This one's for you, EJ!

Here are some recent photos of Celeste and her buddy Annie at Trauger's Farm. As I write this post, it is the Saturday before Halloween around 10 am and it has just started snowing! Celeste and Peter and I are going to get into our cold weather gear and go out for a walk in the swirling snow. I just need to get some hot coffee into me first.

In other news, I am in the full, ripe bloom of the third trimester of pregnancy. Celeste has borrowed a pair of tap shoes from her friend, Chloe, that have provided us with many noisy impromptu dance performances in the kitchen. She plans to be a fairy princess for Halloween (although Peter keeps calling her a "fairy warrior"--it is NOT sticking) and she is increasingly concerned about seeing masks and monsters on Halloween night.

It feels as if we are heading for the frantic free-fall into the holidays and then the birth of a new addition to our family. We're all going to work on staying centered this winter when things get busy.

21 Months!

Celeste and I spent the afternoon at a local dairy farm yesterday. It seems that cows have replaced hippos as her unlikely favorite animals. She kissed a couple of calves, which was equal parts sweet and disgusting.
Here are some photos of our visit.

A Spring in her Step

The daffodils have opened and the weather is fluctuating between rainy, breezy, and surprisingly sunny. Today I noticed a new faint smudge of bright yellow and green hovering around the trees. The college students are loud and joyous and the sky is light later into the evenings. Spring has arrived!

Grandpa Mike came for a visit and we got to see Granny L and my mom, Granny Lou. We also got to see Ellen and Sipho last weekend and look forward to another visit at the end of April.

Celeste has discovered the joy of jumping in puddles and we've discovered the impossibility of keeping a toddler's shoes clean and dry. Celeste's vocabulary is skyrocketing. Each day she picks up a handful of new words. She loves to run and is perfecting her somersault form. She enjoys her friends and longs for the attention of the half-a-dozen or so big kids who live on our block and who play feverishly in the large backyard that we share.

A Desk of One's Own

We rearranged our house last week and now Celeste has her own little nook for drawing and hanging out. I thought that some of you grandparent-ly types would appreciate seeing Celeste's office. I'm also including some photos of Celeste hamming it up at the breakfast table.

Making Up for Lost TIme

Here it is February already, and I find myself guiltily typing and uploading photos onto this blog. It has been a long long time.

It's a quiet Sunday afternoon. Stuffed shells are baking in the oven, it is cold outside, and Peter and Celeste have gone off to the local mall to enjoy an indoor Farmer's Market and petting zoo.

Celeste is walking, running, drawing with crayons and pencils, climbing up on chairs and sofas, talking, and trying to jump. She has become a big cousin to sweet Baby Anna. She is singing songs with recognizable tunes. She loves attempting somersaults and hanging from the bar in her tumbling class. One of her favorite places is the local library.

Here are some recent photos.

May I interest you in my acorn collection?

Autumnal

It is election day. Halloween came and went, and it is cold and sunny outside. There are still leaves on the trees, but they are all gold, red, or brown.

Celeste took her first steps last Monday at my grandmother, Granny L's house! It was fun to see Granny L, but strange that Daddy L is no longer alive. It was exciting that Celeste saved her walking up for Granny L. I guess time marches on. Now she prefers to hang onto our hands while stepping. She does like to stand still in one place, and she looks as if she's surfing, her concentration is so intense. She also says the word "up!" all of the time.

We went to an interesting park in the Poconos on Saturday, filled with Stonehenge-style monoliths. There were new-age druid types wandering around with walking staffs, sitting in pools of sunshine writing in notebooks. It was great to see all of the eccentricity and passion on bold display.

Hope you enjoy these photos.