Caleb Running

I found some little cones at Target in the dollar bin. Somehow they turned into making our yard into a running track....40 laps is approximately 1 mile. Caleb LOVES it and likes to run any chance he gets...including last night when he ran 2 miles!

Happy Anniversary to us!

We celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary on Friday doing what we love best: walking in the woods looking for birds, playing with the kids at the beach, and enjoying some good food. The weather was perfect and we were thrilled to get great looks at a signing Mourning warbler in Nahant. We then drove up to Marblehead for another walk in the woods and a nice trip to the beach. We had lunch in Marblehead looking over the water and then picked up some seafood to cook on the grill on the way home.

Here are the kids enjoying the Melrose Memorial Day parade.

Make Way for Ducklings

Thursday was a special day at Caleb's school: the annual Duck Walk! The kids had worked hard to make duck hats and had learned a few songs about ducks to sing while walking to a nearby park. When we got to the park, the kids had a picnic with cookies, lemonade, and popsicles. We spent the rest of the morning running around the park and looking at the ducklings swimming on the pond. It was a really fun day!

Levi relaxing after his busy morning!

Hot Dogs

Since Randy's been off from work this past week, we've done lots of little trips with the kids...one of them to Salem to eat hot dogs. The kids were in heaven!

Brazilian Night

We explored the food of Brazil this month for Caleb's curiosity. Lucky for me there is a new Brazilian grocery store in Melrose, so I was able to get all that I needed there. We looked at the map, learned a little Portuguese, listened to Brazilian music, talked about their culture, and the kids got a Brazilian bed time story. It was a really fun night!
Quail eggs...I simply boiled these and we all gobbled them up. I think Lina ate 6!

Yuca fries with seasoned salt

Stewed okra and tomatoes

The Brazilian national dish, feijoada

Lina enjoyed some hominy pudding

Levi laughing

Levi continues to grow and develop and become more interactive. His laughs are still reserved for times when he's especially cracked up, but they are getting a little easier to come by. Tickling with a burp cloth while making sound effects seems to be pretty effective!

Grammy

With Randy in North Carolina on business last week, it was the perfect excuse for Grammy to come and stay with us for a while. We all had a great time and the house feels a little empty tonight without Grammy here. Friday was a beautiful day, so we spent the morning at Cranes beach. We were treated with lots of sea stars on the beach, a hermit crab, a dead sting ray, and lots of shells...it was like a treasure hunt!

Happy Mother's Day!!

What more could a mom want for Mother's Day than this?


I continued my Mother's Day tradition by doing the Melrose Run for Women. Since having Levi, I haven't really had the chance to train other than maybe running once a week. I was hoping to run the 3.5 mile course, but would have been fine if I had to walk some....but I succeeded in running it all in about 33 minutes. My Stroller Strides friends and I had the kids decorate hats for us to wear. And after the race, we toasted each other with mimosas. It was a fun way to start the day! The kids were very excited to cheer me on as I ran by the house...definitely my favorite part of the course.

Matthew and Beth

We were treated with a great visit with Matthew and Beth last weekend. Levi got lots of extra snuggles and Caleb and Lina got lots of extra attention....and I got a haircut!!!

Matthew and Randy ran a 5K in Boston on Saturday and they were both super fast. We enjoyed cheering them on and the kids had fun running around Carson beach while the guys were running their race.

Mother's Day Pageant

Mother's Day started a little early this year! All the moms were invited to Caleb's school for a special Mother's Day Pageant last Thursday. I was so excited to see what Caleb had in store for me and he was bursting at the seams keeping all the secrets. The morning started with a concert of spring songs. I took little videos of a sampling of songs. Caleb isn't as animated as some of the little girls, but he was singing along. Loved it!

After the concert, the kids took the moms up to their classrooms for a party. The kids had each baked and decorated a cake for their mom. Caleb asked me "Mom, would you like to have a seat?" and pulled out the chair for me. He then cut me a slice of cake...to cute! We were then presented with a handmade card, a portrait, a story about us, and a plant. Caleb was so proud to have done those things for me and of course I loved every moment.