Spring Carnival

Today was Henry's school's annual spring carnival. He has been SO excited for this all week! We headed over with Jake and Meredith, and the kids went on rides:

Got their hair colored:

and faces painted:

(he wanted to match Meredith)

Elliot pretty much spent the entire time like this:

The bad news was that we stayed way too late, so Henry ended up having a soft pretzel for dinner,had a "bath" of being washed off with baby wipes, and will go to school tomorrow with green hair. Just signs of a good time!

2 Months

Elliot is 2 months old today!

Again, for comparison, here is Henry at 2 months:

(Mike just looked at this picture and said "That looks NOTHING like Henry does now. Who swapped our kid?". He is right...does this mean Elliot will also look completely different in a few years? Seeing as how he is mini-Mike, I think not... Love Henry's Converse, though! Ahhh...a first time mom, putting her kid in a full outfit complete with shoes. It is a good day for Elliot if he actually wears a sleeper he didn't wear the day before).

As for how Elliot is doing at 2 months ...pretty well! He has turned into a catnapper, like his brother was, but I blame this on the fact that he is rarely ever home for a "nap time", and instead takes most of his naps in the stroller or carrier while being dragged to Henry's activities. He has developed an extreme love of his mobile and bouncy chair - he can sit in it and kick the toys/watch the lights for a LONG time. He isn't a fan at all of "tummy time". Henry was also not a fan, but struggled with it (while crying the whole time) and had pretty good head control at this point. Elliot is a much more placid baby thus far, and when put on his belly he just lays quietly, head smooshed into the floor, looking dejected. This does not bode well for early sitting or crawling. He still eats constantly during the day. He is smiling more and more and has laughed a few times (and scared himslef in the process! Hysterical).

The last 2 months have absolutely flown by - happy 2 month birthday to Mr. E!

The Hills are Alive...

About a week ago, we realized we had a 3 day weekend coming up and figured that we should do something fun for it. So, we made a (somewhat) last minute decision, booked a room, packed the car to the gills with all of thr random STUFF a newborn needs (seriously, how can such a tiny being require so many things? And how did we not realize what a breeze it has been to travel with Henry and his one tiny bag lately?)and headed to Vermont.

We decided to stay at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. When we had visited Stowe last fall we hiked on their gorgeous property, and that plus the allure of singing "Edelweiss" and eating bratwurst all weekends sealed the deal (Well, we may not have sung, but there was much bratwurst consumed, along with the beer they brew on property with hops flown in straight from Austria).

Elliot was a complete champ on the 4 hour car ride. In fact, he chose Saturday as the day to break the nap strike he had been on for the past 5 days (thank goodness). We left Boston early on Saturday and arrived in Stowe around noon. After a lunch (of bratwurst!) overlooking the mountains, we headed out for some hiking:

Then we explored the property, and Henry had a ball rolling down various hills:

On Sunday, we drove over to see Shelburne Farms. It is listed in our "1,000 Placed to See Before You Die" book, so how could we pass it up? (no worries, we have about 900 places left to see...). When we arrived Henry and Mike decided to take the tractor ride over to the main barn while Elliot and I walked. Here is their "American Gothic" pose:

The farm was absolutely beautiful:

The main barn had various animals for the kids to see and pet, a big room of farm toys and tractors, and lovely scenery.

The kids spent some time relaxing on the grass:

Then we headed out on a walk to Lake Champlain:

And drove back to Stowe, where Mike wonderfully took the kids while I had a masage (glorious!) and then we all had dinner at the resort:

Elliot was a fan of the hotel beds:

This morning we gave Henry a choice of activities (swimming, hiking, bike riding...) and he chose a horse drawn carriage ride:

Then it was back to Boston.... It was a great time, especially for our first "vacation" as a family of four!