Happy New Year

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.