New Game!

When Lily was born one of the gifts that she received was a cool little toy from Gordon's Uncle and Aunt, Nelson and Jeanette, and their two kids, Emma and Evan. The toy has four holes at the top where you can put these hard plastic balls. Then there's a hammer so you can push the balls through the holes into a series of ramps. The ball eventually comes out the front. The balls have been among Lily's favorite toys as long as she could grab and hold things. She loves carrying them around, banging them against each other (and anything else she can find) and watching them roll around on the hard wood floors. Up to now she has been too young to really get the "game" part of the contraption. Well just last week she and I were playing on the floor and I decided to try engaging her in the whole process. Mostly I just get bored and need ways to entertain myself. Anyway, I put the ball on top, hammered it through the hole. She watched it come out, picked it up and put it back on top for me to hit again. Sounds mundane - but it was very exciting for me. It's the first time we've really played a game like that together. She was enthralled with it and became annoyed if I slacked on my hammering duties! A few days later she was using her hand to push the balls through all by herself. Thanks for the great toy Nelson and Jeanette!

Fall in Somerville

Gordon just purchased a new Nikon SLR digital camera. He's really excited about it and has been taking a lot of shots as he plays around with it and gets to know the camera better. Yesterday we went out for a "Friday after Thanksgiving" walk to get Anna's Taqueria for lunch and just enjoy the New England Fall scenery. There is a bike path right by our house that leads directly to Davis Square. It's a great place to walk - Lily loves waving at all of the doggies and other kids she sees on the path. In the Fall the bike path is extra pretty because of all the trees. Most of the leaves have turned yellow and orange and there is this really pretty yellowish glow that seems to envelop you when the light is just right. Gordon tried to capture the effect - I think these came out pretty great. He's got a photography class coming up in January - so check back for more fun pictures as he learns the ropes!

Thanksgiving

Every year we spend Thanksgiving at my Mom's cousin's house. Gail and Bev graciously open their house and host a lovely dinner for about 22 people. This year we had a 28 pound turkey, the usual assortment of stuffings (everyone has a favorite recipe), sweet potatoes done a few ways, squash, carrots & turnips, ham, corn, pumpkin bread, biscuits, the list goes on! While sitting around the table we realized that Gail and Bev have been hosting for about 16 years now - how time does fly!

Of course this year was Lily's first year at our gathering. She had a spot at the head of the table in Casey's old high chair (thanks for sharing Casey!). She thoroughly enjoyed all the new foods and loved being able to see everyone as we all ate. Her cousin Victoria (shown with Lily below) took special care of her all day. My Grandmother was able to be there with us too - we are so thankful for her presence.

We are very thankful to have such wonderful family to celebrate the holidays with. Oh, and today is also Lily's 11 month birthday - happy "birthday" Lily!

Halloween

Thanks to Grandma Masterson Lily's had her Halloween costume since February! The costume fits her name very well, but not so much her temperament. She's definitely not a delicate little thing, but she still made an adorable flower anyway :) We weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves since Lily's a bit too young for traditional trick or treating. Our building isn't very approachable for trick-or-treaters - 6 units with a main entrance set back pretty far from the sidewalk. So we decided to take our candy outside and go sit on the wall in front. After giving out some candy there we then decided to wander around our street for a bit. Turns out Halloween is well celebrated here with lots of people out on their front stoops passing out candy. We got to meet a number of our neighbors and had a great time. Next year Lily will be the one leading US around!