The Zoe and Silas Show

We got home from Newburyport at 2:00 on Saturday afternoon, just in time to get ready for S&Z's birthday celebration with Derek's family. They were soooooo excited to celebrate with their cousin Kaylan! All 3 kids had so much fun playing with S&Z's birthday presents! The campfire set from Grandma and Grandpa D. was a big hit, especially since we have had a tent set up in their bedroom for the last few weeks. When planning the party S&Z decided that they wanted flatbread pizzas and a chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.  Everyone was exhausted by the end of the party... Happy birthday, guys! It's been an awesome birthday month!!

Friday couldn't come soon enough - it was finally time to celebrate our 5-year wedding anniversary! This was only our 2nd time leaving the kids overnight. The first time we did it was in August of 2011, which means we were long overdue for some "us" time! After throwing around lots of ideas for where to go - we wanted to stay within about 75 minutes of Boston - we finally settled on Newburyport, MA. Located near the border of MA and NH, Newburyport is absolutely adorable. We had a great time walking around when we arrived late Friday afternoon to explore. We stayed at an adorable boutique hotel called The Garrison Inn . It is a very special place that just may be our anniversary destination in years to come! We went out for dinner at a steakhouse located in an old church that was just down the street from the hotel. All in all, it was a wonderful night away - our only complaint was that it was too short! It sounded like S&Z had a great

10/25/13: Oh man, it's been the week of Zoe pictures! Sorry Silas, I promise that it all evens out! Haircut (and paper bag puppet), first thing in the morning. More about our anniversary getaway soon!

10/24/13: Silas had allergy testing on Thursday (result: he is indeed allergic to penicillan; more antibiotic testing to follow), so Zoe came into lab to help Laura with testing a new hat. A job candidate referred to the " marshmallow test " in a talk we heard the day prior, so Laura and I thought it would be fun to give Zoe a version of this test. More to follow, including a video - but here is the picture of the day!

10/23/13: Bath time cutie pie!

10/22/13: Somebody needs a haircut.

10/21/13: Fall fun with Ta-ta!

10/20/13: My friend Bill was in town last weekend so the kids and I went downtown to meet up with him before he headed back to NYC. S&Z were very friendly with him right off the bat, even though we haven't seen him for 2 years which they surely they don't remember... Zoe drew a picture of him and wrote his name. She's getting pretty good at this writing thing! We had lunch and sat and talked for over two hours while the kids colored. At one point Bill quietly directed my attention toward Silas, who had taken a brown marker and colored all over his face and sweatshirt. We had a great afternoon catching up! The kids were absolutely exhausted when we got home.

10/19/13: After a busy morning the kids and I enjoyed a mellow afternoon and evening at home. Zoe was cute and sleepy after she got up from her nap, whereas Mr. No Napper was busy doing art projects in the new craft corner. Zoe drew a picture of Daddy this week and then WROTE 'daddy' on the picture when Derek told her how to spell it. We made flatbread pizzas for dinner and enjoyed a Halloween-themed table setting! I LOVE this time of year!

10/18/13: Checking out their camera shots. In other news, I finally got to meet baby Hugh on Friday morning! I was very excited to give him his blanket. His daddy is a HUGE University of Michigan fan, so the blanket I made is maize and blue. He is such a sweetie, I was so happy to have a chance to snuggle him!

10/17/13: The end of a stressful work week called for a movie and popcorn before bed.

10/16/13: It was school picture day on Wednesday. I really wanted to get a picture of them in their outfits, but this was the only one I could get of Silas being uncooperative. Instead, they decided to take their shirts off and have a dance party in the kitchen.

10/15/13: Playing the dinosaur memory game with Grandma. Zoe loves this game and is apparently quite good at it! She and Grandma played countless rounds during Grandma's visit. On the morning that Grandma was leaving, Zoe looked at me very seriously and said, "but who will play the matching game with me?".

10/14/13: We took advantage of another gorgeous fall day and headed to the Arboretum on Columbus Day. This weather has been amazing and I'm spending every possible minute I can outside!

We headed back to Bog Hollow Farm in Kingston last weekend for the annual Columbus Day pumpkin festival. This is the 2nd year that my mom has been able to join us! We also met up with Derek's cousin Joyce and her family. The kids were so happy to be able to play with Emily. It was a beautiful fall morning to run around outside! There was a new maze and slide to check out, And some old favorites like riding the Pumpkin Express, and running and bouncing down the hill. And of course, lots of PUMPKINS!! I love these fun fall traditions!  Check out pictures from 2011 , and 2012 by clicking the links!