Author Archives: joel

Ahoy!

Posted on August 9, 2008 by joel

The other day, Carter found Sean's pirate costume from last Halloween, and she insisted that we put it on her. Doesn't she look so sweet? They've been watching a show called "The Wiggles" lately, and there is a character on that show called "Captain Feathersword", the friendly pirate. So both of the kids have been obsessed with pirates lately.

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Goodbye, Diapers!

Posted on August 8, 2008 by joel
A few days ago, we decided (based on his pediatrician's recommendation) to go cold turkey on daytime diapers with Sean. After all the resistance he's been giving us over the last couple of months, I expected a disaster. But we told him he was too big for diapers, and that he was responsible for his own potty training at this point. We told him that we weren't going to remind him to go anymore, and that if he had an accident he would have to clean it up himself. And guess what? He's been 4 days now with no daytime diaper, and he hasn't had a single accident. It's been good for him in more ways than one - he's so incredibly proud of himself, and it gives him a new sense of responsibility. I only wish we'd tried this sooner.
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An Animated Short – Man Falling Down

Posted on July 20, 2008 by joel
Last night I was sitting next to Sean on the couch at wind-down time, and he was drawing on his "doodle board", as he calls it. Check these out - he's starting to draw actual recognizable things that are more complex than just shapes. These happy faces are complete with eyes, mouths, and legs! Plus, even though it was just a coincidence, the sequence (shown in the same order they were drawn), looks like frames of an animation of someone falling down, doesn't it? (You can click on the individual frames to see larger versions.)


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Town Lake

Posted on July 19, 2008 by joel
Lori and her mom took the kids to the town beach today. As you can see, they didn't have any fun at all. Heh heh. Carter is finally starting to warm up to the water. I am starting to wonder if the only reason she was so hesitant earlier this summer was just due to the temperature of the water.


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Day Out with Thomas

Posted on July 13, 2008 by joel

We spent this morning in North Conway for the "Day Out with Thomas" event. We had high hopes, because Thomas is one of Sean's favorite things right now. But I think it was the combination of not getting enough sleep the night before (sister is sick and kept waking up coughing, which kept us all awake), and being overstimulated by all that was going on. It was more crying and throwing fits that smiles and happiness. We had one brief moment of fun - once we were actually seated on the train and it was moving, Sean was all smiles as he looked out the window and talked about everything he was seeing. But it took a lot of frustration to get us there. Maybe next year we'll have better luck, and plan a bit better for keeping things manageable for him.

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Saco River

Posted on July 13, 2008 by joel
For dinner, we headed down to the Saco River with the grill and a few towels. Sean headed straight into the water, and got a huge kick out of wearing his new Lightning McQueen lifejacket. He's been wearing it around the house ever since we bought it, and he finally got a chance to try it out today. And surprising all of us, Carter went in the river too! She's been avoiding the water like the plague all summer, and we thought we'd have to wait until next year before she'd be willing to give it a go. It took half an hour of her throwing rocks into the river to build up enough nerve to actually put her feet in it, but she eventually took the plunge. Grampy made burgers and dogs on the shore, the kids swam, daddy skipped rocks - it was a pretty awesome way to spend dinnertime.




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First Time Up North

Posted on July 13, 2008 by joel
On Friday, the kids arrived up north to join Dad and I. It was the their first time, of what will hopefully be many future visits. First order of business when they arrived was to head over to the playground, to let them burn off their pent-up energy from sitting in the van for three hours.


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Arethusa Falls – Frankenstein Cliff

Posted on July 13, 2008 by joel
Dad and I hit the Arethusa Falls / Frankenstein Cliff loop the day before Lori was due to arrive with the kids. The falls were beautiful, but crowded. But we saw only three other groups on the Frankenstein Cliff, and they were all traveling in the other direction. The cliff itself commanded a fantastic view - although truth be told, my vertigo had me standing (alright, sitting) about forty feet back from the edge. On the trail down from the cliff, you pass under a bridge for the railroad that passes through this area. I've always wondered what it would be like to be there as a train passed by. Somehow, we timed it perfectly. We got their, climbed up to the bridge to check it out, and heard the train blow it's whistle not 30 seconds later. Amazing!


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Sawyer Pond

Posted on July 13, 2008 by joel
After our warm-up hike of Black Cap earlier in the day, we were prepared to head out for an overnight stay at Sawyer Pond. I've been reading some about ultralight backpacking, and have slimmed my overnight gear down to something that will fit in my rucksack, rather than taking my big overnight bag. As you can see, Dad and Mike had some fairly large loads, however. Although both were more bulky than heavy, to be honest. But I thought Mike's looked especially funny, with that huge sleeping bag sticking off of the back like a chair. We started at the northern end of the trail, and less that a mile in the sky opened up and the downpour began. We were soaked to the skin instantly. But the air and rain were both pretty warm, so it was more fun than depressing. Of course, it scrubbed our overnight plans, as our gear got pretty wet. But we still got a chance to see the campsites and shelter, and the view of the pond with the mountains behind was quite beautiful. We plan to go back soon, and hopefully this time with Lori in tow as well.


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Sean and Daddy Day

Posted on July 13, 2008 by joel

Sean and I had a father-son day today. Lori took Carter out to run some errands, and Sean and I went to Maudslay State Park for a hike. We did about 2.5 to 3 miles total, and much to my surprise Sean walked the whole way. He was a little tired by the end, but he never even asked to be carried. We found some old foundations out in a field, and Sean walked on the top 2 inches protruding from the grass, chugging like an engine as he went. We did four laps before he was ready to move on. That hike proved to me that once I get him up north with me, there are probably a few short hikes in the Whites that he could handle. I can't wait!

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