We Heart Summer

Dad Days

This past weekend brought perfect late June weather - ideal for all the outdoor fun we had planned for Father's Day. We spent Saturday morning at the beach with some friends, where the boys got all good and tuckered out. Adam fell asleep on the way home from the beach, and literally could not be roused when we transferred him to his crib. I know that this is probably the norm for most kids, but for my "I refuse to ever close my eyes in the car, even if it is 10 at night and I am whining about being tired" children, this is unheard of. After a nice long nap, we took Daddy to a Sea Dogs game to celebrate his special day. We sat in the Pavillion section (akin to the Green Monster seats at Fenway), and the boys did great. They particularly loved eating lots and lots of ballpark food, seeing the lighthouse go up and down when the Sea Dogs hit homers, and meeting some of the pitchers warming up in the bullpen. While we didn't get an up-close visit from Slugger (the Sea Dogs mascot), we did have several encounters with Oakey (the Oakhurst mascot) who was a BIG HIT.

I'm not sure who was a bigger fan of Oakey - Ethan or Grandpa. We're still hearing quite a lot about Oakey (from Ethan, not Grandpa - he apparently got over his excitement), including many questions I can't answer like "Where are Oakey's ears?". Hmmmm....good question little man.

On Sunday, I asked Ben what he'd like to do for Father's Day, and wasn't at all surprised with his answer: "Work in the garden." So that's what he did, with his mini-me of course.

Sunday afternoon, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's "garden house" (named by Ethan as such, to distinguish it from their "lake house") for dinner and more outdoor fun. The "garden house" is aptly named, as Grandpa has a very, very large vegetable garden. Here's Ethan and Grandpa checking it out:

Even in the late afternoon, it was still hot and muggy, so we set up a sprinkler for the boys.

As you can see, Adam was not a fan. But Ethan was, and pulled Grandpa back and forth through that sprinkler a bajillion times. They needed a rest in the grass after all that water fun.

I hope all the wonderful, inspiring, loving dads in my life had as much fun being celebrated as I did celebrating them (either in person or in spirit) this past weekend. What amazing dads - the boys and I are so very lucky!

As a funny aside, Ethan thought Sunday was a day to celebrate all boys, not just dads. He was very disappointed to learn that he would not be receiving a card. So he made one for himself. Happy Belated Father's Day to all you dads (and Ethan, apparently)!

Scorpio Rising

So you may be wondering what the little guy is up to while Ethan does all that gardening (besides pitching in with the gardening, of course). At almost 20 months, Mr. Adam is a bundle of activity and a force to be reckoned with. He shows his Scorpio roots several times a day, and is one stubborn cookie. Attempts to distract and divert do not work with this kiddo, and while "no" is one of his favorite words to say, it does not appear to register when said to him. He keeps us on our toes, gives us daily chances to exercise (read: sprint to chase him as he runs towards the road, laughing all the while), and just in case we were thinking of adding a sibling to the mix, reminds us that we have our hands very full with two.

But there is a flip side to every coin, and Adam's energetic, daring, lusting-for-life personality is as much refreshing and fun as it is frustrating. He adds a certain spunk to our family that didn't exist before he came along. Adam's a perfect complement to his risk-shy older brother, who loves to egg him on at any opportunity (we hear a lot of "Do it, Adam! Do it!", which always means trouble). He's also his brother's biggest fan, and these two are constantly cracking each other up.

Cliched as it is, it feels like it was just yesterday that we were moving into this house, my belly full of Adam. But all of a sudden, it seems, our baby is becoming a big boy.

Adam seems to learn several new words every day, speaks in little sentences, and loves reading to himself.

He runs, jumps, and plays like a big kid, and wants to do whatever Ethan is doing (usually when Ethan is doing it, to Ethan's dismay).

But while he fights for his independence and his place in this world, he still totes around his lovey, sucks his thumb, and needs lots of snuggles from Mom and Dad. I guess he'll always be the baby in our family.

GIT (Gardener in Training)

Ethan continues to be Daddy's little helper in the garden. It's great because unlike someone else in our family who is also eager to "help" (read: dig up seedlings, yank out lettuce, throw dirt, eat manure, stomp on plants), Ethan's "help" is actually helpful (most of the time, at least). I love watching Ethan and his dad in the garden together. Ben is so patient with Ethan, showing him what to do and explaining why they're doing it. In return, Ethan looks at Ben with pure adoration, wanting to do everything just like Daddy does it. It's such a special activity for them to share, and they are two peas in a pod with their attention to detail and tireless perfectionism - I am happy to leave my sloppy, impatient self out of it. Plus, someone needs to chase/restrain the other "helper" while these two are gardening.

One of Saturday's chores was to go get a bunch of leaf mulch out of the woods and spread it around our squash hills. Ethan was happy to pitch in with his own "wheelbarrow" (this is actually a toy stroller, but it has NEVER been used as such).

Another to-do was to plant the bean sprout that came home with Ethan when we picked him up at school the other day. We're not really sure what kind of bean it is, or how it came to be, but Ethan says he grew it and that he wanted to plant it in our garden, so he did.

I'm going to remind Ethan of this stage in his life when he's twelve and we're begging him to help with the yardwork.

Ten Years Later...

we've picked up a few spouses, added many children, and adopted much earlier bedtimes (well, most of us have anyway). Ben's 10 year Colby reunion was this past weekend, and realizing that dorm living may not be ideal with two little ones, we decided to rent a cabin on Messalonskee Lake with several other families in the same boat. The kids nearly outnumbered the adults, with 7 children under 4 (and 4 under 1!). It was chaotic and fun, and wonderful to catch up and reminisce about the "good old days". While we regret not getting a shot of all 7 kids together, or any photos of the boys at Colby, we did get some good ones on Friday, when we were graced with a perfect day for swimming and lawn-gaming. Ethan and Adam loved having so many extra playmates around, and I'm not just talking about the other kids. They spread their love among all the adults there too, and enjoyed having people other than their boring old parents to swim/throw sticks/look at planes/read with them.

Ethan has a particular fondness for Jeremy. I couldn't begin to count the number of times I heard "Hey Jeremy, can you (insert activity here) with me?" this weekend.

Jeremy was a great sport, especially considering he has his own little bundle to attend to.

But when Jeremy was busy, Ethan found others to entertain (or to entertain him).

And sometimes even settled for Mom and Dad.

The cabin we stayed in was perfect (thanks Kelly!). It had a gorgeous lake-front lawn ideal for games, a very child-friendly interior, big rocks to climb on,

water warm enough to swim in,

a hammock for snoozing,

and even a neighboring seaplane that was practicing takeoffs and landings - our own private show!

Despite these pictures, we did make it to Colby a few times too. I wasn't able to go to my 10th reunion a few years ago, so I was thrilled to be able to tag along for this one, and to introduce Ethan and Adam to the Colby legacy and all its wonderful traditions (okay, maybe not all just yet). With two grandparents, two parents, an uncle, and many many pseudo-aunt and uncles all hailing Colby, their blood certainly has a titch of blue and gray.

Our Other Kids

In our "free time" (he he), Ben and I have been busy nurturing our other offspring, which need quite a lot of care at this time of year. Luckily we have lots of "helpers" (again, he he) to assist us as we weed, mulch, plant, water, and harvest. Ben has been busy with our vegetable garden, which we've expanded a bit from last year.

We've planted spinach, greens, beets, beans, and many varieties of cucumbers, winter squash, and summer squash. Ben is generous enough to also allow some space in his garden for my tomatoes, peppers, and herbs, all crops he likes to watch grow but doesn't get all that excited about eating. So far, we've only harvested some lettuce (yum!),

but most everything is growing well and it won't be long before we'll get to taste more of our treasures.

While Ben tends to his veggies, I've been busy with our flowers. We were lucky to inherit a beautifully landscaped yard from our house's previous owners, with perennials constantly in bloom around the yard. We added a few new perennials and rose bushes this year, and then lots of pots of annuals. My snapdragons are looking particularly pretty right now.

And our rhododendron and poppies are in full bloom.

Happy gardening!