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.