Bedtime for B13

Lately the kids have been sporting their "B13 Casino" shirts from our cousin's bar mitzvah.  Good news for me:  it's going to be a while until they outgrow these.

Big Girl

Sometimes I forget what a big girl Ashley is now that she's in kindergarten:

ONE THOUSAND

Hate to toot my own horn, but this is post #1,000!  Cheering, jeering, hootin' and a-hollerin' in the background....  Thanks to our loyal readers (all five of you) for staying with us for the past five years.  Here's to five more!

To celebrate, let's check out some fun photos from the Ecotarium in Worcester.  What a fun trip!  There was so much to do inside and outside;  we'll go again soon.  Even Tate had fun, although he was napping when these photos were snapped.

Waiting for the train to depart

Duck hunting, anyone?

midway through tower building

Most fun of all, we watched Karly help Ashley build a tower.  Amanda help Adam build a home.

Floppy Ears

The hats Grandma knitted for the citizens are still going strong.  They pulled them out the other day when the weather got chilly (finally!).

Mommy and Me

What a fun photo of us together!

Thankful

So thankful for family!  We had a wonderful evening with our cousins.  There's one little dude missing from the photo.  Unfortunately he was tired and went to bed a bit earlier.  We'll get it next year!

Bedroom Fortress

The kids woke up in a good mood on Saturday.  But it was too early for Mommy, Daddy and Tate.  So what's a kid to do?  Why, build a fort of course.  I got the grand tour at a more appropriate hour:

Who am I?

Tate knows the answer to this question.  And one day in the future when I show this to him and jokingly ask him this question, maybe he'll belt out "Jean Valjean!"

Orchid Show

Every year the Massachusetts Orchid Society has a show at the local Mahoney's.  It's beautifully done with multiple displays and each year I see a new species that I don't remember from the previous year.

This year Tate volunteered to join me.  I'm not sure he enjoyed it as much as I did, but he smiled when it was important:

Doe Orchards

This year our favorite orchard closed for the season on the early side due to the drought.  We found Doe Orchards in central MA.  We all had a great time!

Walk-a-thon

When your feet are small, any distance feels like it's a walk-a-thon.  Especially if you're pushing extra weight around:

Cookies

As long as we're on a sugar high, here's a clip of Tate and one of his first cookies:

First Birthday: Cake!

Tate loved the cake!  He couldn't wait to eat it!

Are these edible too?

First Birthday Photos: Friends

Lots of our friends gathered with us to celebrate:

First Birthday Photos: Family

For those dedicated readers who pay close attention, you might have been patiently waiting for photos from Tate's first birthday party.  Your wait is over!  These will be posted in three entries, because there were so many great photos of our family and friends, many of whom traveled from near and far.

Today's post:  family!