Rudolph's nose was never so bright

Santa admiring Lola's cool North Face jacket

Every year, about a week before Christmas, Santa himself visits the Ridge Volunteer Fire Department in order to make the rounds through EVERY street in town on a sleigh they provide for him. With sirens blaring and carols playing over a loudspeaker, Santa's sleigh is led by an escort of fire trucks, ambulances and the "stump jumper". We hustled outside when Santa arrived at our street - he gave us a big HO HO HO and a candy cane.

Grandma's Birthday Brunch

Henrietta's Table - winner of best brunch in Boston for several years

Another big event during our last visit north, was celebrating Grandma Magdalena's birthday! It was decided that Henrietta's Table, located in the Charles Hotel in Cambridge's lofty Harvard Square, would be the venue. It was a lovely spot with an extravagant breakfast spread - they certainly lived up to their reputation for putting on the best brunch in Boston.

Happy Birthday Grandma

We all ate too much food and had a good time in each others' company. Lola snacked on waffles, yogurt, and a bit of butternut squash, showing a lot of interest in what everyone else was eating and ran the gamut from high chair, to laps, to her car seat for a bit of peek-a-boo with grandma.

Lola all dressed up for brunch

I still regret that I showed such restraint when confronted with a delicious mound of bacon at the meat station. C'est la vie! I am very sure we'll be back there.

mmm mmm good

First Coiffing

Lola had been suffering through obstructed vision and gnarly sleep tangles with her overgrown hair situation, but thanks to 6 minutes with Phanna at the Snip-Its in Framingham, those days are in the dustbin.

Behold! The new 'do!

and how it all went down....

Blossoms and Brunch in Boston

We are in the Boston area pretty regularly while visiting family, but in early November we got to visit our friends from the left coast, the Blossom family. We met for brunch at Tremont 647 in Boston's South End [Mindy's old stomping grounds] on a beautiful sunny and mild day. They do a pretty mean brunch there - the wait staff were all dressed in pajamas for the occasion and they encourage diners to do the same. It was very low key, delicious and child friendly.

Brunch in your jammies!

Jack and Lola shared adjacent high chairs and noshed on yogurt, cheerios and other snacks as we caught up on baby milestones and life in general.

Lola and Jack at brunch

After a healthy brefus [i had cheesy gravy fries, followed by baked chorizo & yukon potatoes!] we took a stroll through the neighborhood and ended up in the children's section of the hallowed Boston Public Library. It was fun watching Jack walking with his father, picking up all the autumn leaves he came across and sitting on the various stoops we passed.

Another too short visit, but as always, so enjoyable. We're hoping to jet out their way for the next meet-up!

This step gets two thumbs up from the Blossoms

The littlest monster

Maggie, Lola, and Alissa

This past Sunday, Uncle Brett invited us over to his house for their neighborhood Halloween festivities. The day was bright and crisp and we arrived in time to participate in the Halloween parade that consisted of lots of costumed kids walking around the development with their parents. There were alligators, Roman soldiers, teddy bears, giraffes, witches, Red Riding Hoods and lots of other fun things - the parade was a huge success as you can see:

At the end of the parade route there were home made cupcakes, snacks, and drinks to refuel the crowd for the trick or treating to follow.

Snack break following the parade

It was hard keeping up with Alissa and her friend Hannah as they ran full speed, house to house in pursuit of treats. Lola was shuttled between me, Maggie, and her Uncle Brett - her costume was a big hit and she got many compliments.

Lola enjoying a home made cupcake

"Butkus" enjoying the holiday

Brett and Lola

Trick or treating

Lola closed out the fun night with a warm bottle and a big snooze on the ride back home.

sandbox

Lola and Riley chillin' in the sandbox

a fat little handful of firsts

1st birthday? Check!
1st daycare experience? Check!
1st cold?!? ch.... ch... eck heck heck!

and in exactly that order.

Let's do some catching up! August saw the embarcation of a long overdue renovation of our humble kitchen. Scott decided to take the beast by the horns and tackle the whole affair himself, which meant that Lola and I would take a trip to Massachusetts for a temporary stay while the dustiest of work was undertaken. Temporary.

Main kitchen wall stripped to the studs

Tore out the ceiling to replace lights and wiring

Removed particle board sub-floor that was water damaged

It was a long temporary. But while we were there, we had a lot of really great time with my parents and sister and even some visits with the niece and nephew. And, as September came rolling in, we planned a little something for Lola's first birthday. There were actually two parties - one that my aunts threw at their house and the other, the following day, at the grandparents'. Busy but fun weekend for Miss Lola.

Birthday party at Aunts Leo and Bea's House


Second birthday party at grandparent's house

Once we got home Lola took on her first day of child care. The university where Scott works has a really good child care facility and so we went about getting all our diapers, clothes, and bottles and food in order for the first day! The infant care there has a 4 to 1 ratio of children to care givers and Lola took to her new surrounds like a champ. She enjoys interacting with other kids her age and we're hoping she'll have further encouragement and motivation to develop her gross motor skills.

Lola sitting next to a teacher at her day care

Being around so many new people inevitably led to her first cold. After the first two weeks her nose was running, she got stuffed up and couldn't breathe well when lying down, and then the coughing started. We learned all about saline spray for the nostrils, steamy bathrooms, sleeping in her baby swing, baby Vicks on the chest, and lots of hand washing in order to get through it. Lola held up great throughout and is ready for day care again tomorrow.

Before - suffering thru the first cold


After - feeling much better and heading out for some fresh fall air

Lola's first sitdown in a restaurant high chair

It's been a crazy August and September for the Campbell family. We're in the process of remodeling our kitchen, and so Maggie and Lola had to take up temporary residence in Massachusetts during the messiest work. Then came Lola's first birthday, and most recently, Lola finished her first week of child care. We have lots of catching up to do and gosh darn it, here's a random post to get the ball rolling!

Lola enjoying the view from her high chair

We have usually had Lola reclining in her car seat thingamajig while we eat at one of our local brefus places so she can hopefully nap, but Lola enjoys all the sights, sounds, smells and people so she isn't content to chill in that seat any more. It was finally time to give the less than sterile restaurant high chair a go. Sure enough she had no problem sitting up throughout the meal, even occasionally chomping on some of Maggie's french toast, she had a great time.

First swim in a pool

This past weekend we visited my brother, Brett and his family. It was a beautiful day complete with good food (I have to get that lasagna recipe), good company, and a visit to the neighborhood pool. This was a first for Lola - who, until recently, did not like being in water much at all. It seems we've turned a corner, however, because she had a great time splashing around.

They're in - the TOP TWOFS

The top twofs

We've found pretty much the only way to get a good picture of her teeth as they come in is to take a video and grab the best frame. So here's Lola being tickled and cajoled into showing her new teeth

The kitchen sink

Here in New York it's been a hot fourth of July weekend, the temperature has been hovering around 102 degrees and the humidity has been downright miserable. We'd been putting Lola through her paces practicing crawling and sitting, so she got hot and sticky in spite of the best efforts of our air conditioner.

Flushed from exercise this girl needs a bath!

It seems to be a long standing Colombian tradition to wash el bebé in el sinko del kitchenato, despite the protestations of the other [daddy] parent. I've found Lola getting the scrub-a-dub-dub in grandma's sink and now even in our own kitchen sink! Heavens to mergatroid!

Ay carumba!

Now Lola is all cleaned up she would like to play you a little something on her spoons, enjoy!

Catching the wind

During our last visit to Massachusetts, Lola started opening her mouth as wide as she could whenever she felt the wind on her face. We thought it was another one of those things that would come and go in a few days, but a few weeks later she's still catching breezes. Maybe it feels good on her gums while she's teething? Stay tuned for a glimpse of her top set!

equal time!

We've just entered the 42 week mark in Lola's life - Scott cleverly reminded me that she has now been "on the outside" as long as she was "on the inside".

Yay Lola!

Up North to see family

Meaghan and Lola

Maggie's parents have rented a beautiful house on a lake in Framingham, MA. We drove/ferried up for an extended visit to share the baby and spend some relaxing time with family. We enjoyed time with mama, Doug, Meaghan, Bobbie Jo, Mikaela, Bea, and Leo. It was nice having no place we had to go and no agenda, we cooked a few dinners, talked, played with the baby, and watched Red Sox games.

Click here for all the pictures from our visit. [there are a lot of pictures.]

Pepe teaching Lola to count

Look at those cheeks!

Lola in her exer-saucer

Mama with Mikaela

Mommy may I have a taste of your huevos?

We went to a diner we like called the Cooks Room for breakfast. Normally Lola is indifferent to what we eat but as soon as Maggie started to have her poached egg Lola sat up and was very interested. This is the first time she's eaten anything from one of our plates. It was very fun.

Fiber days at the farm

A sheep enjoying the scent of Lola's fat little feet

A local historic farm had a textile festival today complete with llamas, sheep, cows, bunnies, herding dogs, and lots of arts and crafts made from the yarn of the llamas and sheep. It was a beautiful day, Lola charmed the ladies at the fair with her big smile, tiny teeth, and dimples. Click here for more photos from the farm.

Lola admires the sleek llamas after they gave up their luxuriant coats for the cause

Playing with the "new" camera

A New Englander at heart

Just when it seemed spring had given over to an early summer here on the east coast, the 80 degree heat has been replaced by crisp, spring days and cooler nights. Since Lola was born in September, she's used to being bundled up for bed in warm clothes, thicker blankets, and of course; the all important hat. Here is Lola sporting some of her cool weather bedtime gear.

Lola bundled up for bedtime

But wait, what is that hidden under her blanket, could it be she's hiding her true colors? Oh no, a Red Sox suit!

Lola giving a shout out to her homie, Youk!

Baby in the bumbo

Lola has been practicing her sitting, rolling from back to belly, and reaching out with her hands to grasp objects. She really enjoys her new bumbo seat, smiling as she passes her stuffed dog hand to hand and shaking it like a polaroid picture.

Sufferin' succotash!

Lola has always been very verbal, lately she's trying to make new sounds and she makes the funniest faces trying to spit them out. Her eyes scrunch shut, her mouth screws into crazy contortions, and her tongue sticks out, finally resulting in some new exclamation. There's no doubt she'll be a real talker once she gets that whole tongue thing figured out!

Big girl bed

Lola has slept in her bassinet at the base of our bed since she was born. She's finally gotten too big for the bassinet so she made the move into her crib in the nursery. She has a lot more room and has recently started sleeping on her side! Here's a picture of her snoozing with some of her homies.

First Taste of Ice Cream!

Ahhh spring. The fresh air, the sun, the local ice cream!

Lola, Scott and I partook of some of the area's bestest concotions at McNulty's yesterday. I had coconut almond and Scott had chocolate. Lola had both!

Yummy times with the beeb.

Ya ve valk around the block Svedish style

The weather has been beautiful lately, so we took full advantage of the lovely day by taking a walk around the block with the baby. Lola is finally tall enough to face forward in the baby bjorn, so she could enjoy all the sights and sounds during our trip. If you listen carefully you'll hear her singing in happiness. Fun times.

Easter with the Giordanos!

We are so very fortunate to be adopted by the Giordano family for some of the tastiest holiday celebrations of the year.  Chris and John are the parents of Suzanne, Brett's wife. Brett is Scott's brother.

Easter was gloriously sunny and mild - the egg hunt was a wonderful success as always - even Lola got an egg. We had a delicious dinner and great time catching up with the rest of the family.

from left: Brett, Alissa, Sue, Lola and me!

Toofs!

Spring has sprung! Flowers and trees are budding, and in the same fashion, Lola's first tooth is breaking through. Soon, she will be chomping on even more varieties of food with her brand spanking new baby toof!

Avocado goatee

 

  It's been so much fun giving Lola new foods to taste in her high chair. Here's a recent try with some avocado, yogurt, cereal, and formula. She's rockin a late St. Patrick's Day goatee!