After The Tenth..... When The Fun Really Begins

Monday I had jury duty, which meant that after spending the better portion of the day with some of the strangest people I have ever seen, I got to come home earlier than normal and play with two of the cutest people I have ever known.

During the course of the evening, Macy mentioned GG for some reason. Then, as if she was clairvoyant, GG called and for the first time, instead of getting shy on the phone, Macy proudly yelled out "Hello GG." Just awesome.

Then I came home from work yesterday to a sweet surprise. Some of you might know that things have been tough for me at work lately. We've been asked to put in extra hours and it means either giving up part of my weekend or working LONG days. I've chosen to go the long day route and now only get to see the girls for a few minutes each morning and night, but I have the entire weekend with them. Anyway, I came home yesterday after a somewhat stressful afternoon, expecting the girls to be somewhere well into the bedtime routine, but actually caught the end of bath time instead. As I walked into the house, I could hear Macy YELL with out with glee ..."Daddy Home!" I instantly had a smile on my face.

You may have noticed that Macy is starting to string two words together, which is making it even easier to understand her, because every once in a while its not that easy. For instance, I heated up her bottle last week and after testing the temperature (cause I'm just that good at being a dad) I handed it to her. "Hot, hot", she yelled, waving her hands as if I scalded them. I quickly grabbed the bottle back and began trying to explain that the bottle was not hot and in fact the milk was a bit cool. It took mommy to decipher that what she really meant was that it wasn't  hot enough. (Ok..so I'm not always that good at being a dad.) I nuked the milk for a few more seconds and gave it back to a now very happy little one. Since that moment, Macy has learned to say "more hot" instead, making it easier for her daddy to understand that she just wants her milk warmer.

So now let me tell you about some of the adorable moments, I've had with Laney. This little one is just so easy to hold and a warmth just comes over you while she's snuggling in your arms. Uh oh...just glanced down at the clock and I'm already late for work. Guess I'll have to tell you about Laney next time...

While hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa on Long Island, we headed over to the Brookhaven Wildlife & Ecology Center, which is a whopping 7 minute car ride from where I grew up; yet I had no idea it was there. Even better than being close, it was FREE. Macy got to look at a bunch of animals and only the goats, which were jumping over the railing, frightened her. The adventure was quite entertaining, as Macy identified animals that until that moment had only appeared in her books and were now standing in front of her.

The weather changed dramatically from day to day, but on one of the really beautiful days, we headed back over to GG's place where we spent some quality time in an outdoor gazebo. I mention these two events because we got some really cute photos at both of them. (At least I think they are cute...but you can decide for yourself as some of them are below)

Speaking of photos, my only problem with visiting Grandma and Grandpa on the Island is that Grandma takes WAAAY to many photos and it takes me weeks to go through them, trying to pick out just a handful to share. Heck, on two occasions, she even setup a make-shift studio. I tried to fight her and on this and I definitely was not standing there holding a reflecting panel, trying to get the ambient light just right. Nope, that wasn't me.

You might also notice two photos taken at a picnic table. Laney and Macy made a visit to the Ely boys at their house. This visit just confirmed that Macy really likes boys, as evidenced by her taking a seat right between them, while they all worked on creating magical Play-Doh items. Some of you may also remember that Annie and I have a special deal where we don't let the girls wear any Yankee or Red Sox attire. When Macy first dropped Matthew's Met hat on her head, I panicked a bit seeing that NY symbol on her, but then I quickly realized that the Yanks and the BoSox are two powerhouse organizations that constantly battle for supremacy and this is why the rivalry is so good and the Mets just stink, so we didn't care if she wore their colors.

When the week ended, it was time to head on our way to CT. We had lunch at a fun little vegetarian restaurant in Port Jeff, where Macy seemed to struggle with the posted rules. (see the picture below) We then climbed aboard the ferry and headed over to Annie's side of the family. (That's an ice tea in my hand..it might look like a beer, but if any future potential employers ever come across this page, I would never be so irresponsible.)

After spending a fun week in NY, we headed up to Connecticut for an action packed weekend with the Catenis and Grandpa Kupper. Somehow in the course of less than 36 hours, we went peach picking, apple picking where we rode a tractor out to the apples, attended an official New England Country fair, played with what seemed like dozens of dogs and had a yummy Cheesecake Factory dinner. I'm tired just writing about everything we did.

In the pictures below you'll see Laney being protected from the sun, in a creative manner; which is what happens when you forget her hat. You'll also see Macy's new friend, Coco Chanel who put up with a lot of poking, grabbing and prodding, in exchange for a comfortable place to ride in the car.

I'm not sure anyone else is surprised to learn that there are peach farms in CT, but I sure was. Cousin Connery was an expert in picking good ones, a trait he must have inherited from Grandpa Kupper. (Check out the close-up of Grandpa's basket of picked peaches.)

The country fair was quite interesting, at least right up until "the incident" in the pig races. It seems that this group travels around the New England fairs, with their setup of piglet races and Dachsund races. They dress the little dogs up with "hot dog bun" like covers and race them around a winding track, all being narrated by a very talented individual, who almost makes this seem fun. Once the dogs are done, they are herded back into the trailer and out come the little piglets, who are wearing cute little colored bandanas, to help you identify your favorite little racer. All was good until someone forgot to lock the Dachsund door while the piglets were at the starting gate. I didn't know that Dachshunds and pigs have such a hatred for each other, but maybe the little dogs just felt inferior to the top billing the pigs get. Regardless, once the two species mixed, it was quite ugly and disturbing. As luck would have it, I had just weaved our way into the front, so Macy could get a better look at the racing miniatures. Before we knew what was happening, there was some disturbing high pitch squealing and some bloody little piglets. Clearly they were no match for the angry dogs. The moderator, who forgot to turn off his mic let out some un-PC comments as they were trying to separate everyone. Once things settled, the moderator was too shook up to continue and the races were halted until the next showing; evidently to give them time to perform some emergency care...that or to see if anyone need a refill of some new found bacon.

BONUS: In between the time I wrote the post and my cute editor approved it, we had a development. Laney officially turned from her stomach to her back. Just to be certain it wasn't one of those weird moments, daddy made her do it three more times.