Oh Fall

Everyone knows that if you want to be somewhere in the Fall, it is New England. It is simply the most beautiful time of the year in this neck of the woods. Today felt nothing like a fall day however; it was humid and sticky, but that didn't stop us from the Fall tradition of Apple Picking.

We traveled to Harvard, MA (about 50 minutes away, straight up route 2) with our friends Nikki, RyRy and baby Eloise to a less commercial orchard; Phil's Orchard. It is a cute family run orchard and they have the best cider in the state, so they claim....and I TOTALLY agree. They had a wonderful variety of apples and plenty of them, not to mention it was not crowded in the slightest.
Because they were so small they only sold apples and cider, so we had to travel another 2 miles to another Orchard that sold Apple Cider donuts. Simply put, I live for the Fall so I can eat candy corn and apple cider donuts, so delicious!

Berkeley was excited all week to go apple picking. He looked for the "baby apples" and took 5-6 bites, then grabbed another. He had a lot of apples (lot of apple=not such a great find in the diaper), and loved running around the orchard.

We got a lot of apples, okay not this many, but 1/2 bushel. I made apple strudel today and I got two whole strudels out of 2 apples; I have about 100 apples left. I have a LOT of baking to do!

This tractor was the ultimate Berkeley find during our visit to the orchard. He really wanted to get inside but settled for his picture next to the wheel instead.

I love living in a place where there are so many things to do in all the seasons. Apple picking is such a great fall tradition, and I have finally found an orchard I would love to go to every year.

Videos of the Kid for the Grandparents

I know the grandparents enjoy seeing videos of Berkeley. He is getting cuter by the day and learning so much. I hope those of you who care to watch enjoy.

Run To the Rock 10K

Last Saturday some of our women's running group from church ran the Plymouth, MA Run to the Rock 10k. As you can imagine it was a 6.2 mile run that ended at Plymouth Rock. We made awesome t-shirts to wear on race day. Sadly my pictures don't include Erica, but she ran the race with Emily, Courtney and I as well.

Emily won the prize for overall fastest girl in the 10K (she is SUPER DUPER fast!) Courtney and I had the simple goal of finishing under 65 minutes. I really wanted to finish under 60 minutes but wasn't sure if I could do it. I have been running pretty consistent 10:30-11 minute miles; I am no fast runner but I have endurance. I have been working on increasing my speed this summer, am I am happy to report that it appears my training has been helping as I ran the race in 59:17 which is under a 10 minute mile. Go me! Courtney also met her goal or running under 65 minutes and Eric ran somewhere in the 54 minute mile range, so we all did well.

Here are Courtney and I with our medals!

I just love races, and I feel like the 10k is such a perfect distance!
The Hartford Half Marathon is my next race in October.

Wedding Bliss

This weekend we ventured to Northampton, MA for our dear friends Gloria and Stef's wedding. I met Gloria just over 3 years ago while working at Ethos and we quickly became friends. Shortly after, she met Stef and I have enjoyed watching their relationship grow and develop. We absolutely love being around Gloria and Stef, we feel like they are part of our family, and we're so happy we got to be a part of their special day.
They had a 2 day wedding extravaganza; it started with an Olympic Games on Saturday (they met at an Olympic Opening Ceremonies Party). It was held at a beautiful park and many of Stef and G's friends and family participated.

There were many games such as: eating a saltine cracker and trying to whistle, seeing how many cheese balls people could fit in their mouths, a water balloon toss, drinking out of a baby bottle, carrying a ping pong ball on a spoon, and flapping your arms like a funky chicken for a full minute to see who get the most flaps. There was a hearty BBQ with lots of yummy food!

If I learned one thing about Berke this weekend it is that he does better in small groups; he really gets a bit overwhelmed in big crowds. He had a hard time at the games for awhile until he found the bucket full of water with sponges and bowels. That kept him busy for a good 45 minutes; he was soaking wet, but hey it kept him happy!

Sunday was the wedding ceremony which was so beautiful. Both G and Stef looked so elegant and the ceremony was personal, beautiful and funny. It was so perfect.

We had fun getting all dolled up; don't you think we have a pretty posh looking family?

The lovely brides did a quick costume change in these lovely cocktail dresses; they looked so beautiful! Here are the newly weds with all our Ethos friends, what amazing people; I am so lucky to have so many wonderful friendships develop out of that job.

Dinner was amazing and we danced and danced all night long. Berke had one slow dance with mom and then wanted to stay in his high chair all night.

The big crowd was too much for him so he VERY happily playing with his toys, watched everyone dance and enjoyed when people came over to visit with him. Every time Christian or I would check on him and ask if he wanted to get out, he would say, "No, No, leave leave! Go dance Mommy." I will admit that it made the night very manageable. Christian and I busted up the dance floor and acted like we were young again, it was SO much fun.

But once this started happening, we decided the kid had been a good sport and we probably needed to get him home. As always, everyone loved Berke; he just makes people smile no matter where he goes. He did enjoy dancing, just in his high chair. People came up to him all night to visit with him which he was very happy about.

Congrats to Stef and Gloria; we couldn't be more happy for the two of you!
Best wishes and lots of love!

Berkeley Antics and a new bestie

BW has had an obsession with Elmo for the last 18 months or so. He has an Elmo stuffed animal he sleeps with every night, he plays with him constantly and it has been clear that Elmo is the favorite of Berke's toys for some time now. He also has a stuffed Cookie Monster, Abby, Ernie and Big Bird and while he plays with them sometimes, Elmo is being dragged around everywhere and Cookie is the #2 in town. That is...until recently.
Berke has a recent obsession which is watching Mickey Mouse Club House. We started getting videos at the library and now he cannot get enough of Mickey, Minnie and the Gang.
The other day I told BW if he went the entire day with no accidents in his undies then I would get him a Mickey doll. This was a good motivator and no accidents were to be had. I went that evening to Target and got him the doll. That night as I put Berke to bed, I handed him Mickey which he quickly hugged. I then handed him Elmo (who he has slept with for the last 18 months) and he quickly threw him on the ground. Just like that Elmo went from Hero to Zero!
I will say Elmo has not completely fallen out of BW's good graces and he still gets played with quite a bit, but it is clear who the new #1 Bestie is, and his name starts with an "M".

Berke's imagination has really picked up the last couple of months, it is pretty adorable really. This week, Christian blew up this little pool and Berke has been playing with it all day, every day. He needs no water, as he can imagine that it is full. He gets all his stuffed animals and tells them they are going to the beach. This thing gets drug around the house and played with constantly. Who knew? Mickey is taking a mid morning swim. Good thing he has his floaty so he wont drown.
Berke is also loving our new couches; especially all the fun pillows it came with. A favorite game we played during Tropical Storm Irene was bury BW in all 6 pillows......

then he will break free! Then he screams, "More, more, more!"

Here is Berke putting all his little friends to sleep. This was pre-Mickey Doll, but he does have his Mickey Pez dispenser taking a nap, which is pretty cute. He was so sweet to lay everyone down on his pillow and make sure they all had a place to lay.

My friend at work gave us a cute bedroom set for Berkeley, so he went from Toddler Bed to Big Boy Bed in a matter of months. I sort of love his big boy bed, because now I can lay in bed with him and read books, scratch his back, or just be silly with him. He loves it to and has had no problems with the transition.

Other cute things about Berkeley:

1. Everywhere we go, this kid turns heads. I am constantly hearing, "He is so cute!" or "Look at that little boy with the glasses; he is adorable." This kid knows he is cute.
2. We have been working on counting for some time now, Berke seems to know the numbers but without fail, every time we count something he says, "Two, Five, Seven, Eight, Nineteen, Four!" EVERY TIME it is the same pattern, what a nut.
   
3. He is still a picky eater but has added Bean Burritos to the list of things he will eat as well as cashews. Yea, for more ways to get the kid some protein. Still wont eat ONE darn vegetable. He looks at it on his plate and says, "I can't eat it." and then quickly throws it on the floor where Mr. McDuff happily eats it up quickly.
   
4. Berke loves going to the Beach and every day he asks if we are going to the Beach with Megan and Q. We have been to a lot of beaches this summer, but I think he would be sad if he knew that beach season is quickly coming to an end and we probably wont have any more trips there this year. :(
5. Every day I tell Berke about how we are going to go to Mickey's house in December. He gets so excited and asks if we will see Minnie? Donald? Goofy? Pluto? I think he may be just as excited as I am for our adventure this winter.
6. Christian has been teaching a children's singing class at MIT this summer and Berke gets to go with him to the class. It is amazing how quickly he is picking up on these songs with repetition. He loves the Wheels on the Bus, London Bridges, Choo Choo and Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. Singing these songs instantly brings a smile to his face.
7. Berke has this game where he looks at me and says, "Laci, what is your name?" I say, "Laci, what is your name Berkeley?" Then he replies, "Christian!" and he laughs and laughs.
   

Wild Animal Farm

As a working mother, I really look forward to the weekends for two reasons: 1- I get a break from work and 2- I get to spend quality time with my family. I truly love being a mom, it is the greatest blessing I have ever received.
I find myself always wanting to do fun things with my family, to make sure Berkeley has the best childhood he can have. There is nothing better for me in life than to have these precious moments with my little man. No matter what we do, this kid is so much fun to be around; he is always making me laugh, smile as well as want to build my patience.

This weekend we took a trip to Mendon, MA (home of many of my ancestors) to go to the Southwick Zoo with my sweet friend Megan and her son, Quentin who is Berke's BFF.

I think this zoo is one of the better one's in the area and is worth the drive to get there. We saw 2 beautiful tigers walking around very close, we saw a family of adorable chimpanzees and lots of adorable monkeys and other zoo creatures.
The highlights for Berkeley were the petting zoo. He was cautious at first about these pesky animals, but warmed up quickly once he learned they were harmless.

He loved paling around with "Q".

The BEST part for both of the boys was the choo choo train! Berkeley pretty much asked about the choo choo for the entire trip to the zoo until we go on it, then he wanted to go on it again. It was one of the best zoo train rides I have been on, as it went through some beautiful wet lands and we were able to see and learn about these animals in their natural habitats.

Then there was the mist tent, which was Q's favorite part of the day. We had fun running through it and cooling ourselves off.

We saw some of a bird show, and after they let us hold the birds. Q loved having the bird on his arm, but cautious little Berkeley was having no part of it. So they put the birds on me instead, and Berke waved to the one on my arm.
This is when he realized there was a bird on mom's head, it was a priceless face!

As you can imagine, it was a pretty intense and fun filled day for all involved. As we drove home, Megan and I looked back to find our two sweet boys passed out.
Love these boys!

Adulthood

There are big events in life that make me feel like I am REALLY an adult.
Childbirth was one of those experiences.

Buying our first couch was another.
Am I really "big" enough to make purchases like this?