slip pads on the steps and a few manhole covers.

duck pin

Our last New England Sunday was rainy, so we had Aiden's favorite "special cheer up treat" some Del's and his first (and probably last) duck pin bowling game.  The little squat pins and tiny balls made it pretty fun for him.  He played against his dad and KC and I cheered.  Half way through both games Aiden was winning, but dad did come in on top in the end.

Good-bye, Seekonk House. -- Guest post by J

The movers finished an hour ago. I'm finally eating dinner. All is calm. Just a little vacuuming and last minute kinds of things to do before sleep, and then I drive the long drive away.

This has been a good home to us. This is the house in which we become a full family. I hope Aiden remembers it a little when he's older. I'm sure his memories will be fond.

I wish I had let myself love this house a little more. I spent the past 4 years worrying that it was a bad investment. It was. But I wish I hadn't allowed that to prevent me from cherishing the house as much as I otherwise would have.

Good-bye, Seekonk Home. I will be sad to go. And I'm glad I've myself love you that much.

last toe jam

Aiden has grown up on Toe Jam.  Visiting the band during their Monday performance at the Buttonwood Zoo became a regular date for Aiden and his buddy Tyler.  Rebecca would cruise them down there and occasionally he'd catch them with us on their weekend performances.  I can't quite add up how many times he's played red light, green light or the car wash song.  Daddy was the queen bee and some sort of space alien with the band egging on the smiles.  I wish I could watch KC twirl in circles during the bubble blast, but I'm sure we'll find the VA equivalent (although Toe Jam may be fairly unique).  It's so surprising to me when I took Aiden to his last zoo performance and he was suddenly one of the bigger kids - when did that happen?!  

Our last official Toe Jam was a special performance at Aiden's favorite library the night before we left.  J continued his streak of being the only adult volunteer eva!  He really paid this time because he was suddenly dressed as a Mer-man with a bright pink wig.  Aiden's reaction had changed and he was much more low key about seeing his dad up there than he used to be... aw, shucks they grow up, but we haven't hit the point where embarrassment sets in which is bound to be fun ;)  

I love how he tries to maintain dignity and decorum by crossing his hands in front of him:

Here's a snippet of the merman shaking it:

Here's an old video I created of the Toe Jam:

Toe Jam Puppet Band from LB on Vimeo.

Moving Yields Trash -- Guest Post by J

Lauren will see this and worry that half of these are filled with treasure. Not so.

Praying Mantis -- Guest Post by J

Gran Gran bought Aiden a praying mantis World Alive kit a few months back. Just a few weeks ago, we finally received an egg sack in the mail. We promptly put the egg sack in the mantis pagoda and waited and waited. Finally, about three weeks ago, we found three nymphs wandering about the pagoda. Not a very large hatch, we thought. So, we freed two and kept one. (You can only keep one as a pet. Otherwise, they eat each other.) The next day, Lauren noticed that the pagoda was filled--and covered, since I didn't quite zip the lid--with about 40 mantes. Luckily the ones on the outside didn't travel far and we didn't give ourselves a mantis infestation. We again freed all but one, and tried to feed him some beetles and ants.

Two nights ago, I noticed a medium-sized mantis walking on our floor. I don't know how quickly mantes grow, but I suppose it's possible that this was one of the mantes I put in the garden. (There are plenty of good things to eat in there, and I've never seen a mantis around here otherwise.) He was much larger than the poorly-fed nymph in the pagoda. Since I wanted Aiden to see a big mantis, I placed him in with the smaller one. The next day, the smaller one mysteriously disappeared, but Aiden did get to watch me hold the larger one as we set him free. (Aiden declined to hold the large one himself, though he happily touched a few of the smaller ones.)



Mantis Mania from LB on Vimeo.

nice goodbyes

Getting some goodbyes in as we prepare to leave behind five years of friendships...  I feel like we've been on fast forward seeing people and saying "see ya later" and realizing we may mean really, really a lot later...

I've had a few tears well up but luckily haven't lost it.  The hardest was the director of J's program who essentially is responsible for bringing us here and orchestrating our staying here.  "It's been so nice" was all I could say... and it has been so nice.  

So many nice people and so many nice places... A nice feeling to have been so very fortunate for all the nice memories...  just trying to figure out a nice way to say goodbye...

today show

My folks were in NYC for the 4th and spent some time at the Today Show - I didn't get a good shot of the tv before they turned off our DVR, because they were on during multiple shots (including the main anchors gabbing) during the Saturday broadcast.  You could even hear them chanting HI DOG!  Here is a shot I squeezed off the online videos - my tall dad is waving on the left and my mom is holding the OHIO sign:

Aiden called Gran's OHIO sign the "magic sign" because it opened up and had his and Keaton's name on it in one of the shots.  The first time he saw them he jumped up onto to the couch and bounced all around.  The funniest thing is that his three year old mind can't distinguish between the parts they might appear on and the commercials.  So, he looked and looked for them in every Bengay commercial or segment about some guy being prosecuted.   He was frantically asking me if they went inside to sit down in the courtroom ;)  while he scanned the television as closely as he could.  He eventually lost interest in looking for them, but he was pretty excited to see them on TV.

last risd tot tour

As we approached one week until moving day, I was reminiscing on all the fun we've squeaked out of our first three weeks of summer and our last bit of time living in New England.  We managed to get into two more RISD Museum Tot Tours.  They really are well run programs that are thought out well to engage even the youngest kids.  There was one about dance and the other about oceans.  The photos above are from the dance theme day where they learned how to look for movement in the art and different ways to pose their body to match.  Aiden was assigned eyes as his body part to "dance with" and I laughed each time he scrunched or squinted his eyes during the group dance.  We were lucky that dad got to come be an "adult explorer" during the ocean theme day because he was down on the gallery floor shaking a big piece of tulle to recreate ocean waves.  KC was happy I wasn't jingle jangling him all around trying to keep up with Aiden's ocean shakes ;)  I will miss all these great outlets, but I look forward to finding more.

Almost!

Almost time to say goodbye...
Pending is a relief!

last bristol parade?

We psyched ourselves up for our last Bristol parade, at least for a while...because ya just never know - Case in point is that ten years ago we walked the same parade route with a group of CTY students clad in matching shirts and lanyards.  We never would've guessed that we'd be back twice since then to attend the nation's long running parade with our kiddos.

We parked easily (although pretty far away) since we came up from the south to avoid the crowds and started with big glasses of Del's and a long wait for the potty.  We found a decent shady spot right under a tree, which had some major bumpy roots but at least we didn't need to sleep on the parade route to get the spot.  In fact, we barely had to wait at all for the action to start.  The first float came by and Aiden bounced up and started grooving.  It was already worth coming.

The highlight was this very raucous cool band from South Carolina.  One of the cool cat drummers handed Aiden his old mallet... Aiden was stunned, and was left with the coolest souvenir of the parade.  He danced around with the mallet trying to spin it just like the band and "drummed the earth" the rest of the afternoon.

After about three hours - much longer than I expected! - we'd had enough of protecting KC's little ears from the loud noise, and Aiden was all tuckered out and sick of the loud canons/guns/horns.  Aiden was asleep before we even took our last ride over the Mount Hope bridge... at least our last ride for a while...

Fourth Parade from LB on Vimeo.
Here was our last visit to the parade in 2009:
http://ababybrennan.blogspot.com/2009/07/parades-and-booms.html