Jack's 2nd Birthday

Surely there are many people out there faithfully checking our blog everyday wondering if we are still alive. Well, we are I guess. We just aren't very good at keeping this thing up to date. We'll start with Jack's birthday and then maybe post about some other stuff before he turns three.

Anyway, Jack turned 2 a week or so ago. We had just a little family party for him on his birthday and then invited some friends over for a party on the weekend. As you will see, Jack can draw quite a crowd. Luckily, we had enough food, cake, and ice cream for everyone.

Jack opening his present in front of Ma-Mah and Bum-Pa via Skype.

His first Tonka truck. It took him a minute to realize that this wasn't just for him to sit in while his parents pushed him around the house.

Birthday cake #1

Testing the capacity of our house.

These were pretty good.

Birthday cake #2. I guess Jack either didn't change his clothes for five days, or he just happened to wear the same shirt to both parties.

Some of the kids enjoying cupcakes while sitting on the floor.

The final tally. We are counting 41 in this picture plus a baby in the other room. Just after this picture the floor caved in and we continued the party in the basement.

This is what people do when you say you are going to do a "funny" picture.

George's Island

For Columbus day we took a last minute trip with our friends to George's Island, one of the many islands in the Boston harbor. It is a historical landmark that you can read about here. One of it's many purposes was to fire cannon balls at incoming enemy ships.


This was the ferry ride over.


Charlie enjoying himself.


This is an old prison cell or something where you can take your picture and pretend that you are locked up inside.


Here is a view of Fort Warren on the island. The people below are listening to some boring lecture about the island.

pictures of Charlie by Saydi

4th of July

Since this is probably our last year in Boston, we decided to go down to the Charles River Esplanade for Independence Day. The crowds were pretty big and we didn't get there early enough to secure a prime spot, but we did find a pretty big spot that was partially obstructed by trees. A bunch of friends also came and we had plenty of room. The Boston Pops played and so did some country band called Rascal Flats.

It was impossible to get a picture of Jack's face and the fireworks in the background because he was totally fixed on them the whole time.

He did start to get tired towards the end of the show and he would dose off occasionally. We were too cheap to buy him one of those glow in the dark things, but the guy thought he deserved one for being so cute, so he just gave him one.

The fireworks lasted for a really long time. I think the finale was longer than most cities' entire shows.

Charlie seemed to like the fireworks too.

Charlie's First Month

Charlie's first month has been pretty exhausting but also very fun. He still likes to party all night and sleep all day. Here are some of the things we have done since he was born.


First bath at home.

Good Harbor Beach (pronounced Good Hahbah). This is in Gloucester where all of the teenagers are pregnant.

We dug a sweet hole.

The Old North Bridge, site of the shot heard 'round the world.

Walden Pond.

Scooper Bowl.

Salamanders at Camp Joseph in Sharon, VT. Birthplace of Joseph Smith.

Our cabin at the campsite.

Back to the beach.

An even sweeter hole.

Baby Charles

Anne went into labor friday night so we went into the hospital. After the epidural and waiting around for a while, she gave a couple of pushes and this guy popped out at about 3 am saturday morning. He was even sunny-side-up just like Jack.

He is quite the handsome little guy. He looks a lot like Jack, but not exactly the same. He also seems to have a pretty good temperament.

Jack seems a little curious at times, but doesn't seem jealous or anything. I don't think he has quite figured out who this guy is yet.

Best Ice Cream Ever

When we first moved to Boston 3 years ago, we discovered Christina's in Inman Square in Cambridge. We were overwhelmed by how good the ice cream was and how many crazy flavors they had. I think we went a couple times a week and each got a large so that we could try 3 new flavors every time. This probably lasted a month or two until we had tasted every flavor at least once (except the obviously nasty ones.) Since then we pretty much only go there when someone comes to visit. The picture of the menu is from a month or so ago when Stefanie came to visit.

The best flavors are Coconut Butterfinger and Khulfi. For those who enjoy the finer things in life, Khulfi is a tantalizing blend of cardamom and pistachio. For the less sophistocated (Andy Johnson), it has been described as tasting like fruity pebbles milk.

They also have seasonal flavors. Some of the notables include avacado, corn, and cucumber. Corn was good but the others tasted exactly like their namesakes.

I was sure we had way more pictures of our visits there since we go when all the tourists are with us, but here are some of the few that we could find.


Anne & Stef


Us


Todd, Ashley, Ben, & Toby


Ben