Summer Snapshots

Hey everybody,
It's been a busy summer.  We've been doing so many things that it's been hard to find time to keep up the blog.  For some reason, we haven't been taking many pictures of our adventures.  I've posted a few below for your enjoyment though.

So, what have we been up to lately?  Well, we've been going to some of the Thursday night concerts at Crane Beach Estate - a 1920's mansion with rolling lawns (literally) in Ipswich.  It's been great to bring pizza or sandwiches and listen to music or run around the grounds with Shea.  We've also been spending time at the Willows, a park and seasonal arcade boardwalk in Salem.  We've also taken many bike rides and hikes in the woods.  Shea went on his first kayak trip a few weeks ago.  He was so good, sitting in Jess's lap for over 2 hours as we paddled down the Ipswich River.  We saw deer, beavers, herons, ducks, geese, egrets, and turtles, including a snapping turtle we ran over thinking it was a log.  He loved it and wants to go again this weekend.  Last week, I had jury duty all week.  It was interesting, but I don't want to do it again anytime soon.  Jess finished her last class for her master's degree and took her teacher certification exam.  We'll get the results soon, but she's done with her degree and can teach labs at Salem State UNIVERSITY (they changed the name this week) in the fall.  We're so very proud of her.  We went to NY last week on a last-minute trip (you'll see why in the next post).

Shea's growing up so quickly.  We think (knock on wood) that the worst of the terrible 2s are over.  He's been really good and listens very well.  He's also very interested in using the potty.  He's been telling us more and more every time he goes.  He's even used the potty at school and at home in recent weeks.  So, the potty sits in the living room, ready for any need that may arise.  He's getting to be such a big boy.

That's all for now.  Enjoy the pictures and your weekend!
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

I'm going to impress my lady with my fleet.  

Yes, dear, I'll go get the ball...as you wish!

"Cruising for chicks in my ride.  Firefighters get all the babes."

Seriously, this was one cool toy.  It's a power wheels, so you can drive it, 

the lights and sirens work, and it has a working firehose on the back!!!

Always the performer, Shea prefers to play on top of tables as his stage.

Shea really LOVES basketball.  

We play every night on the porch.  He's even beginning to dribble.

M&Ms melt in your mouth...and on your chin.

Swing Sequence

Hey everyone,
We just got back from a trip to PA to visit my folks this weekend.  We all had a great time, with Shea spending some much-valued time relaxing with the nearly the entire family.  Shea loves hanging out in MomMom's and PopPop's back yard and the swing they have.  It's becoming a tradition to take a picture of Shea and his PopPop on that swing every year.  Here are the last 3 years of swing shots.  It will be very interesting to see this series as it progresses and both Shea and PopPop grow old together.  For now, enjoy the most recent update to the series.
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

 2008 - Shea was 7 months old.

 2009 - Shea was 1.5 years old

2010 - Shea is 2.5 years old.

Firetruck Frustration

One more post today.  Here are a few more pics from when we took Shea to the zoo with Mommom and Poppop.  I couldn't resist posting these, as it was too funny of a series.  As with most toddlers, you pay to visit the zoo and expect to see animals, but spend most of the time at the playground.  So it was when Mommom and Poppop came to visit.  We saw some animals, sure, but the real action was in the playground where they had a firetruck and some trains to climb around in.  I hope you enjoy!

"Let's go play on the firetruck, Mommom."

"What the?  Who's that playing on the firetruck?  That's MY firetruck!"

"Frickin' frick!  

I wanted to play on the firetruck!"

"Oh, well.  I'll just have to go find another thing to play with.  You smell like poo anyway!"

"Yeah, see who got the firetruck after all.  That's right, go and cry to your mamma!"

Imagination Images

Hello for the third time today,
The wonder of toddlers is that they have amazing imaginations.  They can make a straw into a flute, or a toy guitar into a fiddle.  Shea is no exception.  He'll take an object and play with it as one thing and then convert it to 2 or three other things before he's done.  It's absolutely fascinating.  I'll try to record more for your enjoyment.
Doug, Jess, and Shea

Here, Shea's pretending to be a worm. 

A tennis racket or a guitar?  Shea doesn't care!

In this one, Shea's pretending to be a Shirpa - thanks to Mommom's suggestion.

This can work as a leg. 

Memories with Mommom

Hello again,
Mommom and Poppop came to visit last weekend.  Thankfully, the weather got better and it actually felt like May rather than March for a change.   It was a great visit and we all had a great time.  Not only did we bake a cake, but we also got to the zoo and spend some time at the Willows - a seasonal arcade park.  Shea is very good at skeeball and earned enough tickets to get some fake vampire teeth and some lollipops - toddler priorities.  I can't wait to have Brooke, Paige, and Mavy up here so we can have fun at the arcade with them too.  Here are some pics from the weekend.  Enjoy!
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea
 

     Baking with Mommom was top priority.  

Shea and Mommom baked a cake, with Shea providing inspiration for the icing decorating the top.

"While daddy's distracting Poppop, I'll just take his camera."

He's a slick one, that Shea Shea.

"Look, Mommom is actually smiling!"

Shea was too scared to ride the giraffe, but Poppop was there to comfort him.

This is a great picture.

I love how Shea's eyes penetrate you even from the screen.

 I gave him a weggie in this pic...hehehe.

Poppop was humming the theme from Bonanza in Shea's ear.

Shea saw hostile injians approaching, or were they just tourists?

Thankfully, the Lone Ranger came to the rescue and scared them away.

Some shots using my new lens.  I think they came out pretty well.

Groucho Daddy

Hey everyone,
Shea started asking if he could use our camera to take pictures.  It's a Nikon D5000 - a digital SLR camera with large lens.  Overall, it's the size of his entire head, so we weren't sure he could hold it, let alone take some pictures.  Once again, he surprised us.  Here are the results from a recent photo shoot with daddy.  I hope you like!
Love,
Doug, Jess, and our budding Annie Lebowitz (Shea)

New York State of Mind

Hello everybody,
We went to NY for Easter to spend some time with the family.   I've been working so many hours for so many months, it was about time that we got to spend some quality time together as a family.  Thankfully, the weather took a break from the consummate showers and let us play outside for a while. Hopefully, this trend will continue throughout the summer in both respects.  I've got a lot of work to do to reconnect with the family, especially Shea, and I intend to get my priorities back in the proper order so that they'll never forget what matters most in my life.

I was going to post some video of Shea playing piano with Grandpa, but stupid blogspot won't let me post any videos anymore.  So, you'll just have to enjoy some pics of our trip until we can post some video later.
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

I was playing with my new zoom lens here, seeing how well the pictures came out from 100 yards away and playing peek-a-boo with Shea. 

Playin' piano with Grandpa.

Here, Grandma teaches Shea guitar, while Grandpa plays accompaniment.

After this lesson, Shea began using a guitar pick to play with his toy guitar.

We'll have to buy him a real guitar soon!

He looks so grown up in this picture!

Sittin' nudie on Nanni's couch after a bath.  I think he really liked it...maybe too much!