Smile?

Rebecca Mudrick, an awesome photographer that we know, came to Boston. We were one of the lucky ones who got to have a session with her. Now, Ali is pretty camera shy, so we were kind of nervous that we wouldn't get any good pictures. In anticipation of the photo session we decided that Alicia might be more comfortable in front of a camera if she learned to control the situation...ie learn to smile on purpose. Well this is the result.
This specific smile is the show your teeth smile. If you notice she is actually looking at the camera! Also I dyed my hair black which was fun. It turned out pretty blue, but the lighting is not right to see the color properly. I have never been good enough at photography to know anything about lighting.

This is her smile if we just tell her to smile. She wanted to take the picture with Kat, so we let her.

Yea! for Fall! It has been raining this last week, and since Alicia loves to carry an umbrella and wear her rain boots. I decided we should document it.

Blessing

This weekend we blessed Katherine. My sister came Wednesday, and on Friday Nick's sister, brother-in-law and Mom came. Then on Saturday his dad came. Needless to say we had a full house. We had loads of fun though. On Saturday we took family pictures which turned out great. I don't think I can post those due to copyright laws, but we did get a couple of everyone after the blessing.

I think Katherine won over everyone this weekend, but Abuelito and Abuelita were smitten.


This is Nick's sister Gaby with Katherine in her blessing dress. As you can see by the smile on her face, Kat loved her, but then every child seems to LOVE Gaby.

We invited our neighbor Jim to the blessing. Much to our joy he decided to come. For those who do not know him, he is one of Ali's favorite people.

Swan Ride

This weekend was the last weekend to see and ride on the swan boats, so since my sister hadn't seen them before, we went for a ride. I think all the kids really liked it. As a bonus, there were some real swans swimming around. This is my sister with her kids and her sister-in-law, who also came to visit.

They really did choose a beautiful weekend for the closing days.

Ali just wanted to go into the swan part in the back the whole time, (which is where we are looking) but I didn't want to be the one who has to peddle.

Fenway Fun

My sister, Jen came and visited us again this week. While here we went on a tour of Fenway. I really enjoyed it despite being Yankee fans. It is a rather smaller park and the tour guide was a bit over the top; maybe that comes with the job description. I think that my niece and nephews got more out of it than Ali did, since they are a bit older. Plus, Ali had missed her noon nap,since the tour was at 1pm. Instead of just enjoying the history and sights of Fenway, Ali just liked climbing on things.

Like this B table, a second later she climbed on top of it.

She loved to swing on any pole she could find, and Fenway is full of those.

By the end she wanted to go home, and as we were leaving the park this is what she looked like. I guess she really didn't miss her nap after all, it was just delayed.

Little doll

Alicia's reasoning: if a doll could fit in Kat's seat, then maybe Kat could fit in a doll's seat...YES she really can.

And for those wondering what Ali looks like when she is eating.

Other Uses

I guess the Bumbo is an even better buy than I thought. Ali found that since it can fit her little sister, then it can fit her bunny too. On top of that, her bunny needed shoes, because what bunny doesn't wear shoes while sitting in an infant seat?


Our little Kat now sleeping. On Friday she measured at 10 lbs 10 oz, and 22 inches. I think most of it is in those chubby cheeks.

New baby gear

We just got this little seat called a Bumbo. It is a small chair for babies. While Kat may not love it yet, we do and we think she just looks so adorable in it.
And here is another picture of Kat. I just like her smile.

Cannot forget the baby

Well, I cannot really make a post without getting in at least one picture of the baby, so here are two. Alicia is really starting to like Kat, not just accept her. She asked to hold "Baby Kat" so I got the camera.

I find it amazing how different yet how similar my two girls are. They both have the exact same perfect eyebrows. What do you see similar or different?

Lots to catch up on

Lots of things can happen in one week. My sister came to visit and brought her 3 cute kids. We got to go to some fun parks, and to the zoo. We had fun and Ali got to know her cousins a little bit better. Ali had a hard time with the intrusion on her quieter lifestyle (Jen's boys are quite loud) but as the boys loved to make her laugh, she got used to them. She especially loved my niece Madeline, who would read books to her. Now that they are gone, Madeline is missed, the boys...not so much.

From left to right: My big sister Jen, Ty, Elias, Alicia, Madeline. Enjoying the beautiful weather we had while she was here. Also, they are in their underwear because about 5 minutes before this picture was taken they all ran into the water and got soaked.


This is Madeline with the tigers at the Franklin Park zoo.


The kids on the big Croc in the Outback Trail.


Once the house was quieter Alicia spread out her papers and did what she does best...she made her own mess.