More summer 2007: Connecticut

Our other vacation spot of the summer was on the Connecticut shoreline. We rented a house for two weeks in a little summer community up by the Rhode Island border.




The house was quite rustic, but well-maintained and clean. And it had a lovely view of the sound.






It also provided ample opportunities to indulge my favorite summer activities: cooking fresh, local food and eating outside. Except for a couple of exceptionally rainy days, we ate all three meals on the porch.




Lila surprised us by showing a serious affinity for shellfish, which was abundantly available from local docks and stores. Her favorite dish was steamed clams, which includes the toddler-friendly activity of dipping the clam first in steamer water and then in butter. We couldn't shuck the necks fast enough.

Here is Lila one night when Nana and Popsy came to visit with LiLi for dinner.




When we weren't entertaining guests, exploring the area or eating, we spent the rest of our time in the water. The little hamlet we stayed in was exceptionally geared toward kids, with three mild ocean beaches in walking distance, a playground, a clubhouse with ice cream, and a salt pond.




And when we couldn't bother to leave the house, there was always the inflatable pool.

One more Montana picture

Here is Lila doing one her favorite rituals with Nana Ann or Poppy: reading the funnies.

LiLi and Lila in Montana

Here are some pictures of Lila and LiLi from Montana. They really got to spend some quality time together on the trip and not only did Lila come to adore her cousin, but she also got her first taste of big-sisterhood. Now she's all about being a big sister, and a big cousin to LiLi.


Matching t-shirts!



Bath time.


Lila likes to help Aunt Catherine get LiLi ready for bed.


It helped that LiLi took her first steps in Montana, something that Lila - thanks to our encouragement - takes full credit for teaching her. LiLi also started to call Lila by her name, alternating between a genuinely authentic "Lila" and the easier to pronounce "Ya-ya".






LiLi has become legendary among parents who have met her for both her prodigious apetite and her willingness to eat whatever is put in front of her. Lila doesn't like to be outdone, and she is a decently adventurous eater, but LiLi really set a pace that would impress Anthony Bourdain. Lila struggled to keep up.




Here is the trout (was it trout? I think so) that we ate one night, heads and all (we had some great local meat and fish grilled out on our porch many of the nights we were there). Lila ordinarily would have probably passed this option over, but she not only tried it, I think she actually ate more of it than LiLi. We did have to cover up the eyes before she would consider it, though.

Today

Julian's mom, Michi, took these pictures of Lila (and my belly and knee) today at the playground.

Lila and LiLi's first parade

We happened to be in Bozeman for the annual Sweet Pea Festival, a weekend event that celebrates the arts in the area every August. Saturday kicked off with a parade.



Here are Jay, Catherine, Brett, Nana Ann and the girls enjoying a curbside view. Poppy and I watched from the more comfortable grass. Oh, and Thom surprised us all by getting up early and participating in a 5K, so we met him after the parade.




Plenty of buffalo imagery.




The clydesdales were huge!




The pioneering spirit of America...half motorcycle, half beer keg.




LiLi was wearing a hand-me-down from Lila that I loved - but that Lila was never small enough to wear (in the summer months, anyway).




Initially, it took some coaxing to get Lila out of LiLi's stroller. Her friend Roan in Brooklyn has the same stroller, and she was really excited to ride in the back seat like he does. I don't know if this happens at a lot of parades, but every float had walkers with it who ran along both sides of the street tossing candy to kids. I have somehow managed to completely conceal the world of wrapped candy from Lila, so she didn't understand what was in the little packages landing at her feet. But when a local dentist's giant tooth float came down the street, Lila emerged from the stroller to collect one of the free toothbrushes that were getting tossed to the kids. She was thrilled about it. And don't I look like the mom of the year, with a kid who has no idea what candy is, and who thinks a free toothbrush is hitting the jackpot. We'll see if we can keep the charade up through Halloween for one more year.

Montana Summer Trip

Lila and I took a trip to Bozeman, Montana in August to visit my brother, Jay, and his wife, Brett. Nana Ann and Poppy rented a house outside of town, and Thom, Catherine and LiLi went too (the only one who couldn't make it was Josh).

Brett and Jay have been living out there for two years now and they really love it. With these views, what's not to love?






Lila had a great time. She and LiLi finally seemed to connect and gravitate toward each other; they were constantly making each other laugh, and Lila really liked being the big cousin for once. Here's a picture of Lila at Yellowstone. More photos to be posted shortly.

Lila's 3rd Birthday party

Lila turns three on Friday, and we celebrated her birthday with 10 of her friends on Sunday at our house.




First, a note on the theme, which was based on a favorite children's book of Lila's, "I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean!" by Kevin Sherry. The book is relatively new, but it's the very funny story and amusing for us to adapt to the party. Lila got a big kick out of it, but since none of the other kids really know the book, it came across as a general ocean theme.





The star of the book is a giant squid, or, as Lila says, a giant "squig".




Aunt Catherine and I made posters and murals, goody bags, and a giant squid cake.




The entertainment was provided by Randy Kaplan, a talented and funny local musician, whom Lila adores. He puts on a great show for both adults and kids.




Lila and Roan had pretty good seats.




LiLi prepares to steal Kofi's Soy Chips.




Lev and Lilly.




This is Charlotte, who is also in playgroup.




And this is Julian, from playgroup. Lila always comes home from playgroup with a story about Julian that inevitably goes this way: "Julian, he's a funny boy. Today he put [insert any noun here] on his head." In this instance, he went for laughs with two party hats at once. And I have to agree, Julian is a funny boy.




Lunch was pizza.




Eliza, her big brother Owen, and their mom, Molly.




And here is Aunt Catherine's Giant Squid cake. What a masterpiece. The legs are pretzel sticks covered in frosting. The eyeballs - which were a big hit - were gummy candy.




Lila was pretty scared of the cake at first, so her friends helped her blow out the candles.




Once she realized it wasn't a real squid, she got very excited about it. And then mayhem ensued as kids grabbed the pretzel legs off the cake and started eating them. Everyone had blue lips and dilated pupils from the sugar high.




The party ended around 2 PM. This picture is from after dinner - she refused to take off her crown and dress until bedtime. We think she had a pretty good day.

Lily

Here's Lila and cousin Lily, also at the Strawberry Festival.

Strawberry Festival

A few weeks ago we went to visit the beloved cousins (and other equally beloved family members, of course) and spent a morning at a strawberry festival.

Funny how you can call something a festival and one imagines the delight of picking strawberries and eating them straight off the vine for hours. But the reality is it's just a lot of people trolling through picked over strawberry plants and getting sunburned. We did the smart thing and bought the strawberries already picked. Then the girls ate hot dogs and strawberry shortcake, listened to some good folk music and saw a puppet show.

Here are some pictures of Lila, Julia, Abby and Rachel.











Pictures of Lila and Lilly tomorrow.