Christmas Decorating

 Boston Common - December 2

Decorating - December 8

Stationery card

Be Merry Prints Christmas Card

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Leaf Peeping

We went to NH for leaf peeping.  Turns out MA seems to have better leaves this late in the season!  We went to Rhododendron State Park to end our visit.  We need to come back in mid-July when the flowers are in full bloom.  I tried a new Zach carrier...doesn't appear I can get him in this contraption alone!!  Zach was amused with the setup...Mom felt like her shoulder was being ripped off - it may need to be returned.

Below is Dad and Zach in our backyard...Jason was tired from hauling concrete and other miscellaneous items to our dumpster (hopefully the dumpster is temporary and not a permanent fixture in our parking area!).

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Apple Picking

We had competing apple picking sponsored events...an event for Deaf Children and one for Deaf Blind Children on the same day!  We chose to go to both.  This worked out well as Zach fell asleep  at Berlin Orchards (pics 1-2).  Luckily he perked up at Shelburne Farm in Stow (pics 3-4).

Portland, ME

Brenna tried a new discount hotel website...Jetsetter!  It would have been great...except our posh Portland hotel didn't have the reservation the next morning, Jetsetter doesn't open until 10AM (and was unresponsive to emails titled "Urgent" and their recommended contact method of Twitter additionally received no response), and we were on hold for 1 hr 40 minutes (then Jason lost cell signal and lost the call!).  Luckily our next phone call went through in <10 minutes.  The other good news was that they "proactively" resolved the situation...we were kind enough not to mention they had failed to respond to emails, twitters, and had been on hold >1 hr...  Zach enjoyed the Children's Museum walking distance from the hotel.

Zach turns 4!

We celebrated Zach's birthday week with tons of presents from family, especially tons of loud, bright flashing toys from grandparents!  First we had some chocolate cake with candles.  Here's Zach protecting his cake from dad and very thoughtfully checking out the 4 candles.

Next was present time.  He especially liked his new remote control!

Labor Day in Vermont

We spent the 3 day weekend in Woodstock VT.  First we went to the Billings farm where we got to pet the draft horse, whose job it is to collect crops and maple sap when it's syrup season.

This was the modest cottage for the farm manager (not the wealthy farm owner, just the guy who ran the farm for him).

We also went up to Sugarbush Farms to see and sample local cheese and syrup.  We got to see the cows from afar (and behind an electric fence!), as well as up close and a little too personal (where they lick the feed right off of your hand).

Not pictured - 3 days of swimming in the resorts' indoor and outdoor "heated" pools.

First flight!

Zach got to take his first flight ever to Chicago to visit his Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Tim and his cousins Hailey and Ryan.

Grandma Francine from Phoenix also flew in to join in on the fun.

Some of the most fun was had at the children's museum especially in the water area.

Our little equestrian

Zach seemed like a natural at his first horseback riding lesson.  They were all impressed by his fearlessness of the horse and how strong he sat up and held on.  He also seemed pretty taken by all his helpers.  He'll have a few more lessons over the next few weeks and if all goes well, hopefully he can take this therapy up on a more permanent basis!

Cruising to Canada!

A few days after the 4th, the 5 of us took a 5 day cruise from Boston to St John, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia and back again.  Zach seemed to have a good time at the shows and pool, while making lots of new friends, (mostly attractive waitresses and bartenders).  He's now a world traveler!

 The family just before a comedy show on the boat on elegant night.

Dad and Zach on the boardwalk in Halifax.

Grandma and Mom at the public garden in Halifax.

4th of July with the Fraziers

Grandma and Grandpa Frazier came to visit from AZ and we had a good time the week of the 4th of July.

Before the 4th we went up to our favorite lobster spot in Maine and we all (minus Zach) had lobster and steamers.  Zach still seemed to have an ok time watching us pig out!

Before the fireworks and all we went to the Children's Museum and saw the newly rebuilt Tea Party Museum

Big Day finally!

What started out as a sleep test, became a 24 hr trach-free trial, which was successful!  Zach and all of us went to MGH Wed night (6/13), and left friday afternoon (6/15) without a trach!!!  Here are the before and after pics.  At the end of the trial, Zach was super excited and couldn't wait to go home!

We've been home for a few days now and have had no major issues, other than Zach wanting to wake up at 4am every morning (which he was doing before the trach was taken out).  We got to spend Father's Day weekend trach free, which was very nice.

It's strawberry season in Boston and we wanted Zach to share in the fun.  We thought he'd like the strawberries with maybe a little whipped cream as a bonus.  Turns out he just likes strawberry flavored whipped cream (make sure to have the sound turned on).

Boston Commons and Public Garden

Enjoying the nice weekend weather we took a stroll through the Boston Commons and Public Garden.  Zach really enjoyed riding the ducks and frog sculptures as long as he was alone (with Mom or Dad holding him in place).  As soon as Mom tried to ride the big duck with him, he got really upset!  He wants to be independent (with us very close by to help and witness!).  He also knows how to strike quite a pose. 



DeCordova Family Day

Saturday we all went to DeCordova Museum for Family Day where they had the usual exhibits, like the huge xylophone sculpture, as well as family specific activities like building big sculptures out of boxes.  Zach's never got too tall but he had a good time.