It's what Christmas is made of...

Baby gift finished!

Milan Jacket
Originally uploaded by LynnE73

I knit this little newborn sweater for Walter's speech therapist. It's her first baby, a sweet little boy. I used Debbie Bliss Wool/Cotton, size 0-6 months.

The Band

Happiest 4th Birthday Walter!!!

At bedtime the night before Walter's birthday he shows us it's his very last day of being 3!



In the morning he woke up to find his birthday ring!



He was happy about that but not happy he had to wait for Arden to get home from school to open his presents!



At last it's opening time! He told us he wanted to open his presents in the playroom instead of at the table which worked out fine cause he had some pretty big ones! We were joined by our neighbors (one of them wore all orange just for Walter!)



Arden is great at helping...



literally, she is his left hand...



And Claire was pretty interested too!



Walter just wanted to open, open, open!!!



He could hardly believe he got new bird pj's! They were his favorite when he was 2 and he wore them to death! (You gotta love Ebay!)



We got him a sand and water table for the deck! (Arden was *totally* into it too!)



Birthday window...



and flowers...



and dinner! (rib roast and roasted broccoli and zucchini that we made Scotty eat cause it was overdone! I made a salad instead!)



Cake time! (It was so nice that Scotty was able to take off of work early and drive up from NJ! You rock Scotty!)



4 candles and 1 for luck!



I hope he wished for good things! I know I did!




The next day was his party!






Cheater cake from Whole Foods!



We all sing and we all wish and we all help blow them out!



This little sweetheart is in Walter's class at school. The other day Walter asked why you had to be a grown up to get married. I responded by asking him who he would marry and he immediately said this little girls name. Isn't she cute?!



Apparently Scotty is really good for snuggling with! (Ladies?!)



And for helping big girls climb trees...






Down the street there is a gnome home. Here is Arden having a visit...






And here's the gnome! What?! You didn't think there was really a gnome?! Well there is!





It was a great weekend! (I just realized there are no photos of Chris. Sorry Honey!)

New Favorite Photo of Claire

I especially love that the dog is milling about...

Fantastic Fishy Friday!

We decided to head to the aquarium in Boston today after seeing a news story of seals getting their teeth brushed!

I can't decide what the best part of my day was... it very well may have been Arden asking me before we left, "do you think the seals will be able to see my outfit?" Chris commented that he's fairly certain that's the first time in history anyone has ever said that.

She's so sweet.

I dare say we actually felt relaxed today! I attribute it to Walter being pretty easy going. His only real complaint all day was that he wasn't too keen on the darkness of some of the exhibits. However, it wasn't anything that we couldn't talk him through! Maybe we are finally starting a new chapter... one in which the family is no longer paralyzed by the daunting task of keeping Walter happy!

Look! I spotted a relaxed husband!

It was really hard to get good photos inside with the lighting and I didn't want to spend any time on it pretending like I knew what I was doing cause I don't! So, goodbye seals! We hope you liked Arden's outfit!

And Claire learned how to say "fish!"

It's been almost 4 years...

and Walter finally got his first pair of real shoes! We went to the Orthotist today to pick up his fancy new braces and then headed off for a pair of Stride Rites. Photos soon...

Happiest 1st Birthday Claire!

What a wonderful year it has been! Claire's birth was truly amazing for me and leaves me full of joy when I recall it. I also cannot forget all the hard work and soul searching it took me to arrive at the decision to have another homebirth. I am so incredibly thankful that everything was fine and oftentimes wish I could figure out what it is I want to say about my births. Having had an unwanted c-section with Arden and feeling terribly angry about it was extremely hard. Having Walter sustain brain injuries from his birth at home was yet the hardest thing that's ever happened to me in life. It makes me want to smack the shit out of every woman who whines about their safe c-section and yet I was that woman! Taking the leap of faith and believing in my ability to birth a baby safely was by far one of the hardest decisions I've ever made and I'm so incredibly thankful for all of the support I had from my amazing husband, my children (especially Arden who was my little guiding angel during Claire's birth), my closest friends and from my wonderful midwife and friend, Kelley.

Now onto the eye candy!























We had a great day today. We just hung around the house and enjoyed each other! (Minus a few of Walter's fits!)









Arden made this entirely by herself. She says that there is a guitar in the long purple one!



These guys couldn't wait for the unwrapping to begin! Walter is standing in his gait trainer in this one!



Beautiful boy who makes my life so full!



The paper was by far the most amazing thing to Claire!



The blueberry birthday cake wasn't so bad either!






Life is good. It's really, really good. Tomorrow is the party!