After Kathleen returned to Denver, we headed to our Missional Team Leaders conference in Williamstown, MA. This is a conference for all the local leaders of teams in the Northeast, and there is childcare for our little ones. The girls did great in childcare (for most of the conference). Williamstown is home to Williams College and the Haystack Prayer Movement.

There was one afternoon of organized fun activities during the conference. Most of the families went to a Shaker Farm. Samantha once again was drawn to milking a cow.

We visited the farm during baby animal days. So we got to see lots of brand new animals and their mamas! These sheep were probably the "newest" of the babies we saw.
yep, we could even get in the pens with some of the animals!



Anna Kate snapped these pictures all on her own one day! William has been smiling for a few weeks now, and this week he is starting to giggle! He is trying to "coo" - though most of the time his mouth moves and sounds only come out some of the time (so cute!). He continues to be what I would call an easy baby: he is sleeping well - at night especially; he loves to be held; he really only fusses or cries when he's hungry or has an upset tummy.

At his two-month check-up, he weighed 12 lbs 10 oz and measured 23 3/4 inches! Yay! He's doing great!
Samantha continues to love Will - "My baby"

Saratoga Children's Museum

While Grandma Sheehan was here, we enjoyed the Saratoga Children's Museum - our first visit ever! It is a "museum" dedicated to imaginative play, so each room of this old house is recreated into something - an attic home, a vet's office, a store, a restaurant, etc.
Here is Lucy in the "attic" washing cloths with an old-fashioned washboard!

Anna Kate in the attic at the sink and stove
Samantha in the diner
Samantha and Grandma were served many meals at this table in the diner!
The girls enjoyed this fire truck!
The grocery store
The vet's office was a big hit!
Samantha decided the kennels were a perfect fit for her!
Back in the attic!

Easter eggs

Samantha chose her own shoes for going outside on this morning. A little bit of a fashion statement of her own: rain boots with her dress.

It's sad to say but these are the only pictures I took over Easter weekend. :( Especially since our little Will looked SO adorable in his plaid shorts (yes! shorts! It was that warm!) and collared shirt, and when by the time - days later - that it was clean again, he was too big! This boy is growing!!! Anyways, back to these pictures . . . . on Easter Saturday, dying eggs. You can see Dave was a major player in pulling this off.

Thank God Grandma Sheehan was here visiting! We needed her extra hands! This is what Will did while the rest of us worked on the eggs . . .

samantha tells about church

This fall we made a move to a new church in town. We are so thankful for God's provision for our family at this church - we are all engaging with the Lord and making friends. One of the things w are super thankful for at this church is the children's program. Usually on Sunday mornings, we go to the early service and come home and have brunch together. The girls tell us all about their Sunday mornings - what they learned and what they did. Samantha's story is the same every week, as you can see in the video: "I read Bible. Me, cheese crackers, no. Me, cereal."

We had Will's one month check-up on Friday, March 19. He weighed 10 lbs 6 oz and measured 21 3/4 inches long! What a growing boy! Here are some pictures to prove the point.
We enjoyed lots of warm and sunny weather last week! So, we "re-opened" the sandbox.
Aunt Heather and cousin Decker were in town for a few days during their spring break. I couldn't resist taking this picture of Will! He's just over one month here.
Daddy hanging out with Will . . . . this is Will at just under 4 weeks.
He continues to be a "hot commodity" in our house, completely causing disagreements about who gets to hold him first or next or longest . . . . This is Will at 3 weeks.
This is Friday, March 19, enjoying the beautiful sunshine and warm weather . . . those socks were given to him by cousin William - Michael Jordan #23 socks. Both Decker and William hope our little Will loves basketball like they do!

Here he is with cousin Decker. Just a little bit longer than Decker's hands.
Decker and Heather with all our kids!

4 children: week two

All the girls still adore little Will. Samantha will say, "Mommy, my lap."
There are definitely some crazy times in the house now that I'm alone during the day. There is nothing like breastfeeding to keep a mom in her chair and unable to intervene. Here's some good fun Samantha cooked up. She has a baby t-shirt on her head and was alternately climbing on the tiger (still, "My roar") jumping to the couch and then jumping from the couch onto the tiger. Oh my, Will has a great playmate waiting for him to get bigger.



Here are some of the goings-on in our house this week:

Will got his thumb in his mouth twice! He loves his paci, too!

Anna Kate lost her first tooth on Monday! She was eating an apple and came into the room I was in and asked, "Mom, is this a piece of apple or my tooth?" She was delighted that the tooth fairy indeed did visit Monday night!

We have had some nice days, and, as a result, have been able to easily venture outside to play! My children are proving themselves to be true northeasterners, as they shed jackets and mittens on Monday, complaining, "I'm too hot!" It was only 40.

Here's the proof:

Look how cute he is with his hands folded. He loves his hands! Holding them together, touching anything nearby, trying to get them in his mouth . . . .