Bright Baby at Brighton

We did it, we went camping with Cally for Father's Day weekend. John and I are well versed at the minimalist backcountry camping details, but the family car camping adventure is a whole new experience. It only took us three hours to get the car packed and road ready.

Compared to our friends that we joined for the adventure, we were very JV (Junior Varsity vs. being well versed or Varsity). While we did manage to fill our Saab wagon to the brim, we didn't realize all the luxuries you can bring when you are car camping. We did, however, borrow an enormous tent from our friends the Krulls (see picture of John and Cally on the blow up mattress below)


We went up to Brighton State Park in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont (near Island Pond in the far northeast corner of the state). We met up with four other families for a total of 9 adults and 9 children. My friend, Medora, reserved three sites on a lake/pond for four days. She's amazingly organized and I knew if we forgot anything, she'd have whatever we were missing. Here's a picture of Medora and Cally:


Cally was a super camper, though she decided that there was too much going on to really take any naps or go to sleep at a reasonable hour while she was there. Who would want to sleep if you might miss things like this:

Happy Half Birthday

Since it was Cally's half birthday yesterday and I was assigned to bring dessert one night, I decided to take advantage of my summer off and make home-made cupcakes in celebration of her first half year on the planet.

I like to bake, but I've never made homemade cupcakes. Perhaps this is because the store bought box brands are so tasty and easy........ Because I was going to be joining a group of friends who do bake cakes from scratch and I actually had the time last week, I decided to give it a try. It was quite a production...... buying the somewhat obscure ingredients (buttermilk, dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, etc.) having all the ingredients at room temperature, and then all the mixing with the electric mixer. In any case, I was pretty pleased with the end product and I think these guys were too:



This is a picture of Cally with her big fans Addy and Claire. Of the nine kids that were camping, six of them were four or five year old boys. Claire and Addy are seven and they LOVE Cally. They are eager to help with anything that needs to be done for Cal-- feeding her, dressing her, changing her, giving her a ride in the stroller, etc. Cally is lucky to have all these amazing older friends:


On Sunday, I took the opportunity of having all these loving friends around to go for a run. John had gone on a mountain bike ride with the other fathers and was back, so I went off with two of my girl friends to get some exercise. Upon my return, I found this:


And it wasn't Addy and Claire who put our daughter in a baby stroller. It was the grown mother's of the other kids, Jen and Medora. John had left Cally with them so he could join the boys and older kids on the "school bus"-- an old school motor boat. Jen and Mud were thrilled to get to watch a baby (as their babies are between 4 and 7 years old) and not have to "compete" with the seven year old girls. As you can tell, Cally didn't seem to mind playing baby with the moms.

Cal's got Teeth

A few weeks ago, our normally happy-go-lucky girl was out at a party that Tom and Kara were hosting and she was a mess. We were totally perplexed. Her diaper had been changed, she'd been fed, she hadn't had gas pains in months. Not knowing what else to do, we finally decided to call it defeat and leave the party before even eating dessert. On our way out the door, our friend Cynthia asked if maybe it was her teeth bothering her........... She was right. Note the two little nubbins making their way through the center of her lower jaw.

Summer Vacation, Friends and First Hike

So I think it's official, I'll be the resident blogger for a little while. School got out on Friday for the summer and I've got a little more time on my hands. Not being the eloquent English Lit major that my husband is, I'll probably focus more on the photos than the pros.

Yesterday, we packed up the car for an afternoon in Lincoln, VT. Our good friend HR decided, at the last minute, to retire from teaching at MMUHS (the school where I teach) after 25 years or something. He's been a really amazing part of the community there, so will be quite missed. His wife, Ellie, decided to throw him a celebration:

That's a picture of Cally helping him open one of his retirement gifts. He's amazing with children and there were a few of them there to celebrate.

Here's Uncle Eric with the three babies of the 300 wing. Eric teaches English across the hall from me and he's holding Piper (on the left-- she's about seven weeks younger than Cally), Isaac is in the middle, his father Bryan teaches History down the hall from me (he's in the center and eight weeks younger than Cal). You might notice that Cally (on the right) is the smallest of the crowd, even though she's the oldest. She actually got "hand-me-downs" from Piper the other day. That said, she's got a lot more coordination and tends to do just what she's doing in this photo to her friends-- patting Isaac on the head, touching faces, etc.


Here's a better shot of Cally and Piper during a "play date" today:


Before heading to Lincoln, we had a plan to take a dirt road mountain bike ride with Cally in the Chariot-- the beloved stroller of choice. We loaded the bikes on the rack, stuffed the chariot in the car, and packed biking clothes and outfits for later in the night. It took me about a half hour getting it all together-- I guess that is par for the course when you have some many thing to remember. However, as seems to happen more frequently than not, a major piece was missing from the equation. I loaded the chariot with the jogger attachment and forgot the bike attachment.

People have told me about "breast feeding brain". This packing snafu is yet another example of me exhibiting the forgetful behavior that can accompany a breast feeding mom. Since we were already half way down to Lincoln when I figured out this brain fart, we decided the head out on a hike instead. Fortunately, we did have a baby carrier and hiking shoes. We parked up at Lincoln Gap. Instead of heading north on the Long Trail to Mt. Abe, we headed south to Sunset Ridge:


Cally loved the ride in the Ergo carrier (currently our carrier of choice)




The view from the top was beautiful.


I highly recommend the hike-- for kids, adults, whoever. It's 1.1 miles each way and not too steep. It was the perfect "plan B".

Smiles All Around

As you can see, Cally is not afraid to throw out the smiles......





Below, she's getting ready to embark on her first canoe trip:


Even with the bulky "infant" PFD, she can still give us that toothless grin*



And if you are wondering how we managed to actually canoe with her:

Notice, that she is still smiling underneath the seemingly very uncomfortable PFD.

* Cally actually does have two teeth making their way up through her lower gums. While the first tooth made for a pretty unhappy gal, the second one has made its way through the gum without a peep from her.

Best Friends

Ten and half years ago, I, Scruff Dad's wife, got my first daughter. She came in the form of a four-legged black dog-- half lab, half German short-hair pointer. I called her my Montana Squirrel hound. She taught me a lot about responsibility, loyalty, and the importance of animals in ones life. She was really the best friend a single, independent woman could have asked for....... she ran, skied, biked, hiked, and traveled almost everywhere that I went. She lived in Montana with me for two years and moved to Vermont in 2000. She was dignified, mature, but fun and adventuresome. Anyone who met her, held a soft spot in their hearts for her. I was really, really proud to call her my dog.

John was never a "dog person", he didn't grow up with dogs and had never had a dog of his own. When he started courting me, he knew Zola and I came as a package. Like most people, he quickly warmed up to her and couldn't believe that he had lived so long without the joys of owning a dog. We were both really proud to have her as our ring bearer in our wedding. Here's a picture of her being walked down the "aisle" with my good friend Mic, who had known her since she was a puppy in Missoula:

We thought she would be a part of the "happily ever after" with us
When John and I found out we were pregnant, I knew Zola would be the best "big sister"/first dog that any child could ask for.

Last June, Zola suddenly came up lame. John was in Peru, I was in the middle of the mayhem of school ending and I was just finishing up my first trimester of being pregnant. Within days, she went from being my running side kick to a very sick dog. No one could figure out what was going on, but she was clearly having some sort of autoimmune response (swelling, low red blood cell count, etc.). She managed to have a short remission and get well enough to travel to my parents in Connecticut where we were reunited with John and celebrating my sister and Rob's engagement/shower. Sadly, she died days after our return.

We were heart broken. Not only had I lost the most amazing dog who had been through so many major life changing events with me, but we lost the dream of having our old black friend there for our child. Without much deliberation, we decided to visit a litter of puppies that our builder's dog had sired. Here's what we found:


We named her Izzy. She was half lab/half border collie. She was an amazing puppy. I figured I'd have the time to raise a puppy over the summer and she'd be fairly well trained by the time a baby came along. This way our child would have a dog in her life.

Unfortunately, when Izzy was about four months old, she disappeared from our house with her sister. We have no idea what happened to her. With the help of our amazing friends, we looked everywhere for her. We left no stone unturned-- offered rewards, posted notices in the papers, on Craigslist, etc. We were devastated. For months, calls came in about possible sitings, our hopes would get high, and then nothing would become of any of them.........

Still not willing to give up the idea of having a four-legged sibling for our child, I convinced John to agree to getting yet another puppy. This one I found on Craigslist. The ad said something about an 8-week old "pure breed lab needing to be re-homed b/c of allergies". I e-mailed the woman, we exchanged a few calls and agreed to meet at the Kohl's parking lot in West Leb, NH. So, on a dark night in November, John and I got Zephy:

You can't really see her very well in those pictures, but she's definitely NOT a purebred lab. The first real sign that she isn't, was the beard that she has-- very terrier-like. Then there ss the fact that she was completely neurotic and jumpy........ So, weeks before I was due to have the baby and still not in our own house, we got a very tiny puppy. Three dogs in less than six months! Some thought us insane. And we really, sort of, were.

Zephy, has been a bit of a challenge. She's not as trainable or easy going as either of the aforementioned black dogs. However, she's a huge lover and absolutely wonderful with Cally. She has given Cally so much to laugh and smile about. They love each other:



Words cannot describe how much we miss Zola and Izzy. I have a feeling Zephy will be a lot like a good wine-- she'll get better with age. In the mean time, she's getting better everyday and Cally is going to be a better kid for having had a four-legged sibling in her life.

Green Boogers & Eggs Benedict

Today is Mother's Day and Cally and I have been working hard to let Katy know she is the best mother in Vermont...the world for that matter. Our day started early as Cal and I hustled out to the Jericho General Store to pick up the NY Times for Katy, letting her sleep in without having to worry about feeding Cally or listening to me snore obliviously in the first morning light. It's been a grey rainy day here in Jericho, the kind where you want to go no where fast and the next section of the paper seems like a fine next objective...or possibly attempt to make hollandaise sauce for eggs benedict for Katy, emphasis on "attempt".

Cally's week has been remarkable, filled both with victories and defeats...I guess a reasonable metaphor for all that will come later in her young little life. First the victories. In the last 24 hours Cally successfully rolled completely from her back onto her stomach. While we've been reveling in her new show of coordination and independence, the writing is clearly on the wall. Next Cally will be crawling, then running, then driving, dating and well...you get the picture of the already over nostalgic parents:)


In other victory news, Cally had her 4 month check up with her pediatrician on Wednesday and the word was all good. Tipping the scales at a whopping 13 pounds, she's ascended to the 50 percentile for kids her age in weight (all that milk seems to be working) and is still a giant among her peers at a whopping 25 1/2 inches, 90 percent taller than all of her peers. Now we realize of course there's a long road ahead, but I'd be lying to say we haven't considered the possibility of fishing around for a WNBA futures contract or at least a meeting with Geno Auriemma down at UConn. He's usually combing around for some tall and upstanding women.
Most importantly, Cally's super healthy, happy and blows our minds daily...


Now for the big loss of the week...Cally' previously unchinked armor of health finally took a hit. The fever, the lacking strength and the sure sign of sinus infection, the green boogers. I've been wondering when her number would come up given how many kids she comes into contact with and how much they all love to hold and touch her. When I have the flu or colds I'm pretty much irrascible and out of sorts. Not our Cally, the poor dear. No matter how mucousy (sp?) Cally was last week, you just can't keep a good woman down! She still had such a great disposition, always smiling...even when coughing and with glassy little eyes. Heck I'd go to bring her to Katy to feed at 5:30am (retrieved from her crib) and through the crusty yellow gunk in her beautiful little blue eyes and the green gunk cemented to her little nostrils, came the trademark ear to ear Cally smile indicating she was ready to rage on with the day! I mean she was obviously happy here, even after a mid day barf in my hair:


To all the other special mothers out there (and those soon to be in our family) Peg, Mary Lou, Lynnie, Paula & Nif...Happy Mother's Day! You all have lots to be proud of...

Cally Tours the North Country

It's been well over a week since Spring Break adventures with Cally. The sixth week of my parenting leave was spent in the best way possible...family road trip. In the past two years together, we've spent Katy's April vacation mountain biking and climbing in beautiful, warm, dry and funky Asheville, NC. Camping at night, biking and running all day, climbing at Looking Glass and topping all with a two day visit to the Merle Watson Bluegrass Festival, near Doc's home in Deep Gap. North Carolina. This year with the arrival of our little peanut, two 16-hour drives seemed inhumane for all. So instead, we did the tour of CT and NY to visit...


My parents, Art & Peg a.k.a. Cally's Nana and Grampa in Farmington. We arrived on Saturday night and on Sunday had a great gathering with my Aunt Lynda and my sister Lynn and the Jones clan. My brother in law Mark is a luthier starting his own guitar company and brought one of his five soon to be signature models for the Jones Guitar Company. My mom crocheted Cally another incredible sweater and prepared a world class brunch for the crew.


Our friends Tim, Sophia and their one-year-old son Beckett invited us to visit their new home in Rosendale, NY between New Paltz and Woodstock. They moved onto an incredible 800 acre resort that Tim and a group of partners are redeveloping as an eco adventure type place with a hotel, spa and two lakes for swimming and paddling. Great mountain biking and nordic skiing to boot. We spent two great days cooking meals, playing with the kids and exploring all the trails and abandoned lime kilns on the property. While Sophia was in NYC teaching for an afternoon, Tim took us to Kingston to explore. There was incredible architecture and old Victorians stacked in the downtown of a small waterfront city struggling to revive. Before leaving Katy, Cally and I had a great visit to the Shawangunks on a rainy morning and hiked to see the abundant rock routes...for another day.

On Wednesday we headed for New York City to visit my friend Michael and his wife Elizabeth in Brooklyn. They just had a son named Dean and he made Cally seem old at 4 months. Michael and I have known each other for almost 20 years. We met playing on an ultimate frisbee team here in Burlington and have seen lots of music over the years. Katy's friend Pixie and hr son Jasper. Pixie is 7 months pregnant and she and Katy have been friends since they were students together at Middlebury College. We had a relaxing afternoon catching up, introducing her to Cally and hearing them catch up on their old friends looking ahead to their 15th reunion here in VT this summer...

The finale' of our week was our visit to Katy's parents Phil and Mary Lou, Cally's Grandma and Grandpa in Darien...we got in late from the city but of course they had to greet Cally with her always wide smile for the grandparents! We had a great a super relaxing visit, our usual long breakfasts (I always get to eat bacon with Phil:), and a great walk on the ocean around Long Neck Point. In the afternoon, Katy, Cally and Mary Lou went shopping, Phil took me to one of his reknowned lunches at Mario's in Westport with his long time buddies. It was nice to be included and the food is unsurpassed.

As our week together waned, we loaded Cally into her little seat with the giraffes on the shoulder straps and headed back up the road to Vermont and the real start of Spring together...

Spring Has Sprung in the Green Mountains...

Today was one of those extraordinary spring days that makes me happy I live in Vermont. It was sunny, clear and warm and Cally and I were on a mission. After having breakfast with Katy, I loaded our friend Spencer's truck for a dump run, clicked Peanut into her seat & pulled down the sun shade, loaded Zephyr (our dog) into the back (always takes longer than I'd like) and rolled down the driveway toward the Lee River. It was bright and sunny at 8:30, the birds were active and green was struggling to appear everywhere. I slid on the sun glasses, checked Cally in the rearview and took a nice long swig from the thermal mug...the world was seeming super bright this morning and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just the coffee.


It seemed like everywhere Cal and I went today we saw someone we knew...and everyone was excited to be soaking the sun and warmth. We started at the bakery in Richmond, the go to for cup #2. Cally and I saw Brendan working the counter...he's my friend Angies' son and i've known him since he was a wee lad. He had the late Fela Kuti pumping through the speakers and made Cally smile and squeak...I took a picture of her on the front stoop.

Next we spotted activity in Catherine and Tyler's front yard and decided to investigate. Turned out it was Kathy Hill doing some gardening as a barter for Cath's web design help for her business. She is a knitter who gave Cally a beautiful sweater & hat from her collection last week. Cally was kind of sleeping, but Zephy was active. We talked about how nice the sun was and doggie development. Cathy and her husband Chris have a challenging dog too...his name is Cruiser.

Up the road into the village I had to drop off the rear wheel of my mountain bike at Richmond Bikes...Gene Bell's shop. Gene's shop is the center of the local biking universe and he's the mechanic in demand. He was sitting on his stoop soaking the sun. It looked like he was opening a paint can from a distance... it turned out he was opening a quart of yogurt (he swear it lasts three days). The local lawyer, David Sunshine, walked by and gave a "good day". Not shitting here folks, it's his real name... A good omen or what?


Next we were off to the dump. Zephy was psyched for the dog bones the man in the cashier kiosk always gives her. I humped everything into the crusher dumpsters then dropped over to the recycled goods shed while Cally slept. The old man with the ever weekend yard sale in jericho center was there, hawking anything of interest as usual.


Finally we off on the open road for Huntington, the place I once called home and the town I love the most in Vermont. Cally was, well, napping the whole time. We passed the kids from the Youth Conservation Corps doing projects in the sun at the Monitor Barn, some folks from Fish and Wildlife doing fish samples in the lower Huntington River, saw geese passing through on Gillette Pond and noticed the syrup had all been made for this sugaring season at Purinton's (a good one it's been)!

We pulled into Huntington and topped off the tank at Beaudry's store. Linda always catches me up on her son's coaching accomplishments and Terry and I always talk a little Red Sox. He's been suffering from Alzheimer's disease the past 2 years and not as animated recently. The drive up the Huntington River Valley is just beautiful and brings back great memories of the thousands of times in all seasons I made this drive...but never with Cally in the backseat.


My friend David Reynolds is an English teacher and poet who lives in Colorado Springs Colorado. We went to college together, studied English Literatue together and had the same thesis advisor. He sent me a poem of his the other day about the arrival of spring and I thought of it while looking up to the still snowy peak of Camel's Hump:

Crocus

The crocus stuck their heads up last week,
little baseball mitts of yellow.

So delicate with their papery
petals and petite height (no taller than a jar of baby food)

Yet also hardy, these first ones,
the pioneers in the flower world,

to brave March’s chill and snow.

I remember planting the bulbs,
acorn sized nuggets of promise.

A fall day of family and low sun
as we dug can-sized holes in the dirt

and placed each bulb, just so,
delicately and facing heaven.

What nourished them? November
and December with their rough, bare winds?

Leaves and needles fell; holiday music faded,
and the wars raged on without protest.

Little moisture fell, the earth cracked,
yet the bulbs stirred, the bulbs stirred.

And soon the autumnal eggs shot forth runners
Who reached for the light, for the warmth of hope.

And now these petals of blue and yellow and red
Brighten even the most somber of March moods.