Here’s a grab bag of photos from around the house in October: Claire and her doll Mimi practicing potty training, Claire decorating sugar cookies, and some shots of Juliet, Katherine and my guitar taken with our new portrait lens. Last up is a picture of our household’s first, but certainly not its last, tea party. For a slideshow, click on the picture of Claire and Juliet sharing their new hot pink tent.
Here’s a collection of pictures from the end of our summer, including Juliet in Claire’s chicken costume from Halloween 2007, the girls around the house including one with their new play garden, a playdate with Juliet’s friend Katie, and then a set from our trip to Mammoth Lakes where we stayed at a nice hotel and used up a few more of the free nights from my business travel. We hiked up to beautiful McLeod Lake, and also did a nature walk at Mono Lake where we saw the funny tufa towers. Last is a picture of Claire riding in her newly setup bike seat. Click on the picture of Claire’s first backcountry lunch below for a slideshow.
Grandma Judy came for a visit in late August. Highlights included lots of playtime in the bathtub, reading books, feeding Juliet, and a tricycle ride with Claire. Judy stayed at home with Claire while Stu and I got away for a weekend with Juliet in San Francisco, where we enjoyed the relative calm and luxury of caring for only one child. Included are a few pictures of Juliet playing on the bed in our plush hotel. Click on the picture of Judy reading to Claire for a slideshow.
Here’s our next set of photos from this summer. We’ve included lots of pictures of the girls together, including Juliet eating her first solid food, both of them sharing a ride in a swing, some fun at the beach and in the swimming pool, plus a shot of Claire trying on Stu’s sneakers. Click on the below picture of Juliet’s first bites (with Claire in the background showing exactly how to spread food all over the face) for a slideshow.
My extended family gets together every two years for a family reunion. This year’s was held in Stowe, Vermont, where Claire and Juliet were part of an influx of young children from the next generation. Highlights included Juliet sleeping on the floor under Claire’s feet on our cross country flight, more birthday cake and presents, visiting the Ben & Jerry’s factory (and enjoying some samples at the end of a tour), lots of fun times with the Jack and Sharon, playing with Laura, Will and Rob, Claire smooching her cousin Elliot, a bathtime playdate for Claire with two of her cousins, and cousin Robbie doing a slide show on a sheet hung from the fireplace mantle. Click on our family group photo that Uncle Bob took for a slideshow.
Claire got together with a few of her friends in late June to celebrate both her birthday and her friend Riley’s in our backyard with lots of cupcakes, pushtoys, and sidewalk chalk. Also, for the statistics hounds out there, at her two-year checkup Claire was 37″ tall (99th percentile, same as 6 months ago) and 29 pounds (77th percentile, a bit less than 82nd percentile last time). Click on the picture below for a slideshow.
Grandma Judy visited us for five days last week. Among other things, Judy joined us for Juliet’s 4-month checkup. At 25.5″, Juliet is at the 91st percentile in height (compared to 70th percentile at 2-months) and a quarter-inch taller than Claire was at 4 months, so it looks like we’ve got another Amazon on our hands. At 14 lbs, 4 oz, she’s in the 66th percentile in weight down slightly from 67th last time and exactly even with where Claire was at that age. Other highlights included Claire and Juliet enjoying long walks with grandma (including three over the course of just one day), early presents for Claire’s second birthday, the two girls sitting together on their “potties” looking out at the backyard, and a barbeque dinner where Claire ate mostly ketchup. Click on the photo below for a slideshow.
The girls’ world-traveling Aunt Mona had a layover in San Francisco last week on her way from India to Seattle so stopped by the house for a quick visit. Claire and Juliet were thrilled to see her and we all had some fun. Also included are some pictures from a warm afternoon when we tried out our new Slip ‘n Slide in the backyard with our neighbors and their kids, plus a cute video of Juliet gurgling and giggling. Click on the picture below to see.
Over Memorial Day weekend we rented a condo in Pacific Grove, a cute little town on Monterey Bay. On the way down, we stopped at a strawberry picking farm, where we picked three baskets of strawberries and Claire ate at least 30. We had a relaxing time, going for long stroller rides along the ocean, taking the girls to their first visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, sighsteeing along 17-Mile Drive, and even discovering a brewery that makes tasty English ales. We also got a cute picture of Juliet in her strawberry-themed pyjamas, which was one of our favorite outfits of Claire’s. Click on the photo below of Claire “picking” a strawberry for a slideshow.
Grandma Sharon came for a visit last week, and we had a fun time with her on all sorts of adventures including drawing on Claire’s new easel, going out to our favorite burger and milkshake place, and visiting the San Francisco Zoo. We’ve also got some pictures of Claire sharing her new easy chair with Juliet and a Mother’s Day picnic in a nearby park where Claire and her friend Laura blew bubbles and Juliet hung out with her friend John. Click on the photo below for a slideshow.
