Work

Isabelle had to go to work the yesterday. An "important meeting" she had to attend, she told us.

"What do you do at work?" we asked.

"I make M&Ms for her," she declared, pointing back at her baby doll.

Winter Wonderland

Ten inches of snow on the ground, nine Christmas albums on shuffle, eight hours for the split pea soup to cook, seven cousins soon to reunite, six trains that keep falling off their tracks, five days 'til Christmas, four juices to mix with the champagne, three Christmas trees twinkling, two cars parked in the garage, and one splendid girl eating snow cones topped with pomegranate seeds.

Conversation

Isabelle: Let's bring the stroller inside.
Dad: No, let's not.
Isabelle: But it'll fit!
Dad: That's not the point.
Isabelle: Let's bring the stroller inside!
(Stroller comes inside)
Isabelle: See, Daddy - it fits! That's my point!

This Baby Is Ridiculous

There's only one way to describe a baby doll who won't open her mouth wide enough for a bottle:

Other stuff:

A near accident on I-93 on the way to Kevin's 40th bday prompts Isabelle to ask, "Mom, are you freaking out?"

Isabelle tests negative for swine flu, dries her hair for the first time and has come to believe that I work at the airport.

She calls vitamin C "medicine C."

After she wakes up and notices my absence, she cries out, "Mommy, I'm your daughter, and I'm crying!"

Every day when we pick her up, we ask, "How was your day?" The answer is always the same: "I played with my baby and her bottle and the blanket." At home she informs us that she needs tools, and once she has a hammer and two screwdrivers in hand, she goes to work on her high chair. Living the dichotomy!

Thanks to the Beach House, she knows what quarters are! And we have a healthy collection of mini-stuffed animals, Red Sox balls and squishy balls.

Ballerina Quarterback

Isabelle discovered ballet last night. She had worn this tutu laden pajama before, but never had it made her curious about the power of the tulle. No sooner did I utter, "Tippy toes," and she was 3 inches taller with her arms in a flattened circle around her face. She twirled and twirled, giggled and twirled for the next 15 minutes. Then, a sudden stop. "Now I want to play football," she yelled as she ran to the ball. For the next 45 minutes she was the Ballerina Quarterback.

Freakin' Monkeys

A few highlights from the 40th Bday trip to Paris and Marbella (with a side trip to Gibraltar to hang with the monkeys):

In our apartment in the 4th Arrond., Isabelle "pretends" to be heading to Paris:


Isabelle has a few new catch phrases: "Freakin' monkeys!!!!!" (freakin' emphasized with a punctuated snarl); "This is aaaaaaalll Pompidou," (finger wave); "The Eiffel Tower!" (after catching a glimpse of every cell tower).

A 2am swim in La Villa Marbella's pool. Neighbors loved it. And dolly Susan got her head stuck in a beer mug.

First escargot at Le Georges. Second at Hotel Costes (saved the shell for her memory tree).

The birthday getting a shout out in the NY Observer, thanks to Auntie Rory's new book promotion! She was interviewed while we were still in Spain.

Riding the carousel and playing in the playground near the Eiffel Tower.

Pan Mass Challenge, Beth goes to the Middle East

Its been a whirlwind for the Murphys!

Saturday I participated in my first ever Pan Mass Challenge - I did the one day, 85 mile bike ride from Wellesley to Bourne - raising over $3000 for Dana Farber in the process - and loved every minute of it!

The first thing Isabelle said to me when she saw me after the ride was "Daddy I'm so proud of you!"

Sunday was family day. We took care of some shopping for Beth's big trip - she left for the Middle East - Jordan, Syria and Iraq - yesterday, and Daddy and Isabelle rode the carousel several times at the Mall while Mommy shopped. Then we walked Main Street Falmouth, where Beth and Isabelle played catch, and ended up at the Golden Swan, our favorite Indian restaurant. Great weekend!

Countdown to the Birthday!

List of things to do today: Finalize security arrangements for Iraq, take out boatloads of cash for travel, and... send out Isabelle's birthday invitations (featuring the above picture)! It'll be an east meets west party with a Turkish apple tea party following a Cape Cod dinner (quahogs, lobster...).

Highlights from the past week:

When the waitress at Talk of the Town asked her name Wednesday night, Isabelle responded: "Isabelle Marjan Murphy."

Nana and Isabelle had another play date this week with Emma and Diane Collette. Yesterday's destination: Horseneck Beach known for the best hermit crab hunting on the Cape!

Here's the official invite!

Barnstable County Fair

Isabelle and I went to the Barnstable County Fair last night (Mom is in San Francisco for the week), and pretty much did it all!

We started with the Ferris Wheel - her first - and she loved it. From way up high we were able to scout out the whole place, and knew that after I won her a stuffed animal (a purple monkey), we would be headed to the Super Slide. On the way to the Super Slide... we found the Big Bears (the whole thing spins, and we could control the spinning of our own bear - very fun, very easy with a 23 month old)... had a gyro, some ice cream, went potty 4 times (we now bring the potty with us when we have the stroller, it is so much easier than waiting in lines!).

Every time we went on the Super Slide, as soon as it was over Isabelle would turn to me, with a huge grin, and say "Again! I want the Super Slide again!" and run to the front of the (rather large) line.

Other highlights: She wanted to go on the dragons (similar to the Big Bears but for older kids). I told her she was too little. She looked at me and said "I want to be bigger". Feeding the farm animals was a large part of the day. There were lamas, lots of goats, horses, a turkey, bunnies, and a pot bellied pig. She only got nipped on the fingers once, and frankly it didn't bother her much! My favorite memory of feeding the goats was when a goat thought the strawberry on Isabelle's outfit was real, and started biting her pockets - look closely at the photos and you can see that the greens on the strawberry stick out - this is what the goat was grabbing!

The french fries, doused in catsup, were popular too. And ff course we went on the merry go round, more than once. "Again, Again!", and "you sit on this one, I will sit on THIS one!". She loved it!

Finally, at 9pm, I won her a teddy bear and we headed for home. As I was loading her into the car, she was clutching her teddy, she looked up at me and said "where's my monkey?". I had left it in the stroller. She hugged both the teddy and monkey the whole way home.

Tuesday my parents picked Isabelle up from daycare, as I had a lacrosse game. My mother was asking her about the fair, and specifically asked what she had to eat. Isabelle replied "Daddy had a sandwich, and I had a bite". While technically true - I did have a gyro, and she did have just one bite of it - for the record I brought carrots and chicken for her, which she very much enjoyed.

Monkey Face

Isabelle's Year One video is finally complete! After "finishing" it for her first birthday, we found a few more tapes - Sonoma, the Triple Dip and the one with Daddy and Isabelle at the Grand Canyon!!! Incredible. It's the first time we've made an AppleTV file. Isabelle can't get enough. "I want to watch Baby Isabelle. Baby Isabelle. Watch Baby Isabelle. I want to see Baby Isabelle. Baby Isabelle..." Then she jumps up and down on the couch, dances wildly when the Italian music hits, and waves her arms around like a "maniac" (something she's been calling herself recently - and, no, we do not call her this!). She screams and claps when she sees herself being fed the bottle... when Daddy dives off the swim platform... and when she and I are swinging.

I just counted how many tapes I have for her second year video, and I can't believe it: 22! Wow. And this week Principle Pictures moves into an office at 18 Middle Street. 18!

We had so much fun at RJ's 7th birthday party this weekend! He's into Star Wars - especially R2D2 - just like me at that age. Next he'll be feathering his hair! The 80s are back, baby! Auntie Briana made RJ the most amazing R2D2 cake, and there were big plans for a water gun showdown. Instead we fled indoors when a flash flood threatened and hail balls came hurtling down from the sky. The food was delicious! Bonnie's famous baked beans and poke-someone's-eye-out sword skewers were big hits! As were Mom's legendary taco dip and new great potato salad with summer squash and vinegar. While Anika had fun driving the tractor and eating under the umbrella, she most enjoyed playing hide-and-seek with Brita's car keys.

Driving to the party we saw what will become Isabelle's playhouse! I think we're going to have them paint it purple! It is precious - and wired.

Isabelle is up to some new tricks:

--She makes a monkey face by pulling her ears forward and blowing up her cheeks. (Daddy does the same face.)
--She pulled her bathing suit bottom off on New Silver Beach in order to walk into the water up to her knees and tinkle. (Jane tells the story of Dennis doing exactly the same thing on the same beach as a boy.)
--She is good at the matching game.
--She loves her pillow (Thank you, Sean and Sara).
--She likes sharing watermelon with her class every Friday during the summer.

Ryan & Megan Tie the Knot and Isabelle Goes on Vacation

Ryan and Megan are married! Congratulations, guys - it is going to be phenomenal having you on the Cape! Highlights from the fabulous fun Fitzy wedding: John's leap from the shore as the boat leaves the dock (hey, it was about to happen!), gorgeous sunset sail ride and unbelievable lobster dinner, Barking Crab visit, at breakfast bumping into an ambling groom shopping for bridesmaid's gifts, doing the whole Cliff Walk (with Jane in her Super Orthodic Sandals--that stands for SOS!), jogging to and around Goat Island, watching Ryan's face light up as he waits for Megan to arrive on the alter, seeing Auntie Bri's eyes well up as she stands in the groomsmen line as sole groomsperson, hanging out with amazing family and friends, and knowing Isabelle was safe and sound with Grami and Grampi. They took Isabelle on a trip to Fairfield to visit Anika - and what a time they had!

Isabelle came home requesting one thing, "Noisy kisses! I want noisy kisses!" Noisy kisses... just like Grami gave her! Isabelle tested out her new move on them; it's the one we call sprint-to-the-street-and-scare-the-crap-out-of-you. That didn't go over so well in the Brundage household!



Father's Day was a blast... Dennis turning to me in the middle of the circus, "This is the perfect Father's Day." Isabelle and Daddy rode an elephant and a ate cotton candy. We sang "Happy Father's Day To You" all the way from CT back to Newport and then all the way home from Newport. In fact, we're still singing it today! We capped off Daddy Day with --what else?--tacos... served, of course, in the jalapeno taco holders that were Dennis' Father's Day gift two years ago.

Go Daddy!

"Daddy swims in the pool AND the ocean, and he rides the bike and he can run, too," Isabelle shared with us after the Hyannis Tri. Dennis finished 9th in his division, and came in second if you count him and Tracy (way to go, Rockstar Trac!)! It was great to see Auntie Peg (who is probably still scraping smushed fruit bar off her seats), and not so great to let the guilt set in about not actually doing it.



Here's also what up:

Isabelle is giving me a little ego boost by calling the Elmo & Julia Roberts video on YouTube "Elmo and Mommy." It would be a bit more satisfying if Julia weren't full-on 1985.

She doesn't just say "again" anymore; she says, "one more time" -- which, of course, means ten more times.

When I guide Isabelle's fingers to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on the piano, I only use her pointer finger. Cheryl (who Isabelle loves and requests kisses from) taught us that I need to teach her to keep all her fingers extended because it will really help her to understand form from the beginning. So happy to know that! She also gave us a couple piano books, and says she can start giving Isabelle lessons at 2.5.

It's Ryan and Megan's wedding this weekend! Psyched to be docking at the Newport Yacht Club. Isbelle is heading to Gales Ferry to hang with Grami and Grampi. On Saturday they're taking her to pick strawberries with Anika and Elli.

I found new office space today, and decided I cannot live without it. And am so happy with our new CFI.

When Nana took Isabelle to the store yesterday, Nana commented on a passing stoller, "Look, Isabelle, a baby!" "No, Nana," Isabelle said looking at the twin boys, "there are two babies."

The Mission

The mission: Get Isabelle on as many free flights between now and her 2nd birthday as possible! Where we go and what we do... TBD. I've always wanted to just show up at the airport and figure out what flights are about to leave and board... maybe now is the time to actually do it! We've got two months left for Isabelle to fly for free. Look, paying for her ticket isn't a big deal - it's just that not having to pay for it somehow seems that much better!

Last night I told Isabelle a story while she went to sleep. She and Anika (she insisted on Anika as a travel companion) drove to the airport and spent a week in Paris together. They met Fifi the white, curly-haired dog and Jean-Philippe, the blonde, curly-haired god. Wait, different story! They walked along the Seine, searching for the bookstore with Walt Whitman's great-great-great-maybe great again - grandson. They ate nutella and banana crepes underneath the Eiffel Tower. They cruised the chunnel to catch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in London. Then they were very tired from their exciting day... and... fell...........aaahhhhhhh.....sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep...

Unfortunately, bedtime tonight wasn't so smooth. It was MOMO MADNESS:EXPERIENCE PAKISTAN night!!! Isabelle loved the chicken tikka while rockin to the beats of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan! And she wore her decorative, turquoise blue jingly outfit from Afghanistan. We've never had a sitter while we're still in the house, and it was impossible for Isabelle to comprehend how we could be so near and so far away. Kelsey was amazing (and tinkled on, I just learned), but there was no way Isabelle was going to bed without Mommy or Daddy.

It was great seeing everyone tonight - Nana, inaugural Momo'ers--Matt, Heather, and Olivia--Isabelle's Fairy Godmother, Beth, Ellen, Elise, Daniel, Nicole and Eric! Go MOMO!

Yogurt Scares Me

Awesome day on the boat with Aunti Bri, Erin, Molly, John, Alby and Louis (who was taking a break from his bartending duties). In the picture the girls are hoping Isabelle will go for the high five! First stop: getting gas in Onset (if the high schoolers working at Fiddlers had answered our call to come to the fuel dock, we would've gotten gas at our marina and paid 50 cents more a gallon - which adds up with a couple hundred gallons!). Then we went to the Chart Room and Isabelle stretched out over the dock to watch the jellyfish and be a part of the action with the older kids using nets. I caught a "sleeping" crab. Up at the restaurant, she and I scaled the rocks down to the beach--she loves her new water socks--and played with the seaweed, popping the bubbly sections. In the bathroom she answered a woman's "How old are you question" with "My happy birthday is in August and I'll be two." It's one thing to hear her say it to us - but it was quite something for her to announce this to a total stranger while sitting on the potty in a crowded public bathroom. We missed most of the mud slide action back at the table! On the ride back, John was the brave one to take a dip. SO great to finally meet the Hearts on Fire crew!!!

"Yogurt scares me," is the quote of the day (from Daddy) - appropriate as Isabelle was already fully washed and dressed before breakfast (before asking for yogurt she wanted goldfish and mac and cheese - what have we done???). After a ridiculously fun day of boating yesterday, she wasn't too keen on the idea of playing with her daycare friends. "I want to play with Mommy and Daddy," she told us after we mentioned her BFFs Genevieve and Cici (and please everyone remember what we learned -- being a BF is better than being a...).

What's being said...

"My happy birthday is coming!" Isabelle loves to inform anyone and everyone who will listen! "I'll be 2." The ladies in my step class this morning were thrilled to have an Isabelle sighting. She appeared in Daddy's arms wearing a pretty pink dress, her new hot pink water socks and sunglasses -- just in time for sit-ups!

Thursday

Things are a little crazy this week - with a return from Anacortes, WA, a crushing edit deadline (thank you, Bill for coming up from NJ!), having a crew in WA, and the 37-point To Do List I wrote up yesterday. But I still wouldn't have missed Isabelle's Parent Lunch Day today! The teachers at day care were so sweet - all decked out and wearing red corsages. And it was so much fun to see Isabelle in her element. Mostly she wanted us to go potty with her and read stories. Other attention was given to jelly sandwiches and cake.

I was under strict orders today to be home by 6:30 in order for Dennis to get to his zoning meeting. When the calls started coming into the office at 6:10, I shouted -- I swear, I'm leaving -- in the background. Still, my butt was firmly planted in the edit seat as I was feeling on a creative tear. Although they met me in the driveway (Isabelle's cheddar goldfish in Nelson Mandela's Robben Island cup), there couldn't have been too much of a time crunch since Dennis walked with me inside and then gave some instructions for putting Isabelle to bed. I wasn't even gone a week!!!

You should see Isabelle's deck! Nana and Grampi built a deck on their house, and have dubbed it "Isabelle's deck" because she was a consideration in the specs, and they love hanging out and playing with her on it. It's also a fun place to maneuver the remote control cobra Nana picked up on her latest Saturday morning jaunt.

Smushed goldfish now have a new home in Isabelle's moonwalk. After all her jumping, we were going to take a bath, but she wanted to play with the letters in the shower. She knows exactly where to find the letter "I for Isabelle" and promptly picked it up and stuck it to her belly. She's also pretty good at finding the letters A, B, D and M.

Our cell phones are no longer "Daddy's Hello" and "Mommy's Hello." A twinge of sadness that that description has been replaced by "Daddy's phone" and Mommy's phone."

She refuses to wear "nighttime" underwear (i.e. pull up) to bed. Suddenly I'm back in Urine Town (did we really buy my parents tickets to that show for Christmas a few years back??).

For what I believe to be the first time in my life, I had this thought tonight: "I'm so glad I'm not rich." Were I rich - here's how the night would've gone. I would have called on the Nanny to keep watch tonight with Isabelle while Dennis went to his meeting and I continued editing in the office. I would've missed singing "My Favorite Things" five times in a row (with her turning the pages and repeating the song)... I would've missed watching her sit her dolls down and give them a ride on Thomas the Train... I would've missed sounding out C-A-T with her.

Isabelle enjoyed her special delivery from Anika this week! It was a thank-you-for-the-great-weekend package stuffed with whole almonds, fruit bars and organic dip mix! Thank you, Anika.

Tonight reading the book, "More, More, More," I told Isabelle that the book was a gift to her from Bonnie. I said, "Bonnie loves you very much." And she said, "I love you, Bonnie!" Those birthday sisters!

Going Where the Fishes Go

We're now the proud parents of a 21-month-old who spurts out 12-word compound sentences: "I go poop in the potty, and I go tinkle in the ocean!" Isabelle announced this morning.

My friend, Kristen, asked me today, "Is she fresh yet?" If you consider it fresh to put the toothpaste tube in your ear when we say, "Don't put it in your mouth" (she'd eat the whole tube if we allowed it) -- then, Yes! Isabelle showed off her kilt to her friends yesterday (and I got some nice video of it before a very last minute trip to Seattle), and is still talking about the train that scared the daylights out of her last week when it passed behind her school with its horn blaring. "Choo choo coming," she says morning, noon and night with a very worried expression on her face.

Memorial Day 2009

The picture to your left is the one that will appear in an upcoming Caline For Kids ad!

Phenonmenal Memorial Day weekend! Starting with the Big Band Dinner Dance in Gales Ferry for The Academy of St. Therese (the school Grami started). The 16-piece String Of Pearls band includes... on the trumpet... Howard Brundage! Grampi is one of the newest members of the band, and they perform every Wednesday at Cherrystones Restaurant in Old Lyme. It was amazing to see him on stage again! All the musicians - including drummist Dick Campo - donated their time to the event, and all the sisters believe these were really two shows wrapped into one! Grami did an amazing planning job, and while Isabelle and Mommy danced (and filmed), Daddy was enjoying Jay Maggi's wedding in Western MA.



Boating season is officially here! "I'm the captain!" Anika announced. All the girls got a turn at driving! Isabelle is no wuss, and she went for her first swim of the season in Hadley's Harbor (along with her first two tinkles in the ocean and first fall-from-the-swim-platform). It was awesome hanging out with Anika, Uncle Mommy, Uncle Matt, Oliva, and another Uncle Matt! We wish Elli, Auntie Brita, Uncle Jerry and Heather could have been with us!

We had hoped to boat to MV on Sunday, but the fog was insane. So, we hopped on the Island Queen for Oak Bluffs (halfway there we crossed from rain, fog and cold to sun, clear and 70s! Sushi, carousel, ice cream, bike ride (i.e. naps for the girls), sand bar... in that order.

We're so excited about Uncle Sean's new southern Cal lifestyle in Hull! He needs flood insurance--love that!

Open for the Season

The Chart Room is open for the season! Isabelle enjoyed her first quahog of the summer (surprisingly served in a cardboard shell), and the never-disappointing baked stuffed lobster hit the spot. It was great seeing Chris, Geni & Co. (and thank you, Sully, for my new ego-boosting last name).

















In an effort to catch up on all the blogs I've been meaning to post over the past couple weeks, I'm going to give a "best of":

Isabelle sat on a stump at daycare, and so much sap seeped through her clothes that her butt cheeks got stuck together. She has started screaming "I love you" at various cadences, will fart on purpose to get a laugh, demanded her little piano be brought upstairs to be next to our new piano that arrived this week, and enjoys setting the table. And thanks to Nana's recent trip to Scotland, Isabelle is now sporting her very own kilt!




"What's the harm in letting her taste a little pinot grigio?" we asked ourselves. We knew she wouldn't like it since she'd already rebuffed chianti on the flight to Istanbul. But this time things were a little different. "Yum. That was good," she declared after her first--and last--sip of white wine.











We spent Mother's Day at Harkness Memorial Park in Waterford, CT - a favorite spot growing up. Isabelle had a blast with all her CT cousins--especially with flying kites and flying blankets, and learned how to swing a baseball bat!




Happy First Birthday, Sam Sullivan!! The marguerita and sippy cup theme was great!
And Isabelle had her first ride in a "big girl" swing.

Television Debut

Last night Isabelle looked down at the two pickles she was holding and said, "Two more pickles, and then all gone!" (As told to me by Daddy, as I'm still in Toronto at HOT DOCS pitching "The Promise of Freedom.") She and Daddy were on their way to a Meet the Candidates Forum for anyone running for office in Falmouth (Dennis is running for town meeting). Isabelle seemed to impress consitituents, and made her television debut on FCTV which ran the event live.

Harvard vs. Yale

It's Alumni Lax Game Day! Mark, Eddie, Pete - and, of course, UNCLE MIKE and cousins Trip and Wilson! - so great to see you! Isabelle and Daddy in front of Dillon Field House...










Isabelle and I left the field for a little while for a performance of The Three Muskateers! Go Auntie Shaine (one of the three remale Muskateers)!

Impromptu BBQ

Thank you Chris and Geni for the great Sunday BBQ! We had a blast ringing in the summer... and that says A LOT since we were planning to have our first boating excursion today! To escape the midday heat, Isabelle found every opportunity to jump into the sprinklers!

An Eventful Last Day at 19 Months

Isabelle's last day as a 19-month-old included (on the downside) ear infection and asthma diagnoses and (on the upside) making it through a WHOLE day in same underpants - not one accident from 7AM to 10PM! (Today was Day 6 in underwear.)

We knew something was really wrong when she came home from daycare last night and announced, "I want to go to bed now! Bed, now!" She wants lots of things "now," but bed is typically not one of them. And it was clear she was feeling achy, "My elbow! My knee!" she repeated. She didn't want any dinner, and also had no interest in pull ups for bedtime. Even though we haven't put the mattress pad cover on yet, we don't have any interest in forcing pull ups when she wants underwear. As we snuggled beside her in the middle of the night, I awoke with a warm, wet feeling that could only mean one thing. Just as I thought it, she lifted her head up slightly--eyes still closed, still fast asleep--and whispered, "Tinkle."

About the asthma - doctor says she has a mild case. He gave us a nebulizer, a handful of prescriptions (including something with steroids), and sent us on our way. We're in the process of tracking down a specialist in Boston to learn more. In the meantime, Daddy found a way to celebrate Isabelle's first ear infection (as you can see from the red paint on her dress, she also spent a good part of the day at the easel):

I Love Baby Showers!

Now there are four words I never thought would come out of my mouth! Congratulations, Tammy & Greg! I loved being at Tammy's baby shower today - all my ooooohing and aaaaaahing caused the person next to me to say, "Do you want another baby? You must!" No, but it's incredible to relive things... I am just in awe of my new memories.

Feels Like Summer's Here!

The new bike path is amazing! We took our first bike ride of the season today, and feel like we're on vacation as we discover a whole new North Falmouth! There are hiking trails behind Bourne Farm - and as we neared them, Isabelle was ready to walk. The pack rat that she is, she clutched Abby Cadabra and her sip cup the whole way and enjoyed getting off the path even more than staying on it!




We were on the lookout for horse poop which we were lucky enough to spot - and then when nature called, Isabelle was excited to tinkle where the horses go. Daddy suggested using the fence as a makeshift potty seat, and it worked like a charm!

It's day three in underwear, and things are going great. We were worried yesterday when we decided to go to Boston to visit Briana, Matt and Anika that we were setting her up for failure. But she didn't really skip a beat. We think she actually held it so much on the ride up that she gave herself a little stomach ache. "My belly button!" she wailed at one point. Accidents do happen (with tinkle only) - but she catches herself early in them, and is definitely trying to "keep Elmo dry."

When we met Auntie Briana (four months pregnant!) and Anika at the Barking Crab (how have we never been there by boat??), Isabelle immediately lifted up her dress to show off her underpants. Uncle Matt skipped out of his conference a little early to join us - and he and Dennis had to order some hot dog rolls to supplement the crab leg/steamer menu! Isabelle supplemented later with all of Anika's orange slices. And we all supplemented even more with ice cream at Faneuil Hall!

My mint chocolate chip cone didn't last long in my hands! Isabelle is an MCC convert! This is the last time you'll see her in these shoes - on our walk to the swan boats (closed for another day-boo), she decided all shoes and socks must be abandoned. On the way home we stopped at Stride Rite to have her foot measured - sure enough, most of her shoes are a half size too small. She was ecstatic walking - bounding - out of the store in her new summer shoes.

This morning we made a quick trip to Target so that I could exchange an embarrassing number of shoes I'd gotten in the wrong size (when I bought them, Jane told the checkout lady I had triplets--it really was the only logical way to account for so many shoes!) While I was looking at some wrapping paper, Isabelle started playing with some items in the home goods section. Then she presented me with a scented candle she'd positioned on top of a pretty paper plate with an ocean scene, "Here you go, Mommy - for you." When I looked closely it was a Mother's Day candle with this poem written on it, "Roses are red, violets are blue, you're the best Mommy, and I love you." Of course I bought it, and I suspect 10 years from now that candle will still be on display somewhere in our home.

Dennis called from work as we were leaving the store - "I just want to be with you guys," he said. Love that. We decided to have a picnic lunch on the deck - with amazing Portugese bread grilled sandwiches from the Wild Harbor General Store. "Where have you been all winter?" the owner asked us. "Uh, nowhere... a quarter mile away." Why haven't we been there all winter??!! It doesn't even make sense to us... we're just like the tourists - we consider it a summer spot. No more!

We biked back to the General Store later to fill up our tires, but the air hose was missing. Paul had one in his trunk. Jim has one, too. "It's a Dad thing," Dennis says-as I shoot a glance toward Isabelle. "Yeah - time to get one," said Dennis smiling.

Back on the bike path (did I mention how awesome it is?) we can hardly go a tenth of a mile without stopping to talk to someone we know or get to know someone we don't. (Shout out to Windy, Lilly, Faye and Kate. We decided the dogs names weren't important to us - except I seem to remember something furry named Skippy.)

Isabelle had the right idea on the way home! She proceeded to sleep for two more hours, until 6PM. Dennis picked up dinner at Talk of the Town, and Let Isabelle "drive" from the neighbor's driveway into ours.

There are two opposing views about where we live:

The Optimist
We live in a prestigious section of Falmouth with a pretty, new home on one side and a lake to the other. Behind us is a scenic bike path that travels all the way to the world-reknowned Woods Hole. Nature trails, cranberry bogs, horses and wildlife... the new bike path is already changing our lives for the better.

The Pessimist
We live on a highway near a strip mall. Oh, and criminals might travel on the bike path.

Good thing we're both Os!

Elmo Underwear!

Today was Isabelle's first full day in underwear! We were planning to start full-time undies in a couple days, when we could be with her round-the-clock. But this morning she insisted on underwear, and there was no way we were going to force a diaper on her when she's screaming, "Underwear! Underwear!" As Auntie Briana said, "She'll tell us when she's ready." And today was her day.

I didn't think I could not love Little Kids any more than I already do... but today I fell more in love with them. When we announced the underwear situation to Bonnie this morning, she was so excited. When Dennis picked her up, she said, "Tammy says, 'Don't go back!'" Their support not only means the world to us, but, I believe, means the difference between underwear success and underwear failure. Thank you, LKI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isabelle had two accidents today at school - both in the afternoon. And tonight there were two accidents and three goes. I think all of this is pretty damn amazing for someone who goes the bathroom about 1,000 times a day! We are definitely not going back to diapers. I've been very skeptical about the whole pull-ups thing, but Auntie Mo has convinced me that they're a good idea for nighttime.

I'm so proud of Our Little Sweetie. This was a BIG day.

Happy Easter!

We spent Easter in the Catskills - specifically in Wyndham, NY at Mo's brother's ski house. Stunning home and views! And Isabelle had a blast with cousins Trip, Wil, Maggie and Quinny.



We went bear hunting (Trip, Wil and Maggie proudly returned with fungus), stunned patrons at the "Minerva" Fondu Restaurant, recorded the best worst performance of Mack the Knife, sang a rendition of Here Comes Peter Cottontail that included verses from She'll be Comin' Around the Mountain, were befuddled by an 11:30AM Easter mass start time, debated the virtues of such pressing news stories as Valerie Bertinelli's weight loss (I argue she no longer looks like her) and Giselle's public discussion of Tom Brady's son (what is she thinking?), and filled the house with tickle time laughter.



Isabelle painted her very first Easter eggs, went on her very first Easter egg hunt, and--in Matthew McConaughey style--discovered naked bongo drumming. Anytime someone started tapping a beat, she'd tug on her clothes, "Off! Off!" This caused a series of jokes about what this means come college.

The kids went crazy for the bunny cake Auntie Mo made, and--as you can see from the mass gathering of blue jellybeans in between the bunny's eyes--Dennis went a little crazy with the jellybean decorations.




The Best Sharing Award of the weekend goes to Quinn!



Nana's Easter ham and carrot casserole were delicious--(and she had no problem eating them despite all the chipped teeth the anesthesiologist told her she had)! And at the million dollar pie country store, Isabelle can't decide if she should pet the kitties, watch the Vietnamese pot belly pigs eat, chase the chickens, visit the bunnies, pet the doggy, or eat the chocolate donut she "insisted" on having (what better way to wash down a jellybean breakfast?).

Isabelle now has her very first lacrosse stick...a pink, Lily STX... (Thanks, Uncle Mike!) which she'll bring to the Harvard/Brown game tomorrow!

In Isabelle's Easter basket:
-3 books (Haiku Baby, Home For A Bunny, The Golden Egg Book)
-Flashing light and glitter bouncing ball
-Kid chopsticks
-Abby Cadabra doll
- Bear shaped bubbles
-Heart necklace and bracelet
- Two pairs of sunglasses