Gavin can ride a big boy bike!

On Sunday morning we took Mia and Gavin to the BMX bike ramp park because Mia has recently become very thrilled by biking over ramps and doing "tricks".  Despite my certainty that Gavin is completely ready for his big boy bike, he was not convinced.  So on this day, he had his balance bike with him.  But since his balance bike has no traction whatsoever, he asked for his big boy bike so he could do tricks too.  Just like Mia, he took off without a problem.  He tends to ride slowly for now, which makes balancing a bit tricky but he already knows how to peddle backward to stop/put his foot down.  So proud of you Gavin, riding a big boy bike at just barely 4 years old!

                     

I just love how you can hear Mia encouraging Gavin with a "good job" and you can even hear Gavin humming a content/proud hum.  This was only his 2nd time on the bike (we didn't have the camera at the BMX park on Sunday).

Memorial day camping trip

Note to future self wondering where to camp:  Historic Valley Campground in North Adams, while convenient to the Mass MOCA, was 3 hours away from Foxboro/Newton.  The campground itself was mostly RVs and the sites were right on top of one another.  It had clean/nice bathrooms and great playgrounds but very little privacy/space.  We had site 14, which although it was okay, site 7 would have been right on the water.  Oh and there were kayak rentals for $10/hr.

We arrived at the campsite around lunchtime Saturday although we originally planned for a Friday night arrival.  There was a frost advisory (30 degrees) Friday night and we did not want to sleep in those conditions, especially with the kids.  Even Saturday night, which was 45 degrees, left us needing to cuddle/share our warmer adult sleeping bags with the kiddos (I assumed long sleeved pajamas with socks and footie pajamas on top with a fleece liner and summer sleeping bag would have been sufficient.  Thank yous go out to Dave for making and purchasing the menu for the weekend! I especially loved the pasta with veggies.  As usual, we celebrated Dave/Harold's impending June birthdays with some cupcakes and a couple of gifts. On Sunday at around noon, I took Mia and Matthew, the 2 who love art the most, to the Mass MOCA to the kid space. Matt chose to put together a 3D sculpture of the brain, which took a lot of perseverance and Mia preferred to choose from their materials and make her own art (vs some art kits they had).  She made a picture of the solar system with pom poms, markers and glue.  I probably say this every year, but I love to watch the cousins make memories together and play with each other and this year especially I noticed them making friends easily with kids from other camping families.

Matt, in the wild!  

Just kidding, he was really good about disconnecting with gadgets and staying connected with people :)

boys and their acorns

Happy Birthday!

Everyone except Jeremy.  Quite elusive that Jeremy, I don't think I caught a single picture of him.  He was often off on his own (playing basketball, at the park, etc)

Mass MOCA

Dave's satanic fire

I look forward to our next big trip on labor day weekend.  Perhaps our family of 4 will squeeze in 1-2 other camping trips between these 2.

Mother's day 2015

After a lovely breakfast in bed and arts/crafts by Mia and a touching large hand-made card by the kids and Dave, we headed out to kayak on the Charles River.  Here are some pictures and a video of our memorable morning and a picturesque day.

"What do we do at 12 o'clock daddy?"

We went 2 miles from the start to picnic at Millennial park

Fruit, bread and cheese

Albert, a Kindergarten take-home bear, was safely transported in a ziploc in the kayak.

Grass under their feet, wind on their faces, bread in their mouths:

Full sensory satisfaction!

As if it couldn't get any better, after a nap in the car/driveway and some Legos we headed back out this time to Sharon's lake/beach.  It was fun and capped off by dinner at Rancho Chico.

Mia's Harp recital: Lavender's Blue

Mia has been taking harp lessons since early December.  Although she loves the harp, she hates the lessons.  This is not surprising to me and in fact my first instinct was to just buy her a cheap harp-like instrument off of amazon.  But through a series of conversations with others, and with help from my parents, we are renting a harp and had her signed up for lessons through June.  Mia is being a good sport and finishing out the commitment we paid for.  This is why I was quite pleasantly surprised when Mia was enthusiastic about performing in her first harp recital yesterday.  She could have played the first song she ever learned (a twinkle variation) but she wanted to do something a bit harder so she played Lavender's Blue twice, once with her left hand and once with her right.  We bought a special dress and shoes (her first with a bit of a heel) just before the recital.  Here she is waiting for her turn (she was 6th).  Thank you Uncle Matt, Randall and Matthew for coming and showing your support.  Mia got flowers and chocolates, which she graciously shared with us all.

Hike

Sunday hike with grandma

First hike post-ER (note sneakers vs Crocs and hand-holding)

This is how a vegetarian fishes :)

Mia:  "can we just stay here and listen to the quiet the whole time?"  

Watching the water

Epilogue:  no falls, no blood = good hike

Gavin is 4!

Grandma comes to help Gavin celebrate his 4th birthday

May 1st Morning set up for the birthday boy

Family presents in the AM:  water gun from Mia

opening Bubbe and Pop Pop's bow and arrow set together

(grandma got him an inflatable punching bag he loves)

Birthday party May 2nd
(friends from The Children's Village preschool invited) 

bouncing chaos

New Ocean Spray Classic Iced Tea was great for this surprisingly hot day

"Happy Birthday dear Gavin"

Vicki's present (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle bowling set)

Gavin and Randall open Cousin Heather and Justin's present together (Gavin loves his Jake and the Neverland Pirate Busy Book!)

You are defiant yet excellent at sharing.  You may call me a poopy head but you also say I look beautiful just as often.  Your cuddles and laughter bring me a happiness I can feel so deeply.  As your feet grow to a size 11 and your clothes to a 4T, so too does my love for you. I look forward to another amazing year of Gavin:  my chatty, energetic, sweet, loveable, silly guy.  I love you my buddy boo bear :)