The October Experience

Mark and I took Frances to Brooksby Farm in Peabody, MA, for an October Experience.  It's safe to say that Frances and I define a good October Experience differently.  For example, we don't even have a picture of Frances picking out a pumpkin because she couldn't be bothered - there was a tractor that needed to be inspected.  Cider doughnuts also didn't impress her much.  She held one and nibbled it for a few seconds and then she was over it.  Tragic.

Her next favorite activity was visiting the pigs.  They were so deep in mud that Mark didn't get much closer than this when taking their picture:

But Frances liked 'em.

She was very interested in the llamas, though she's pretty sure they're called "mamas," or "mmamas" I guess.

Her favorite activity?  Hanging out in this crate, her "house."  I thought it was terribly cute, once I found her.

Summary: one good crate is all you need for a happy October Experience.  So glad we have you around to show us these things, kiddo.

Family Outing, Two Years In

The Head of the Charles Regatta was held last weekend, a very big deal annual rowing regatta. 

It holds a nostalgic place in my heart. Our first autumn here, it snowed the weekend of the regatta and I didn't attend. Instead, I laid my pregnant self on the couch and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into, moving to this place where it snowed in October. I emailed my parents in Arkansas several times to tell them that it was still snowing. I didn't know it, but I was days, rather than weeks, from having Frances. 

Last year, Frances and I went sans Mark, who was studying at school and couldn't come.  Frances was almost a year old and busy doing age-appropriate things, like eating rocks.  I spent most of the time being a little overwhelmed with how naive I'd been the year before about all that was about to happen - the week in the hospital followed by months of little sleep and much Frances.

This year, Mark finally got to come too, but he was sick and cold.  Frances was much less interested in the boats than I'd expected.  She was more interested in two-year old things, like dancing on manhole covers...

...and throwing rocks into the Charles...

...and other squirrelly two-year old things.

Oh, my Lord, next year Frances will be three.  She can almost count to three.  Her counting goes like this: "Three, two, three!" in a very enthusiastic voice.  She may not be ready for Harvard yet, but she's not too shabby, either.  Maybe one day she'll compete in the regatta.

Dare to dream, ol' Mommy.

Frances at the Arboretum

One of our new home's selling points is its proximity to Arnold Arboretum, "the oldest public arboretum in North America and one of the world’s leading centers for the study of plant biodiversity."  It's also a great place to go for a stroll on a Sunday afternoon.

Some of us were more interested in strolling than others.  Frances, for instance, was very happy camping out under some trees.

We eventually moved on to throwing rocks into a stream.  That's about as far as we got.

Really, though, I'd hang out with this cuteness just about anywhere she wants to be.

Kiddo Under the Weather

Frances has a cold and some teeth coming in, so she was feeling puny when she woke up from her nap the other day.  Luckily, she thinks a snuggle with Dad and some "Wallace and Gromit" are pretty hot stuff.

Dad thinks if he doesn't look at the camera, it can't see him.

Poor Dad.

Mom thinks the background in her pictures is going to be much better in the new house.  Photos coming next month!

Super Frances to the Rescue!

"What is this travesty?"  Super Frances asked herself, peering into Daddy's oatmeal.  "Daddy only has one spoon.  I must remedy this situation!"

"There. Problem solved.  Thank goodness I'm so Super."

Frances in the Orchard

Alas, blueberry season is over, but beautiful New England offers up a new bounty:

Last Sunday, we took Frances apple picking for the first time at Honey Pot Hill Orchard in Stow, MA.  It was ridiculously hot and crowded at the orchard, but Frances didn't mind.  She thought the ladders were great playthings.

We eventually enticed her away from the ladder and into the actual trees.  

There were apples everywhere.  Frances was quite pleased with these two she found on the ground.

With some coaxing, she picked a few off the trees, not the ground.

The picking took about five minutes.  And then it was back to the ladders.

Very successful day.  Frances and I have been munching on apples all day long and Mark was very receptive to the apple pie we made with our pickings.

Frances at the Topsfield Fair

Last Saturday was gorgeous here in Massachusetts.  Mark and I took Frances up to the Topsfield Fair, America's oldest agricultural fair.  Frances was a little under the weather; it took her awhile to get engaged in the festivities.

This is Frances being interested in a chain and me trying to get her interested in anything else.

The cows were a little interesting, but not thrilling.

This teeny tiny goat needed to be examined for about ten minutes before Frances was interested in touching it.  Gotta be careful around baby pygmy goats.  Never know what they'll do.

By the time we made it to the tractor display, Frances was showing some real joy.  This front loader was very popular with little miss.

Then, we found the miniture train display.  Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!

And we were still home in time for naps - which made Mom and Dad pretty happy, too.

Twenty-Three Months of Toddler Frances

So, not the best pictures, but on Frances's twenty-three months birthday, we found ourselves out for dinner with Frances's friend, Sophia.  We were celebrating making an offer on a house.  Frances was celebrating her French Fries.

Here we go:

• Language: I'm a little behind on the language list.  Some that I've failed to mention in previous posts include milk, bagel, run, "eep" for sleep, Abby, Amy, mouse and house.  Her new words this month are Elmo, towel, nut, bright, bridge, tunnel, "rit" for read, "oap" for soap, and "rickie" for cookie.  She only signs cracker, airplane, bird, blueberry, and more.  All her other signs have been replaced with spoken words.  I read somewhere that at her age Frances should "have" 150 to 300 words.  I don't think she speaks even close to that many, but I could believe that she understands that many.
• Locomotion: Running, running, running.  And she doesn't fall down half as much as she used to.
• Favorite song: Old MacDonald, and her favorite animals to sing about are horses and dolphins.  Making the dolphin sound is...interesting.
• Favorite books: You Can Go to the Potty, by William and Martha Sears and a Sesame Street dictionary.  I prefer the Sesame Street dictionary.
• Social skills: When Frances began trying to socialize with kids at the playground, she would walk up to them, tilt her head towards the kids and then raise her eyebrows.  Success was rare.  Now, she runs circles around her intended playmate, hoping the kid will engage in a chase.  One poor child gave me a look that said, "What am I supposed to do with this?" but then gamely chased after Frances for at least 20 minutes. Thank you, thank you stranger child at the playground for indulging my child.
• Frequent conversations:  As with last month,

                   Frances: Wet?

                   Me: (I can say anything here, really, then Frances will say...)

                   Frances: Bath (pronounced "Bas").

             Another "conversation" we have goes like this,

 

                   Frances: Daddy choo-choo.

                   Me: Yes, Daddy rides the choo-choo train to work.

• One word to describe Frances this month: pre-Humdinger.  Not everyday, but some days Frances can really give us a run for the money.  The next year might be long.