Jeff Kaufman :: Blog Posts :: RSS Feed :: Contact 2021
Highlights
Papa shirt, napkin hat Anna likes the new hair options The last night! Chronological
Singing Beach with Molly and Tinker Anna inspects a geode she opened I think this shirt has been in rotation for twenty years now, and I got it used Lily wanted us to go back to Singing Beach the next weekend for more rocks Still masking outdoors, even on an empty beach. Silly in retrospect, but at least it keeps your face warm. Lily climbed way up in the rocks with Lee Science kit from Christmas Inspecting the results Anna thinks Nora looks cute, even in utero Hi baby! Lily loves to climb on rocks Anna made a crown Socially distanced picnic Marblehead Light again, on a really cold and windy day Al made turtle rolls Sledding at tower park Lily wanted a drum kit, so I made something out of old footboard parts Lexington Park in the snow Laundry makes good dressups Anna tells us about her picture Snow piles on the sidewalks Large snow pile in the Brown School lot Experiments in makeup Movie day Nora's getting closer! Lesson with mama Tire swing at Playstead Outdoor birthday party Opening presents Anna's bed drawings have foot lumps Lily reads present cards Playing in the snow with Amy, Baxter, and Skarpy Me: Lily, do you remember what you were excited about? Lily: no Blanket fort Starting the hidey hole Partial floor More flooring Planning a spider prank Bubble wrap costume More foreshadowing Our backyard is good for mudding We made caramel apples, but the kids mostly wanted to eat the caramel off them No I wouldn't like to leave them here! Seed catalog Sleepover in Anna's room, but not falling asleep Did eventually fall asleep Very icy, but not not if you stay on your knees Musical sculpture along the Mystic Stevie and Morgan visiting while we're both on parental leave Adventures by the sea Anna, marker Lily puts on a one-girl play for the house Beach with cousins A horse comes by! Shadow puppets in the front hall Lily turns eight Julia made her just the cake she wanted Pin the tail on the donkey at another Playstead birthday Getting ready for Passover Passover with housemates I propose they just give me the afikomen Rainbow kites at Lexington Park Another Singing Beach visit Looking for Easter eggs This year Anna doesn't need a help A sculpture inside an old phone box Anna learning to pump Relatives in Carslile, with Anne and Lee's new RV in the background Visiting the farm where Spencer works Lily wanted to go very high on the horizontal swing We drove way too far to visit relatives where they were staying on
the Cape. The weather was so cold we only spent about an hour and a
half with them before driving home. Salisbury beach Family friends at Barb and Jon's Lily's good at biking now, and almost outgrowing her's May day celebration A lake house with Ricci for a week. The house had a bouncy castle Fencing with Ricci We went for a walk, and went farther than we intended. The peanutbutter pretzels Lily had in her bag were the main food we had with us. I thought they were very tasty, but Anna was less sure. Lily reads to Anna. She loves these Fairy books. Ricci teaching Lily Go The dryer at the lake house vents indoors. Lots of fun drawing in the condensation! Ricci brought his Sunfish We went on another walk that ended up being farther than we intended. All the way around Buffumville Lake! Cecilia was watching Lily and Anna a few days a week. D&D was very popular. This was originally Thomas the Tank Engine, but Julia replaced the fabric because the original had fire retardants. Playing in the lake with cousins. First grandparent visit, now that they're vaccinated and rates are down. Anna loves her mittens Lets go out and splash in puddles! Two serious fans of France in Junior Eurovision Welcome Nora! Very happy to get to hold her Both older kids are super excited about her Picking mulberries Nora is oblivious to hammocks and most things We went strawberry picking with cousins, and there was a wooden boat to play in Anna is getting to hold Nora too now More mullberries. I'm up for doing some shoulder rides, but not indefinitely. Anna picks her own berries, with great effort. Splash pad at Albion Park One of our friends has blueberry bushes Olivia's birthday in Medford Lily reads to us Rosie loves babies Cozy baby naps The older kids want Nora cuddles before bed The bouncy castle on vacation was so much fun that Ricci decided to buy one for his house The cousins are into taking walks around the block Another sleepover Anna wants to hold Nora all the time Lily is starting to work on holding Nora standing up Anna still loves to hide Tea at Barb's Anna has loved plums since she started solids Tree House with relatives in Marion. We didn't bring Nora into the main house all trip since she was so little and we weren't sure about covid. This is a screened-in porch. Alice's face painting is popular I slept in a tent with the older two; Julia was in the little house with Nora Singing party Sleepy Morgan, sleeping Nora More face painting, but can't quite stop playing with Nora And even more Nora when Alice refills her brush Anna waits while Ricci and I finish Go Nora has never been a fan of tummy time Ricci adventure to Wareham Such a proud sister Morgan, Val, Stevie Rosie, Anna, Davy Nora has constant company Still light enough for naps without a carrier Anna chasing Felix The kids put on a performance Saying goodnight to the ocean after dinner Anna joins our weekly Werewolf game with Swat folks Lily has been collecting cans Anna came along to help deposit them Tuesday family dinner at Ricci's Big Slide Park (Robbins Farm Park) Anna still loves picking flowers Lily is slowly getting better at reading We went peach picking. Anna seems to have found an apple tree somewhere. Alice is in residency and is always working, but it's nice to get to see her when they give her some time off. Reanimating a tree Muffin cones at Valley Pond with cousins Nora knows little, so everything is surprising Bedtime Nora cuddles are still very important Nora is well documented Pickup sticks with Ricci Our neighbor had a mental health breakdown and the cops showed up with long guns Nora is unsure Lily found a used pinata in the trash. After repairing and refilling it she brought it to the beach, and invited everyone to help her break it. Moving season: bringing home a discarded easel And fancy clothes someone was throwing out Such tiny feet! Nora especially liked thumpy bass The wagon is helpful as people shed layers Anna loves honeysuckle Coloring designs to be made into plates; something we also did as kids Trum Field is the best place near us for kites Still warm enough for Sandy Beach Erika is back with us as a Nanny now Winning at hide and seek Grandparents visit again, now that there's a Nora Olivia's family decided to go with training wheels Wagon again being very useful The kids love the little hidden trail along the side of the bike path Mac and cheese, chicken nuggets: very easy kid food Making a fire truck for Felix's birthday Porchfest Cousins park at our house for Honk Honk is loud enough that we have ear protection for Nora Finishing the hidey hole Birthday celebration brunch at Rosie's My work sent me a pumpkin to carve (really!) and Nora likes the box Nora will tolerate the wizard costume for long enough for a picture Lily made herself a cowgirl costume. Hidey hole in use! Rockport with Ricci and Rosie On the other side of the harbor Lily tries map making Judy and Jim's cider party Chipping the apples Pressing out the juice needs four hands! Anna likes to bring stuffies to Kindergarten Nora isn't sure about swings yet Playing our first dance since 2020! A rare Tuesday dinner without little cousins means playing with the fragile dolls Flying to NC to see Julia's family for an early Thanksgiving; first travel since 2020 Backyard swing at Grandma and Grampa's new home Reading comics aloud Flying home again. Both kids strongly prefer window seats. String art turns out to be a little too hard Cranberry-Orange relish for Thanksgiving Cousins! Anne and Lee up for Thanksgiving Nora's wearing a Suzie sweater Nicky meets Nora Lily and Lee play Go Gingerbread decorating party Everyone wants to push Nora in the swing Kids' second covid shot goes much better than the first Indoor rocket launching is a questionable pastime Reading Herschel and the Hannukah Goblins Apple strings from the apple torture machine at family
dinner Anna has a reading and writing lesson Maia visits Playing dreidel Trying to keep the dreidel on the table A turtle costume Lily lights the candles Bike riding with school friends Anna thinks it's silly that we eat roots Anna's turn to light candles Nora spends a lot of time unsure Lily wanted antennae The easel has a whiteboard on the back Felix walking on a wall Decorating the tree Family Christmas at Ricci's The drawers under Oli's bed are great fun Lots of face tickles Ice breaking Making truffles Distracting Nora while she eats Relatives visit for Christmas at Ricci's Nora has help opening her presents Stuffies are light enough you don't need a carrier Rocks at Powederhouse Anna likes the neck warmer Rosie knit Visiting Abby and Eric's for another outdoor gathering The Grab (Yankee Swapish) with remote participants. Hoping no one remote takes what I put in so I don't have to deal with shipping... Climbing at Tower Park Magic with cousins. I'll play Magic with other people's decks, but drafting is a lot more fun because we're on a more even footing. Singing Beach with relatives and Barb's family Making giaotze Dixit with Mary, Eddie, and Nathan, who are staying with us Nora tries a strawberry Dinner at Stevie and Vals Everyone present is comfortable with no masks given the daily rapid testing we've been doing all week Lily asks for Dixit a lot, and Mary says yes a lot Wandering around Lexington Very cozy Nora, inside a coat Julia expanded for Lily 
