Yard Maintainence

David playing in the mulch

Who knew that two little strips of dirt on our patio would require so much work to keep up? Brad had fun at Home Depot with David. They bought tulips and some other plants, even a raspberry bush. Gardening must be good for the soul after such a long winter. Brad was so excited to put everything in. We aren't sure what will turn out in this different climate. From what I observed David's contribution to the work included eating a lot of dirt and digging a bit. Our neighbor Mr. B was a little more helpful...

Mr. B cleaning up the leaves. He even shared his little plastic shovel with David.

Up Meghan Up!

Meghan came to spend a week with us too, boy were we spoiled! I won't even admit to all the little chores she did...but it was SO nice. She took David for an afternoon out which was amazing. I truly feel blessed to have such support and love from family and friends. I didn't mind her company either. :) We can always find something to talk about for hours on end...She taught David a new word; "up." I was jealous since he would only say it for her. Meghan and I left all the boys at home for a quick breakfast to finish out her stay. I just felt bad that most of the time she was here we were at home. Taking both little guys out is a challenge. Thanks Meghan, we miss you.

Baby Pictures

William

Our good friend John from dental school agreed to take some pictures of William. Here is a little sneak peek of the results. Thanks John; especially because we know it took you away from your family during a coveted afternoon off! It was interesting because we ended up with more photos of David than William. David was just a ham and wanted to be the center of attention during the shoot. Is this an early sign of sibling rivalry?! We are excited to have some great shots that look much better than anything our point and shoot and amateur skill could have done.

Brothers

These shots will be hard for awhile. David can't hold William and William obviously can't sit up. But it was fun to try.

David smiles for the camera

Bye-Bye Grandma Noelene

Grandma Noelene and William

Brad's Mom came not long after my Mom left. We somehow survived the 14 month old, the newborn, and Brad's hectic school schedule until more help arrived. We spent a very nice week with Grandma Noelene. She was kind enough to sleep in David's room and take care of him in the mornings so I could get a little extra sleep. And of course she couldn't hold baby William enough.

Noelene made us a wonderful corned beef, cabbage, and soda bread dinner on St. Patrick's Day. She always seemed to be taking care of one of the boys. She even stayed back from church so I could go. We were even able to show Grandma some things (see posts about Boston Common and Maple Sugarin') We felt spoiled to have so much help.

Posing with David

Maple Sugarin'

Excited to learn about maple syrup

We took a trip to see how maple syrup is made and we weren't disappointed. There are only a few places in the US and Canada where trees can be tapped and we live in one of them! The entire tour was free and very interesting. David liked the outing and again William slept most of the time. We were glad to show grandma a little bit more of New England. Brad is hoping to tap some of the maple trees in our apartment complex next winter...

David found his favorite--a "ruff ruff"

Notice any similarities?

We keep him on a leash too!

Father and son

The steps to making maple syrup. 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon. No wonder it is so tasty.

Drilling into the treeBuckets to collect the dripping sap

Tasting the sapHow it used to be boiled downHow it is boiled down todayAnd our favorite...sampling the maple products!

Maple spread is sure tasty.

Boston Common

All of us at standing close to some important statue and squinting...

Since Brad had the day off school (Wednesday, March 18th) and Grandma Noele was here to see the new baby we thought we'd show her around a bit. Brad was surprised at how hard it was to get out the door. I guess that it what happens when you add another one to the family. We took a drive down to Boston (I was not about to ride the subway with a brand new baby) to see what we could see. We ended up driving around the Beacon Hill area. That was interesting. It is one of the most expensive places to live in America. It was fun to see some of the old brownstone homes too. You can see a lot more in the winter when the trees are bare.

David enjoying the new playground in America's oldest park

We parked in a garage and took in Boston Common or "The Common" as locals call it. It is something like Central Park in New York City but a lot smaller and a lot older. William slept almost the entire outing. As always David loved being outside. I think the weather was a little cold for Grandma but apparently Brad and I have acclimated and loved seeing the sun.

We walked through the public garden--it will look a lot better during the spring and summer. I am sure glad that someone thought to set aside greenspace in the city all those years ago. Today made us feel that winter won't last forver and got us thinking about all the places in New England we still want to visit.

Leprechauns & St. Patrick's Day

Remaining true to Duffy (my maiden name) tradition the leprechauns visited our house during the night. They left a trail of gold and green coins from David's room to the kitchen. David started putting the different coins in his mouth just for the heck of it. He was really happy to find that after he bit into some of them he got chocolate back. But he wasn't really patient enough to remove the foil before biting. That was about the extent of his excitement. But I was sure glad the leprechauns found our apartment all the way out here in Massachusetts. They must just know how important their yearly visit is to me.

I'm not sure about my brother.

Just look at them! David was giving William loves but obviously William wasn't too happy about that.

Brad and David

Wearing green so they didn't get pinched. Cute!