Great Country Farms

This year we joined a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. They will deliver a big basket of vegetables and fruit to our house once a week from a local farm about an hour away called Great Country Farms. While the farm itself is not 100 percent organic according to the rules set up by the US Govt., most of the produce is pesticide free and they use entirely sustainable farming practices. Included with the CSA is a membership to the farm itself, so this weekend, we drove out to our new farm to check it out. It is strawberry picking time, so we figured we would do that too. Noah's friends Mia and Greydon and their families joined us (they are also CSA members). The farm is incredible! There is so much to do there. Lots of animals, a little mini golf course, a maze (we didn't see that), rides, tractors to climb on, and a huge bouncy platform that is the size of an Olympic pool (Ok, Darren insists I'm exagerting here, but it is really huge). There was so much to do there, we couldn't fit it all into one morning. We might go back next weekend.

Noah saw a giant pig.

He got to ride behind a tractor over to the strawberry fields

He ate a lot of strawberries

He picked some too.

But mostly he ate them.

The kids love hanging out together.

Noah thought this water mechanism-thingy (like for a gold rush) was really cool. He was sopping wet.

And this is that enormous bouncy platform thing.

The Last Trip to Connecticut

We spent last weekend in Connecticut visiting my parents. This was probably the last time I'll ever go "home" because my parents are selling their house so that they can move down to Virginia to be closer to us. Fingers crossed that it sells soon.

Noah had fun playing at the new playground recently put in at the school where my mother is a teacher.

He also discovered a new activity that he LOVES- looking at pictures and video of himself on this blog. Really, he's a little Narcissus.

Noah had such a good time hanging out with Grandmoo and Papa (Noah officially named my father Papa, not Grandpa, during this visit, so we're switching over the nomenclature). We can't wait for them to move down here!

Seven Kids age 4 and Younger

While we were in Connecticut last weekend, we got a chance to see a couple of my friends from high school-- my friend Heather and her family and my friend Laura and her family. Heather and Laura have 3 kids each, so all in all there were 7 of them playing outside in the pool. Vera, Heather's oldest, was the oldest of the lot at the ripe old age of 4.

From left to right below:

Elle (age 2), Lynn (age 3), Katie (age 2), Noah (age nearly 2), Vera (age 4), and Ben (age 2)

Ben and Elle (the two pictures below) are Heather's twins that are just a few weeks older than Noah, though Noah is a fair bit bigger/heavier than they are.

And here is number 7, little Erin, Laura's youngest at about 6 months old.

Yellow Yellow Yellow

Noah is very interested in colors these days. He especially likes yellow... or rather he insists on wearing yellow all the time, and we simply do not have enough yellow clothes to accommodate him. Every morning he now goes through his shirt drawer and picks out a yellow top. If there is nothing yellow he throws a massive fit. This was funny at first. It's not funny anymore. it has been going on for about 2 weeks now. There are other colors he likes, but he doesn't seem interested in wearing them. Specifically, he likes purple and orange, or as he calls it "edgy." Not sure why, but orange is always edgy (because I think he can say orange if he wants to). He has two cylinder shaped blocks-- one orange, one purple-- and he walks around holding them saying "puple and edgy puple and edgy." And if I wear anything purple, he will periodically come up to me, point at me and say "puple." But for him, it's got to be yellow. If I put him in something that is not yellow, he pulls his shirt away from his body as if it is burning him and yells "yellow yellow yellow." It's really not funny anymore.

Welcome Liam

This afternoon, Noah and I went to visit Sean and his new baby brother Liam. I can't believe Noah was ever that tiny. They change so much in just two years.

Mother's Day at the Zoo

We spent the morning at the zoo today to celebrate mother's day. Noah's favorite animals were the meerkats (because they were close up in a glass enclosure and were running back and forth right in front of him). He enjoyed the other animals too, but seemed just as interested in pointing out the color of the garbage and recycling cans as he was in the animals.

Here we are before the outing. Noah doesn't like to look at the camera.

Taking a juice break by the elephants.

Eating a hot dog for lunch.

A Boy in a Box

Noah is enjoying the box I got for his blocks nearly as much as the blocks themselves.

Table and Chairs

We totally copied Mia and bought the exact same table and chair set that she has. Noah had a lot of fun building with his blocks on the table (not sure why that was better than on the floor). He was smiling and laughing at me, but he would not take that thumbkin out of his mouth no matter what!

Mia's House

We had our monthly get together dinner last night with Noah's friends Mia, Sienna and Greydon and their families. This time Mia hosted. Mia is going to be a big sister very very soon. So soon that it's amazing to me that Mia's mommy Mara has the energy to have all of us over to her house for dinner.

Here are Noah and Mia watching Mia's daddy Rob cooking on the grill.
Noah enjoyed trying out Mia's new tricycle.

He also liked pushing Mia around the house in it. Mia's so little that he can push her. He had a harder time trying to push Greydon when it was his turn.

Noah, Mia and Greydon were hanging out at Mia's tot-sized table.

Having some milk and sharing some goldfish crackers.