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!