*nuevecito!

I know these 3D images can be a little creepy... I feel like this one is kind of cute, but maybe it's just because it's mine :) Anyway, you may not have known that we are expecting our 3rd little one! Due February 1 - currently 15 weeks. It has been a very very different pregnancy. I felt a little tired and nauseated in the very beginning, but it was super mild. I didn't have to survive on burritos and quesadillas to feel settled and could even eat a simple salad and be satisfied - crazy!! I now feel totally fine, almost not even pregnant [well except for some complications that keep me 'taking it easy' - disconcerting and frustrating]. So so thankful for this blessing of an easy pregnancy especially having the other 2 to watch. Anyway, we are all very very happy! The girls especially - Vera with a much more mature understanding now and Edie with hilarious little questions and scenarios she comes up with [when will the baby say, 'mama? I want some noodles!']. I have to get a video of it.  None of us can wait to meet this one ♥

*adios kindergarten

Vera is just growing and growing, we can't stop it :(  

This was a field trip to a nature museum that I chaperoned - she was so excited to have me there.

last day of kindergarten! she had a really nice teacher who I think helped her transition well. Her class was very sweet and seemed to get along great. Her teacher said it was one of her best classes ever - sometimes the whole group would break out into song together while they did their work!

*Grandpop's visit

I feel like I'm falling behind here. I keep seeing this adorable photo of Mike and the girls from his trip out in June and just love it so much and don't want to forget to post it. How cute is Edie looking up at her Grandpa??? He came out to see the Angels play the Red Sox... the first game was rained out but thankfully we were able to get to the reschedule the next day. It was really a fantastic weekend having him here and we hope it is a common occurrence :)

We took the ferry up to Boston and went to see the USS Constitution again.

Dinner at our favorite seafood place here in our town.

Have I mentioned my new favorite thing is crab cake sandwiches?? So delicious, especially at this restaurant. Super savory, a little spicy, nice chewy roll and onion rings alongside. It hits the spot.  Someone pointed out the crabs may not be local... maybe Maryland? Oh well :)

Have I also mentioned the girls love clam chowder??? Like really really love it.  Edie has an inadvertent [can't pronounce her 'r's] Boston accent and calls it chowda.

Such a fun stadium! Angels lost, but I was ok with rooting for the home team :) Sorry, Caters.... 

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I bought Vera a chinese jump rope a few weeks ago - she loves it!! I can't wait for her to take it to school! [tho I wouldn't be surprise if her crazy principal deemed it unsafe] 

 Anyway, I just love this picture of her little legs, shoes untied, messy leggings, probably some holes in the knees... childhood :)

*little grump

When Edie hasn't napped or is just feeling a little grumpy, she will stop in her tracks and assume this little Charlie Brown pose.  You ask if she wants to walk or sit in the stroller and she says, "nothing" or "I don't want to go wif you anymore."  It is seriously so funny and adorable and just looking at these pictures makes us laugh.  If you stand there and prod her a bit or tell her there is no smiling she breaks and laughs too.

*Father's Day in Maine

We spent last weekend in Maine exploring Acadia National Park.  It was extremely beautiful and picturesque and just what you might imagine Maine to be like.  I loved the little towns with the old buildings and sweet storefronts, the harbors filled with fishing boats, the lobster pots stacked up outside people's homes, the lush greenery...

We stayed in a sweet little cottage/motel. Here is Vera decorating our screen door:

So fun to read through this one while we were there - such a beautiful book!

Edie is in HEAVEN digging in the sand and making her sand cakes and castles. 

I miss our sandbox so much.

she was so proud of this one and fell completely apart when she saw Ben dump it out before we left.

a good daddy :)

looking in the tidepools at the end of the ship's harbor trail:

learning to skip rocks from a master:

this little part of the island made me feel like I was in Avonlea :)

wild blueberry pie!

The lobster pound (what does that mean?) where we had dinner on Father's Day. Ben's parents realized this is the same place they went years and years ago when Ben was 3 and Jessie 5! How neat is that.

She posed with the lobster, but neither would even entertain taking a bite. 

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Tonight Ben was at a Red Sox game with his history department friends. The girls and I didn't do anything exciting, but it was one of those nice, pleasant times where you just enjoy your kids and feel content with life.

We took our lemonade popsicles outside after dinner.  There have been some crazy hot and muggy days, but the last couple have been lovely with sun and a coolish breeze.  Our "backyard" of the campus is really beautiful and lush, a good place to play.

We spotted a baby bunny on the grass and spent the next while hoping it would come back out of the bushes after getting scared away.  You know how much Vera loves bunnies!!

Here the little guy finally hopped out. Vera is trying to walk by nonchalantly to not scare it, while Edie of course heads straight towards it. Poor Vera was so upset when it ran away again.

***

Later I let them color a little before they got in bed. It was so cute to see them working together. They were whispering and I listened in - first Vera was trying to help Edie with her pronunciation [she still says 'lose' instead of 'use'] and then I heard her telling a chicken crosses the road joke.

Of course there had to be a little drama - they had both *promised* to cooperate and get right in bed when I said it was time... Edie didn't care what she had promised and refused: "I'm NOT!" - clutching her little fist around the crayon :)  It took a little convincing, but she fell asleep without too much struggle.

Anyway - just a nice, everyday evening.

*family visit

My parents were out here for a week and we had a great time, seeing a lot of the area.  Here are a bunch of the pictures we took::

On our way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire we stopped here in Marblehead for lunch and a look-around. It was so quaint and pretty.

look at this adorable garden shed!

We also stopped in Salem for a couple hours - I'd love to go back and read more about the history [Ben would like to point out that popular opinion puts the Puritans in a poor light, when really the leaders of the church condemned the trials. Thankfully I am married to a History Professor :)]. I'd heard there was a lot of cheesy witch references, but it really wasn't that bad.  I just love seeing these old old Puritan houses:

at the Strawberry Banke museum in Portsmouth where they've preserved and recreated life there from the 1600s to WW2 era - we all loved it!!

dinner at a fancy restaurant. the girls were amazing! whew.

enjoying her gnocchi:

My mushroom arancini. I feel like arancini were invented with me in mind :)

Vera was so proud and happy to make our coffee in the hotel room. Ah I love to stay in a hotel : )

exploring the garden at strawberry banke:

playing kitchen:

Vera thought the weaving and spinning yarn was especially fascinating. I'd love to get her started in some craftiwork...

Edie wanted to do it her way:

a 300-or-so year old loom:

my dad talking it up with the cooper:

it rained almost the whole time they were here:

John Adams was born in Quincy and we finally went on the tour of his and John Quincy Adams' birthplaces and farm. This is a replica of Abigail's desk.

We went down to New Bedford to check out the whaling museum. My great great great grandfather, Bela Franklin Ward, was a seaman on a whaling ship until a Nantusket sleigh ride made him quit and move west. We tried to find his name somewhere.. don't think we were able to, but it was neat to see it all!

A quick ride on the swan boats before we took them to the airport:

It was a wonderful time all around - does us good to have loved ones share in our life here!