Sunday, July 9, 2023
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Grooving and Cruising
Over the past few weeks, some lovely things have happened. For one, our friend Teri had her very first baby. Baby Josie is super cute and we can't wait to meet her. We just hope she will be a good influence on our girls since "Danger" is literally her middle name. Ha!
In the mean time, Mommy has gone back to work. Her classes this year are a bit smaller than she is used to, but it is forcing Mommy to be more creative, which is something she enjoys. She also thinks the group of students she has this year seem very nice. So, all in all, it ought to be a good year. Penny went back to daycare full time. She is apparently not napping more than 45 minutes a day and is barely drinking. We are hoping she settles down as she gets used to going full time again. She seems pretty happy when we see her there.
Sophie has also gone back to school full time. Other than being pretty tired at the end of the day (and hence there is a big grump factor), she really seems happy to be back. I think she missed seeing her friends all the time.
With that said, other big changes are that Penny is now queen of cruising. She uses Sophie's kitchen, her own activity table, and the low lying furniture to cruise everywhere. It is extremely cute. Sophie has started playing soccer and is really loving it. We love seeing her dressed up in her little pink cleats, pink shin cards, and pink active wear.
Currently, we are preparing for Penny's first birthday party and all the halloween and month of October activities. So, exciting blog entries should be henceforth coming.
In the mean time, Mommy has gone back to work. Her classes this year are a bit smaller than she is used to, but it is forcing Mommy to be more creative, which is something she enjoys. She also thinks the group of students she has this year seem very nice. So, all in all, it ought to be a good year. Penny went back to daycare full time. She is apparently not napping more than 45 minutes a day and is barely drinking. We are hoping she settles down as she gets used to going full time again. She seems pretty happy when we see her there.
Sophie has also gone back to school full time. Other than being pretty tired at the end of the day (and hence there is a big grump factor), she really seems happy to be back. I think she missed seeing her friends all the time.
With that said, other big changes are that Penny is now queen of cruising. She uses Sophie's kitchen, her own activity table, and the low lying furniture to cruise everywhere. It is extremely cute. Sophie has started playing soccer and is really loving it. We love seeing her dressed up in her little pink cleats, pink shin cards, and pink active wear.
Currently, we are preparing for Penny's first birthday party and all the halloween and month of October activities. So, exciting blog entries should be henceforth coming.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Summer 2011
Well, time flew by and before I knew it, the summer had passed, so here's what happened!
First, we got a new dog. Her name Is Madeline (Maddy) Miranda. We adopted her from a lab rescue group. She was approximately 18 months old at the time of her adoption and is a bassador retriever (hald bassett hound, hald black labrador retriever). Her body is entirely black and she has a thin bassett hound build with a droopy labrador retriever face (making her look a bit like Hunter). She has made an excellent addition to our family and we look forward to when she stops eating kid toys that are left on the floor.
As we approached the official start to summer (i.e., the end of the academic year), the Miranda clan headed north to Ogunquit, ME. Mommy got stuck teaching until June 27th due to inclement weather extending the school year. As a result, everyone went on vacation in Ogunquit, ME, but Mommy had to drive back for a day to go to work. As it turns out, Daddy did great with his two girls all on his own in the foreign terrain of Maine and the whole family was able to enjoy the rest of their Maine vacation, featuring tons of beach time, pool time, chacky shopping time, seafood eating time and ice cream eating time. We even got to see an antique car museum (it was interesting...and a bit smelly), hang out with Grams' and Gramps' friends, Farron and Gary, and walked the Marginal Way. Mommy discovered that the Marginal Way is exceptionally easy to travel on when you aren't extremely pregnant (as she had been the year before).
As a semi aside, during this time in Maine, Penny really learned how to crawl. Now that it is the end of August, she is a lean, mean crawling machine, who occassionally cruises the furniture and enjoys walking with Mommy holding her dainty hands. But, back to the rest of our summer....
For the rest of the summer, Mommy, Sophie and Penny spent a lot of time going on playdates with friends, going to music classes, going to museums and discovering new out door places to pass time, like the Decordova Sculpture Park and the Chelmsford Bike Path. Mommy and Sophie also spent a lot of Penny's nap times on Sunny (but not too hot days) attempting to garden. Unfortunately, the weeds won this year, but next year, we shall declare our vistory! Sophie, Penny and Mommy also discovered a few new play areas that were great for crawling babies and hyper kids. Sophie also got to experience two separate weeks of camp. She really enjoyed it and we will do it again next year. Additionally, for the month of August, Sophie took swim lessons. She really likes it and will continue for the Fall (along with soccer lessons).
In terms of family visitation, we had a visit from the Pittsburgh Mirandas, which lef to another fabulous sleep-over between cousin Mara and Sophie. Mara was a godsend as the time of her sleep-over corresponded with Daddy's summer trip to India. Having Mara around was like having a little helper. Mommy only wishes she could have stayed the whole week Daddy was in India!
Additionally, Mommy, Sophie, Penny, and sometimes, Daddy, also made numerous trips down to New Rochelle to see the Stewart clan and to visit with Mommy's friend, Meredith, and her lovely son, Matthew. We had a wonderful time and Mommy wished she could have stayed longer.
During the course of the summer, Penny and Sophie experienced many changes. Penny has gotten very long and has a lovely head of wavy, dark hair. She also got 4 teeth (all central incisors). Sophie grew about 3 inches and now has a sweeping main of dark hair. She also has become an expert at taking cell phone photos, using skype, and talking on the phone.
Alas, the summer has come to an end and Mommy has to go back to work. Currently, Sophie and Penny are at daycare and in a few short weeks, Sophie's school year will start again, where she will go back to her Montessori that she loves.
In short, we had a wonderful summer that felt very short. We had lots of great adventures, and hopefully, I will start posting more often again.
Currently, there are now several albums newly posted:
June 2011
July 2011
August 2011
Cheers all!
First, we got a new dog. Her name Is Madeline (Maddy) Miranda. We adopted her from a lab rescue group. She was approximately 18 months old at the time of her adoption and is a bassador retriever (hald bassett hound, hald black labrador retriever). Her body is entirely black and she has a thin bassett hound build with a droopy labrador retriever face (making her look a bit like Hunter). She has made an excellent addition to our family and we look forward to when she stops eating kid toys that are left on the floor.
As we approached the official start to summer (i.e., the end of the academic year), the Miranda clan headed north to Ogunquit, ME. Mommy got stuck teaching until June 27th due to inclement weather extending the school year. As a result, everyone went on vacation in Ogunquit, ME, but Mommy had to drive back for a day to go to work. As it turns out, Daddy did great with his two girls all on his own in the foreign terrain of Maine and the whole family was able to enjoy the rest of their Maine vacation, featuring tons of beach time, pool time, chacky shopping time, seafood eating time and ice cream eating time. We even got to see an antique car museum (it was interesting...and a bit smelly), hang out with Grams' and Gramps' friends, Farron and Gary, and walked the Marginal Way. Mommy discovered that the Marginal Way is exceptionally easy to travel on when you aren't extremely pregnant (as she had been the year before).
As a semi aside, during this time in Maine, Penny really learned how to crawl. Now that it is the end of August, she is a lean, mean crawling machine, who occassionally cruises the furniture and enjoys walking with Mommy holding her dainty hands. But, back to the rest of our summer....
For the rest of the summer, Mommy, Sophie and Penny spent a lot of time going on playdates with friends, going to music classes, going to museums and discovering new out door places to pass time, like the Decordova Sculpture Park and the Chelmsford Bike Path. Mommy and Sophie also spent a lot of Penny's nap times on Sunny (but not too hot days) attempting to garden. Unfortunately, the weeds won this year, but next year, we shall declare our vistory! Sophie, Penny and Mommy also discovered a few new play areas that were great for crawling babies and hyper kids. Sophie also got to experience two separate weeks of camp. She really enjoyed it and we will do it again next year. Additionally, for the month of August, Sophie took swim lessons. She really likes it and will continue for the Fall (along with soccer lessons).
In terms of family visitation, we had a visit from the Pittsburgh Mirandas, which lef to another fabulous sleep-over between cousin Mara and Sophie. Mara was a godsend as the time of her sleep-over corresponded with Daddy's summer trip to India. Having Mara around was like having a little helper. Mommy only wishes she could have stayed the whole week Daddy was in India!
Additionally, Mommy, Sophie, Penny, and sometimes, Daddy, also made numerous trips down to New Rochelle to see the Stewart clan and to visit with Mommy's friend, Meredith, and her lovely son, Matthew. We had a wonderful time and Mommy wished she could have stayed longer.
During the course of the summer, Penny and Sophie experienced many changes. Penny has gotten very long and has a lovely head of wavy, dark hair. She also got 4 teeth (all central incisors). Sophie grew about 3 inches and now has a sweeping main of dark hair. She also has become an expert at taking cell phone photos, using skype, and talking on the phone.
Alas, the summer has come to an end and Mommy has to go back to work. Currently, Sophie and Penny are at daycare and in a few short weeks, Sophie's school year will start again, where she will go back to her Montessori that she loves.
In short, we had a wonderful summer that felt very short. We had lots of great adventures, and hopefully, I will start posting more often again.
Currently, there are now several albums newly posted:
June 2011
July 2011
August 2011
Cheers all!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
bad mommy!
So, I am a bad mommy because I have been derelict in my duties towards blogging about my children's lives. So, here's what has been missed.
On March 27th, Sophie celebrated her fourth birthday party at Plaster Fun Time. She invited her entire pre-school class plus some extra friends. Most of her classmates came as did most of her additional friends. They had a fantastic time painting pottery, eating chicken fingers and pizza and eating her gorgeous Tinker Belle birthday cake (bless you Hannaford for making yummy, beautiful cakes!).
During that weekend, Sophie also had a visit from her Pittsburgh relatives. She was especially excited to see Mara again. Mara even stayed over for a sleep-over and the girls spent the next day at the New England aquarium and then off to the movies to see "Gnomeo and Juliet" in 3D. They enjoyed the movie but were underwhelmed by the 3D option.
In April, both Sophie and Penny had their physicals. Sophie had her 4 year check-up where her height was mis-measured. Argh! So, we re-measured her at home and found her to be 41.75 inches tall! She's getting so big! Penny's 6 month check-up occurred in this time frame. She was 75th percentile for her weight, height and head circumference, making her a perfectly proportioned girl!
During April vacation, Mommy, Daddy, Sophie and Penny went down to NY for a few days and celebrated Grams' 60th birthday with the Stewart/Dann family. We also celebrated the first night of Passover with Mommy's Aunt Laura and Uncle Frank. Unfortunately, passover is a long holiday and we had to leave due to baby crankiness. This suited Sophie who takes after Daddy and does not appreciate NY Jewish food delicacies that often make Mommy extremely happy....and thus a swift trip to McDonald's was made on the way back to Grams' and Gramps' house to fill up Daddy and Sophie's bellies. Also during this visit, Naomi and Sophie had their first sleep-over and spent the following day at the mall with Mommy, Dadd and Penny since we had a car malfunction that ended our plans to go to the AMNH to see the dinosaurs. Sophie and Naomi had a great time anyway, in part, because they got to go to build-a-bear workshop.
In other news, since her 6 month check-up, Penny has now developed the ability to say "Mama" (as of May 21) and use it appropriately (as in, "Mama, I want you to pick me up or change my diaper or feed me!"). She has also developed a backwards army crawl (as of May 22), which can only mean forward walking sometime soon!
Since time is short, I will add a secondary picture blog to this entry soon!
On March 27th, Sophie celebrated her fourth birthday party at Plaster Fun Time. She invited her entire pre-school class plus some extra friends. Most of her classmates came as did most of her additional friends. They had a fantastic time painting pottery, eating chicken fingers and pizza and eating her gorgeous Tinker Belle birthday cake (bless you Hannaford for making yummy, beautiful cakes!).
During that weekend, Sophie also had a visit from her Pittsburgh relatives. She was especially excited to see Mara again. Mara even stayed over for a sleep-over and the girls spent the next day at the New England aquarium and then off to the movies to see "Gnomeo and Juliet" in 3D. They enjoyed the movie but were underwhelmed by the 3D option.
In April, both Sophie and Penny had their physicals. Sophie had her 4 year check-up where her height was mis-measured. Argh! So, we re-measured her at home and found her to be 41.75 inches tall! She's getting so big! Penny's 6 month check-up occurred in this time frame. She was 75th percentile for her weight, height and head circumference, making her a perfectly proportioned girl!
During April vacation, Mommy, Daddy, Sophie and Penny went down to NY for a few days and celebrated Grams' 60th birthday with the Stewart/Dann family. We also celebrated the first night of Passover with Mommy's Aunt Laura and Uncle Frank. Unfortunately, passover is a long holiday and we had to leave due to baby crankiness. This suited Sophie who takes after Daddy and does not appreciate NY Jewish food delicacies that often make Mommy extremely happy....and thus a swift trip to McDonald's was made on the way back to Grams' and Gramps' house to fill up Daddy and Sophie's bellies. Also during this visit, Naomi and Sophie had their first sleep-over and spent the following day at the mall with Mommy, Dadd and Penny since we had a car malfunction that ended our plans to go to the AMNH to see the dinosaurs. Sophie and Naomi had a great time anyway, in part, because they got to go to build-a-bear workshop.
In other news, since her 6 month check-up, Penny has now developed the ability to say "Mama" (as of May 21) and use it appropriately (as in, "Mama, I want you to pick me up or change my diaper or feed me!"). She has also developed a backwards army crawl (as of May 22), which can only mean forward walking sometime soon!
Since time is short, I will add a secondary picture blog to this entry soon!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Rice:0; Pears:1
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| From 2011-3-9 |
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| From 2011-3-9 |
This weekend, in addition to worry about the safety of our friends, the Nakazawas(we just found out that they were ok after the initial Earth quake, thankfully!), and bouts with various new illnesses striking Mommy and Penny (Mommy's tired and hurty, Penny has a fever), Penny has met her first milestone as a real human....she has started to eat actual food! Sophie and Daddy went to the Toys R' Us and bought Penny a well-deserved high chair now that Mommy thinks having a "space saver" chair is stupid when you never take the space saver one off the chair it is on-top of. So, now Penny has a brand, spanking new and very girly high chair. Daddy and Sophie also purchased some starter grains and some starter fruit and vegetable kits. At first, we tried to feed Penny rice mixed with formula. She was not a fan. However, since Mommy remembered that Sophie's first successful food (due to the same issue) was rice and pear nectar, Mommy opened up a jar of pears for Penny to try. This was far more successful and Penny has now enjoyed it around dinner time for two days in a row. If Mommy has time tomorrow, she will try to buy Penny some pear juice or nectar to mix in with some rice cereal after a few more days of just eating pears. It will likely depend on how well Penny is feeling.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sophie turns 4!!!
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| From 2011-3-9 |
This week, we celebrated Sophie's 4th birthday this week! It was a great day. She woke up, went to school, had a lovely celebration at school, went out for donuts with just Mommy right after school, came home, had ice cream cake with Mommy and Daddy and got a "Tangled" birthday present, involving a device that makes patterns on the ceiling with lights. Sophie was very excited the whole day and has spent the last four days talking about her next birthday and asking whether or not she was still four years-old today.
Also, over the past week, the Miranda clan went down to NY to visit the Stewart and Kellman clan and to meet the family's newest addition, Joshua Kellman. Sophie and Naomi had a lovely, two-day long playdate, Mommy got to hold Joshua a lot, and Penny enjoyed rolling around and learning how to blow the cutest raspberries, courtesy of Gramps. Penny has also become a champion at standing, able to stand for minutes at a time with just balance support from an adult. She is also excellent at sitting up with minimal support. She seems to be prepping her body for crawling, she rolls onto her tummy and kicks out her legs, but has yet been able to get up on her knees. I predict army crawling in her future.
In these coming weeks, we look forward to Penny starting to eat solids, a visit from the Pittsburgh Miranda clan, Sophie's 4th birthday party at Plaster Fun Time, a visit from Grams and Gramps, and hopefully more developmental milestones from Penny.
This week also marks a time of sadness for the world as a horrible earthquake shook the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. It shifted the entire country by 8 feet and caused an enormous tidal wave that destroyed much of the country. We currently wait to hear from friends abroad and to see what future news the mass media brings to us. Good luck to all our Japanese friends.
 |
| From 2011-3-9 |
 |
| From 2011-3-9 |
 |
| From 2011-3-9 |
Also, over the past week, the Miranda clan went down to NY to visit the Stewart and Kellman clan and to meet the family's newest addition, Joshua Kellman. Sophie and Naomi had a lovely, two-day long playdate, Mommy got to hold Joshua a lot, and Penny enjoyed rolling around and learning how to blow the cutest raspberries, courtesy of Gramps. Penny has also become a champion at standing, able to stand for minutes at a time with just balance support from an adult. She is also excellent at sitting up with minimal support. She seems to be prepping her body for crawling, she rolls onto her tummy and kicks out her legs, but has yet been able to get up on her knees. I predict army crawling in her future.
In these coming weeks, we look forward to Penny starting to eat solids, a visit from the Pittsburgh Miranda clan, Sophie's 4th birthday party at Plaster Fun Time, a visit from Grams and Gramps, and hopefully more developmental milestones from Penny.
This week also marks a time of sadness for the world as a horrible earthquake shook the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. It shifted the entire country by 8 feet and caused an enormous tidal wave that destroyed much of the country. We currently wait to hear from friends abroad and to see what future news the mass media brings to us. Good luck to all our Japanese friends.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Daddy's First Time in India
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| From 2011-02-09 |
For the past week, Daddy has been in Hyderabad, India, interacting with an engineering group there that he generally works with remotely from Cambridge, MA. He has been having quite the adventure! First, he was bumped from advanced coach up to business class. Then, he got to tour around one of the local sites. He also got to celebrate his 34th birthday there, complete with a cake being smashed into his face and he went to his very first Bryan Adams concert. While Mommy is uncertain about what to do with Daddy and his new found love of Bryan Adams, she is very happy he is having a great time.
In the meantime, Sophie, Mommy and Penny have been enjoying bachelorette life back in Massachusetts. Mommy had work this week and since she starts work at the same time as preschool opens, Sophie has been going to Penny's daycare all week. Mommy has been very proud of herself for getting to work on-time almost every day this week despite the 7am drop-off. Apparently, Sophie has had a wonderful time at daycare, playing with a few of her old friends and playing protective big sister. Penny has come home each day utterly exhausted, so having Sophie at daycare with her must be extra stimulating.
This coming week, Sophie, Mommy and Penny have some playdates, a dental appointment (for Mommy), and a tryp down to NY to visit the Stewart family and its affiliates. Mommy hopes that her big sister has her newest baby soon so that Mommy can see him ASAP and attend the bris. Sophie just hopes that "Tangled" is still playing in the theatre because she wants to take Naomi out to see it.
 |
| From 2011-02-09 |
In the meantime, Sophie, Mommy and Penny have been enjoying bachelorette life back in Massachusetts. Mommy had work this week and since she starts work at the same time as preschool opens, Sophie has been going to Penny's daycare all week. Mommy has been very proud of herself for getting to work on-time almost every day this week despite the 7am drop-off. Apparently, Sophie has had a wonderful time at daycare, playing with a few of her old friends and playing protective big sister. Penny has come home each day utterly exhausted, so having Sophie at daycare with her must be extra stimulating.
 |
| From 2011-02-09 |
 |
| From 2011-02-09 |
This coming week, Sophie, Mommy and Penny have some playdates, a dental appointment (for Mommy), and a tryp down to NY to visit the Stewart family and its affiliates. Mommy hopes that her big sister has her newest baby soon so that Mommy can see him ASAP and attend the bris. Sophie just hopes that "Tangled" is still playing in the theatre because she wants to take Naomi out to see it.
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