Halloween 2009

I'll post some pictures later but here is a quick video of Isaiah after going trick-or-treating (translation = walking to neighbors to say 'hello') this evening. He is a tad tired and a bit punchy, ready to fall apart.

Finally, a film clip

Isaiah hasn't been very cooperative when it comes time to capture him on video. Not that he isn't doing a thousand incredibly cute things each day... its just that he either does them so quickly and moves on to the next cute and adorable thing within 9 seconds or he sees the camera and comes charging at me to rip the cord out of my hands.

Maybe Leno should follow my police blotter findings

Mosquito Classified Ad appears on Jay Leno’s show

Recently the Carlisle Classifieds made the big-time when an item was included in The Jay Leno Show in the “Headlines” segment on October 12. Leno read from the Lost and found section, “Lost – four chickens, last seen on Sunset Road July 14, seen being chased by a fox.” Leno’s comment was, “I wouldn’t put out a lot of hope.”

Monkey See Monkey Do

Isaiah has turned into the great imitator. He watches EveryThing that we do and tries to copy. Pointing the remote at the TV, pointing up into the trees, mopping up pretend olive oil with his bread at dinner. He 'dances' anytime he hears music, stomping his feet and smiling grandly. He studies my mouth when I sound out words, trying to figure out where to put his tongue, teeth, lips. It is wickedly cool.

I'm trying to turn his new-found interest to work for the powers of good. I'll encourage him to imitate me while I pick up toys and put them back into the toy box. Which he does. And then he immediately empties it out again. Or he finds a treasure that he forgot about because he hasn't seen it is ohhhhh so long (10 minutes).

Isaiah helps me empty the dishwasher every morning. As soon as I open the door, he is like a dog to the food bowl, rushing to get his hands onto anything he can. He grabs plates, one by one, and hands them carefully to me to put away. It is a race for me to minimize the number of breakables on that bottom shelf before he gets there. He wants to help me load it too, but that process is a lot messier and I'm not interested in playing that game yet.

He is signing more and more words these days. Apple, chicken, drink, berry, dog, and bike are frequently visited signs.

We visit the chickens that live about 1/2 mile down the road from us several times a week. There are about 2 dozen assorted ornamental hens and one very loud rooster which greets us. Scraps from our kitchen are greedily pecked over. We are hopeful that as they lay more and more eggs we will be able to purchase ours from them.

The Weird Headed Show

Declan has been enjoying the PhotoBooth feature of my Mac. Here is something to tickle your funny bone:

Apple Harvest

Early Release October is always a good time to go apple picking. The weather often cooperates, the apples are ready, and there are no crowds to compete with. We had the good fortune of being able to take Steve along this year, which has now become a family tradition that everyone looks forward to.

Honeypot Farm in Stow, MA is delightful. There are a few animals for the kids to view and feed: 3 young pigs, multitude of goats that climb ramps and beg for food, chickens, rabbits to poke through their cage...

There are

hayrides that traverse the orchards, although we have never taken a

ride. It has always been my opinion that part of my purpose of going to the orchard is to get little boys to exhaust themselves, running through the rows of trees

and climbing the larger ones. They don't seem to mind. :)

We picked apples, chose our pumpkins, boys gobbled their carmel/nut encrusted apples made there, and we managed to pick up a half gallon on unpasteurized cider which I am now afraid to drink because I worry about how safe it is.

Lamson Farm Day 2009

What a lovely day we had, roaming the fields of Lamson Farm in Mont Vernon late September. It was precisely how the boys remembered it. A few animals, a few displays, Mac the Knife, hot cider and donuts, hayrides in the wagon pulled by the Pomeroy's tractor, and the obligatory barbequed chicken dinner complete with homemade pies and baked beans. yummmmm! Although I have to say the pies weren't nearly as good this year as they have been in the past.

The farm looked lovely. Seems that they have done some work on the barn in recent years and it was nice to poke my head in to see where I used to play as a child. It is, of course, much smaller than it used to be ... or I suppose I have gotten bigger. I don't know but it is a cool thing to open a door to old fond memories: old Mr. Lamson shuffling from one cow to the next, Blackie the milker who didn't have much white on her, chasing calves through the fields... all good stuff.

Angus had the good fortune to run into bunches of his old classmates. It was delicious to see him smile from ear to ear as old friends came up to him and asked, "Do you know who I am?". I could see Angus rack his brain for a minute but never lose the smile. He would pause momentarily as he searched for the name and when it surfaced to his brain, his eyes would smile too. I think that was the high-light of my day.