Counting and singing

Caden has been hamming it up for the camera lately. The clips below show him counting butterflies in his Pooh Loves You book and singing two of his favorite songs: "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes."

Winter escapes

Getting away

A week ago, we embraced the wintry weather and drove up to the Mt. Washington Valley in New Hampshire. Despite our respective illnesses, we were all really excited about going; Caden has figured out that New Hampshire is a fun place to visit, and not just a novel rodent. In fact we had a tough time getting him to bed on the evening of the 21st because he wanted to go so badly.

We scooted out on Friday morning, soon after the flakes started falling on the North Shore. The main roads were clear, and we managed to find the Mt. Washington Valley Children’s Museum in North Conway without too much trouble. We spent a fun couple of hours there, watching the snow accumulate outside and waiting until we were able to check into our room at the Village House B&B in nearby Jackson. Highlights of the museum included a kid-friendly version of a logging cable skidder and a panel with lighted buttons that played some of Caden’s favorite songs (e.g., “Baa, baa, black sheep” and “The itsy-bitsy spider”).

We spent a couple of enjoyable nights at the Village House, which is a dog-friendly (all of the other folks staying there had doggies, much to Caden’s delight) and kid-friendly B&B, located right on one of the many groomed cross-country ski trails that cris-cross the landscape around Jackson. The innkeepers brought out lots of toys for Caden to play with, and they even watched him for a few hours on Saturday so that Mama and Dada could go skiing together.

We had a great time, but were all still feeling a bit under the weather during and after the trip. In fact, Caden developed a fever on Saturday, which wouldn’t go away. That, plus his worsening cough, sent us to the doctor on Tuesday – he missed a couple of days of school – where the poor little guy was diagnosed with a double ear infection and pneumonia. He’s on antibiotics now, and is back to his cheerful self. He’s been a real trooper this winter.

Summer fun in mid-winter

On Saturday, we cranked the heat, put Jimmy Buffett on the CD player, dug out our warm-weather party gear, and invited friends from the lab over for a tropical potluck. We'd originally planned the party for Mama's birthday, but the flu intervened, so we extended the birthday celebration for another week. Everyone brought something to eat or drink that was inspired by warmer weather, and we feasted on Indonesian rice salad, fresh pineapple, coconut potatoes, salsa, and rum drinks.

Caden’s friends Mae and Summer came over for the evening, and the three of them had a great time playing. The girls started off in swimsuits, but Summer soon ended up running around clad only in a diaper. We are all looking forward to winter’s end, and it was fun to pretend – for a few hours – that summer was here.

"We want to watch YouTube!"
Boxed in